Travel insurance is a form of coverage that all travelers should consider, but that isn't very popular among them. One potential reason is the fact that people try to minimize their expenses when they're about to travel, and thus don't view buying travel insurance as a cost-efficient move. Yet, they often end up learning about their mistake the hard way.

This is because when they buy nonrefundable tickets, and miss their flight, they must pay penalties, which would have been covered had they bought travel insurance. Here's why you need this form of insurance:

Cancellation due to sickness

With travel insurance, it's acceptable to miss a flight if you have a valid reason. Consider, for example, that you plan on going on a trip with your wife's parents a month from now, and book everything from the tickets to the hotel rooms.

A few days before the date of departure, your wife calls and says that her mother has gotten sick, and thus can't travel. If you didn't buy a travel insurance policy, you'll be assessed penalties as you try to cancel, or postpone the reservation dates.

On the other hand, if you're a travel insurance policyholder, you'll be protected. In fact, what's quite interesting about this form of coverage is that it doesn't matter if you make your reservations with a travel agent that doesn't give refunds. The only thing you'll have to prove to your insurer is that the health status of one of the persons involved in the trip prevents them from traveling.

The tour company goes bankrupt

As you might know, tour companies are typically included in holiday packages. They receive part of the fees you're paying to your travel agent for the touring services they'll offer you. If, for some reasons, the company that was supposed to give you and your relatives a tour in your destination city goes bankrupt, then your travel insurer will step in to cover for all the expenses that you'll have already made.

You can't really expect the given company to give you a refund, even if it recently received part of your travel fees. This is because bankruptcy is a legal procedure that is only available to companies that no longer have money.

While only two valid reasons were mentioned in this article, know that there are many others for which a travel insurer will reimburse you. From now on, make sure you get travel insurance when booking a flight. To learn more, contact a company like CDS Insurance Services with any questions or concerns you have.