Don’t Travel Unprotected: Get Travel Insurance for Winter Holidays
Have you booked your winter holiday yet? Did you remember to get your travel insurance for your trip?
If you are like many Canadians, you are planning to take a trip south to get away from the cold and soak up some sun in the New Year. According to the Conference Board of Canada’s recently released travel report, “45% of Canadians surveyed in the October 2014 winter travel intentions survey intend to take a winter vacation trip outside the country compared with 43.3% in the October 2013 survey.” This is an increase of about 2.5% from the previous year.
The report also revealed the preferred destination for Canadians. It’s no surprise to see Caribbean and Mexico being the most popular, with Mexico being the top non-US travel destination for Canadians. It’s estimated that about 10% of Canadian winter travellers will visit Mexico between November and April.
As part of your trip planning, it is imperative you get travel insurance coverage, even if you are travelling in the United States or only planning to be out of the country for a few days. Where you travel and the duration of your trip should not impact your decision to get travel insurance.
Great Examples Why You Should Get Travel Insurance
The Government of Canada provided two great examples of why you need to get travel insurance. Here are two real life stories of what happened to travellers who did not have travel insurance:
EXAMPLE 1
“During a short vacation on a Caribbean island, a Canadian developed a severe form of pneumonia and had to be admitted to hospital. His health deteriorated, and he was transferred to intensive care and placed on a breathing machine for more than a month. Without insurance, he had to make arrangements with the hospital to pay a bill that amounted to more than $20,000.”
EXAMPLE 2
“Young travellers may think they don’t need insurance because they’re young and healthy. But accidents do happen. While walking along a beach on a Caribbean island, a Canadian tourist in her early 20s had an accident that seriously damaged her spine. Her family had to raise funds to pay for her medical evacuation.”
These examples highlight the importance of getting travel insurance for winter holidays. In addition to unpredictable weather conditions and travel delays, there is no shortage of other situations where travel insurance is beneficial.
It’s advisable to get comprehensive travel insurance coverage, providing you with complete coverage for your trip, which includes health care coverage, hospitalization, trip interruption, and emergency evacuation coverage. You never know when something unexpected could happen when you are travelling abroad, and a reliable travel insurance plan could be your saving grace.
Are you planning on heading south this winter? Where are you planning on travelling? Have you booked your trip? Do you plan on getting travel insurance?