As a Travel Advisor, I always recommend my clients obtain travel insurance before going on any trip, large or small. You never know what will happen, and setting up a small thing like travel insurance can save you big time, should anything happen.
I learned this in a major way during my latest trip to the French Riviera. I was there to attend a travel conference, and had the pleasure of staying in a cute little French town, just 20 mins from Cannes. It seemed sleepy enough, on a sunny Monday morning, with elderly locals slowly going about their day. My primary purpose for being there was to get footage for my YouTube channel. My videographer had suggested I do some filming around this lovely fountain, and I had put my purse down, just for a few moments, while we were filming. When I turned around to get it, it was gone. Someone had stolen it and driven off. Not only did it contain my cash, it also contained my ID, passport, phone and all credit/debit cards. Tragedy! I was now required to go to the Consulate office to get new documents issued, and this would prove a difficult task indeed.
I was informed that, at my nearest Consulate in Nice, the consular had passed, and no one had replaced him. My second nearest consulate, Monaco, did have a Consular, however she was on holiday for the next 10 days. I had to be home in 5 days. In addition, there was a looming French train strike 2 days from my theft date, and getting around France was about to become very difficult. Deciding to air on the side of caution, I went to the next nearest consulate…..Geneva. A 7 hour train ride away.
All of this equaled hefty additional expenses. I had to book last minute train tickets…and in Europe, waiting to buy a train ticket at the last minute is the worst thing you can do, since the prices rise exponentially. In order to obtain my emergency passport, I had to stay in Geneva for 48 hours. Geneva like most of Switzerland, is very expensive. The average salary is $120,000+ per year, and the average cost of living reflects that. In addition, I was supposed to fly home from Paris, and instead had to change my flight to Geneva, as I could not get back to Paris due to the strike. Another non-refundable expense. All additional expenses, including hotel stay, food, train tickets, plane ticket and passport expenses totalled around $1,500. Not exactly what I had budgeted for.
Thankfully, I had travel insurance, specifically Trip Interruption Coverage. In addition to providing coverage for extra expenses relating to medical issues arising on a trip, this coverage is meant for exactly these scenarios. It covers the non-refundable portions of your trip (i.e. airplane tickets) and covers reasonable travel and accommodation expenses until the issue is resolved (in my case, the travel documentation is replaced). Some policies also include coverage in case of a strike in the country, and then the additional cost to get you to your next destination would be covered as well. So in my case, there was coverage for the last minute train tickets, food and hotel stay until I was able to get home.
In short, having Trip Interruption coverage saved me a large amount of additional expense and provided me with peace of mind. Most travel insurance policies include Emergency Medical, Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption coverage. These 3 coverages combine to provide you with the assistance you need before and during your trip. You’ve worked hard to be able to travel, and deserve peace of mind. Don’t leave home without travel insurance!
Contact me today to discuss how travel insurance can help you!
