5 Reasons Travel Insurance When Studying Abroad is a Pretty Good Idea

If you fail classes and mom’s not letting you study abroad anymore

You and your parents worked out an agreement – if you could boost your grades up and pass all your classes, you would be rewarded with a semester abroad to England! But if not, unfortunately you’re staying right where you are. Your parents get everything ready for your trip anyway and your ticket is booked! Sounds amazing, right? Unfortunately the monstrosity, which some call organic chemistry, decides to murder you during final exams, and now you’re left with a failing grade. Meaning you don’t get to study abroad anymore. As much as this really sucks, having travel insurance means you can actually get all your money back. So no sweat – defeat OChem the next time around and finally go on the study abroad trip of your dreams!

If your school decides the country you want to study abroad in is too dangerous

Your trip to Monterrey, Mexico is all booked and ready to go! Soon, you will be spending a semester in Northern Mexico, practicing your Spanish, and having a lot of fun exploring all the surrounding historic sites in Mexico, including Teotihuacan, Chapultepec – you name it. Yay! Then you find out a month before the semester begins that your university is no longer offering study abroad programs to Mexico. It has been deemed a high-risk zone and therefore, you will have to wait for the green light on traveling there. You’re pretty bummed out – all that planning for nothing and now your ticket is going to go to waste! But having travel insurance can save you from that disaster. If you have trip cancellation, that would also cover a cancellation caused by your school. So fear not!

If you accidentally eat undercooked cauc au vin in Paris

So you’re in Paris, France having the time of your life, eating some exquisite foie gras, drinking the finest Chardonnay, and putting your français to good use outside the classroom. Then one day, you step into a shady looking restaurant – just cause it looks “rustic” – and you end up eating some undercooked cauc au vin. As you probably are aware, you should never eat raw chicken. Ever. Unless you want to get a salmonella infection and spend the next week lying in bed, puking and having the runs. But unfortunately, that’s the exact situation you’re in after eating that not-so-great cauc au vin. However, having travel insurance means you can go to the doctor and actually get the right treatment to help you recover sooner rather than later, so you can enjoy the rest of your trip.

If you get mugged on the streets of Caracas

You’ve decided you want to study abroad in Caracas, Venezuela, which undoubtedly is a gorgeous city. It’s got plenty of historic landmarks and is full of cultural richness, which is exactly what you were going for! But, it’s also a high-risk country. Rated the most dangerous city in the world, according to World Atlas, the murder rate is listed as 119.87 every 100,000 people. That’s kind of a scary stat. But you disregard it. “Eh, I should be fine if I travel in the day time. Plus I’ve got my pepper spray!” Lo and behold, you’re held at gunpoint one day and you’re asked to hand over your valuables. Chances are, you’re not going to think about challenging the muggers with your pepper spray; you’re going to be too concerned about saving your dear life. Now you’re left without cash, your passport and other valuables. Having travel insurance can ensure that you will be reimbursed for everything you lost.

If a bull runs you over during the running of the bulls

Most of us probably have the dream of running with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain at some point in life. And what’s a better time to do it than when you’re young, wild and free as a college student studying abroad? So you’re off during your summer semester abroad at the Pamplona encierro, ready to show off your boldness as you prepare to run and have the bulls chase you to the other side of the pens without them catching up with you. But, alas – you get an untimely leg cramp right in the middle of the crowd, stumble over, and the bull has rammed right into you. Chances are, things aren’t looking too peachy for you right now. Unless you’ve suffered a horrible concussion, you’ve probably sprained a limb – or worse – broken it. You may need to be rushed to the hospital right away, which could require emergency evacuation.

So there you’ve seen it – just how useful travel insurance is. The truth is, you can never anticipate what can happen in life. So just be prepared! Check out more details here if you’re planning to study abroad soon.