InsureMyTrip Blog

Some important travel insurance terms you should be familiar with:

1. A.M. Best Ratings — Industry watchdog A.M. Best rates and assesses insurance companies’ financial strength and ability to meet their obligations to policyholders. InsureMyTrip.com features a user-friendly monitoring tool for consumers to check the A.M. Best Ratings of all the leading U.S. travel insurance companies before you purchase coverage.

2. Unforeseen — means not anticipated or expected and occurring after the effective date of the policy.

(more…)

Becky, Insurance Analyst

Imagine this.  You’ve finally departed for that two-week vacation you have been planning for months.  It’s two weeks away from work, and you are looking forward to some relaxation and some fun.  But then something unexpected happens.  On the plane ride you are seated near someone who is coughing, and obviously ill.  You arrive at your destination and learn you are being quarantined.  It could happen.  Just this week the State Department alerted Americans that China is imposing a seven-day quarantine on passengers arriving with a fever or flu-like symptoms in order to prevent the spread of swine flu.  (more…)

Vikki, Public Relations

Working in the travel insurance world as I do, you’d think I’d have a pretty good understanding of all things travel insurance. Actually, I guess I know more than I realize, but sometimes I’m slow to fully appreciate some of the neatest things about these products. For instance, coverage for natural disasters.

Over the past few weeks we’ve seen folks snowed in and flooded out in the Midwest, Mt. Redoubt erupting in Alaska, and of course that devasting earthquake in Italy. I know that for people with planned trips to these areas there are a number of covered reasons for cancelling them such as:

• (more…)

Jill, Customer Care

Traveling overseas and need an insurance policy at the request of an Embassy? The site for you is InsureMyTravelVisa.com.  When you purchase a policy on this site you will be faxed a letter as proof of insurance that you can bring to the embassy. The policies offered have all the requirements that the embassies want. The letter states the requirements as well. And the best thing is that these policies are often quite inexpensive.

Melissa, Operations Analyst

The InsureMyTrip Holiday Party has been postponed until after the new year because of…

Snow!

Living in New England, sometimes, snow happens.  We all look forward to our annual Holiday Party and will just have to wait a couple more weeks.

This made me think just how many people travel over the holiday season to visit family and friends.  If you are one of those holiday travelers, I am sure you have thought about flights possibly being canceled or even missing your trip because of snow.

Every travel insurance company treats this scenario differently.  Some companies state that if inclement weather is in the forecast, then it is not unforeseen and therefore, not covered if the insurance is purchased after the weather has been predicted. Other companies state that as long as you buy the insurance before the day of departure, flights are not delayed, and airports have not announced closure, then you would have coverage for either travel delay, cancellation, or interruption (depending on the company).

The best advice: before you buy your travel insurance policy, and if snow delays are your main concern, call us at 800-487-4722. We’ll help you make sense of your options.

Melissa, Operations Analyst

Price is a factor when you are purchasing travel insurance.  On our site, you can compare the policies (and prices) side by side.  When doing this, you will find that the prices are very different when looking from one policy to another.  Many believe, if you pay more, you will get more.  However, that’s not always the case with travel insurance.

Where to begin?
I usually start by comparing the 3 least expensive package plans to the most expensive plans and then, I compare the benefits and weigh the cost.  Everyone’s travel insurance needs are different.  Some travelers like to have a lot of travel medical & evacuation coverage and some don’t think this benefit is necessary for their trip.  Other travelers want coverage for lost/damaged luggage and to some, this type of coverage is not so important.

Before you buy travel insurance, make sure that your main concerns for purchasing the insurance will be covered.  If you need help our Customer Care staff is here for you (800-487-4722).  Just explain your main travel concerns and they will do their best to find a policy which meets your needs.

Melissa, Operations Analyst

Would you cancel your trip if one of the following situations happened?

• one of your friends passed away
• a family member passed away
• one of your children were ill
• a close family member was ill
• your pet passed away or was injured
• you lost your job
• you had to change jobs and could not get the same vacation time
• you got sick or injured and the doctor says you can’t travel
• you were in an accident on the way to a cruise departure
• you became pregnant before the trip and now can’t travel
• a close family member is expected to give birth while you are away
• there was a terrorist incident in the city you are traveling to and you no longer feel safe traveling there
• bad weather prevents your plane from taking off and you miss the trip
• a hurricane destroys your destination or your home
• the weather forecast is not ideal for your trip type (no snow is in the forecast for a ski trip, rain during the week you rented a beach house, etc)

Some circumstances on the list above would be covered for trip cancellation with every policy on our website. Unfortunately, several others are not normally covered unless additional coverage is purchased.

