"Insurance is there to protect us during those times where we don't think anything is going to happen."

That piece of advice is coming from CAA Saskatchewan as many residents are making their hot holiday and travel plans for winter vacations. 

Travel Consultant and Office Manager, Shannan Schill, said you should always make sure you have insurance of some kind when booking your travel plans, whether that be a package they sell or one you may already have. That being said, Schill noted sometimes the coverage you get through a health care plan or a credit card company might not be enough, so you should look into it and find out the parameters of your policy. 

"It's always best to check. A lot of people have health plans with their employers that cover for out of province or with their credit card companies. Don't assume that it's going to be enough coverage; always check with your plan administrators and make sure the coverage you have is adequate. Sometimes it'll be a $200,000 policy and if you're down in the U.S. a small ailment can get to that $200,000 mark before long."

She said it's important to ask the representative all the questions you may have, as you never know what's going to pop up near the time you're supposed to leave or changes you might need to make to your trip last minute.

"If they're going to cover you should something happen to you while you are at a destination and you need to get back home in a hurry, or if your flights get canceled, what kind of coverage are they going to give you there. A lot of times credit card coverage will only cover you for a couple of days out of your whole trip, so you want to make sure if necessary that you can top things up and have adequate coverage for the full period of time that you're traveling."

Schill added that getting travel insurance isn't just for when you leave the country, you should always be making sure you're covered anytime you leave the province as well. 

"For a couple hundred dollars for a policy if you have a have medical conditions are definitely better than thousands and thousands of dollars out of your pocket should you get ill while you're at your destination. A lot of times people don't realize when you're traveling outside of your home province, you should have travel insurance while traveling within Canada as well because you're not completely covered under your provincial health care when you're traveling outside of Saskatchewan."

What might seem like an annoyance when you're already spending a significant amount of money has the potential to put your mind at ease when you truly need it most.