The media is full of stories that can put nervous people off traveling, but the statistics still show you’re more likely to die crossing the street than in a plane crash.

Unfortunately for today’s traveler, losing your life in a plane crash, a civil riot, or a sinking cruise ship is the least of your worries.

There are actually many unconventional ways that travel can kill you if you’re not careful.

1. Nibbling the latest Asian delicacy

Both China and Japan feature amazingly diverse cuisine and part of the appeal lies in the wide variety of unique ingredients.

The puffer fish, for example, is considered a delicacy, but it can only be prepared by licensed chefs for a simple reason: the puffer fish contains tetrodotoxin, a neurotoxin that is over a thousand times more deadly than cyanide.

The first recorded case of tetrodotoxin poisoning was found in the ship log of Captain James Cook from 1774 when the crew of the ship ate some local tropical fish and then fed the remains to the pigs kept on board. The crew experienced numbness and shortness of breath while the pigs were found dead the next morning (likely due to eating the body parts that contained most of the poison).

Unfortunately, a growing number of restaurants have been known to serve the fish to risk-taking tourists. With no antidote for tetrodotoxin, it’s safer to stick to the chilis and wasabi.

2. Slogging through the jet lag

For many travelers, jet lag is simply a minor annoyance that causes them to feel a little out of sorts – a condition that leaves you with jangled nerves, severe exhaustion, and a lack of appetite.

Unfortunately, recent studies have found that a person whose circadian rhythms – that is their internal bodily clock – are scrambled are at a greater risk of heart attack. They’re also at risk of being severely confused and distracted. Sometimes travelers who cross multiple time zones can distracted enough to forget they are in another country and walk into the street without checking for cars in the right direction.

Jet lag is no joke. Take enough time on the other side to get properly recalibrated before you head out to see the sites.

3. Forgetting your vaccinations

For some travelers, coming home with a weird disease amounts to bragging rights. Even travelers with healthy immune systems need to check their vaccinations before heading out because access to adequate local medical care may not be available.

Here are the top traveler diseases that are preventable by vaccines or treated with antibiotics:

• Tetanus – this one can occur anywhere, but it’s most common in places like India and central Africa. It’s called lockjaw for a reason too – this disease affects your nervous system, causing muscles to spasm and seize. Get a booster every 10 years.
• Cholera – this disease is caused by poor sanitation, so it can occur wherever there is contaminated food and water. It often occurs in areas affected by natural disasters that disrupt the sewage and water treatment facilities. This one can kill.
• Typhoid – this one is most commonly contracted in India, parts of Asia, Africa, and South America. It develops slowly and in the majority of cases it’s not fatal. It’s caused by consuming contaminated food or water.
• Hepatitis – while there are various incarnations of hepatitis, travelers need to worry most about types A and B, which are found in developing countries including Mexico, Latin America, India and parts of Africa. Both types can lead to severe damage to the liver, but only Hep B is considered fatal.
• Yellow fever – another disease spread by mosquitoes, this one is mostly found in tropical regions of South America and Africa. Patients usually end up with jaundice, which gives cause the the name ‘yellow’ fever and untreated cases can lead to death.
• Meningitis – found in an area stretching across Africa from Senegal to Ethiopia, this disease starts with a fever and neck stiffness and untreated cases are often lethal.
• Japanese Encephalitis – again, blame the mosquitos but this one affects the central nervous system and is most common in agricultural regions like Cambodia, India, Nepal, Malaysia and Vietnam.

Be aware that while getting the jabs is all well and good, the effectiveness of the cholera and typhoid vaccines are in dispute (some say they are only about 50% effective).

There are also some diseases travelers pick up for which there is no vaccine, including:

• Dengue fever – featuring headaches as well as severe muscle and joint pain, Dengue is found in tropical regions of Africa, Singapore, and Taiwan.
• Malaria – one of the trickiest diseases for travelers because the medication has to be taken before, during, and after the trip and it can cause unpleasant side effects.

In both cases, bite prevention is the best medicine because these diseases are spread by mosquitoes.

4. Failing to fidget

Travelers who are in a situation of prolonged immobility – in planes, cars, busses, and trains – are at risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT), a life-threatening complication caused by blood clots that travel through the bloodstream and into vital organs causing:

• Chest pain and pressure
• Shortness of breath
• Sudden collapse and even death

Recent statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the CDC, indicate that between 60 and 100 thousand Americans die each year from DVT. Death can even occur hours after the traveler has returned to normal mobility because the general pain is typically dismissed as a pulled muscle or soreness.

