Should You Buy Travel Insurance?

EWR Airport Parking

If you’re planning a major trip, you may be considering travel insurance. But what exactly does travel insurance cover? And is it worth it? Our EWR Airport parking company has some insight:

Maybe not…

First off, you may want to figure out if you even need travel insurance. Look over your health insurance policy and the insurance policies of your credit card providers. You may already be covered when it comes to medical emergencies, lost luggage, or trip cancellations. If so, you probably don’t need to buy travel insurance.

Maybe so…

Then, think about the reasons you’re looking into buying travel insurance in the first place. Is your trip non-refundable? Is it nine months away? (A lot can happen in nine months.) If you feel more comfortable knowing that you’re insured, you may want to consider it.

You can usually answer the question of whether you should buy travel insurance by adding up the numbers: would the cancellation fees for your hotel, flight, activities, etc. add up to more than the cost of travel insurance? If so, then it might be a good idea to buy it.

If you do…

If you do decide on travel insurance, make sure you know what you’re buying. Travel insurance is available through many different parties, including travel agents, online travel agencies, airlines, credit card companies, and more. No one party is better than the other, but they may all offer different things, so shop around before you settle on one. Also make sure that you’re not buying a “waiver plan.” A waiver plan will only cover you under certain circumstances and if something goes wrong, you can’t rely on the help of your state’s insurance department.

We also suggest taking the time to read through all of the details of your travel insurance, because things can get specific. For example: flight reschedules may be covered, but you may only be able to travel on certain days. Or lost luggage may only be covered on the trip to your destination and not the trip home.

As far as timing, you can buy your travel insurance up to the day before your trip, but it’s a good idea to buy it before then, just in case anything goes wrong.