Travel Insurance 101

Photo courtesy RCCL

Missed connections, misplaced or damaged luggage, an unexpected accident or illness in the family before or during a trip, a strike or work stoppage by airline or train workers, even forgetting your passport for departure or losing it en route — these are all reasons you should not leave home without travel insurance, travel medical insurance, or both.

An overlooked benefit  of travel insurance is that it gives you one central place to call to help solve your problem, including re-imbursement.  So, which kind to get?  

Basic policies cover delayed baggage, so you can buy yourself a toothbrush and a clean t-shirt and be re-imbursed.  But that’s not enough for complicated itineraries like cruises or tours, especially to isolated destinations. 

Trip interruption  – Without this, you are at the mercy of airlines, which can charge as much as ten times the price of your original, discounted, advance-purchase ticket for a replacement.  And your hotel might charge you a ‘no-show’ fee that’s half the cost of the room, even if they rent it to somebody else.  Trip interruption coverage is a basic part of travel insurance.

Trip cancellation – This is different from trip interruption coverage, and usually is included in more expensive policies.  Or, buy it as an add-on to your basic travel insurance coverage.  Cancellation insurance  “for any reason’ covers you if you decide not to take the trip at all — because you lost your job, because of an illness in the family, because you heard there would be political demonstrations near your hotel.   

Medical coverage – Many travel insurance policies cover medical care away from home that is not covered by your regular health insurance policy.  Since Medicare does not cover medical care outside the United States, it is  especially important for U. S. travellers over 65 to have medical travel insurance with a medical component.