I have a coworker who recently and unexpectedly had to travel to Europe for a family emergency. He was met with some issues surrounding his return flight and ended up having to miss his flight home. Scuttlebutt in the office is that he had to “eat” the entire cost of the missed flight and that it was several thousand dollars.

Could this have been avoided by the use of travel insurance? Well, in truth, his particular issue probably wouldn’t have been covered but it leads me to question the importance of purchasing travel insurance. I have some international travel planned in the near future and I thought it’d be important to look into this type of coverage so I don’t end up losing a ton of money.

According to what I’ve found there are five basic types of travel insurance.

Trip Interruption or Cancellation

Medical Coverage while traveling

Evacuation Insurance

Baggage Insurance

Flight Insurance

The first type, trip cancellation and interruption insurance covers you in the event that you have to cancel a trip for which you’ve already paid due to a list of acceptable reasons. These reasons may include sickness, death, or loss of job. It also can cover you if you miss a flight due to inclement weather or an accident. Each policy will vary on what specific incidents are covered and the coverage may vary for each specific incident.

Medical coverage can cover you even if you have a medical plan through your employer. Some of these policies will pay the cost of medical expenses incurred on the trip before your existing plan ever has to be accessed. In a foreign country, this could be a godsend.

Evacuation coverage can help you pay the costs of getting you to a facility where you can receive proper medical care. If your travel is taking you to a remote or impoverished region with limited healthcare facilities it may be necessary, in the event of a medical emergency, to catch a helicopter or a private jet out of there. I probably don’t have to tell you that a trip in a private jet, especially an unplanned, emergency one, is going to be very costly.

Baggage insurance can reimburse you if your baggage is lost or damaged. However, this type of coverage is usually lumped into other travel insurance you may buy. There is a chance that the loss would also be covered to some extent by your existing homeowners or renters’ insurance policy. Check with your individual carrier for details.

Flight insurance is intended to pay a benefit to your surviving heirs in the event your flight goes down and you die. Morbid – and unnecessary if you already carry sufficient life insurance to cover your loved ones.

So should you or shouldn’t you purchase travel insurance? Well, that decision lies completely in your hands. But hopefully you have a better idea of what your options are now.

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