Years ago, a lovely young couple came in to the office for help planning their honeymoon trip. They were in their early twenties, crazy in love and beyond excited to celebrate the happiest occasion of their lives. We discussed a few ideas then I presented them with an exotic Southern Caribbean cruise and they were sold. We finalized the stateroom category, added the honeymoon amenities, transfers, booked the airfare and then it came time to discuss travel insurance. They looked at me with vapid expressions on their youthful faces, not truly understanding the gist of what I was recommending. They decided to decline, I still advised them they had 14 days to add it to the booking to cover any pre-existing medical conditions and they went on their merry way. Fast forward 13 days later, the sweet bride-to-be comes in and tells me that she wants to add the travel insurance. I pull up her booking and give her the price for the 18-30 year old bracket corresponding with her trip cost. It was so inexpensive that she decides to add the cancel any reason endorsement to the policy. I answered a few questions, processed the payment and printed out the policy information for her to take home. For some reason, I remember feeling such a sense or relief that she had purchased it after she left that day.
With their cruise around the corner, they came in a couple of weeks before their trip to review all of the documents and I was able to give them the skinny on what they would need to do to board their dream cruise and make sure everything went off without a hitch. They leave with huge smiles, hug me and thank me for everything. A few days later I come in to the office, check my voicemail and come to find a message that was left that morning in the wee hours of the night before. It was the young bride, sobbing that they had been unable to board their cruise because her husband had suffered a seizure the night before during their pre-cruise stay in Miami. My heart sank. I immediately called her cell, no answer. I called her mother who was also her emergency contact and she told me they were alright but that the groom was still in the hospital. I was mortified.
The bride came in to the office two weeks later with all of their receipts along with the doctor’s paperwork and I immediately got to work processing the insurance claim for them. I never really got all of the details as to why the young man had become so sick but my main goal at that point was just getting their claim taken care of. If the insurance company had any questions, I made sure I answered them before I had to reach out them. Within days they received a full refund that covered their entire trip, including the last minute flight changes, taxis, meals, etc that they had to pay for out of pocket while they were in Miami for those 2 days. The newlyweds came in again several days later and thanked me profusely with sweet gifts and some of their wedding favors. They explained how they remembered feeling like they didn’t need the insurance at first but the more they thought about it the more they realized they wanted it, all because I had made such a compelling argument.
This is all true, it actually happened to my clients. The lesson learned here is that most people in their 20s and 30s don’t think they really need travel insurance because the likeliness that they’ll get sick is slim to none. But what most people don’t realize is that we can’t predict the future and purchasing travel insurance isn’t just about you - it could be an immediate family member who becomes ill or God forbid there’s a death in your family. You just don’t know. So my advice is simple - take the travel insurance. Even if you don’t purchase it through me, I recommend it to everyone no matter how minimal their trip cost is or how young they are. I’ve never had anyone tell me they were upset because they purchased the travel insurance and nothing happened. Odds are, you’ll probably need it one day so it’s always going to be a smart choice to have it. If you have a trip booked already, I can still help you with getting travel insurance for me - email me at monica@splendorsoftravel for a free quote!
