Needing insurance is like needing a parachute – if it isn’t there the first time, chances are you won’t be needing it again. – Confucius.

Stop us when this starts sounding familiar: you have worked all year round saving for that wonderful Kenyan vacation that you so deserve. You are going to the Maasai Mara…you tell your friends. You are going to go at the end of June so you can catch the Great Wildebeest Migration. It is, after all, one of the 7 New Wonders of the World.

Maybe after that, you will even head down to Lamu! You hear there is a Fort down there that you simply must see…and the islands…oh the islands are just heavenly. You simply cannot wait.

So you work, you plan and you book everything in advance. Now all you have to do is pass the time as you dream about that white sandy beach underneath that gorgeous Kenyan sun. You picture yourself lying on a hammock while being served glasses of colourful drinks with little umbrellas in them. Then it occurs to you, what if:

• Your flight on the day gets cancelled?
• You lose your luggage at the airport? It won’t be the first time you and your suitcases end up on different continents!
• You fall ill when on Safari?
• You need to be airlifted out?
• Your Visa gets cancelled?
• You lose your travel documents or heaven’s forbid…your precious phone?

These are all things that could, unfortunately, go wrong when you travel. They have happened in the past and they could always happen again. What is one to do? You wonder!

Get travel insurance!

 

Although to many, Travel Insurance might sound like yet another unnecessary expense, to those who have ever had the misfortune of losing their luggage or falling sick in a foreign country will tell you that it can be a real money saver…if not a life saver.

At Travelstart, we have one of the most comprehensive travel insurance policies known to man! However, before we even think about telling you about it or asking you to look at what we offer, you need to know why we offer it at all in the first place! We are travel experts with extensive experience in both local and international travel. Meaning…we know how good things can be and we also know how wrong they can go!

Reasons why you definitely should get travel insurance

Travel insurance…well, good travel insurance, is akin to having a highly trustworthy and resourceful friend looking after your interests wherever you go. You know, that friend who will always come to your rescue every time you call? Yeah…that one!

Here are some excellent reasons why you should always get travel insurance when out gallivanting with the best of them:

You will be covered should you get injured or sick on your trip

Have you been thinking of trekking through Peru and going up the ancient and breathtaking Inca city of Machu Picchu? What about taking a balloon ride over bits of the Sahara? Maybe take a boat ride out to Central Island on Lake Turkana in Kenya? All these things sound and are exciting but they are also fraught with potential danger. You could:

• Get injured
• Get sick from the water
• Get heat stroke
• Drink too much beer/whisky or vodka

In short, instead of having a beautiful day out exploring this wonderful world, you wake up with a splitting headache or a severe stomach pain and suddenly you have to get emergency medical care. What do you do then?

With the right kind of travel insurance, you will have all the emergency medical care you need at your disposal and in your language! You won’t have to pay for it through your nose either!

You will have emergency medical evacuation

This is one of the most important aspects or options to have on your travel insurance especially if you are the daredevil kind who insists on living on the wild side. Should you get stranded up Mt. Kenya with altitude sickness, you will need immediate airlifting to a medical facility. If you do not have emergency medical evacuation this kind of assistance will almost be impossible to come by or would cost way too much to be a viable option.

What if your travel agent files for bankruptcy?

We do not like to think about, maybe because it doesn’t happen all that often but travel agents could very well high tail it with your money. Think about it: one of the best ways to get the best rates on your safaris is to book and pay your packages well in advance. Say you pay for a 6 day, 7 nights Amboseli tour package in January that is to be redeemed in October. What if your travel agent goes bankrupt within those ten months? How will you get your money back?

If you have a cover that ensures against trip financial defaults, then you do not have to worry. You will get your money back…maybe not in time for the trip but at least you will get it back!

The nightmare that is losing your passport

While it might not be such a big deal if you lost your passport in a country where your home consulate has a good relationship with the local government, you simply will not believe the kind of nightmare you would go through if that wasn’t the case. Should you travel to a country with which your home nation does not have a good diplomatic relationship, losing your passport is about as bad as it can get for you.

With the ‘coverage for lost passports‘ option, you will have a much easier time having all this resolved. Your insurance company will handle the entire process and even expedite it for your convenience.

If your flight gets cancelled, delayed or you lose your luggage

Imagine having your flight cancelled on the day? What about losing your luggage? Your suitcase had everything in it including your expensive Nikon D850 DSLR camera and laptop! The headache that comes with the inconvenience first and then the thought of having to wipe out your savings just to replace everything is enough to ruin a perfectly beautiful trip.

However, with the right kind of coverage, you would be reimbursed for all these and even more as your comfort will be taken into consideration!

Yes, dealing with insurance companies can be a headache in itself but believe it when we say that you are much better off being covered and not needing it than needing it and not being covered. Whoever said ‘better safe than sorry’ must have lost his/her passport in a foreign country at some point in their life.