I’ve been traveling for a long time now. And over the last five years of basically non-stop adventures, there’s a common denominator between all trips I’ve taken. And that’s travel insurance. No matter where I’m going or how long I’m going for, I always purchase travel insurance. It’s a necessity for all travelers, but especially solo female travelers. It helps give you the peace of mind that you’re covered if things go wrong. Which is why I’ve teamed up with Post Office to give you an insight into why travel insurance is always a good idea.
There are a number of reasons why you could skip over purchasing the travel insurance. You may be thinking, “I’m only going to be gone for a few days,” or “I don’t ever carry anything valuable with me,” or, “I’m probably not going to even need it in the end.” But, even if you don’t end up using it, I always suggest purchasing it ahead of a trip. It’s an extra step and cost that takes the stress out of traveling. Because you never know what may happen while you’re out exploring the world. Let’s face it, things go wrong from time to time, so don’t you think it’s best to be prepared?
Why Travel Insurance Is Always A Good Idea
I’ve had several situations where having travel insurance saved me a ton of money. When I lived in Thailand, I had two instances that would have cost me a fortune had I not sprung for travel insurance. But, if I had done further research on travel insurance beforehand, I probably could have saved more.
Why Travel Insurance Can Help With An Emergency Surgery
It was New Year’s Eve and I started getting a searing pain in my mouth. The pain lasted for the next four days while I was in Bangkok on holiday. The flight back to the town I lived in was absolutely miserable and upon returning and going to the doctor, I found out that I had a severe infection around one of my wisdom teeth. Because of this, I needed to get my tooth removed, fast. But first, I had to clear up the infection and get x-rays to see where the tooth was. So those were the first two doctors visits I took.
After that, it was time to find an oral surgeon in the small province I lived in. If I had been in Chiang Mar or Bangkok, this probably would have been way easier. But, instead, I was in Phrae, which isn’t that large. So, my supervisor accompanied me to several doctors before we ended up at an orthodontist who was willing to remove the tooth.
I remember being in excruciating pain during this whole experience. The orthodontist simply numbed the area with Novocain, and then told me to go sit in the waiting room while she finished up with another patient. By the time I got back in there, the Novocain had worn off, but she still went for it. I remember freaking out and her pulling my tooth out and then handing it to me.
Despite the traumatic experience, I ended up only having to pay about $15 dollars for everything: the antibiotics, x-rays, and having my tooth pulled. I recently got my other three teeth out while at home in America and it cost me nearly $500 USD.
Why Travel Insurance Can Help When You Have To Cancel Part Of Your Trip
Several months later I set off on my backpacking trip around Southeast Asia. It was the first time I had ever gone backpacking and I overpacked…. A lot. My backpack was entirely too big for me in the first place, and yet I continued to jam everything in there. And I ended up slipping a disc in my back. And after visiting a chiropractor in Vietnam for a week, I decided that I needed to cancel the rest of my trip because I was in way too much pain to carry on.
While my travel insurance covered my medical bills, I, unfortunately, didn’t read the policy ahead of time so I wasn’t able to get the money back from the several flights I had already booked for the remainder of my trip. I also ended up having to buy a flight home out of pocket. After speaking with a representative from the insurance company, I was told that if I had upgraded my plan for just $20 USD, I would have gotten all of the money spent on flights reimbursed by the insurance company. So because I didn’t check things ahead of time and I was uneducated on my policy, I ended up losing thousands of dollars.
Why Travel Insurance Is A Good Idea For Solo Female Travelers
Every year there are 13 million women from the UK flying off on a solo adventure. They’re going for all sorts of reasons, but most of them just want to find a little independence and explore the world on their own. And a lot of those women said that safety was their main concern when venturing off alone. And that’s why Post Office Insurance is sharing their top travel tips for staying safe while traveling solo.
How To Stay Safe While Traveling Solo
The most important thing to remember when traveling solo is just to be aware of your surroundings at all times. But, aside from that, there are some things you can do to ensure your solo adventure is the best holiday you’ve ever gone on.
Make sure you carry your vital documents at all times. I think it’s important to keep digital copies of everything: insurance policies, passports, IDs, Visas, etc.
Check in with people back home. This is as simple as telling a family member when you’re boarding your plane or when you’ve landed. Make sure you share your itinerary with someone so your location is known by at least one other person that you trust.
Update your emergency contacts and carry embassy numbers. If you feel unsafe while traveling solo, a good way to avoid that is by storing emergency contacts and embassy numbers in your phone. They’re really easy to find — just go on the embassy website ahead of time!
Before you go, sign up for travel alerts for the countries you’re visiting. And while you’re at it, register your trip details on your embassy’s website. This is great in case god forbid something happens, someone will be alerted.
Avoid my travel mishaps by purchasing travel insurance from Post Office Insurance!
This post was sponsored by Post Office, but as always, all opinions are my own.
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