For those of you who have not been buying travel insurance or you are only buying because your friend says die die must get (but you actually don't know why), these 5 reasons will illustrate why Ah Gong advocates to always buy travel insurance.
Delay/Damage/Loss of Luggage
It is not uncommon for luggage to be delayed or lost in transit. According to airline information technology company SITA, fewer than 6 bags per 1,000 passengers were mishandled in 2016. This translates to around 20 million luggages being delayed, damaged or lost. While the insurance money will not eliminate your sense of dread in the event mishandling happens, it goes a long way to making you feel better.
Travel Delay or Cancellation
You don't want to have to pay through your nose to switch to a nice hotel because your kiam siap airline operator can only offer you a dingy room.
Photo by John Middelkoop on Unsplash
Especially when you are with cranky travel companions. Trust me on this.
Loss or Damage of Personal Belongings
Singaporeans are so used to the safety of our sunny island that we carry on our ways while overseas. While losing a packet of tissue paper left on a dining table is not that painful, it can be a big heartache when it comes to other personal belongings.
Value for Money
Depending on your travel destination and coverage, cost range from mere dollars to tens of dollars per day. I will stick my neck out and assume this will just be a tiny fraction of your daily holiday expenses. It doesn't take much money to buy peace of mind.
Medical Expense
"I have not taken an MC the whole work year, where got so suay to fall sick when I am on holiday", my friend, a travel insurance sceptic once shared. Unfortunately, according to the Wall Street Journal, germs appear to lurk on planes. A study cited showed an increased risk of up to 20% for catching the cold for air travellers.
My friend did not fall sick during her trip. She fell sick a day after she is back (did you know that germs have incubation periods?). The silver lining is she listened to the rest of us and bought a travel insurance that covered her post-trip medical expenses.