Travel Insurance: Should you get one?

     Peace of mind is something that some travelers wouldn't mind paying for. Events covered by a travel insurance rarely happen but the possibility of at least one event happening before or during a trip exists, and huge financial loss may be involved.
     After considering everything that could potentially happen before and during our recent 3-week European vacation, my husband and I decided that it was worth getting one. We've already spent a bunch of money even before we left for Europe (for flights, rail tickets, accommodations, to buy Euros, a new suitcase, new clothes, etc.). We didn't want to deal with a cancelled or shortened vacation without recouping the money we've spent, or to pay a fortune in case of an accident or sickness while we were on vacation. Rail workers could go on strike, our luggage could get lost, we could get food poisoning that would require hospitalization, one of our flights could get cancelled, we could get involved in a car accident before the trip or while driving around France, an elderly family member might suddenly pass away, and so on.
     We compared several travel insurance companies but eventually settled on a company associated with USAA because it offered the cheapest package covering potential events that we feared the most. You can ask your credit card company if they offer travel insurance coverage, or go with big-name companies like Travelex, Travel Guard or Allianz. You can check out popular travel websites for recommended travel insurance companies as well as look for reviews of the companies online.