A lot of money is being invested today in traveling; cruise lines, resort package deals, and air travel can easily run into thousands of dollars and if you have invested some of that money on a trip and can risk losing it all. It is surprising therefore how so many people still refuse to take out travel insurance as they feel it is unnecessary.

If you think about all the possible things that can happen to either stop you from traveling or from having a pleasant vacation, the small financial outlay, usually less than ten percent of the vacation cost, it is well worth it to have some peace of mind. You could fall ill just before you are due to travel, or someone in your family but this could just as easily happen when you are on vacation, but whatever the situation you will be out of pocket.

Other situations that can occur are when you cannot actually keep your reservation and of course the entire amount you have paid on the vacation will be lost. However, most travel insurance policies will take this situation and many others like emergency medical help, including airlifts, missing luggage, airline delays plus others into account and cover the costs incurred.

The number of people that forfeit their vacation deposit each year is astonishing and they could all claim it back if they had travel insurance. Any good travel insurance plan should ensure you are covered for vacation and trip cancellation in which case any money that has been paid towards the trip can be claimed back.

This type of cover also allows for the vacation being interrupted for any reason and will refund the traveler for payments he has made towards the trip. Unfortunately, terrorism seem to be something we have to live with and many travel insurance companies are coming to terms with this but they are not all the same in this regard so you must look for one that will cover for both domestic and foreign incidents.

The biggest determining factor as to the cost of travel insurance will be the age of the person(s) on the policy. If the airline, cruise line or tour operations file for bankruptcy then almost all travel insurance policies include financial default coverage if the program is purchased within 15 days of making the initial trip deposit.

Credit cards, auto insurance and often home owner’s insurance plans may cover aspects of your travel so a comprehensive travel insurance plan may not be required. Duplications in insurance coverage will merely mean you are paying for something twice so it is worth your while checking other policies before you finally commit.

Always check the small print on any documentation before you sign, especially the section on exemptions or exclusions as you may believe you are covered for something when you read about it but are not in fact.