You’re planning a vacation for a much needed break. Maybe you’re considering a weekend getaway for you and your significant other, or you’re planning a family vacation as the summer is just on the horizon. While we often remember to book our hotel, rental car, and flight accommodations in advance, many of us forget to secure something that is extremely important when traveling – insurance.
Now before you consider this to be nothing other than an added expense that you don’t need, consider my logic in carrying these four important insurance types below.
4 Types of Insurance You Need to Invest in Before Going on Vacation
- Medical Insurance (Traveling Abroad)
Despite the fact that many countries require you to have some form of medical insurance before being allowed to enter their country, there are other reasons that you need to have health insurance on hand. Essentially, not every country’s guidelines are the same as it pertains to receiving medical attention. This is even truer for tourists. Some hospitals might prolong giving you the attention you need, because they’re fearful you will not have the means to pay for the services they offer. Having some form of medical coverage lets them know that you will pay for the services and will also save you from having to pay hefty upfront costs.
Before you begin searching for the best travel health insurance, check with your current insurance provider to see what services they cover. In some instances, you may have enough health coverage already to cover injuries or illnesses while traveling abroad. However, if not, you will need to look for travel health insurance that will cover you for the duration of your trip.
- Cell Phone/Equipment Insurance
We all live by our electronic devices. We use them to work, play, shop, research, and more. Should something happen to one of our devices while we’re traveling, are they protected? Should your electronic devices get lost, stolen, or damaged, do you have the necessary insurance to protect your wallets? There’s nothing worse than having this happen while you’re on vacation, but you’d be surprised to know how frequent it does happen.
Equipment insurance provides coverage for your cell phones and other mobile devices. It ensures that should your devices end up lost, stolen, or damaged, that the insurance provider will foot the bill. Equipment insurance policies are generally very cheap to purchase costing only pennies per month. There may be a deductible amount through certain policies, but when you figure how much it would cost you to pay for a new phone or device, the deductible is well worth it.
- Car Insurance
Car insurance is an absolute necessary insurance type to have when traveling. For those who intend to rent a vehicle, having your own car insurance can actually save you a ton of money. Just as car insurance provides you with financial protection in the event of an accident while driving your vehicle, it will do the same if you intend to drive a rental car. This way, if you’re involved in an accident, the rental car is stolen or vandalized; you have the financial coverage to take care of it.
Having trouble finding adequate insurance? Those who have been caught driving without a license on several occasions, have been responsible for several at fault accidents, or have been convicted of a DUI may find it very difficult or expensive to find an insurance provider to provide them ample amount of coverage. If this sounds like you, you’ll need to find SR22 insurance coverage. This proof of insurance is specifically for those who are considered “high risk” drivers (as described above). After all. you want the same coverage, if not better insurance, when traveling.
- Homeowner’s or Renter’s Insurance
Last, but certainly not least on the list of must have insurances is either homeowner’s or renter’s insurance. Why do you need these types of insurances while on vacation? Well… if you’ve seen the first Home Alone movie, then you know that an empty home is often the easiest to rob. Not to mention the fact that most robberies happened during vacation season (summer months). There is nothing worse than coming home to a vandalized or damaged property. The best thing you can do for yourself and for your loved ones is to invest in the necessary protections to safeguard your home and/or personal belongings.
Homeowner’s insurance is typically an automatic thing if you’re a homeowner, and therefore you probably won’t need to invest in anything else. However, you should review your policy to make sure that it covers everything. For renters, now is a good time to invest in renter’s insurance. While you may have believed that any damage to your belongings would be covered by the landlord’s insurance, this is not the case in all instances. The landlord’s insurance is solely to protect their property. Therefore, if something happens to your belongings, you’ll be on the hook to pay for the replacement costs on your own.
Each of the above described insurances gives you the peace of mind that you need to travel without stressing. Now not only will you have a great time creating memories, you’ll also have an added peace of mind in knowing that your home, personal belongings, and health are protected at all costs. If you have not done so already, not is the best time to consider these insurance types and investing in each of them to provide protection at home, on the road, and while on vacation.
