Many vacationers brush off travelers insurance. Traveling is expensive enough, they say. So why add to the cost? Yet, this line of reasoning is short sighted. Travel insurance saves you money. If something goes wrong during your vacation, you will need travel insurance to help foot the bill– especially if you plan on vacationing abroad. Here are five reasons why opting to carry travel insurance is a good idea.

  1. It helps you out if you get into an accident

If you plan on scuba diving, riding a horse, jet skiing or riding a motorcycle during your vacation, you should buy travel insurance direct that comes with some kind of extra coverage that will kick in and help get you home if you get into an accident. Just make sure that your travel insurance plan covers the activity you’ll be doing while you are away. If you don’t see your activity listed on your travel insurance plan, you may need to get a rider or switch to a different kind of travel insurance direct plan.

  1. Travel insurance covers emergency flights and ambulance trips

Nobody wants to end up stranded and broke in a foreign country. Travel insurance direct could be your ticket home if something horrible happens to you while you’re away. Many Nigerian health insurance plans will only cover you while you’re in Nigeria. If you go to a different country, you’ll need to buy travel insurance or add a rider to your existing health care coverage.

  1. It’ll reimburse you if you need to cancel your vacation

The main reason people buy travel insurance is to protect against a possible need to reschedule. If you have travel insurance and something comes up that forces you to cancel or reschedule your vacation, you’ll be able to file a claim and get a reimbursement. Otherwise, if you need to cancel you will have to eat the cost of your airplane tickets and hotel reservations. Most travel insurance plans will only reimburse you if you have a really good reason to cancel your vacation. Typical vacation cancellation scenarios covered by travel insurance include sickness, bad weather, strikes and plane failure.

  1. Lost or stolen baggage

Vacationing involves travel, and traveling involves waiting around. That’s why most people like to carry valuable computers with them on vacation. But if you don’t get vacation travel insurance and your luggage gets lost, you will way to replace your valuable belongings unless you have travel insurance. Some travel insurance plans even issue payouts for delayed baggage. Delayed baggage coverage allows you to purchase clothes and other essentials while you wait for your belongings to arrive.

  1. Assistance in English available 24/7

If you plan on traveling to a country where English isn’t spoken, you can use your travel insurance company’s assistance hotline to get help and directions. Even if you have a cell phone with GPS capability, having a hotline you can call to get help in sticky situations can make a big difference.