Money to travel – don’t forget the travel insurance
November 11th, 2009 | 
Author: Travel insurance is not the most inspiring thing, at least not to me. It won’t get me anywhere, I will probably, or should I say, hopefully, not use it and it will cost me a lot. Still it’s definitely not something I want to go without.
We have always been well protected when we have gone on any kind of journey. And we’re very happy for the fact that we’ve never had to bother any insurance company with anything when we’ve been away (I’m sure they are too
). There is this one exception though, a long time ago when our family consisted of only me and Maria and Viktoria was only soon to be. Maria and I had for the last couple of years been flying down to the Alps for a week or two to do some skiing. This year though we decided to drive and at the same time take the opportunity to visit some friends on the way. But only a few days after arriving at the ski resort Maria had some complications with her pregnancy. Maybe because of too much activity (the fact that she was 5 month pregnant didn’t hold her back from skiing both downhill and cross country and go swimming – on the same day, hmm) or the altitude, and was hospitalized for a week before being flown back home to Sweden. Everything was taken care of and arranged and also of course paid for by the insurance which was a great relief. I just don’t want to think about how much it would have cost us if we hadn’t been protected!
Sweden has, and I am rather grateful for that, a publicly paid health care system. It has for us personally permitted a lot of freedom. We haven’t been forced to hold a steady job or to pay a lot of money out of our own pockets in order to get the benefits of healthcare. And since Sweden is a member of the EU we can travel throughout Europe and still receive health care protection. On top of that, there is usually a 45 day travel insurance included in your home insurance policy. This obviously covers most travel insurance needs for most Swedes. When we’re going on an extended journey and outside of the EU we can buy an extension of the travel insurance we already have.
I am well aware of the fact that the health care system can look very different in other countries. Therefore it is very difficult to give any general directions for what is best to do and I have no intention of even trying.
All I want is to make it clear that you include the cost of travel insurance in your travel budget. You don’t want to find yourself in a place a long way from home needing medical assistances and not having the funds for it. Whether or not you should seek medical advice should not be a financial decision. It’s much better then to include the cost for travel insurance upfront and if you don’t need it then the better.
For a calculation of how much your travel insurance may cost you this little tool from World Nomands Insurance is a great way to start. World Nomads is the recommended choice for travel insurance both by Lonely Planet and Rough Guides and who are we to recommend anything else
?
Travel Safely!
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=8f05ca31-06dc-4742-b686-a5b56151e3e7)
Posted in Travel and Money | 
Tags: Health care, Insurance, Money, Money to travel, Travel, Travel insurance
ha, ha, what a realistic post:-)
Of course you are right about the insurance. In fact, we really have some of those photos posted above:-(
I don’t know if I can show photos here, let’s try:
http://www.5reicherts.com/skan-04/18-8-schrauben.jpg
Those are souvenirs that you can bring home for free if you have the insurance:-) (the screws in my leg I mean)
Well, people told me that breaking a leg can happen when you go hiking in Norway. As a matter of fact, some friends of ours broke legs in the same year, but at home!
I wish you all injury free travelling
Gabi & gang
Good point! It is definitely advisable to have a good health care protection when at home as well.
I am glad they could fix your leg with some screws :smile:
Good post. Travel insurance should be on your travel checklist before you leave. To know that your well insured is not only a safe idea for yourself. Also for your relatives and friends who stay home.
Thank you for pointing that out Arno. If not for your own sake get it as a protection for those back home. You don’t want to put them in a tough place just because you want to save some money.
Well Sweden has a good social security net and although its taxes are among the highest in the world, its government looks well after its people as I heard.
Well they say there only two things certain in this world death and …, you guessed it :razz:
That picture made me say ‘ouch’ out loud! Travel insurance is over looked even though it is a tiny expense which some people still think they can get away with not paying. Yes you ‘hopefully’ won’t need it but if a time comes when you do and you don’t have it, you’re entering a world of financial pain.