What Are You Afraid Of?

Sometimes travelling can be a darn scary proposition. Terrorism, plane crashes, infectious diseases, drug wars all rank high among the media headlines that could potentially cause us to reconsider our travel plans.

Certainly the fear of terrorism could affect where we decide to travel. Even six months after the attacks in Paris, some people are still asking if its if its safe to travel to Europe.

And what about fear of contracting the Zika virus? The internet is ablaze with headlines from media outlets stating that travellers are reconsidering their travel plans to the Caribbean, Brazil and other destinations known for their mosquito populations.

Still, it seems we might not really be as afraid as the internet headlines suggest we are.

A recent survey by travel insurance company Allianz Global Assistance, which looked at the travel plans of more than 500,000 Americans for the summer season, found that while a few European cities might see a considerable dip in tourism this year, in general American travellers to the entire region are expected to increase by 9.3 per cent this summer.

Zika, too, might not be taking quite the toll everyone thinks it is. A recent study by travel consortia, Travel Leaders found that 96 per cent of respondents are not changing their travel plans due to Zika.

What is interesting, however, is that when it comes to anticipating things that are far more likely to happen than a terrorist attack or a plane crash, North Americans travellers seem to be virtually fearless.

Take personal injury while on vacation, for example. Although we know that some 1.3 million people die every year due to road crashes, that just doesn’t seem to be a concern to travellers. What about something simpler? An evening of wild celebrating is statistically far more likely to end with a visit to a hospital than any plane accident or mishap ever would.

So why is it we expend far more concern over situations that are statistically much less likely to happen while we are away than those that are far more probable? And even though we know that accidents and injuries can and do happen, why is it that we have a limited interested in protecting ourselves from those eventualities?

In Canada, a study by BMO found that half of Canadians plan to purchase travel insurance. In the United States, that number plummets to 21 percent according to a 2013 survey by the Points Guy.

So why is it that buying travel insurance gets almost no love?

Colleague Brian Major, the executive editor of the Caribbean and Latin America content at the U.S. TravelPulse site, almost never bought travel insurance. Although he was a frequent traveler, he never thought he needed it. Until he did. After which he wrote a compelling piece on how travel insurance saved his trip.

Maybe it’s that we know we need travel insurance, but we think we don’t have to buy it because our credit cards will cover us? In fact, some cards do include travel insurance. But others don’t, and just assuming your covered is a foolish way to plan for the worst-case scenario.

Perhaps we don’t think we need travel insurance because we assume that our health and auto insurance policies are enough to cover any unexpected incidences. But with out-of-network hospital costs skyrocketing in the U.S., an ounce of prevention really could be worth a pound of course.

In Canada, travellers might think that their provincial health coverage is enough to cover any travel emergencies. But, warns the Canadian Automobile Association-Quebec, provincial coverage is just that: coverage within the province of residence. If you’re planning a Cross-Canada road trip, supplementing your coverage can help save you from huge, unexpected expenses, especially if your travels take you into the United States.

Whether or not you actually need travel insurance is a question only you can answer. But before you make a decision, be sure you have all the facts. Check your insurance policies, your credit card policies and make sure all your paperwork is in order.

If you need more help, contact your local travel professional who can walk through your options with you. Because it’s a scary world and we all need peace of mind wherever we can get it.

Follow @MonicaPoling