Some insurance companies now offer that additional coverage: called “Cancel For Any Reason”.

The Cancel For Any Reason benefit is only available with certain policies for an additional fee but, it will really allow you to cancel for any reason.  There are some guidelines to follow and each policy is different, so be sure to read the benefit thoroughly.

Before you buy travel insurance, make sure that the policy you choose will cover your main concerns.  If you have questions, call Customer Care for help at 800-487-4722.

Peter, EVP

The recent terrorist events in Mumbai remind all of us of the risks that are spread around the world. Indeed the world has become a smaller place and such incidents highlight the dangers within the global community. As we plan our travels for the upcoming year, it is important to know that travel insurance provides meaningful coverage which can help mitigate some of the traveling risks and fears.

A few items to remember: Most trip cancellation package policies provide terrorism coverage allowing you to cancel your trip if a terrorist incident occurs in any of your itinerary cities within a specified period (7 to 30 days depending on the Insurance Company) before your departure. In addition, some policies provide a “Cancel for any Reason” benefit thus allowing you to cancel your trip for whatever reason that you wish to exercise. Finally, should you be in a city that is experiencing terrorists activities, most trip cancellation package polices provide a trip interruption benefit which pays the additional cost to return home on short notice and also extends to cover the unused portion of your trip cost.

Be sure to check plan certificates for details, or contact Customer Care at 800-487-4722.

Safe Travels Always

Melissa, Operations Analyst

Skiing / Snowboarding
White Water Rafting
Scuba Diving
Motorized Water Sports
Spelunking / Caving
Bungee Jumping

The sports above are just a few popular activities travelers look forward to while on vacation.  Every travel insurance policy has excluded activities.  Many times, the excluded activities are what you are actually concerned about when you are buying travel insurance.

Before you buy your travel insurance policy, remember to read the excluded activities carefully and purchase additional coverage if necessary. If you’re at all not sure, call Customer Care (800-487-4722).

Melissa, Operations Analyst

Your travel insurance needs will be different depending on the type of trip you are taking. If you are taking a trip to Walt Disney World, your insurance needs will be different than if you were traveling to Africa.

Here are a few examples of types of trips people are taking and the insurance concerns they should have.

Trip To Walt Disney World
If you are taking a trip to Walt Disney World, your main concerns should be trip cancellation, travel delay, and travel baggage. Many people traveling domestically have medical insurance which will cover them while traveling to Florida so, a small amount of medical would be sufficient for this trip.

Going On A Cruise
Your main concerns with this type of vacation should be Medical Evacuation, Trip Cancellation and Interruption. The companies which provide medical evacuations state that an average medical evacuation for a Caribbean cruise is between $25,000 and $30,000. If this is an average I would recommend a policy with at least $100,000 per person for medical evacuation. Trip Cancellation is important for obvious reasons. After you make your final payment, your cruise is now non-refundable. If someone gets sick and you cannot go, this type of benefit could reimburse the amount which was insured. Trip Interruption is also important for this type of trip. If a family member back at home passes away suddenly, you may have to fly home from an island in the middle of your trip. The theory behind this benefit is for you to be reimbursed the unused portion of the trip and the amount it cost you to fly back from that island.

Backpacking Through Europe
If you are Backpacking through Europe, your main concern should be travel medical & evacuation. Other concerns for this type of trip would include travel baggage and trip interruption.

Taking An Adventure Trip To Africa
Are you Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro or possibly going on an African Safari? Both of these trips would be exciting and dangerous at the same time. The trips will be bringing you to secluded areas of Africa. You should be looking for a travel insurance policy which offers a good amount of Medical Evacuation. I would not even compare a policy if there was less than a $250,000 evacuation benefit for this type of trip. The tours are also very expensive with heavy cancellation penalties. Be sure to include trip cancellation and an additional amount for trip interruption. Check the policy certificate. Make sure that the policy you choose does not exclude mountain climbing.  If the policy does exclude this activity, look for a policy which offers coverage for this activity.

Before you buy your travel insurance, think about the type of trip you are taking.  Look at the coverage limits for each benefit and see if these coverage limits are adequate for your upcoming trip.