What is Travel Insurance?
You may hear a lot about Travel Insurance, or Trip Insurance, or a Travel Protection Plan. These are all pretty much the same thing, but there can be some differences.
Your first reaction may be “What is it, and why do I need it?”. You may be wondering, is this just another way to get me to pay more for my trip?
Travel Insurance is there to protect your investment in your trip, should there be some event that causes you to have cancel, delay or interrupt your trip.
Examples of events that are often covered in travel insurance include the following:
- You have an emergency at work that requires you to be at work instead of on your trip.
- You become ill or injured before or on your trip.
- Your flights are cancelled or delayed, causing you to miss a connection or the scheduled start of a tour or cruise.
- Your luggage is lost or stolen.
Why do I need it?
There are several reasons travel insurance is highly recommended.
If you have to cancel a flight, cruise or tour, in many cases, the amount you have paid is not recoverable, without insurance or a protection plan.
Your health insurance coverage may not cover you in a foreign country.
If you have to be evacuated back to the US, the costs can be extremely high.
Where can I get it?
In many cases, coverage can be obtained directly from the tour operator, cruise operator, or airline. But it can also be obtained separately. As a travel agent, I can help you see what different options are available, so that you can make the right choice.
How much does it cost?
Cost and coverage is variable on a lot of different factors. For separate insurance policies, the price will vary based on type of coverage, your age, your state of residence, and the cost of the trip. For plans provided by the cruise or tour operator, or the airline, it will depend often on the value of your trip.
When I talk about type of coverage, here are some things that can make a difference:
- Do you want a credit toward a future trip, or do you want to just recover your money?
- What is the maximum amount of coverage do you want?
- What features do you want in the coverage (eg, pre-trip protection)?
