I have spent the last two weeks vacationing in the US, and as well as having an amazing time and seeing the grandeur of New York City for the first time, it helped teach me an important lesson. Never assume things will go according to plan!
Three nights ago, I was sitting in Pensacola Airport in Florida. I had flown in from Orlando on a plane so small it still had propellers, and I was waiting on my connection through to LA on what I hoped would be a bigger plane! I had crafted my schedule of flights to get me back to Los Angeles and then onto a Qantas Flight back to Auckland with 5 hours to make all my connections and do my transfers. I assumed that even if my flight was delayed, I would still make it in plenty of time. So of course, as if the cosmic fates wanted to waggle their disapproving fingers at me for my presumptions, the flight I was on the LA was cancelled entirely!
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| I assumed I would be here... |
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| ... Then this happened. |
I sat in the airport for 6 long hours, realising that the new flight I was scheduled on wouldn't make my connection, even though I had left 5 hours to get it. I spent an hour on hold with the airline changing my tickets, but the earliest ones I could get back home were more than a day later than my originally scheduled flights. It was about now that I began to think about the Travel Insurance I had been advised to purchase before I left. I had originally fought against it because surely nothing would happen right? Luckily, I had given in and got it.
I had to pay to spend another night in a hotel in Los Angeles waiting for my flight, including transport to the hotel, extra meals and an over $200 fee for changing the flights that I could no longer make. All in all, the cancelled flights would have set me back over $500 if I had to pay for it out of my own pocket. The Southern cross travel insurance though, paid for all of that and saved my credit card. It made me feel just a little bit stupid for not wanting to pay the paltry insurance premium at the start of the trip.
It could have been worse too. Upon flying into Florida from New York, my baggage didn't arrive at the airport and US Airways told me it had never even been put on the flight at JFK airport to begin with! Luckily, they found the bags and had them delivered to me within 48 hours, but if they hadn't, the loss of my property, clothing and gifts would have been covered by the insurance as well. It does happen, and it did happen to me. You just never know what will happen, and not just during travel, during your day to day life as well. Now, having insurance has paid off for me in two big ways, on this trip and having medical insurance when I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease. I would have almost no financial independence right now if I had to pay my medical bills myself. Think about that, both the next time you travel or when it comes time to think about insuring your life or your health. And if you come to the conclusion like I did that insurance was a worthwhile investment, let us get the best deals for you. It's as easy as that, and we'll make sure you have the best possible cover on the market at the lowest possible price.
