Step 1: What is the biggest worry when travelling?
In the first step, you need to brainstorm what would be something that you think could happen to you and cost a lot of money, when it happens during your travel. For example, the following three events occur most often to people when they fly to another country for vacation.
1. The flight delays more than six hours
The number one things that can happen during your trip is a flight delay. A flight delay of a few hours is inconvenient, but the world does not end, and you can still enjoy your vacation. If a flight is delayed more than six hours, then very often a lot of additional costs pop-up. You will miss your connecting flight. You have to stay for one more night in a foreign country without any hotel bookings. Many things that you did not plan for and cost extra money. If your flight is cancelled or delayed overnight and you need to spend another unplanned night => DISASTER. iBanding CEO Luke Roho described his experience of a cancelled flight with AirAsia in this article What I Did When My AirAsia Flight Was Cancelled and How I Received RM 700 for It
Flight delay is the most essential protection we are looking for.
2. Luggage is delayed or lost
You arrive at your vacation destination, and your luggage is missing. Your warm jacket on your winter trip to Japan is in the bags, and now you are freezing outside in Tokyo. Your business suit or dress for the meeting is missing. If your checked-in luggage is missing for more than a day, you most likely will need to buy extra clothes, toothbrush, soap and many more things to enjoy your vacation still. You do not waste time waiting in your hotel room for your luggage to arrive. You want to make the most of the limited time you have to enjoy your vacation. If your baggage is delayed or missing, then you need to spend a lot more money to enjoy your vacation still. A lot of money that you might not have or planned to use for tours, food, etc. instead of clothing.
Luggage delay is the second important protection we are looking for in a Travel Insurance.
3. You get sick during your vacation
Another worry, when travelling in countries where the living costs are much higher than Malaysia is Medical Expenses. Many Malaysians, when they go to another country for the first time, get sick, because they are not used to the different temperatures and environment. We are just not used to the different seasons like spring, fall and winter. In Malaysia, it is always summer. Hot dry or hot rainy.
You like to eat out and adventure on a food journey Makan-Makan? If you are this kind of person, then food poisoning is no stranger to you. If you get sick on your vacation, you might not be able to wait until you get home to see a doctor. Then going to the doctor or the hospital abroad is not cheap. A doctor visit as a foreigner in Japan can cost you about RM 220 – 730 because as a foreigner you pay even more than locals. The low ringgit and the high exchange rate makes a doctor or hospital visits in developed countries like Japan, Korea, Australia or the US cost a fortune. The worst part is if you have an accident or need to get admitted to the hospital. Then the cost can go quickly into the hundred thousands of ringgit.
Medical Expenses is the third most crucial protection when we look for Travel Insurance.
So in our example cases, those are the three things that worry us the most: Flight delay, Delayed Luggage and Medical Expenses. You might ask, what about all the rest like Personal Accident, Permanent Disablement, Hospital Income, Funeral Expenses and more more more?