DO I REALLY NEED TRAVEL INSURANCE

When I was young and overly optimistic I used to travel thinking ‘well, what can possibly happen, it’s just a 1 week trip’ or ‘I don’t carry any valuables, I’ll be fine’ etc. 

However after getting a really bad case of pneumonia in the North of Vietnam I ended up paying a hefty bill in the hospital in Shanghai. That’s when I realised that in fact, having travel insurance is really important and so often overlooked. 

WHY IS TRAVEL INSURANCE IMPORTANT

Of course we always hope that nothing bad will happen, and most of the times everything is fine.

However bad things do happen. While I thought that nothing bad would happen to me during my travels, unfortunately it did. 

For example I was robbed of my belongings and money on a bus in a remote area in south of China, I was treated at a hospital for food poisoning in Beijing and Covid-19 in Bali. And I didn’t pay a single euro from my own pocket.

An acquaintance of mine got run over by a madman on a scooter while crossing a street (on a pedestrian crossing) in Beijing. Thankfully he survived and is now fine, however due to multiple bone fractures and internal injuries he did spend months in a hospital.

Of course if you were born under a lucky star or have an unlimited budget then sure, no problem. However for the rest of us just to be on a safe side the answer to the above question is definitely a YES. 

So, if you are travelling, do not leave without travel insurance!