When to Buy Travel Insurance
When you’re planning a vacation, scheduling excursions and choosing restaurants to dine in each evening is less of a chore than a fun part of the trip. But there is one more consideration you need to make less fun, confusing, and potentially expensive: travel insurance.
The question of whether you should buy travel insurance will be asked and will never be definitively answered until the end of time (or at least as long as it exists as it stands). And this is really quite difficult.
Interestingly, Democratic Senator Edward J. Markey (Massachusetts) has just released a report that says airlines and online booking companies are pushing too many passengers to purchase policies that do not actually cover what they are must. The report notes that airlines and online travel agencies (such as Expedia, Hotwire, Orbitz, Priceline, etc.) “receive an undisclosed fee for every policy sold,” adding a whopping 7.5% to the ticket price.
According to the Washington Post, here’s how airlines and websites are scammed:
It also says that United Airlines is rolling out a policy to cover electronic devices like laptops that will only pay $ 500 for the first bag lost, $ 250 for additional bags, up to $ 500 total for everything. United’s policy also requires an original receipt before the company refunds travelers for an item over $ 150. The report says that other rules make it difficult for travelers to complete a successful bid if their flights are canceled or interrupted due to illness or injury. One anonymous traveler cited in the report filed a lawsuit with the Better Business Bureau, complaining that he bought a $ 65 travel insurance policy for a trip to Puerto Rico, which did not pay zero after the trip had to be canceled due to hurricanes. …
So this is not great. Experts say niche coverage, policies on things like lost luggage are probably not worth the cost – as Senator Mark’s report makes clear, businesses rarely pay or make getting a check extremely onerous. And if you’re just traveling from, say, New York to Michigan, you probably don’t need to buy insurance.
However, if you’re traveling with a bunch of expensive items, it makes sense to purchase a lost or damaged item policy for those items individually, as Phil Sylvester, director of content and communications for World Nomads, explains to US News :
If you are planning a trip in which you will be carrying technical equipment, [Sylvester] advises to ensure that the maximum and minimum price thresholds for individual items match the amount of equipment you have. “The formulation of the policy matters too because vendors may define certain benefits or values in different ways, so make sure you understand exactly what is being offered,” he says. He adds that if you are having trouble navigating in a language that is too complex, contact your provider and ask for further clarification.
Use a site like InsureMyTrip to compare policies.
It also makes sense to learn the rules if you are traveling to a remote location, engaging in hazardous activities, going to a hurricane-prone area during hurricane season, or spending a significant amount of money. If you are traveling abroad , you should consider health insurance. Look for comprehensive travel insurance that will cover cancellations and delays, lost luggage, disaster evacuation and medical problems. You can expect to spend around $ 165 , although this depends on the price of your trip.
Before traveling abroad, you should check your insurance policy to see what it covers – some services may be covered. Call and ask them if the events you will be participating in will be insured in case something happens. And as we said earlier :
- Keep your insurance card in your wallet.
- Bring a list of all the medicines you are taking.
- Make sure you have a healthy supply of medications you are taking. You may be able to ask your doctor to “cancel leave” so that you can get your prescription ahead of time.
- Know what your insurance covers and check to see if there are any items you are traveling to within the network.
- See if your doctor offers telemedicine services, such as video consultation.
You may also be offered some credit card protections, especially if it is an annual travel card. But you have to read the fine print.
For example, Chase Sapphire Preferred offers up to $ 10,000 in compensation “if your trip is canceled or interrupted due to illness, severe weather, or other stipulated circumstances,” and travel delay refunds up to $ 500 per ticket. “If your regular carrier flight is delayed by more than 12 hours or requires an overnight stay.” Citi also offers cancellation protection .
Read all the fine print rules and plan your trip. Are you just flying or traveling in the USA? Skip insurance. Looking for a trip abroad or an expensive vacation? Then it’s worth the investment.