One of the questions I frequently receive is whether or not travel insurance is important to get, or a waste of money. The answer is, it really depends. Before deciding, you should remember that insurance was initially intended to be for catastrophic events, so you wouldn't be in financial ruin. Few vacations would really require insurance, if you use that qualification as your litmus test.

So, when does travel insurance make sense? If you are going on a once-in-a-lifetime trip, or one that is using much of your personal savings, you may want to get insurance. If you have to cancel for some reason, you don't want to lose out on another vacation. In addition, you may also consider insurance if you have some reason to believe that your trip may just be canceled for some reason. When I was pregnant back in 2004, I added insurance to a vacation I booked on Priceline, because I was afraid I might have to cancel due to pregnancy complications (thankfully I didn't).

Even if insurance does seem like a good idea, check your reservations to make sure they aren't refundable. In addition, check with your credit card company - some companies do offer some level of coverage for cardholders.

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