Things To Know About Travel Insurance

Updated: Dec 28, 2021

DID YOU KNOW? Delays on your trip can have cascading effects. What if you missed a connecting flight and have to take a flight the following day? That means your cruise ship leaves without you! Can you afford that? Make sure you get travel insurance that includes Trip Interruption, Trip Delay and Missed Connection coverage benefits to help recoup unplanned expenses and prepaid costs that are not refunded.

DID YOU KNOW? Travel insurance covers your belongings! Think about the last time you packed a suitcase for a flight, what was the total value of those items? Once checked in for the flight, your belongings are entrusted to the care of the airline. Everybody hopes to meet their luggage at the destination, but this doesn’t always come to fruition.

DID YOU KNOW? Travel insurance reimburses you if your boss changes his/her mind about your vacation time? One of the first steps in travel planning is making sure the scheduled dates are approved by your employer. However, work emergencies can happen, and even the most cautious planners could have this backfire.

DID YOU KNOW? You can cancel your vacation for ANY REASON and get your money back? It is possible but make sure to purchase travel insurance when you book your trip if this coverage is of any interest to you. It costs a little more but it can be worth it.

DID YOU KNOW? You can get compensated for your expenses if your flight gets delayed. If you have travel insurance, you can get reimbursed for food and lodging, as well as additional transportation costs. Sometimes the airline covers these costs for you but some don't.

DID YOU KNOW? Hurricanes are unpredictable; planning months ahead means you won’t know if there will be a storm, and if a storm is forming as the departure date approaches, you cannot be sure of the path it will take. Make sure you are prepared by getting travel insurance that covers this!

DID YOU KNOW? Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption coverage in travel insurance can reimburse the pre-paid and non-refundable expenses if the trip is cancelled for a covered reason. These can include medical reasons, weather delays, terrorist attacks and financial default of a travel supplier, among other reasons. If your concerns don’t fit into the covered reasons, consider Cancel For Any Reason coverage.

DID YOU KNOW? Sickness, injury or death of a family member is one of the most commonly claimed reasons for Trip Cancellation. Family also includes Aunts, Uncles, In-Laws, Step Children, Foster Children, Domestic Partners and more, even if they are not traveling with you.

DID YOU KNOW? An Evacuation Could Bankrupt You? Medical emergencies take the top 2 spots on this list, and these are particularly true for international travelers. Most medical evacs cost between $25k and $50k depending on where you are when it happens and where the closest hospital is.

DID YOU KNOW? Emergency Medical coverage during the trip is the #1 reason to consider travel insurance, and should also be travelers’ #1 item to check their own health insurance while in the planning stages of a trip. If your health insurance adequately covers you during the trip, you may consider a travel insurance plan with low medical limits to save money, while still protecting against delays and cancellations discussed in this list. However, if you know there is zero coverage or large out of network costs to use your health insurance during the trip, a higher Emergency Medical limit on your travel insurance plan is more valuable.

Please make sure you are properly covered before you book your next trip. Your personal health coverage doesn't always travel with you or when it does you might have to pay high premiums for out of network care. Also, credit cards have some coverage but double check the plan details as they rarely cover enough. You can never plan for an emergency so it is better to be safe than sorry.

BONUS! DID YOU KNOW? Here are some great questions to ask your credit card company to make sure you have enough coverage:

What is the maximum trip cost limit? Is it enough for my trip?
Is emergency medical/dental and evacuation covered with no deductible?
Is the amount of emergency medical/dental and evacuation coverage enough for my trip?
Is trip cancellation and interruption included? What are the covered reasons to cancel or interrupt my trip?
Does my credit card insurance extend to my traveling companions? For instance, can children be included at no additional cost when traveling with an insured adult?
If I become injured or ill while traveling, can I be transported to the nearest hospital of my choice?
Are pre-existing medical conditions covered?
If my trip is delayed, can extra expenses like hotel stays, meals and taxi fares be reimbursed?
If my luggage is lost or stolen, can I be reimbursed?
What if my luggage doesn't arrive when I do? Can I be reimbursed for essential personal items to help me enjoy my trip?

Also, you can check out this handy infographic from my preferred travel protection provider for a guide on what is covered from your credit card vs. a separate travel protection provider.

2019 UPDATE! I updated this blog in Oct 2019 to add a company who did an independent review of various insurance options. They also go into what is insurance, what certain terms mean and also why you should purchase insurance. It is another great resource when it comes to deciding about travel insurance.

2020 UPDATE! My blog post has been very popular and I was contacted by Money.com because they liked it too! They thought their article on the Best Travel Credit Cards would be interesting to my readers. I enjoyed reading it and I was happy to see that I own one of the cards on their list in 2020. Their list has changed in 2021 so my card is no longer on their list. No matter! I love my Delta Platinum American Express card and will keep on using it. Keep in mind that you still need to ask the questions that I offered above to see if any of these cards has enough insurance coverage for your trips! Their article only focuses on the travel benefits you receive from each card.

2021 UPDATE! My how things have changed over the past few years. I am going to drop a few links for more information on COVID-19 coverage options, an infographic guide to travel protection and a link to purchase your own travel protection plan.