Protect Your Family with a Travel Insurance Policy

As a frequent traveler both for business and pleasure, I’m acutely aware of all the risks I face whenever I board a plane or take an extended road trip. Anything can happen at anytime, and though I’m not an alarmist by any stretch of the imagination, I do have to be concerned about making sure my family is protected in the event of an accident. As the main breadwinner in the household, our financial outlook would be bleak indeed if I become disabled — or worse — on one of my trips. That’s why I think investing in a good travel insurance policy is a smart move.

To be honest, I didn’t even know I could get a travel insurance policy until just a few months ago when a colleague mentioned that he purchased one. I never bothered before because I thought my regular life and disability policies would cover anything that happened while traveling. This is true in many cases, but having a travel insurance policy in addition to those other policies provides an extra means of protection for my family. Who wouldn’t want that peace of mind?

Once I decided that I wanted to get this kind of coverage for myself, I started checking for travel insurance policy quotes online. There are a number of reputable companies that offer good policies for frequent travelers, so I had to spend a lot of time reading the fine print to determine what was covered and what wasn’t, and comparing rates. I even had to make a couple of follow-up phone calls to agents to ask questions about features I didn’t understand. After I had all the information I needed and felt reasonably certain that I was making the right decision, I went ahead and purchased a travel insurance policy, listing my spouse and children as beneficiaries.

During my research, I discovered that another benefit of having a comprehensive travel insurance policy is the ability to insure specific trips and vacations. For example, if I spend $10,000 to book a dream vacation to Europe and then one member of our party falls ill before departure, I would ordinarily have to cancel the trip and incur major fees for doing so. But with the right travel insurance policy, the entire vacation would be insured for the whole amount, so I’d be able to get all of my money back and reschedule for a different time.

Now that I have a rock-solid travel insurance policy in place, I no longer have to worry about my family pulling through if I’m ever involved in a catastrophic accident while on a business trip. I have the satisfaction of knowing that they’ll be provided for no matter what, and that’s what counts.