Travel insurance shouldn't be a hard sell, but sometimes your clients just won't buy in. Maybe they don't understand the importance of coverage. They may even be unaware that 1 in every 6 travelers has their trip affected by natural disasters or bad weather.
But how can you shed light on the importance of travel insurance when your client's are dismissing your claims? Easy – point to page six of their passport.
Click here to read the 5 most common reasons your clients aren't buying travel insurance.
Located on page six are three pieces of important travel advice from the U.S. State Department, one of which stresses the need for health and evacuation coverage. The bullet states the following:
"Health Insurance: Medical costs abroad can be extremely expensive. Does your insurance apply overseas, including medical evacuations, payment to the overseas hospital or doctor, or reimbursement to you later?"
The U.S. State Department continues by stating:
"Medicare/Medicaid does not cover healthcare costs outside of the U.S."
Not every client will have Medicare or Medicaid, but a large percentage of your clients will have health insurance that doesn't cover them abroad. Traveling without healthcare or evacuation coverage is a huge risk.
The average cost of riding in an air ambulance is over $10,000 in the U.S., according to the New York Times. In 2016, TravelSafe covered an emergency evacuation out of Asia that totaled $162,000 – a cost far above the U.S. average. The odds of your clients needing an emergency evacuation may seem slim, but the impact can be detrimental to their financial health.
The same goes for emergency healthcare. The Washington Post says the cost of hospitalization abroad can cost up to $1,742 per day. While that may seem far less than what your clients pay domestically, their health insurance is unlikely to cover the cost of care in a foreign country.
Travel insurance averages anywhere between $150-$500 per plan. The cost pales in comparison to those of emergency evacuation and medical emergencies. Using your client's passport combined with average emergency costs can help change their tune, or at least plant a seed for their next adventure.
