Do I Really Need Travel Insurance? An Honest Answer for First-Time Travellers
As a licensed insurance agent, I get asked this question more than any other. Here’s what I tell every first-time traveller.
You’ve booked the flights. You’ve chosen the hotel. You’re counting down the days. And then someone — maybe a friend, maybe a booking website — asks if you want travel insurance, and suddenly you’re wondering whether it’s a genuine necessity or just another upsell you can skip.
It’s a fair question. Travel insurance costs money, and if nothing goes wrong, it can feel like you paid for something you never used. But as a licensed insurance agent who has seen both sides of this — the relief of clients who had coverage when they needed it, and the very real distress of those who didn’t — my honest answer is almost always yes. Let me explain why.
What could actually go wrong?
When we plan a trip, we naturally focus on what we hope will happen. But insurance exists for the things we don’t plan for. For first-time international travellers especially, it’s worth taking a moment to think through the realistic scenarios:
Medical emergencies abroad
This is the big one. Your domestic health insurance — whether public or private — often provides little or no coverage outside your home country. A single night in a foreign hospital can cost thousands of dollars. Emergency medical evacuation, should you need to be flown home, can run into the tens of thousands. Without insurance, you bear that cost entirely.
Trip cancellation or interruption
Life doesn’t pause because you’ve booked a holiday. A sudden illness, a family emergency, or an unexpected work crisis can force you to cancel or cut short a trip you’ve already paid for. Airlines and hotels are rarely obligated to refund you. Trip cancellation coverage can reimburse your non-refundable costs so the financial loss doesn’t compound the stress.
Lost, stolen, or delayed baggage
Bags go missing more often than airlines like to admit. If your luggage is lost or significantly delayed, you may need to purchase essentials — clothing, toiletries, medication — out of pocket. Travel insurance can cover these costs and help you recover the value of lost or stolen belongings.
Travel delays and missed connections
Flights get delayed or cancelled. If you miss a connecting flight through no fault of your own, you may face unexpected accommodation and meal costs while you wait. A good travel insurance policy will cover reasonable additional expenses so you’re not out of pocket for something outside your control.
“The travellers who need to make a claim never expected to. That’s precisely the point of insurance — it protects you from the scenarios you didn’t budget for.”
When might you reasonably go without?
In the interest of giving you a fully honest picture: there are situations where the case for travel insurance is less clear-cut. If you’re taking a short domestic trip where your existing health coverage applies and the costs are largely refundable, the risk profile is very different from an international trip with prepaid tours, business-class flights, and activities that can’t be rebooked.
Some credit cards also include limited travel insurance as a benefit — though it’s worth reading the fine print carefully, as the coverage limits and exclusions can be significant. A complimentary card benefit is rarely a substitute for a comprehensive standalone policy, but it may reduce the coverage gap for lower-cost trips.
Important: Always read what a policy actually covers before assuming you’re protected. Exclusions for pre-existing medical conditions, adventure activities, and high-value items catch many travellers off guard.
What does travel insurance actually cost?
For most first-time travellers, a comprehensive single-trip policy is more affordable than you might expect — often a small percentage of your total trip cost. When you weigh that against the potential cost of a medical emergency, an evacuation, or losing your entire prepaid holiday to an unforeseen cancellation, it tends to look like a reasonable investment.
The exact cost depends on several factors: your destination, the length of your trip, your age, the level of coverage you choose, and whether you have any pre-existing medical conditions to declare. Getting a proper quote specific to your trip is always the right starting point.
My honest recommendation
If you’re travelling internationally for the first time — especially if your trip involves significant prepaid costs, a long journey, or a destination where healthcare is expensive — I would strongly encourage you to take out travel insurance. The cost of not having it, in the scenarios where it matters most, is simply too high.
The right policy for your trip isn’t always the cheapest one, and it isn’t always the most expensive one either. What matters is that the coverage actually matches your trip, your health situation, and the activities you’re planning. That’s where working with a licensed agent, rather than just clicking through a comparison site, can make a real difference.
If you’d like help understanding your options or finding the right coverage for your first trip abroad, I’m happy to walk you through it. Visit lorrainejensen.com to get in touch.
