The 6 Top Travel Emergencies and How To Deal With Them

Life is unpredictable and traveling even more so. The list of travel problems and travel emergencies that can ruin a vacation is long, but we’ve identified the big ones travelers should look out for.

If your guests have ever had a travel emergency, they might wonder if they’re experiencing something that no other traveler has ever encountered. The answer is no – by a long shot. Travel problems are all too common.

How do we know? We conducted a survey of travelers and asked them if they’ve encountered travel emergencies.

What sorts of emergencies do travelers most frequently encounter? Here’s what we found and how common the problems are:

1. Medical issues on a trip: 27% of travelers
2. Vehicle breakdowns: 22%
3. Lost belongings: 20%
4. Travel delays: 15%
5. Illness or other emergency back home: 15%
6. Natural disasters: 10%

Read below to see how travel insurance can help with many of these travel emergencies.

1.   Medical issues: 27%

You might be surprised to learn that medical emergencies top the list, but think about all the health problems that can occur on a trip.

Kids can get food poisoning from eating the wrong thing, preventing the family from taking or continuing their trip. Parents can cut their foot on a rock while swimming, or hikers can sprain an ankle during travel. And that’s just the tip of the medical travel emergency iceberg.

The good news about travel problems is not necessarily that they’re preventable – they’re not, in many cases – but that they can be made a little less painful with travel insurance.

The Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption provisions in Generali plans can reimburse your guests for prepaid non-refundable expenses when certain medical issues force them to change their travel plans. Plans that include medical coverage can also help pay for medical treatment if your guests get sick or injured far from home

2.   Vehicle problems: 22%

Car troubles, such as accidents, theft and vandalism, can be a real trip-wrecker. Those headaches can double when the vehicle is a rental car.

Fortunately, Generali’s Guest Protect, Ski & Mountain and Seaside Coastal plans include Rental Car Damage coverage.

To upgrade the travel insurance plan that you offer to a plan that includes Rental Car Damage coverage, contact your account manager.

3.   Loss of personal belongings (luggage, clothes, money): 20%

Delayed luggage can ruin a vacation. Stolen passports and personal documents can bring a trip to a grinding halt. 

Luckily, Generali travel insurance includes coverage for baggage delays. Also, the travel assistance that comes standard with Generali plans can help arrange for replacement passports and other travel documents.

4.   Strikes and travel delays: 15%

Speaking of bringing vacations to a grinding halt, nothing does that with quite the panache of an airline strike.

Once again, here comes travel insurance to assist, with coverage for travel delays and the travel assistance your guests need to get around the roadblocks and other travel obstacles.

5.   Illnesses or emergencies back home: 15%

Everyone wants a vacation to be a carefree time, and even if everyone on the trip is doing the right thing, staying healthy and out of trouble, there’s no guarantee that things will be going along swimmingly back at the hacienda.

If and when trouble strikes back home, Generali’s Trip Interruption coverage can reimburse your guests for the unused portion of their trip and help arrange for transportation back to their loved ones at home in case of a covered event.

6.   Natural disasters: 10%

Severe storms, wildfires, earthquakes, hurricanes and more can happen without warning, wreaking havoc on entire cities or countries – not to mention your guests' travel plans.

In cases like these, travel insurance with coverage for Trip Interruption and worldwide travel assistance services can help protect your guests and their trip.

There may be little your guests can do to avoid some of the most common travel problems, but fortunately, with travel insurance from Generali there doesn’t have to be an unhappy ending. Generali has the resources your guests need to have on their side whenever they travel.

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