A guide for buying the right amount of insurance for your trip, When booking a trip, there are many details that travelers pay close attention to. Purchasing airfare, managing hotel stays, selecting tours and planning excursions all demand the close attention of the vacationer. But what about travel insurance in the middle of planning? How much travel insurance does a modern day adventurer need?
Simply put, every traveler should consider purchasing a travel insurance policy to protect their investment. However, the question of how much travel insurance they should buy is enough to confuse even the most experienced traveler. What expenses count in a travel insurance plan? More importantly, what should a traveler do if they add more expenses to their itinerary? When planning to purchase travel insurance, here are three key points to keep into consideration.
Purchase Travel Insurance for All Expenses: Airfare, Accommodations, and Tours
Simply put: every dollar directly spent on travel counts for coverage in a travel insurance policy. When purchasing a plan for the next adventure, it is important to include all travel expenses incurred while away from home. This includes airfare, rental cars, hotels, tours, and all other prepaid expenses or liabilities directly involved in your travels.
It is important to include all of the associated travel costs in a travel insurance policy in the unlikely event something goes wrong on vacation. Purchasing too little travel insurance can result in claims being denied and the traveler losing out on reimbursement for cancelled or delayed travel. For example: if a traveler were to purchase travel insurance for airfare but not hotel fees, and were forced to cancel their entire trip for a covered reason, the traveler would be reimbursed for the airfare alone. As a result, the traveler would lose any prepaid rates or cancellation fees.
Just as important as how much travel insurance to buy is when to purchase travel insurance. By shopping for travel insurance at the beginning of the travel booking process and buying insurance as soon as 14 days after the first travel deposit, travelers can unlock extra benefits gained by purchasing travel insurance, such as cancel for any reason benefits.
Add Additional Purchases to Your Travel Insurance Policy
One of the biggest mistakes travelers make when purchasing a travel insurance policy is not adding additional bookings to their plans. Many travelers believe that once a policy is purchased, their insurance is set in stone. Another common misunderstanding is that any new travel bookings require a new travel insurance policy for the additional purchases.
However, both approaches can create even more problems for travelers in the event something goes wrong while away from home. Having conflicting travel insurance policies can result in confusion as to where to file a claim – unless travelers are purchasing a specialized travel insurance policy (like a special rental car policy). In addition, having two policies for the same coverage can cause additional problems for travelers.
In many situations, travelers can add additional bookings to their original travel insurance policy. The additional purchases will require a higher covered amount on their policy, and will often incur an additional fee. By adding the additional amount to the original travel insurance policy, travelers can rest assured that their entire itinerary is covered on one policy.
Purchasing Travel Insurance for Award Bookings
Purchasing travel insurance for an award booking can be a confusing process. Many travel insurance providers do not put a value to points and miles, despite the retail value of the travel – rendering the points themselves to have no value. Therefore, when the time comes to book award travel, how much travel insurance should be purchased?
While travel insurance can be purchased for award travel, the policy will not cover the retail value of the trip. Instead, a travel insurance policy can reimburse travelers for covered expenses due to trip cancellation. These expenses include (but are not limited to) ticket cancellation fees, non-refundable fuel surcharges, and points redepositing fees. Instead of purchasing travel insurance for the retail value of the travel, a travel insurance policy for award bookings should focus on the cost of all fees associated with the award purchase.
By understanding how much travel insurance travelers need to purchase, they can make better decisions for their next adventure. When travelers purchase the right amount for booked travel, they can make sure they travel completely covered – from the first departure, to the final landing at home.