When preparing for your dream vacation, it’s important to plan for unexpected hitches and glitches. That’s why it’s always better to take the necessary precautions to protect your trip investment.
Trip insurance provides coverage for nonrefundable costs associated with your travel plans. When it comes to trip insurance, there are three key benefits: trip delay insurance, trip interruption insurance, and trip cancellation insurance. It’s important to understand the differences between these terms so you know exactly what benefit you need to use.
What Is Trip Insurance?
Trip insurance offers coverage for any prepaid and nonrefundable expenses related to a trip. For example, if you are planning a trip abroad, you can insure any nonrefundable costs that you prepaid for your trip to receive reimbursement if your trip is interrupted, delayed, or canceled for a covered reason, among other benefits such as lost baggage coverage.
Trip insurance protects your travel investments and allows you to get some or all of your prepaid and nonrefundable expenses back should you not be able to take your trip or your trip plans are disrupted due to circumstances.
What Does Trip Insurance Cover?
Trip insurance can provide reimbursement for certain insured funds for a variety of circumstances, as well as other added benefits. Trip insurance can offer coverage for the following:
- Trip delay
- Trip interruption
- Trip cancellation
- Missed connections
- Emergency medical evacuation
- Accident & sickness
- Lost baggage
What Is Trip Delay Insurance?
Trip delay insurance can provide a monetary benefit if your trip is delayed for a certain period of time and that delay prevents you from staying at your originally booked accommodations. This delay must occur due to a covered reason as specified in your plan’s description of coverage. You may also receive a benefit for reasonable expenses related to a trip delay for things such as meals, transportation, or lodging under certain circumstances.
For example, let’s say you’re headed to Europe and a snowstorm rolls, causing your flight to be delayed. This coverage may provide you with reimbursement for additional meal, transportation and hotel expenses incurred due to the delay up to a certain amount.
What Is Trip Interruption Insurance?
Trip interruption insurance can provide reimbursement up to the benefit maximum if you must start your trip late or are unable to complete your trip due to a covered reason under your policy. This reimbursement may include any prepaid nonrefundable expenses for travel arrangements or additional transportation costs.
Say you’re taking a two-week long vacation in Europe. Within the first few days, a large earthquake leaves you with no choice but to return home immediately. Trip interruption insurance may ensure reimbursement for some nonrefundable, unused travel expenses.
What Is Trip Cancellation Insurance?
Trip cancellation insurance can offer reimbursement for prepaid nonrefundable expenses in the event that a traveler must cancel their trip before they depart due to a certain covered reason.
Say you’re planning an elaborate trip to Europe. You’ve prepaid all airline tickets and hotel stays, but just three days ago, you fell violently ill. Suddenly, you’re forced to cancel your travels before they even begin. Trip cancellation insurance coverage may provide reimbursement for some nonrefundable travel expenses.
What Are Covered Reasons for Trip Interruption or Trip Cancellation?
When it comes to utilizing your trip insurance, there are certain covered reasons that would make a trip cancellation or interruption eligible for reimbursement.
Reasons for canceling or interrupting trip plans that may be covered under a trip insurance policy include:
- The death of a family member or travel companion
- A documented illness or injury that prevents you from being able to travel
- A mental or nervous condition that requires hospitalization
- Mechanical breakdown of the common carrier you are scheduled to travel on
- A natural disaster at your departure city or destination that prevents you from traveling
- Inclement weather that causes a delay or cancellation by a common carrier
- Terrorist incident that occurs before your trip
Tips for Filing Trip Insurance Claims
If you need to file a claim for a trip-related mishap, it’s important to know the differences between these types of trip coverage. Filing a claim under the wrong terminology can result in the insurance company denying the claim. You may end up with a huge financial loss and a whole lot of frustration. Keep in mind that each trip insurance plan has different coverage amounts for trip delay, trip cancellation, and trip interruption.
Before you buy trip insurance, make sure you read the policy documents carefully. Pay particular attention to the policy maximums for delay, cancellation and interruptions. They may not only differ from each other, but from plan to plan as well. When you start filling out the claim form, you may be unsure of which terminology applies. Don’t just give it your best guess. Instead, contact your insurance company to clear up any unanswered questions before submission.
Protect Your Travel Investment With Trip Insurance
When you travel, anything can happen. These things can be great like scoring $20 Broadway tickets through a seat lottery. But they can also be not-so-great, like being unable to use those tickets because you’re suddenly needed back at home. With trip insurance, you protect yourself from financial loss before embarking on your next adventure.
Learn more about the benefits of trip insurance or compare trip insurance plans to secure a policy that offers the financial protection you need.
