10 Excuses for Not Buying Travel Insurance

Here are 10 of the best excuses I've heard for not buying travel insurance:

 1. I'm flying in a day early.  Flights get cancelled; delays can last for days. Arriving a day early is always a good idea, especially during the winter. However, last winter there were thousands of airline cancelations because of the nasty weather that covered a good part of the country.

 2. I'm healthy.  Travel insurance covers not just you, but... your traveling companion, children, spouse, parents. (If have to fly home for covered reason.)

 3. My job is stable.  Having insurance would cover you in the event of losing your job and all expenses around your vacation would be covered.

 4. It's too expensive.  The reasoning that someone will spend $800 on a cruise and not invest $50-$75 on a travel insurance policy to cover the cruise and travel expenses is not practical thinking. If you don't purchase insurance, make sure you have available funds to get home in the event of an emergency.

 5. My bags will make it.  Bags get lost more often then you realize. 26 million bags go missing every year. That's 3,000 bags per hour, every day, all year long.

 6. The ship can outrun a hurricane.  Ships can cancel a cruise or cut the days short.  Once a storm is named (made public), no coverage can be added.  Altered itineraries can affect events, excursions, etc..

 7. It's a waste of money.  Out of 800 U.S. travelers surveyed, 19% had claims in the last 24 months. For an investment as low as 4% of your trip, it pays to be covered.

 8. I never get sick.  "Sick" happens... 63% of travelers or traveling companions got sick before and during vacation.

 9. Okay, maybe I'll get sick but I already have health insurance.  Most medical insurance policies or Medicare cannot be used internationally.

 10. My credit card will cover it.  Trip cancellation/interruption is very limited. Typically you are only reimbursed for death, injury or illness of insured or family member. Plus, it doesn't cover medivac, which is very costly.