When you’re offered travel insurance when booking a flight, do you usually skip over it to avoid the extra fee? The answer would probably depend on your sense of risk aversion. Although the probability of an accident or mishap on a plane or cruise ship are low, travel insurance can be a good option for overseas trips and large family vacations. But it may not be such a great option on straightforward, domestic trips. Here are things to consider in the choice between buying travel insurance or forgoing it.

What it is?

Travel insurance can cover losses or expenses incurred due to:  

• Trip cancellation

• Trip delay

• Trip interruption

• Accidental death or injuries

• Medical and dental care

• Transportation to medical facilities

• Loss of luggage or personal items

Assess Your Risk

Are you the type to cancel at the last minute? Are you traveling with a large family overseas? These are important questions to ask yourself because travel insurance can save you money if you need to cancel at the last minute (for valid reasons or personal reasons at an extra charge) or if you need medical attention. If you’re traveling in a foreign country, for example, your own medical insurance most likely won’t provide you with coverage but travel insurance can cover your expenses. However, the need for travel insurance can lessen based on where and with whom you are traveling.

Check Existing Coverage

• Many credit cards offer automatic, yet limited, travel insurance when using their credit cards to make travel purchases. It is important to read the fine print and see what your credit card offers to avoid paying again for the same service. Discover card’s free program only offers generous accidental death insurance for the cardmember and his/her family members. American Express’s travel protection program works more or less like a traditional policy and includes program fees. Credit cards are usually very good about rental car insurance.

• Check your life insurance policy and homeowners insurance. Your life insurance policy will most likely have you and your family covered even while traveling. Homeowners insurance may cover losses of personal possessions that occur away from your home. If these two insurance policies have you thoroughly covered, then travel insurance would be redundant.

How to Buy

If you decide to buy coverage, there are many ways to shop around for an insurance policy. You can either buy insurance as you purchase your tickets directly from the airline or website search engine like Expedia or go through an independent broker. Squaremouth.com is a search engine that can help you compare travel insurance rates. Quotes are based on factors such as distance traveled, destination and age of passenger. A quick check on the site for insurance for a 10-day trip from Los Angeles to London turned a range of quotes between $35-$250.