Why You Should Get Travel Insurance for Shorter Trips

Airfare makes up a huge part of the prepaid travel expense for many trips. Think of a week in Cancun versus three days in Cancun. The only difference between those trips is three or four days’ lodging, which will likely be a small amount of your trip costs, especially if you bought a resort package. The cost of airfare, however, doesn’t change with the shorter trip.

The same holds for a cruise. Often the cost per day is significantly more on a shorter cruise. What’s accounting for the higher price on the shorter cruise? The unchanging cost of airfare.

No matter the trip – a destination wedding on the Outer Banks or an Icelandic getaway ­– a significant portion of your prepaid expense is going to be airfare. It makes sense to buy travel insurance if for no other reason than to help protect your flight costs.

Also read: How Travel Insurance Can Help When You Fly

Life is unpredictable and traveling even more so, no matter how long you’re gone.

The odds that you’ll need to cancel your trip before you leave has nothing to do with your trip length – it’s just as easy to get sick before a three-day trip as it is before a two-week trip. Trip Cancellation coverage can help you either way.

A weekend trip could turn into a lot longer if you get sick and can’t fly. Even if you don’t leave the U.S., if you get sick with COVID-19, you won’t be able to board your flight and will need to isolate for a while. Our travel protection plans can help with that.

If you, a family member or a traveling companion are diagnosed with COVID-19 before or during your trip, and meet the requirements for coverage due to sickness, you can be covered for Trip Cancellation, Trip Interruption, Travel Delay, Medical & Dental, and Emergency Assistance & Transportation, in addition to our 24-Hour Emergency Assistance services. You can also be covered for additional lodging expenses and extension of your travel insurance plan if you are required to isolate at your destination and your return is delayed.

The list of travel problems and travel emergencies that can ruin a vacation is long. We’ve surveyed travelers to find the most common issues, many of which don’t depend on how long your trip is.

The things you really need to help protect need protection – regardless of your trip length.

Also read: How Travel Insurance Helps When You’re Sick and Stuck Abroad

Consider a busy couple traveling for a destination wedding in Rome, getting there last-minute and cutting it close to get home for a can’t-miss Monday-morning meeting. This could be a really expensive long weekend, with airfares, super-luxe hotels and perhaps some prepaid activities.

There is no linear relationship between trip length and trip expense. A short trip can be intense and expensive, and a long trip can be free-flowing and cheap.

Because of that, it makes much more sense to base your decision to buy travel insurance on how much you’re spending, not how long you’re going to be gone.

Also read: Top Travel Emergencies and How to Deal with Them

A lost passport, a roadside breakdown, medication replacement – travel troubles are still travel troubles, irrespective of your trip length. And you need someone who can help you navigate them so the rest of your trip can go smoothly.

The 24/7 Travel Assistance that comes with all Generali travel protection plans is designed to provide live help with almost any issue while traveling — from changing travel plans and pre-trip services, to the urgent coordination of emergency medical transportation and medical care.

Learn about our emergency medical assistance

While travel mishaps don’t care how long your trip is, the people who determine the prices for travel insurance do. Trip length contributes to the cost of travel insurance, along with things like the amount of your prepaid expenses.

In many cases you’ll spend less on travel insurance for a shorter trip. Since your exact cost will vary, it’s important to get a quote for your specific trip.

Also read: How Much Does Travel Insurance Cost?

Given all these factors – the cost of airfare, the odds of getting sick, the fact that short trips can be expensive, the value of travel assistance – it simply makes sense to consider travel insurance for your next trip of any length.

And when you consider travel insurance, we hope you consider Generali Global Assistance. We’re here to help.