HELL YES, you need travel insurance!
Whew! We thought 2021’s Revenge Travel was extreme but that surge registers low on the Richter scale versus 2022’s Summer of Travel Chaos and the 2023 Christmas Storm.
Are you covered? Do you have travel insurance for the inevitable?
I know that some of you might’ve booked flights and/or vacations on your own and I wish you the best. I hope you at least purchased travel insurance to cover the extra expenses caused by delays, interruptions, and cancellations.
What is travel insurance?
Travel Insurance usually covers medical expenses, trip delay/interruption/cancellation, lost luggage, financial default of travel suppliers, and other losses incurred either before your vacation or while traveling.
With travel insurance, you buy a policy to cover a specific vacation or an annual policy to cover multiple travels within a year.
What does travel insurance typically cover?
There are so many different levels of plans to choose that can cover anything and everything, or just flights or cruise only, or medical only, etc. Regardless, the cost of travel insurance is minor if you compare it to what it might cost you in case of an emergency or for any of the reasons listed below.
1. Trip Cancellation
In case you need to cancel your trip prior to departure, it will reimburse the pre-paid, non-refundable portion of your trip cost for a number of reasons such as sickness (you, a family member, or a person you’re traveling with), injury (you, a family member, or a person you are traveling with), bankruptcy, riots/political unrest, terrorism, etc.
2. Medical Care
Medical providers outside of your insurance plan often ask for up-front payments for medical services that can be very costly if you get sick or injured while abroad. Your regular health insurance may not cover you while traveling outside of the USA or you may have limited coverage. Travel insurance covers these costs. Make sure the medical part of the travel insurance plan you purchase is primary. Meaning they pay first; there’s no delay (or very little) in payments to a foreign doctor, clinic, or hospital.
Travel insurance should also cover medical evacuation if you needed to be emergency transported to a nearby medical facility, or transported home.
3. Trip Interruption
In case you need to return home from your trip early due to covered reasons, it can help you pay for additional expenses to make arrangements to return home early.
4. Missed Connection/Flight Delays or Flight Cancellation
You can be reimbursed for expenses incurred in case of a missed connection, flight delay, or flight cancellation.
5. Lost or Delayed Luggage and Personal Effects
You can be reimbursed for items lost, stolen, or damaged in transit, and cover expenses incurred if your luggage is delayed. You can also choose coverage for lost credit cards and passports.
6. Travel Assistance Services
Travel Insurance might also come with assistance services such as medical or legal assistance, evacuation assistance, lost baggage retrieval, and some even include concierge services.
6. Other Services
Travel Insurance usually covers accidental death and dismemberment and repatriation costs. Some policies can even cover change fees and loyalty program redeposit fees. You can also add on options to cover rental car damage, extreme sports participation, computers and electronics, golf clubs, skis, and other overly large items or waive pre-existing conditions.
Annual policy options
If you take vacations more than twice a year, it may be beneficial to investigate the benefits of an Annual Travel Insurance policy. Purchasing coverage for an entire year may be less expensive than purchasing separate travel insurance policies for each individual trip.
Why do I recommend travel insurance?
Last-minute flight cancellations have been in the thousands per day in the USA alone this year of 2022. Flight delays, long lines at check-in and security, and plus lost luggage have added to the misery. Europe and the rest of the world are also experiencing this craziness.
Worldwide staff shortages, particularly pilots and air traffic controllers, have ruined vacations for millions across the globe. We have to include shortages at hotels and resorts, and on cruises and tours, etc.
The worst is yet to come though as winter holiday and summer travel continues to reign supremely frustrating, so… brace yourselves, pack your patience, and be prepared!
I always recommend a CFAR (cancel for any reason) or CA (cancel anytime) travel insurance policy.
Many travel insurance companies are no longer covering travelers if they decide not to travel because of COVID-19 risks or if they develop a fear of travel. This is because COVID is now considered a “known risk”. If you are worried about trip cancellation or trip interruption coverage because of the COVID situation, I highly recommend purchasing a CFAR* (cancel for any reason) travel insurance policy.
These policies are usually more expensive but will give you the best chance of filing a claim should any event prevent you from traveling.
What is CFAR travel insurance?
A CFAR (cancel for any reason) travel insurance policy usually must be purchased within 7-21 days of the initial trip deposit/payment as an add-on feature (or a paid upgrade) to a standard trip insurance policy. CFAR ensures that a traveler receives a refund of 50-100% of their insured non-refundable and pre-paid trip costs if they choose to cancel their trip for any reason at all, usually within two (2) days of departure.
What is CA travel insurance?
A CA (cancel anytime) travel insurance policy usually must be purchased within 7-14 days of the initial trip deposit/payment as an add-on feature (or a paid upgrade) to a standard trip insurance policy. CA ensures that a traveler receives a refund of 80% of their unused, pre-paid, non-refundable trip costs if they cancel their trip for a covered reason. The trip can be canceled anytime up until and including the day of the scheduled departure, as long as the traveler hasn’t left on their trip yet.
How do you purchase travel insurance for your trip?
SelfishMe Travel values you as a client and wants to do everything possible to make sure your trips are enjoyable and worry-free. Book a chat with me so that I can help you find the right coverage.
OR click here to visit our partner sites: TravelSafe, InsureMyTrip and Yonder. SelfishMe Travel does not assume any liability if you purchase travel insurance through these links.
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