Seeing new places, trying new foods, visiting iconic landmarks, switching off on a beautiful beach or taking part in the thrill of extreme sports or outdoor adventures are just some of the reasons we all love to travel. In the excitement of booking a trip, travel insurance can often be forgotten, but without it your dream trip could very quickly become a nightmare and for that reason it should be forefront in our minds. Globelink Travel Insurance are an independent UK company that offer a full range of insurance policies, that are tailored to suit you as an individual depending on your unique circumstances, and they have helped me re-evaluate what should be in my policy for this year. 

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Globelink Travel Insurance, but as always all opinions and experiences are my own.

Travel insurance goes beyond just any medical care that you might need in an emergency, and covers so much more that you might not even realize you need until a situation is suddenly there, staring you in the face and being a real inconvenience. There’s been a fair few situations recently that only confirm this point even further.

Thomas Cook, one of the oldest travel companies in the UK suddenly went bust last year and so many were affected by cancelled holidays and the prospect of losing money. I know plenty of people this affected, and not everyone got all their money back. At very least they spent a lot of time ringing around and chasing what options they have, not to mention being out of pocket for a while. 

Then there’s the bushfires in Australia, with health and safety a real risk in vast areas, you never know when natural disasters, security issues, or health risk problems may arise. The need to be evacuated or moved from a situation suddenly could come out of nowhere.

Take the outbreak of Coronavirus as another example, this has had severe implications for worldwide travel, and the health of many. Airlines have cancelled flights in and out of China with immediate effect, and just this week I saw there’s been an outbreak on a cruise liner with passengers now in quarantine for two weeks. 

While these examples are the extreme cases of what can go wrong, they’re all valid and affecting people like you and me. These don’t even cover some of the smaller issues.

Getting sick or having an accident or injury abroad that could potentially cost you thousands in care and treatment, can be prevented with a secure travel insurance policy. How many of us have the sort of money lying around to be able to pay of huge medical bills up front? I certainly don’t!

Sports and adventure holidays are becoming increasingly popular, and with them come the risks of injuries, both minor and more severe.

To give a personal experience, I sometimes suffer with allergic reactions, and the worst thing for me is I don’t know what it is that causes them. When you’re eating foods from different cultures that you’re not used to, it’s impossible to always know exactly how your body might react. 

These days I have my own medication for it, but years ago one of the worst reactions I had was in America, which we know is notorious for high medical bills. The worry of having to cover the costs of treatment just isn’t one you want to have when something that’s actually really scary is already happening to you. Thankfully I knew I was fully covered and it took away that stress in the moment.

Moving on from sickness and injuries, your personal belongings bring a whole new area to consider. My cameras and phone are some of the most precious possessions I own, and while many love to switch off part of the experience of somewhere for me is taking photos of it. It’s a hobby, but I’ve always been like that long before social media and Instagram gave us a place to share them. 

I’ve taken photos for years, and one of the reasons was always to look back on amazing times and memories, and remember the details I’d have long since forgotten with people I no longer see everyday. There’s more to my hobby than just Instagram. If I lost my camera, or my phone on any trip I would be devastated. None of my equipment is cheap, and I’d struggle to replace any of it quickly without a real affect on my savings. Appropriate cover can see these items being replaced quickly, at no cost to yourself.

But it’s not just equipment – clothing, bags, shoes, a bag full of make up?! These very quickly add up and the value of what’s in some of my luggage for personal trips would just way too much to lose, and to replace. The fear of losing my luggage is not worth thinking about, but this would be made ten times worse if there was no hope of getting any of it back.

Some of the bigger scenarios I’ve mentioned here obviously don’t happen often, but flight cancellations, lost or broken possessions, injuries and lost luggage happen all the time. Is it really worth the risk? I certainly don’t think so.

A secure travel insurance policy, tailored specifically to cover your own circumstances can cover you for all of these things. It’s one of those admin tasks that people love to think about later, but it really does pay to be covered from the moment you book a trip, if not before. Investing so much time, money and care into where you choose to go, isn’t worth the risk of losing it all if something goes wrong. 

It’s also significantly more affordable than what you could be expected to pay in the event of one of these issues. There are so many policies out there that cover a whole range of eventualities, put the effort into finding one that suits you, including the fine print. 

With every trip we take and everywhere we go comes various levels of risk, and although it may be viewed as the boring practical side of planning travel, it’s the most important. Globelink cover every type of trip, have single or multi trip policies, also cover car hire excess, and are available 24 hours for emergency assistance in multiple languages.

As my policy is almost due to expire, this year I’m not just going to automatically renew. I’ve done that the past few years and I think it’s time I take my own advice, as well as everything I’ve learned from Globelink and look over it in more detail. I’m going to make sure I take the time to make sure all my details are up to date, and cover everything that might apply to me. 

Don’t be one of those people that thinks problems won’t happen to you, they easily could but having the correct cover is going to save so much potential hassle that nobody wants on their holiday.

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Globelink Travel Insurance, but as always all opinions and experiences are my own.