The primary key to preventing DVT is movement, so travelers are warned to keep moving. Standing up, jumping or wriggling around, and even fidgeting can keep blood flow moving.

While many travelers have learned the value of travel insurance, for some it’s still not on the radar. Until something happens, that is. At that point, travelers begin scrambling to find coverage for their upcoming trips.

Unfortunately, it’s often too late for them to get adequate coverage or protect the financial investment they’ve already made.

We always recommend that travelers purchase their travel insurance very soon after making their initial trip payment. In fact, buying your travel insurance as soon as possible is essential to avoiding some of the common travel insurance ‘loopholes’ so many travelers complain about.

Here are 5 reasons travelers should not wait to purchase their travel insurance.

1. You can’t predict the future

All insurance plans are designed to protect against the unknown: trees that fall on houses, snowplows that crash into parked cars, hurricanes that destroy beach resorts. It’s the unknown things that can ruin your vacation and even leave you in deep financial trouble. Travel insurance is designed to protect you against all that.

Once something becomes a known event – like when a hurricane is named, or a medical condition is diagnosed and treated – that event is no longer something travel insurance can protect you against. It’s already happened. Purchasing your travel insurance plan early protects you against those events no traveler could predict.

2. You want access to certain coverage

Some travel insurance coverage requires that you purchase the plan soon after making your first trip payment. Again, this goes back to the first rule of insurance: it only covers unknown events.

Some of the coverage that requires early purchase include:

• ‘Cancel for any reason’ coverage
• ‘Cancel for work reasons’ coverage
• Pre-existing medical condition coverage
• Financial default coverage
• Hurricane coverage
• Work conflict coverage

For many travelers, these are essential coverage for their trip and advanced purchase is required, so this is a big reason to purchase your travel insurance early.

3. You know your state of health right now

If you have a pre-existing medical condition, and even if you don’t, you know your state of health right now and you can plan to have the right travel medical coverage in place if you need it on your trip.

Even if everyone in your party is completely healthy, without adequate travel medical coverage, you could be paying serious money for medical care if someone gets sick or injured on the trip. Just see these recent traveler stories if you need convincing:

• Injured Snowboarder Needs Close to $80,000 for Medical Evacuation
• American Couple Trapped in Costa Rica after Tragic ATV Accident

In addition, if you do have a pre-existing medical condition – that is, any medical condition that has been diagnosed or treated prior to your trip – you’ll want to be sure that your travel insurance plan includes coverage for pre-existing conditions.

4. You can make changes if necessary

Not only do travel insurance plans come with a free review period, typically 10-14 days long, you can make changes to your plan after you make your initial travel insurance purchase. Add a wildlife tour to your travel plans? Add that to your total trip costs and cover it.

If you end up with lower trip costs, you can make changes to the coverage and get a partial refund as well. After you’ve reviewed your plan documents, you can even cancel the travel insurance plan if it doesn’t suit your needs, but be sure to replace it soon with a plan that does!

5. You want to be able to cancel if necessary

Travelers have to cancel their trips for all kinds of reasons they never expected when they made their reservations. Fortunately for you, there are two primary options for trip cancellation:

• Standard trip cancellation – which reimburses up to 100% of your pre-paid, non-refundable travel costs when an unforeseen event causes you to cancel your trip
• ‘Cancel for any reason’ – which reimburses between 50% and 100% of your pre-paid, non-refundable travel costs when you have to cancel your trip for any reason at all

‘Cancel for any reason’ was designed to give travelers the option to cancel for those reasons not covered by standard trip cancellation coverage, which has a list of exclusions. For example, if a traveler reserved a mountain getaway in Colorado this summer but now wants to cancel due to the devastating wildfires, they won’t likely have coverage with standard trip cancellation.

There are a few travel insurance providers that allow you to make a last-minute travel insurance purchase. You’ll find them by putting your basic trip details into our travel insurance comparison tool. It’s important to note, however, that you must carefully review the plans that result from the comparison to be sure they will deliver the coverage you need before you purchase. After all, you may not have time to make changes to your plan before your trip.

In our everyday lives back home, we carry many things in our wallets that are terribly useful as we go about our daily lives: video rental cards, discount cards, work ID cards, etc.

Many of these items are not useful or necessary when we travel. If stolen, the loss of some of these items can cause a great deal of trouble for a traveler.

For example, it’s not recommended that travelers take their debit cards with them on their trips. Your credit card has better protection if it’s stolen. A thief who obtains your debit card, however, can drain your bank account – an action that’s not covered by any bank protection or travel insurance.

