Some of the best vacations and trips can be purchased at the last minute. There are many travel companies and web sites that offer a wide variety of amazing vacation deals and flights exclusively for those of us who like to book our vacations or tickets at the last possible opportunity.
The reason these last minute vacations can often be so economically feasible is due to travel companies booking vacation packages that are often not completely filled by the time they are due to depart. Instead of losing money on a number of empty seats, these companies often offer huge discounts on the remaining places in their packages just to avoid leaving the seats unfilled and losing money because of it. With these discounted, last minute vacation deals, both the travel company and you as the potential traveler gain from the transaction. It’s a win-win situation where everybody is happy and nobody loses.
If you have plenty of spare time available or at least a flexible schedule of spare time, you can usually come out ahead with every vacation you take, filling these types of last minute empty spots and saving money both for yourself as well as for the travel companies, airlines, and hotels. But with a last minute vacation mindset such as this, is it worth it to invest in travel insurance?
Even though travel insurance is usually a good idea due to potential cancellations, possible accidents, and the frail peace of mind of the human condition, is it still a good idea to invest time and money in this extra expense even when you are planning to leave on such short notice?
The Pros of Last Minute Travel Insurance
Here are a few reasons why buying travel insurance for a last minute vacation may still be worth it.
• Medical emergencies
• Lost baggage
• Stolen or damaged property
• Delayed flights
• Missed connections
• Natural disasters
• Other acts of God
All of these horrific suggestions are still just as likely to happen on a last minute vacation as on a pre-planned sortie. If any of them should take place, you will be happy you paid the meager insurance fee in exchange for a guaranteed safe, relaxing, and lossless trip.
Medical Emergencies
Whether the trauma sort of medical emergency should take place or the infection sort, neither germs nor accidents care if you’ve been planning your trip for a while now or if you’re simply traveling on a whim. You can end up in a hospital no matter how spontaneous you or your trips are.
The percentage of travelers that need medical aid, attention, personnel, equipment, or even evacuation while on vacation is relatively high. A medical evacuation can cost as much as $100,000 without batting an eyelash, all of which you will have to pay directly with either paper or plastic if you don’t happen to have travel insurance. And don’t think your personal health insurance company will cover your out of country medical expenses, because unless you specifically have a policy that says so, pretty much all health insurance companies will not fork over the money. Although medical emergencies that arise while vacationing take up the largest percentage of travel insurance claims, they are just one reason out of many to purchase insurance.
Lost, Stolen, or Damaged Property
If you are so lucky as to be spared a horrendous medical emergency, the event of personal property being lost, stolen, or damaged can still land you with quite a headache. As more and more luggage is checked during flights due to stricter TSA carry-on rules, there are more and more cases of lost or delayed suitcases at the wrong end of a long trip.
Ending up in a foreign land with no clothing or toiletries can certainly catch you with your pants down unless you have travel insurance. The right travel insurance will usually be able to spot you some new clothes and other essential items while you wait for the appearance of your prodigal luggage, and this can often make the difference between a small hiccup and a completely ruined vacation.
Travel Delays
Yes, you can still miss a connection, experience a delayed flight, or have to suffer through a long, unforeseen layover even when you take a trip on a dime. It only takes one connecting nightmare to turn your relaxing trip into a monster of chaos. Any extra expenses you incur due to these types of travel delays will have to be covered by your already maxed out wallet or by a Visa card that is already on its knees begging for mercy.
Travel insurance will take the load off your afflicted bank account when these situations should take place. Extra expenses due to travel delays are covered by most policies, and the peace of mind alone is worth the extra percentage paid.
Other Incidents
Although there is a much smaller chance of an earthquake, hurricane, or snowstorm directly hitting the spot that you happened to select for your vacation while you are there, such things are not unheard of. Civil unrest, if you are visiting a foreign country, is another possible interruption that could turn the blue skies of your paradise to grey if you vacation unprepared.
Hotel fires, tornadoes, and car accidents are all things that you won’t have to worry about if you decide to invest in travel insurance for your last minute vacation. With the astounding number of reasons to get insurance combined with the relatively low insurance prices that you can find, the advantages well outweigh the drawbacks.
How to Get Travel Insurance
While the main reason that last minute travelers don’t get travel insurance is because they don’t have the time to find a good policy, good travel insurance can be found quickly and cheaply. Policies can be found and bought online with very little expenditure of time or effort. You won’t be sorry you made the investment.