Travels With Sheila’s blood begins to boil when I see articles that say travel insurance is unnecessary. Just turn on the television to hear about the recent travel nightmares caused by Iceland’s volcanic eruption and flight disruptions. How about the riots in Bangkok? What if there’s another earthquake in Indonesia? (Indonesia is in the “ring of fire” and beset with frequent earthquakes.) A hurricane sweeps through the Caribbean Islands? A death in the family? You break a leg?

There are instances when the “experts” are right. For example, ex-Marine (husband, Steve) and I never take out a policy for independent travel within the United States or Europe for several reasons. Our medical insurance is valid, hotel rooms can be cancelled and we’re willing to pay airplane fees to rebook the flights. The same holds true for independent European travel with the exception of medical insurance. In that case, we would have to pay a doctor or hospital on the spot and carry at least two credit cards for this purpose. United Heathcare would reimburse 60% of the emergency charges once back home. Check with your health insurance provider.

A prepaid tour is a completely different animal. Ask yourself. Can you afford to be without travel insurance if plans change and:

- You lose the deposit; or

- The entire cost of the tour; or

- Have to pay for emergency air fare back home (medical or family reasons); or

- Lose your luggage; or

- Miss a connection (horror stories all the time about passengers who miss their cruise/airplanes/tours); or

- Get stranded in a foreign country?

If “no worries” applies to you, forget about buying insurance. If you fall into the majority who can’t afford to lose money, buy it. We always buy travel insurance when booking a tour through Travel Guard. Prices begin at $30 depending on the cost of the tour and your age. Travel insurance is mandatory with many tour operators. No insurance, no travel.

All it takes is one incident where you lose all money paid for the trip and you’ll be a convert. As yes…I remember it well...back in the days when I thought, “Who needs travel insurance?”

- ex-Marine developed pneumonia two days before a scheduled tour in Gambia, Africa. No insurance, out the entire cost. Ouch…that hurt!

- A different story when, with travel insurance, ex-Marine developed dangerous kidney stones that needed a Lithotripsy (a procedure that uses shock waves to break the stones) one week before our first trip to Egypt. The total amount was reimbursed by Travel Guard without any problem. Yes, there is paperwork involved but if you take your time, fill in the forms correctly and attach the required documentation, a check will be in the mail.

Don’t be one of the travelers who were stranded in airports while Eyjafjallajokul spewed ash and disrupted plane travel, who picked up the phone to ask, “Is it too late to buy insurance?” (Uh…duh…yes, it is too late…)