There’s another reason to minimize what you carry in your wallet when you travel: identity theft.

If a thief gets your wallet with either or both your social security card and driver’s license, they have everything they need to steal your identity and create a nasty financial mess you’ll be cleaning up for years to come.

Therefore, we recommend that the last step you take before you zip up your suitcase is to go through your wallet and remove any items that are not necessary to your trip.

15 Items to Remove from Your Wallet Before Travel

Before you take a trip, remove these items from your wallet:

1. Social security card
2. Debit card
3. Work ID card
4. Voter’s registration
5. Library card
6. Department store credit cards
7. Gasoline credit cards
8. Local discount cards
9. Personal momentos
10. Irreplaceable photos
11. Receipts
12. Video rental cards
13. Checks or deposit slips
14. Pills or medications
15. Gym ID cards

We’ve even heard that some people carrying their birth certificates in their wallets. Remove that item right now and store it in a locked safe or a safe deposit box instead. Your birth certificate should never be carried in your wallet – not even back home.

Stop to Consider your Cash and Health Insurance Cards

Travelers should keep only the cash they need for that day in their wallet. Too much cash in your wallet, and you’re a prime target to be mugged or robbed. Too little, and you could be stuck if you wind up somewhere where credit cards aren’t accepted.

Travelers should also be careful about taking along their health insurance ID cards if they are traveling to a location where their insurance coverage does not extend:

• If you’re traveling inside your home country but outside your health insurance network, your health insurance ID cards are still useful. You’ll be paying out-of-network charges for your medical and dental care, but some coverage is better than nothing after all.
• If you’re traveling overseas, it’s not likely that your health insurance will provide any coverage at all. Leave the cards at home to protect them from being stolen.

Make it Easy with a Separate Travel Wallet

Consider a separate travel wallet when you travel. After all, it’s far easier to transfer a few items – your driver’s license and credit cards – to a travel wallet than it is to take the proper time to get everything you don’t need out of your everyday wallet.

Fool Pickpockets with a Fake Wallet

Consider a fake wallet to fool pickpockets. Some travel experts recommend putting in some old cards – outdated library cards and used gift cards work well here – and even some fake money into a cheap wallet. Carry that wallet in a more accessible location and keep your real wallet secured.

Stepping on broken glass on a beach, contracting a nasty stomach virus, getting into a traffic accident – many things can ruin a young traveler’s holiday as well as their bank account. Yet, students and young people who travel abroad often leave the safety of their health insurance and family network without a second thought.

When young people travel, either with you, with their school, or on their own, they run risks most of us wouldn’t even think about.

Foreign medical care isn’t offered with a child or student discount, and the cost of treatment can be just as devastating for a young traveler as it can be for a mature adult.

Here are 7 reasons young travelers need travel insurance too.

1. They sometimes do crazy things

The simple fact is that young people often do crazy things when they’re outside their home area and normal routine. They bungee-jump off foreign bridges, they eat strange foods, they drink too much – in short, they take risks they may not otherwise take simply because they are away from watchful eyes.

Travel insurance is especially essential for adventure-seekers and sports enthusiasts. In most cases, travel insurance plans specifically exclude sports and adventure activities, but there are specialized plans and optional add-ons that can overcome the exclusions and ensure that a young traveler is protected while participating in risky activities.

2. They don’t always have enough money

An afternoon in the hospital with a broken finger or a two-day stay for an emergency appendectomy can be really expensive. A young traveler may not have the cash they need or enough credit to pay for their medical treatment. The last thing you want is for them to neglect getting the medical care they need because they fear the cost.

A travel insurance plan with medical and dental coverage will pay for emergency treatment when a young traveler gets hurt or sick. This coverage pays for medical transportation, physician’s expenses, medication, x-rays, and more. It’s also wallet-friendly because many providers will pay the treatment facility directly (sometimes a co-pay is required).

3. They may need your help

If your young person is injured or ill, are you prepared to get a pricey last-minute ticket to be at their bedside? Even worse, are you prepared to pay for their repatriation back to their home country if they are killed?

A travel insurance plan with emergency medical transportation coverage typically includes the benefit of bringing one person to the medical facility where the insured traveler is being treated. This means you’ll be able to travel to the young person’s bedside at no additional cost to you. You’ll also have repatriation coverage if you need it.

