One of the absolute essentials when travelling overseas is insurance. Regardless of how much time you will be spending away – whether it is weeks, months or years – and regardless of what country you’re visiting, you absolutely-most-definitely-100% need travel insurance.

Travel insurance is so important that some countries won’t even allow visitors to enter their borders without the correct coverage – here’s looking at you, Canada!

So here is some important information and reasons why you should purchase travel insurance before your next adventure away:

The right coverage.

Firstly, be aware that there is all different levels and types of travel insurance coverage. So depending on the type of activities you will be doing and your travel destination, it is always worth looking at a few different levels and types of cover.

For example, ski holidays, adventure sports and holidays in remote areas often require higher levels of insurance due to the fact that they can be notoriously dangerous.

Medical costs.

In some countries medical costs are hugely expensive! We have all heard of the horror stories about people travelling to the United States and having to deal with the American medical system. Be careful, because you could wind up having to pay thousands of dollars for something that could have easily been covered by basic travel insurance.

24 Hour Assistance.

Life happens and horrible things occur that are completely unexpected and out of our control. You could be walking down the street and get hit by a car, you could be involved in a bus accident, you could fall down a flight of stairs, or your bag could be snatched from your hands in broad daylight.

Bad things happen everywhere – even in the safest of places – which is why it is important to be covered.

Common issues.

One such example of the above point, which is so incredibly common, is transit issues – i.e. delayed flights, missed connecting flights, lost or stolen baggage and booking cancellations.

Mother Nature often doesn’t care for our plans – and storms, ice, floods, heat waves, and earthquakes can occur all over the world at any given time interrupting all of our plans.

Sometimes you are the liability.

Let’s face it, we make mistakes and accidents can happen. Nobody really intends to crash their rental car, or maliciously damages someone else’s personal property. Sometimes we can be the liability and travel insurance is a great way of saving us from ourselves!

Repatriation.

The worst scenario that can ever happen is that you die. If you die while overseas and are covered for repatriation, your family is saved a lot of cost and hassle.

Yes, we know this is a pretty morbid point, but it needs to be said, since none of us would want our death to burden our family any more than it already will emotionally. Imagine your family having to organize and pay to bring your remains home – would they even know where to begin with that process? And would they be able to afford it? With the right travel insurance, this process is organized and paid by your insurance so your family will never have to worry.

Travel insurance is vital and it is very important that you do your research before leaving overseas to ensure you have the right level of cover for the type of trip you are taking. Each holiday and international destination will require something different from your insurer so always take the time to talk with them about your plans.