The importance of travel insurance in 3 short stories
How many overseas trips do you do a year? For me, that
number is as many as I can squeeze in. I’m an avid traveller, you see: solo travelling, travelling with friends
& family, backpacking to the least densely populated countries in the
world. If you can name it, I've most probably done it.
Solo
backpacking trip, en route to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
In my travels, I like to explore and fully immerse myself in
the culture of a place. I throw myself into all kinds of new and exciting
activities to enrich my travel experience. This is why I find one of the most
important and under-rated tool for any trip is a travel insurance policy.
Travel insurance generally provides coverage in these areas: personal accident,
medical cover, travel inconvenience, personal liability, lifestyle cover and
other additional benefits included by individual companies. Of course, Covid-19
coverage has also become an essential part of the cover in the aftermath of the
pandemic.
Allow me then to share three travel stories which could have
resulted in very drastically different outcomes for the travellers were it not
for travel insurance, as well as some useful pro tips!
Story 1: Treat or trick!
It was a scorching hot day in April, and after exploring
much of the Vietnamese town of Ninh Binh, four friends decided to get ice cream
to cool themselves down. As they had covered much of the old town, they decided
to extend the nostalgic theme and chose ice cream that resembled their
childhood favourite, PaddlePop. Unlike the actual PaddlePop, however, this
locally-made icy treat was not manufactured with the same hygiene standards,
and it became a nightmare for the travellers who all fell like dominoes after eating it,
succumbing to food poisoning. Due to the severity of his symptoms, one of them
even checked in to a local hospital for treatment! Their trip ended with them
all too weak to even walk in the airport and they had to rely on airport buggy
services to move around. Upon arriving back in Singapore, they all sought
treatment from their respective family doctors who dispensed medication and
medical certificates. What would have been an enjoyable 10-day trip became an
unforgettable 5 days of being sick overseas and 5 days spent recuperating back
at home!
Their travel insurance policies allowed them to be
reimbursed for medical expenses incurred during and after the trip.
Pro-tip: If you need
to visit the doctor in Singapore for illnesses contracted during your trip,
please do so within 48 hours* after you land to ensure that your medical bills
can be reimbursed.
*Some insurers
indicate 72 hours, please do check your policy wordings.
Story 2: Honeymoon no more.
The long-awaited honeymoon was finally happening after a
year of planning for their wedding. It was to be a 20-day extravaganza across
Scandinavia, the couple’s first trip out of the country as husband and wife.
The year was 2020. You know what happened next. The pandemic halted travel
plans for almost everyone and this couple was not spared. The trip they had
planned for so long, became postponed indefinitely. To make matters worse, the
Airbnb apartments they had booked would only allow partial refunds. In
desperation, they turned to their servicing agent for help. Thankfully, as they
were advised to purchase their travel insurance as soon as they had booked
their air tickets, the couple were thus able to recoup all the non-refundable
payments for their Airbnb bookings! The newlyweds enjoyed life together for the
next 2 years, in Singapore, patiently waiting to depart for their honeymoon
(Latest update: the couple have since left on their honeymoon!).
Pro tip: You can
purchase your travel insurance up to 90 days before the start of trip. Do
not procrastinate until the last minute. Protect your advanced bookings by
purchasing travel insurance early.
Story 3: 5-4-3-2- HAPPY NEW ... VARIANT!
Taj
Mahal, India, a few days before testing positive for Covid-19
Borders were opening; leisure travelling was starting. It
had been 22 months since she last travelled, the longest she had stayed in the
country. Finally, she could wait no more, and booked a ticket to India, a
destination on her bucket list. The 2-week trip proceeded rather uneventfully
until that fateful morning when she was due to take her pre-departure PCR test.
She woke up with a scratchy throat and blocked nose, but dismissed it as a
symptom of dehydration and late nights following the New Year countdown parties
over the previous two evenings. Little did she know - this was the start of
something more. She went to the locally-approved medical institution to do her
PCR test, at the same time she also requested for an Antigen test (ART) to be
done. What started as a sore throat turned out to be 2 bold lines staring back
at her. The next few hours went in a flurry. There she was, being shuttled
between 3 hospitals, and after many confusing conversations later, she was
admitted to a local Covid centre – a private hospital that was used to house
Covid-19 patients. She couldn’t recall much that day, except for the call she
made to the overseas emergency hotline sent to her when she purchased her
travel insurance. The operator on the other side of the line reassured her that
she was covered against all potential bills that would be borne during her
confinement in the hospital. This gave her the peace of mind to recuperate and
patiently wait for her PCR results to show negative in the 15 days that
followed. There was a lucky twist to this story - her bills were taken care of
by the Indian government in the end! She was very grateful for the hospitality
and care given during the entire period of hospitalisation.
She is me. Never have I felt more reassured than the day that
I heard the operator say, “Don’t worry, your hospital bills will be covered”.
Pro-tip: When met
with a medical emergency overseas, you can call the hotline for assistance.
These operate 24/7, and should you lose the number, your servicing agent should
be able to help you out.
These stories are just some of the experiences that happened
to me and my clients. Most of us travel to enjoy ourselves, to expand our
horizons. We certainly do not expect mishaps. With travel insurance, there is
assurance that we would be adequately protected should anything untoward befall
us.
Written by:
“Let your money work harder for you now so that you don’t
have to work so hard for your money in the future.”