Flying with golf clubs or musical instruments? Buy travel insurance.

There is a certain anxiety that comes with checking luggage before flying. It could be because travelers truly never know what happens to their checked goods as they travel from point to point. Or it may come from the fact that travelers trust their possessions to complete strangers for a short amount of time as they travel. Regardless of emotions, the fact remains: in certain situations, checking luggage is a required necessity.


 

Whether travelers are planning on a long golf vacation, or need to take something for a special celebration, they are right to worry if their items will make it to their final destination. This is one of the situations where travel insurance can come to aid travelers. If luggage gets lost or stolen while in transit, a travel insurance policy may be able to cover the difference between what the carrier owes and the actual value of their items. Here are three items that should always be covered by a travel insurance policy.

Golf clubs and other sporting equipment

In the dead of winter, there's nothing quite as exciting as a weekend to partake in sun and fun. Many snowbirds bring their golf clubs along and turn their holiday into an extended golf outing. However, even with the best packing, golf clubs may be no match to the blazing speeds of luggage conveyor belts - sometimes topping hundreds of feet per second.

When a golfer's clubs get mishandled, delayed, or even destroyed, it's more than their game that will suffer.

Full sets of golf clubs can cost thousands of dollars to replace, not to mention the accessories that go with them. The maximum paid for lost luggage is $3,300 per domestic flight, if a traveler can prove their luggage was worth that much when checked in. This does not include any payments for incidental expenses incurred along the way.

When traveling with golf clubs or any other sporting equipment, make sure they are insured with a travel insurance policy. Travel insurance can not only cover lost items trusted to an airline, but can also cover daily incidental costs resulting from replacing the items lost in transit. 

Musical instruments

Although the Transportation Security Administration has changed policies on musical instruments as hand luggage, some items still need to be checked to a final destination. For example: while many woodwinds and stringed instruments can be carried on, brass instruments must still be checked. Moreover, while the TSA has changed their policies, airlines still set their own policies on what instruments can be carried on, and what must be checked.

Broken musical instruments as a result from flying all over the world is a common situation that frustrates many travelers. In 2009, a musician created a set of viral videos after his guitar was broken on a United Airlines flight, resulting in over 14 million views from sympathetic travelers who may have run into a similar fate with their instruments.

Travelers who plan to travel with musical instruments in tow need to make sure that their items are covered. Some plans offer musical instrument coverage as an add-on, in order to cover the additional value of a musical instrument.

Valuable items that can be replaced

While most travelers opt to carry jewelry in carry-on bags, there are some situations where jewelry ends up in checked luggage. In these situations, travel insurance may be able to help travelers if valuable items end up getting lost or delayed upon arrival.

Items that hold a distinct value can be covered by a trip insurance policy, allowing travelers to get paid out if their valuables don't end up with them. However, much like the case with musical instruments, additional value or an increased rider may need to be purchased as well. Be sure to ask about coverage for valuables if this scenario applies. If this situation applies, make sure to have the documented value available for a claim. Otherwise, the travel insurance claim for the valuable items may be denied.

Although checking luggage can be nerve-wracking, travel insurance can help travelers keep piece of mind when their valued items travel with them. By holding travel insurance in these three situations, adventurers can go boldly on their next journey with the assurance that they are covered - even if their adventures don't go quite as planned.