Travel Protection – why do you need it when you travel?
Perhaps you've recently booked a trip, or maybe you're in the early stages of planning. With your focus on your destination and the eager anticipation of travel, you may not have thought about travel protection yet. However, timing is an important factor when it comes to buying travel insurance. As a travel advisor, we work to not just sell you the vacation, but to also help you protect your investment.
Most plans (including ours) offer early purchase advantages if you buy your insurance plan shortly after making your initial trip deposit (from the early purchase window for our plan is 14 days from your initial deposit date). These early purchase advantages include:
· A waiver of the Pre-Existing Medical Conditions Exclusion from plan coverage
· The option to upgrade your plan with Cancel for Any Reason (CFAR) coverage
If these early purchase advantages don't motivate you, it's still a good idea to buy your travel protection as early as possible - your plan is effective the day after purchase, and your Trip Cancellation coverage goes into effect immediately, protecting your non-refundable trip costs in case you experience a covered event.
But, if you're late to the game, don't worry... you can generally buy your travel insurance plan up to a day before departure. Just remember, you would not be eligible for the pre-existing condition coverage, and you cannot get the optional CFAR upgrade.
If you buy your plan right after booking your trip (within 14 days of making your initial trip deposit) and choose the optional CFAR upgrade, you can cancel anytime for no reason at all or for a reason outside of those covered by the plan. Just remember, the reimbursement for CFAR is not 100% of your trip cost and varies by plan so make sure you check those details and fine print when deciding. For our plan, the CFAR reimbursement benefit is 75% of pre-paid, non-refundable trip costs.
Traveling during hurricane season?
Be sure to buy your insurance BEFORE the storm is named. Once a storm is named, it's considered "foreseen," so related disruptions would not be eligible for claims if the plan is purchased after that date.
Other travel protection options include:
InterMedical Plan – This plan is for those seeking just medical and medical evacuation outside their home country (not for travel in the US). InterMedical doesn’t include trip cancellation or interruption coverage. This plan cannot be purchased more than 6 months in advance of the initial trip deposit. This can be purchased by US and international residents.
AirMed Plan – Short-term medical evacuation coverage for those looking for a flexible and specialized air medical transport option. May be selected in addition to one of the comprehensive or travel medical travel insurance plans. Only available to US residents.
Voyager Plan – this plan is designed for frequent travelers. The Voyager plan offers coverage for a full year anytime the policy holder is more than 100 miles from home on a scheduled trip. The primary focus is on medical expenses, medical evacuation, and repatriation coverage. Trip cancellation coverage is NOT included on this plan. It is also only available to US residents.
We are a full-service travel company, and we sell Travel Protection with training as an overview of coverage information but are not experts. We can refer you to the Travel Insurance supplier we work with, to answer your specific detailed questions. Our goal is to protect your trip investment and your health-related details. We know you may have circumstances that need the expertise of the Insurance companies so we can facilitate that connection. Protect your investments in travel so you can enjoy your trip to the fullest.