3 types of people who should buy travel insurance

Going on vacation is an escape from the perils of 9 to 6 office politics for the tired and weary Malaysian office worker. And with numerous budget carrier airlines offering cheap flights to neighbouring and faraway destinations, travelling abroad has never been easier, or cheaper.
Unfortunately, bad luck can strike at any time, even while you’re on holiday. For that reason, it’s a great idea to protect yourself with travel insurance, especially if your lifestyle matches one of the three types people below.

1: Sickly Sandy
The Story
Sandy is a travel enthusiast who absolutely loves falling sick during the working week. Day after day, Sandy walks into her office with either the sniffles, a fever, or an ungodly combination of the two.
For her next holiday destination, Sandy chose Vietnam, wanting to soak up the country’s exotic cultural history. Sadly, Sandy fell ill on her first day after taking a sip of Vietnamese coffee (well, she thought it was coffee). Her trip to the local emergency room and subsequent hospital stay effectively ruined her holiday and left her stuck with a ridiculously expensive medical bill.

The Lesson
Illness can strike you at anytime, especially if you have a poor immune system. Getting sick at home is not the same as falling ill on holiday. Most countries provide health care subsidies for citizens but they do not apply to tourists.
Why leave yourself at the mercy of unreasonable hospital fees when you could just pay RM20 a day for coverage from a simple travel insurance package?

2: Bad Luck Brian

The Story
Brian’s luck is so bad, it’s legendary. Everywhere he goes bad luck seems to follow. For instance, on his last vacation, Brian had his luggage lost by the airline. To add insult to injury, the airline offered him a paltry sum as “compensation” for his missing belongings, which happen to include a very expensive camera.
To make matters worse, Brian’s return flight was delayed for six hours due to a severe thunderstorm. At a loss, Brian ended up wandering aimlessly around the airport like a zombie.

The Lesson
Some people are just victims of bad luck. While the fault may not be theirs, the costs and consequences are. Travel inconvenience such as missing luggage, flight delays and cancellations are more common than you think, especially if you’re a frequent traveller.
Some airlines do offer compensation for events such as missing luggage, but the amount they pay out might not cover the cost of your lost belongings. Do you want to gamble with the fact that your expensive luggage could be lost or damaged? All depends on your luck…

3: Adventurous Albert

The Story
Albert is an adrenaline junkie. He scours the world with his fellow Gen Y buddies in search of cheap thrills. For his latest adventure, Albert decided to venture deep into the jungles of Indonesia for a session of cave diving and base jumping.
Unfortunately, it just wasn’t Albert’s day. His risk taking lifestyle finally caught up with him and he suffered a serious neck injury while trying to jump from one end of the cave to the other. The injury left him permanently disabled with a mountain of medical bills.

The Lesson
If you plan on engaging in risky activities while on vacation travel insurance is essential. Extreme sports activities such as skydiving, cliff jumping and walking across the street (if you holiday in Paris) all come with significant risk of injury.
A simple cut or bruise might not pose much of a problem, more serious injuries will might have a huge impact on your ability to work and support your family. Be warned that some travel insurance companies don’t cover extreme sports, especially if drugs or alcohol are involved.
Always clarify with your insurance company on their extend of coverage for extreme sports and activities to avoid getting yourself screwed.
We hope you enjoyed Sandy, Brian and Albert’s cautionary tales. Maybe you know someone just like that? If you do, just let them know that a few dollars spent on travel insurance might save them a fortune in the long run.

Source: FreeMalaysiaToday.com