4. They are just learning how things work

Young people are very tech-savvy, but ask them how to replace a stolen passport and they may look at you funny. The simple truth is: they don’t know. They’re just learning how these things work.

Travel insurance plans include toll-free hotlines staffed by people who are experts at travel disasters. The worldwide travel assistance services is the first call any traveler should make when they encounter a problem they don’t know how to solve. The representatives can help a young traveler book alternative flights, replace a missing passport, find good local medical care, and more.

5. They may forget existing medical conditions

Young travelers have existing medical conditions too, and they may not know that they need to account for those when they choose a travel insurance plan. If they’re traveling with a school program that includes insurance, it’s typically a one-size-fits-all plan that may not suit your young traveler’s needs.

A pre-existing medical condition is any condition a traveler experienced symptoms for or had diagnosed and treated prior to their trip. Travel insurance plans typically exclude all expenses that result from a recurrence of a medical condition diagnosed prior to the traveler’s departure, but you can purchase plans or add-ons that cover pre-existing medical conditions.

6. They may have to cancel their trip

Many travelers experience situations that cause them to cancel pre-paid travel plans. A working adult may have to cancel a trip due to work conflicts or an ill parent, but a young traveler could face a very different range of issues that cause them to cancel their pre-paid trips.

Having a travel insurance plan with trip cancellation coverage can save a young traveler from losing their trip investment. Be sure they read the travel insurance plan to understand the covered reasons for canceling, and consider ‘cancel for any reason’ coverage if they are likely to face a situation that may not be covered under standard cancellation coverage.

7. They may have to be evacuated to escape danger

In 2011, a good number of foreign students from around the globe had to be evacuated out of Egypt due to the violent uprising. Some study abroad programs include some level of insurance, but they don’t always have coverage for civil protests, terrorism, or acts of war, so you could be working with the U.S. government to get your young traveler out of danger. Those evacuation costs are not paid for by the government: they’re paid for by the traveler or their family.

If your student is traveling with a study abroad program, check the plan carefully. If they are not traveling for school, a travel insurance plan with security evacuation coverage could (literally) save their life. See our review of security and political evacuation coverage for more information.

While all travelers face certain risks when traveling, young travelers are not as capable or knowledgeable about how to handle travel disasters. Having the right travel insurance plan can make all the difference and get them home safely.

Recently, three new travel rewards credit cards – two from Bank of America and one from JPMorgan Chase – were introduced, reportedly in response to consumer frustrations over air miles.

Many travelers make the mistake of thinking they have the same protection as travel insurance with their credit card, but they are wrong.

Credit card travel protection is not comprehensive travel insurance – a fact that has caught many travelers off guard.

Here are 4 reasons your credit card travel protection is essentially junk:

1. Maximum trip costs are much lower with your credit card

Trip cancellation coverage allows a traveler to cancel their trip (for a covered reason) and be reimbursed for their trip costs. Some credit cards offer trip cancellation, but the maximum coverage for their trip can be as low as $1,500. When is the last time a family vacation cost you just $1,500?

Maximum trip costs with travel insurance plan are much more likely to cover the cost of a real-life vacation or business trip ($5,000, $10,000 and higher).

2. Reasons to cancel are very limited with your credit card

Trip cancellations are only covered if the reason you are cancelling your trip is specifically stated as a covered reason. This is true of travel insurance and it’s true of your credit card benefits as well.

Unfortunately, the list of covered reasons with your credit card is very limited. Typically, covered reasons for trip cancellation with your credit card includes death, accidental incapacitating injury, and serious diseases. Sometimes the illness or death of an immediate family member is covered (but not always). Sometimes the bankruptcy or default of a travel supplier is covered (but not always).

Most travel insurance plans let you cancel your trip for a wide range of reasons including hurricanes, job loss, terrorism, and more (depending on the plan). Plus, with some travel insurance plans, you also have ‘Cancel for any reason’ which (as the name implies) lets you cancel your trip for any reason at all. You can’t do that with your credit card protection.

3. No medical or evacuation costs are covered

If you are injured or have a medical emergency outside your home insurance network, you could be facing huge costs like this couple stranded in Costa Rica or these travelers who were refused medical treatment in the Bahamas. In some cases, a travel medical emergency can bankrupt a traveler with huge medical bills.

Credit card travel protection simply doesn’t have the same level of emergency medical or coverage for evacuations as travel insurance does.

