In this day and age, travel is no longer the luxury of the very rich. Gone are the days when travel abroad was considered an exotic activity, an event that involved great expense as well as great adventure. Perhaps precisely because travel abroad has become such a prosaic activity, travellers have also come to view its other aspects as common and ordinary. Being able to receive weather updates, reserving specific seats on flights and in restaurants, speaking to the concierge regarding show tickets, and checking on whether fresh Alaskan salmon will be available for dinner are now simple facts of life, not the amazing and miraculous feats they would have been a mere ten years ago. Even the once controversial and often overly complicated business of getting covered by travel insurance has become commonplace and is as necessary as Wi-Fi in coffee shops.
Travel insurance has certainly become a staple fixture of the travel experience, however, contrary to popular perception, it is far from mundane and boring. There are a great many benefits to getting covered aside from monetary reimbursement in the event of cancelled flights or loss of baggage, which is how the layperson understands travel insurance. Below, we present some examples of some of the lesser-known and surprising benefits of getting covered during your trip.
Trip Delay or Extension
Most people would no doubt be aware that getting covered ensures that the traveller be reimbursed for their ticket cost in the event of a flight cancellation, as well as reimbursement for hotel accommodation and other pre-paid costs in the event of trip cancellation. However, in the event of trip delays (such as when the flight is delayed for more than 8 or 12 hours, depending) due to various reasons, the traveller is also entitled to be reimbursed for any hotel and incidental costs (such as food and other necessary costs). In the event that the traveller loses income due to the delay, such as missing an important job meeting or being unable to go back to work as scheduled, the traveller is also entitled to compensation.
Major Emergencies and Catastrophic Events
Generally, people rarely consider the possibility of catastrophic events, much less when they’re thinking of the great time they’ll be having on holiday. Regrettably, these events do happen. Tsunamis, hurricanes, volcanic ash clouds, and terrorist attacks are some of the very rare but regrettably possible events that can get in the way of your trip or even threaten your safety. Getting covered will not help prevent any of these things happening, of course, but it does ensure that you are not only compensated for financial loss incurred during such emergencies, such as food and accommodation for your extended trip, but that you have access to evacuation and emergency services in the event of extremely dangerous situations should you need. If you are incapacitated or unable to resume work due to being hurt, you can also be entitled to compensation for loss of income or for damages incurred, depending on your policy.