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Why take Travel Insurance if you are on holiday abroad?

When you travel abroad, there are many risks you are exposed to which are both unknown and generally different from those you would experience if you were at home. If you are on holiday or a business trip, the last thing you want to be doing is worrying about paying for medical bills or replacement costs of the valuables you have with you.

You may have a car accident, injure yourself on the slopes while skiing, or simply lose a valuable such as a camera. All of these cause you at the very least inconvienience and the worst great pain, and you should be covered fully so someone else can worry about organising things for you and paying the bills. In the case of medical problems, these can be extremely expensive - many thousands of dollars - nad it's not worth taking the risk of travelling without insurance to help you in this case.

Take an example from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for example, who handle many cases of problems overseas for Australian citizens; these involve hospitalisation of the people concerned:

"In Bangkok a man was hit by a car while riding a motorcycle. He sustained a badly fractured leg and was admitted to the nearest local hospital. His wife was with him. He did not have any travel insurance, and so had no choice as to hospital or treatment. The hospital did not have the expertise to do anything for him except clean the wound. After 3 weeks his wife asked the Embassy for assistance as parts of the shin bone had died and the fractured ends were not healing. The Embassy assisted in having the man medically evacuated to Australia for admission to hospital, at very considerable expense to his family."

"A young man who worked in a US ski resort for four months, then took time off to travel around the US. He permitted his 12-month travel insurance policy to expire just a few days before his departure for home. He was hit by a car while crossing a road and suffered serious head injuries. He was admitted unconscious to intensive care and required highly intensive sophisticated care until he was able to be flown back to Australia. He was still unconscious and returned on a stretcher. The cost to the family for the medical evacuation alone was $80,000. They have taken out a second mortgage on their house to raise the funds."

That's why the Australian DFAT recommends "if you can't afford travel insurance, you can't afford to travel". It's sage advice and something to bear in mind when planning your trip. A (relatively) happier tale, thanks to the individuals having travel insurance:

"In Bali, 5 Australians were injured in a mini-van accident. Consular assistance was limited to support and routine contact with next-of-kin (NOK), as all the Australians involved had travel insurance. The travel insurance company paid their hospital bills and arranged their medical evacuation to Australia."

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