4. Exclusions can’t be overcome with your credit card

Just like travel insurance, credit card travel protections come with exclusions. Some of the common exclusions with credit card protection and travel insurance plans include:

• Pre-existing medical conditions
• Accidental injuries due to participation in sports activities
• Wars, invasions, and acts of foreign enemies
• Being under the influence of drugs or intoxicants
• Injuries or illnesses due to cosmetic surgery
• Travel against the recommendation of a physician
• Traveling for the purpose of obtaining medical treatment
• Travel during the third trimester of pregnancy
• Sporting equipment losses
• Losses due to emotional trauma or mental illness
• Piloting or learning to fly an aircraft

The interesting bit is that travel insurance plans have options to override some of these exclusions, including coverage for pre-existing medical conditions, hazardous sports, sports equipment, and lots more.

Where Travel Insurance and Credit Card benefits are similar

There are credit card travel protections that are very similar to those offered by travel insurance plans:

• Lost or delayed baggage
• Rental car protection
• Travel accident coverage
• Global travel assistance services

So, depending on your credit card agreement you may rely on these benefits rather than getting travel insurance for them. For everything else, only travel insurance will keep you safe and only if you read the policy.

Many travelers these days are taking bike tour vacations as a healthier, slower way to savor a new region or foreign country.

Many bike tour companies have started up to deliver all kinds of cycling vacation options, from family-friendly tours to tours for special interests like local wine, food, art and more.

Just like any other trip, it’s important to put a little thought into your personal safety on a bike tour vacation, so we’ve researched the tips essential to enjoying a safe bike tour.

1. Have the right bike for your tour

This one really isn’t a secret. Every rider knows that the right bike can make all the difference on a cycling trip. Get a bike that’s too heavy, and you’ll tire easily. Get one that’s too light, and it won’t handle an unpaved trail. Either way, you’re on vacation and you’ll want it to go as smoothly as possible.

Your best bet is to spend some time riding on the types of road surfaces you’ll encounter on your vacation before you leave. This will help you learn what works and what doesn’t. Many riders bring their own bikes on their bike tours because they are more familiar with them.

Hint: Bicycles are often covered with travel insurance baggage coverage (up to the covered limit) when your bike is checked with the airline, so you may not need extra coverage unless your bike is expensive.

2. Have the right protective gear

A good helmet is the most widely recommended safety gear, and wearing it is required in some regions, but gloves, a wind- and water-proof jacket, and sunglasses also help keep a rider safe and comfortable. Lots of biking-specific clothing has reflective features so you are more easily seen in low light.

Just like any sport, cycling comes with a range of specialized gear that can make your vacation more comfortable and more safe.

3. Pack a repair kit – and know how to use it

The more reliable and full-service bike tour companies will have a lead rider or a repair service that will repair your bike when things go wrong, but if you are going solo you’ll need a minimal repair kit.

Of course, what goes in that kit will just be dead weight if you don’t know how to use it, however, so take what you need to do the repairs you know how to manage.

4. Know the local biking rules

Different countries have different rules of the road for driving, cycling, and walking, so it’s important to familiarize yourself with those rules. In France, for example, it’s a legal requirement for riders to wear yellow reflective vests when cycling after dark.

If you’re riding with a good tour company, they will have a list of rules you can review and memorize. If not, a good guidebook can provide this information.

5. Pack a map – and keep it dry

On most bicycling tours, the rider will be given or have brought with them a map, but pulling out the map in the rain or touching it with sweaty hands can make it hard to read. Keeping your map dry is essential, so consider putting it in a plastic zipper bag you can see through.

This one trick alone could save you from a much longer ride than you expected should you get lost.

6. Stay well hydrated and nourished

You’ll be working hard and burning lots of calories and sweating, so it’s critical to have plenty of water and a little food with you each day of your cycling vacation.

If you’re riding a rented bike, ask the rental company if it comes with water bottles. If not, consider bringing a light-weight backpack with a water pouch. You can find these at any sports equipment store.

7. Avoid a sunburn

Even when you’re cycling under cloud cover, your skin is exposed to the sun’s rays. Sunscreen is key to keeping your skin protected and avoiding a sunburn. Put it on before you start and have a small container of sunscreen to re-apply during the day. Your helmet and clothing will provide some protection too.

8. Be prepared for a medical emergency

Depending on your health insurance coverage and where you are taking your cycling tour, you’ll want to be prepared for accidents, illnesses, and dental emergencies that may occur on your trip. Most bike tour companies will have you sign a waiver to limit their liability, so you’ll need to have your own coverage.

See our Adventure Travel Insurance tutorial for the information you need to help you choose a travel insurance plan for your cycling vacation.