Travelling widens your horizons greatly and provides one with unconventional wisdom. However, travelling can also be full of uncertainties and health risks. Imagine what happens when you meet with a freak mishap or an accident. Even if you have taken weeks if not months to prepare your travel plan, exigencies and accidents don’t come knocking. They may happen at any point of time and it is best to be prepared.

Why do you need travel insurance?

From the moment that you leave home, right up to the point you get back, you will remain protected thanks to travel insurance. Depending on your cover, you may even be protected before the holiday. And with a number of airlines going bust in recent years as a result of the recession, travel insurance will ensure you are covered in the case of your airline going bust.

Besides the conventional reasons of accidents, mishaps, illnesses etc, you will need travel insurance in case your conventional form of insurance does not work. In fact, although your medical and health insurance company may claim that you are covered in every way, you should read the fine print carefully. If you are stranded in a country in a bad condition, the last thing you need is to fork out additional costs for medical treatment.

Not only will you be covered for injuries, diseases, or illnesses whilst on holiday, travel insurance will protect your property against theft or damage in case you are travelling with luggage that is important or expensive. And with the average Brit taking over £1,000 worth of goods when going abroad, travel insurance is vital.

If you are travelling on the purpose of business, travel insurance can protect you from the loss you may incur as a result of transport that is late. For instance the losses you incur for not being able to make it to a venue in time owing to planes that are late. Even in cases of accidents, travel insurance can pay for the various costs incurred, such as hospitalization, transport or alternate accommodation.

Think about global terrorism and attacks that may take place, at venues which seem unlikely. Though there is plenty of security today, there is always the risk of bad weather and natural disasters specific to a location.

The additional covers that you may need

For additional prices, you can avail of cover for few more situations, namely:

- pre existing medical conditions

- unconventional sports that have risks involved such as skiing or paragliding

- Travel to high risk countries such as terrorist nations or nations prone to natural calamities.

Travel insurance is your boarding pass to safety that will keep you and your family safe. So whether you are going out on vacation or on business, make sure that you have a competent travel insurance policy.