Travel Safely: Getaway Tips for All Seasons
There’s nothing like a few days away from home to refresh the spirit. House chores? You can’t do them so why worry about them? Icy cold temperatures? Go south — or better yet, really south — to escape the freeze. Same old landscape and routine? Wake up to a different skyline and opportunities to make new friends and explore a new culture.
Numerous studies have demonstrated that travel is good for what ails you. It reduces stress, a physical and mental phenomenon that can negatively affect your health. But travel is unpredictable and may create some problems of its own. We all look forward to taking the perfect trip, so we have some tips on how to smooth out some common travel wrinkles.
Protecting Your Investment with Travel Insurance
It may be one of the best remedies on earth, but travel doesn’t come cheap. A round-trip international ticket costs an average of $1368. Expenses will be higher if you fly at the most popular times during the year, such as the winter holiday season and during the summer. Hotel prices vary depending on how luxurious the accommodations you choose are. Certainly, you can save money by roughing it. Hostels are a cost-effective option if you don’t mind simple furnishings and, sometimes, sharing a room with others. The problem is that normally you need to pay for air and hotel services in advance of your departure. What if something goes wrong and you’re unable to take your trip as planned? What if you’re injured or fall sick while on your trip and have to come home to recuperate? That’s where travel insurance comes in.
Travel insurance is usually sold in comprehensive packages that include several types of coverage. These include:
Trip cancellation and trip interruption
Travel medical insurance
Baggage delay and loss
Some travel insurance companies allow you to cherry-pick the types of coverage you pay for, but generally speaking, comprehensive packages, as described above, are a pretty good deal. On average, a comprehensive travel insurance plan costs about between 4% and 8% of the non-refundable prepaid expenses of your trip. According to Squaremouth, plans average about $248 in total. But we’ve seen many cheaper policies out there. Your costs will vary depending on your destination, age, non-refundable trip costs, policy limits and other factors. They’ll also depend on the type of trip cancellation coverage you choose.
About Trip Cancellation Coverage
The most expensive type of trip cancellation insurance is called CFAR — ”cancel for any reason.” CAFR is just what its name implies. So long as you give your insurer sufficient notice (usually 48 hours), you can cancel your trip and be reimbursed for covered, non-refundable expenses no matter what the reason: yes, you can even cancel your trip on a whim.
Here’s one reason why travel cancellation is valuable. Refundable tickets afford travelers the flexibility to cancel or change their flight plans. Non-refundable tickets can cost up to four times less than their refundable cousins but don’t give you the freedom to cancel or change your plans without penalty. If you can save $500 by buying a non-refundable ticket, the cost of trip cancellation coverage is well worth it. If you have to cancel your trip, non-refundable tickets will be reimbursed under your travel insurance policy. You get the best of both worlds: cost savings and flexibility.
Why You Need Travel Medical Insurance
If you’re traveling internationally, the most important coverage you can buy is travel medical insurance. Many US consumers don’t realize that the health insurance coverage they pay for at home (including employer-sponsored health plans) stops working once they cross the border. Seniors take note: that’s true of Medicare as well as private health plans. The US may be one of the most expensive places on earth when it comes to healthcare, but medical care can be costly outside the US, too. So be sure you’re adequately covered when you travel abroad, whether you need to visit a doctor for cold medicine or suddenly require surgery.
If you’re traveling domestically, travel medical insurance isn’t a necessity. Rules vary if you’re traveling to one of the US territories so check with your insurer just to be safe.
Modern Problems: Protecting Yourself From Identity Theft
The average American makes two financial transactions online each day. We’ve evolved into a help-yourself culture. Many people prefer to buy airline tickets and book hotel rooms digitally now—no travel agent required. But each online transaction we make increases our risk of cybercrime.
One of the more consequential crimes we can fall victim to is identity theft. Each year, 15 million Americans do, and experts say that the risk of identity theft is greater when we’re traveling. Why? Because we carry important identification documents like passports and visas when we travel. Because we use our credit cards more often in unfamiliar places. We’re more easily distracted in unfamiliar surroundings, more apt to leave our wallets at the check-out counter, or forget to lock our doors. We sightsee in crowded places where pickpockets are lurking. The reasons go on and on.
Recovering from identity theft can be harrowing. Victims spend an average of $1000 and, perhaps even more significantly, about 300 hours repairing the damage identity theft causes. Identity theft can wreak havoc with our credit—one of its worst effects. That’s one reason why the identity theft protection market is booming.
Identity theft protection doesn’t have to be expensive. Some credit card companies include identity theft protection as a benefit to their customers. And so do some travel insurance policies. When you’re shopping around for travel protection, you may want to see if the policies you’re considering offer identity theft protection as a freebie.
Regardless of whether you opt for identity theft insurance, experts have a few simple tips for protecting yourself:
Use credit cards instead of debit cards.
Keep personally identifying documents, like your passport, close to your body or in your hotel’s safe.
Keep your eye on your phone and your laptop at all times.
Never use public wifi networks. That can be a challenge when you’re traveling so take the time to equip your laptop with a VPN. Many are available for free.
Restrict your ATM use to machines located in banks. Thieves often install devices called skimmers to steal the information contained in your debit or credit card. Indoor ATMs are more likely to be monitored for these insidious devices.
Opt for using a credit card instead of a debit card when you can. Using a debit card puts your bank account at risk. Once your debit card is compromised, a thief can drain large amounts of cash from your bank account in short order before you’re ever aware of it.
It’s All About Self-Care
Many women are so focused on meeting the needs of those around them that they neglect to take care of number one. Traveling can be a great self-care experience—relaxing and enriching at the same time. So take steps to make your trip as stress-free as possible.
For more tips on safeguarding your vacation, check out these resources:
https://www.worldpackers.com/articles/simple-travel-safety-tips
https://www.rainn.org/articles/safety-tips-traveling
Susan Doktor is a journalist, business strategist, and veteran traveler. She covers a wide range of personal finance and lifestyle topics, including credit, insurance, and cyber security. Her contribution comes to us courtesy of Money.com.
