Travel Insurance: Peace of Mind for Long Trips?

Still, a Tokyo vacation can be expensive. With round-trip airfare usually surpassing $1,000 per person from New York, a Tokyo vacation is not something that you take on a whim, especially if you’re traveling with family or friends. Hotel prices also must be taken into consideration. Tokyo has an impressive selection of hotels, but even the cheapest ones could seem costly by U.S. standards. It’s not impossible to find rates under $100 per night, but those offers are mainly for hostels with cramped rooms and shared bathrooms. For those looking to add more local flavor to their stay, Japanese-style inns, called Ryokans, usually go for nightly rates between 15,000 to 40,000 yen ($141.49 to $378.63).  Japan’s version of the family-owned bed and breakfast, called Minshuku, offer rates between 5,000 to 10,000 yen ($47.33 to $94.66) per night.

If you factor in food, local transportation, and miscellaneous costs, it becomes clear that making your dream Tokyo vacation a reality is something that requires planning and saving. Another thing it might require is a good travel insurance policy. While you will probably pay for your meals and local transportation while you are traveling, you will likely have to lay out a lot of money in advance for airfares, hotels, and tours. And if it becomes necessary for you to postpone or cancel your trip, you might lose a significant chunk of that, depending on your reasons and the terms and conditions of your reservations.

It’s especially important to have travel insurance when you’re visiting far-away destinations like Tokyo. Just getting there can require several layovers and more than a day of traveling.  A missed connection, an injury or illness, a family emergency, or bad weather could put the money you’ve laid out for plane tickets, accommodations, and special events at risk.

Travel insurance reimburses the policyholder for losses related to the insured trip. These can include losses caused by lost luggage, missed flights, cancelled activities, illnesses, injuries, bad weather, and emergencies. But be warned: travel insurance doesn’t cover everything. Many current travel insurance policies list situations they will cover, as well as the numerous exceptions to those coverages. It’s important to read the actual policy--not just the advertising or website copy--before you buy. And it’s also a good idea to look at comments from consumers who have purchased travel insurance to see how the insurer’s policy language is being interpreted with respect to the pandemic.

Those looking for bullet-proof travel insurance, most companies offer a policy that includes a “cancel for any reason” clause, which covers practically any situation that can cause a trip cancellation. These plans, however, are very expensive. For those of us who want to insure an upcoming trip to Tokyo without spending big, it’s a good idea to assess your risks. What would be the most likely scenarios that would prompt you to cancel your trip? Then shop for travel insurance accordingly.