You finally decide on that dream destination for your holiday and save up your hard earned cash.
You put yourself on a strict budget so that you can squeeze out every dollar for this once in a lifetime opportunity. Your friends ask you “how long to go now”, and are envious of your travel plans.
You’ve been and seen your travel agent, browsed the brochures and secured all the little add on’s like the air conditioned taxi transfer from the airport. Your Travel Agent asks if you’d like to take out Travel Insurance to insure your trip for any unforeseen circumstances….. You look at the trip cost and how much money you’ve already spent and decline the offer.
Congrats…. You just made the biggest mistake a traveller can make.
Having been a travel agent I know the whopping margin made by agents, it’s probably the largest commissioned component of any travel itinerary and it’s for this reason the Travel Agent offers you the option. Your trusty Travel Agent has no interest in if you injure yourself whilst on holiday or whether you are not able to take your holiday due to unforeseen events.
I remember the stories we were told at training seminars, about travelers who took out insurance policies and had successful claims when the inevitable happened. These were stories to be echoed to clients who chose not to take out insurance policies as a last ditch attempt to sell the cover policy. If this didn’t work, then there were the “please tick the box” forms to advise that the Travel Agent had offered insurance, and you declined, should a legal suit ever be pursued. Yes, travel insurance was a hard sell, but still there were those hardened souls who simply either didn’t understand the ramifications or just didn’t care.
Which brings us up to speed…
Imagine your family holiday is off to Bali for a week. You’ve booked the flights (you know, the cheap non-date change ones). So that’s tickets for Mum, Dad the two kids and oh, that’s right you’re taking the in-laws along as a special treat. It’s going to be a fantastic time as the in-laws have traveled from the other side of the world and you thought this would be a surprise for them, it’s going to be the highlight of their trip.
You go online and book all your flights, accommodation and transfers because it’s cheaper that going to see a travel agent. You don’t want to be hassled to buy “extras” or “pay commission” to an agent and in doing so you don’t bother with insurance, after all it’s just a holiday to Bali, what could go wrong…
This is until this week, when Denpassar International Airport announces on the back of several airlines cancelling all flights to Bali that due to the volcanic activity and recent earthquakes it will be closing the airport.
Now what do you do?
Because you chose to book online you have no “go to” person to even discuss your dilemma. No insurance company will take up your situation and you’re stranded, unable to take that trip you worked hard for, with little or no chance of ever seeing Bali or you hard earned cash again.
We’ve said it before and this seems like a timely reminder to say it again.
