While more individuals are traveling, the Covid-19 pandemic continues to rage, and breaking news might cause unanticipated changes to travel plans.
You may be ready to schedule your next vacation, but it’s a good idea to think about purchasing a comprehensive travel insurance policy that can protect you from financial losses incurred due to unanticipated complications both before and during your trip.
“Travel insurance is sometimes an ignored investment until the unexpected occurs,” says Beth Godlin, spokesman for Aon Affinity Travel Practice. “It is intended to provide passengers with peace of mind as well as financial protection against the risks of travel.”
While some travelers avoid buying travel insurance because they believe it would be pricey, Godlin believes it doesn’t have to be and that “buying it offers an added layer of protection and security.”
Travel insurance is obviously useful for expensive vacations, such as a luxury cruise, safari, or multi-city overseas vacation, but it can also be useful when remaining closer to home. “When choosing if travel insurance is best for you, I recommend asking yourself what you could stand to lose if you were to cancel at the last minute,” Godlin advises.
Select consulted with travel insurance professionals to obtain the best information on what consumers should know about travel insurance.
How to Locate an Insurance Provider
Travel insurance is extremely simple to obtain, and there are numerous options available in the market. If you’ve never purchased travel insurance before, sites like InsureMyTrip.com, CoverTrip, or Squaremouth are fantastic places to start because they allow you to compare multiple providers based on both pricing and coverage. You simply answer a few questions regarding the trip and the passenger.
The advantage of using aggregator sites is that customers can examine the whole travel insurance marketplace and compare policies all in one location. Squaremouth also provides verified user reviews to assist travelers feel secure in the insurance policy they are purchasing.
Squaremouth is free to use since they collect a commission on every sale directly from the source and do not charge any fees to consumers.
Aside from comparison sites, you may always visit the website of a specific travel insurance carrier for a quotation or call the company’s toll-free customer service line for further information.
When you book your reservations through a site like Expedia, you usually have the option of purchasing travel insurance from a third-party source as well. You should carefully read the policy’s entire specifics because the plans are dependent on the trip parts (hotel, flight, rental car) and may alter each time you book, and you want to make sure you understand what you’re getting.
What does a normal travel insurance policy typically cover?
Travel insurance packages vary, but most give coverage for three things: protection for your financial expenses, security for your health, and safety for your personal items.
When looking for a policy, seek for the following features:
Trip cancellation insurance
If a trip is canceled for a covered cause, your travel insurance coverage may pay you for prepaid, non-refundable trip deposits. According to Daniel Durazo, a spokesperson for Allianz Travel Insurance, these outlays can include airline tickets, hotel rooms, rental vehicles, tours, and cruises.
Illness, injury, or death of the traveler, a close family member, or a traveling companion; military deployment or civil upheaval; a major family emergency, or even unforeseen jury duty are all legitimate reasons to cancel a trip.
Other reasons include: your travel provider ceasing to provide services for 24 hours due to a natural disaster, severe weather, or a strike, your home or destination becoming uninhabitable, or you or a traveling companion losing your job after purchasing your policy.
You cannot usually cancel your trip for any reason and expect to be compensated simply because you have travel insurance. For example, if you have a disagreement with a friend and decide not to travel with her, or if you change your mind about taking a long-haul journey to Hawaii, these are not covered causes.
Consider adding “cancel for any coverage” to your insurance if you want the most flexibility in making adjustments to your trip. Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) plans increase the cost of your travel insurance by roughly 40%, but they provide you the flexibility to cancel your trip if necessary as long as you meet certain restrictions, such as canceling no later than 48 hours before your scheduled departure.
You will not be paid for the entire cost of your vacation. CFAR coverage typically reimburses between 50 and 75 percent of trip expenses.