InsureMyTrip Blog

We get a lot of calls and emails from travelers who are planning to spend some time in, on, or around the water while they’re on vacation.  At this time of year, especially, it’s understandable; who wouldn’t want to be enjoying the summer sun on a charter boat, or cooling off with a swim or a diving adventure?  As common as the yen to get into the water may be, though, it’s also a travel planning issue that deserves some special attention of its own — at least, as far as travel insurance goes.  During the summer and fall in particular (otherwise known as a little thing called “Hurricane Season;” you may have heard of it), there’s the very real possibility that any aquatic plans could be quickly sabotaged by high winds, torrential rains, and all-around dreadful and damaging weather.

If you’re a water-loving kind of traveler, you may be channeling Roy Scheider right about now: “We’re gonna need a bigger boat.”  That may work for you…but might we suggest a quick refresher in travel insurance instead?

Sure, we’re probably a little biased, but we do honestly happen to think that travel insurance is a good option to explore whenever you’re traveling, particularly if there’s a heightened risk that you’ll be waylaid by something like a hurricane.  Even if you’re not greatly concerned about the weather, however, there are some special considerations you may want to be aware of before you plan an aquatic adventure.  Some activities will require you to have specialized travel insurance, or may not be covered on certain policies.  Here are a few examples that many travelers probably aren’t aware of.

Charter Boats. Cruising is one thing; spending a couple of nights on a charter boat is another.  Most people assume that a boat is a boat is a boat, but it’s not always that simple.  Coverage for charter boats varies across policies and situations, and doesn’t necessarily look the same as the coverage for a cruise.   Be sure to speak with one of our Customer Care representatives when you’re researching your travel insurance purchase, and mention the fact that you’re chartering a boat, so you can get the full details on what may or may not be covered.

Scuba Diving. If you’re planning to take a dive, it’s crucial that you understand the limitations of travel insurance products before you make your purchase.  Many package policies will either exclude scuba diving altogether — meaning that if you are injured during the dive, your travel insurance supplier will not provide you with the benefits you would have had if the injury had occurred on dry land — or will only cover your scuba diving  adventure up to a certain depth.  You also usually have to be diving with a guide master in order to be eligible for travel insurance coverage for your dive.  It’s also important to know that these stipulations are only applicable to package policies; if you are purchasing travel medical insurance, you should also inquire about whether or not you’ll need to purchase an additional Sports or Hazardous Activity Rider to extend your travel insurance benefits to your scuba diving plans.

Professional Competitions and Racing. If you’re planning to take to the water for a competition of any kind, travel insurance unfortunately won’t cover those activities.  Any water sports that you undertake professionally while you’re traveling, as well as any races you may participate in, are excluded from coverage.  You can still, of course, purchase a travel insurance policy that will extend you the typical benefits for travel delays, cancellations, baggage loss, etc., to protect the rest of your itinerary; but for the time that you’ll be spending on the water, those benefits won’t apply.

If you have questions about how big a boat, er, travel insurance policy, you might need for your next wet and wild adventure, call our Customer Care Center at 800-487-4722., or contact us at customercare@insuremytrip.com.

Travel insurance is a relatively unique product — it’s highly individualized in both its necessity and its scope.  What may be of crucial importance to one traveler as far as insurance coverage is concerned may not even make the Top Ten list of needs for another traveler; what one policy has to offer may be ideal for my family, but not for yours.  InsureMyTrip’s Customer Care Center has been working with travelers for more than a decade to help them make decisions about their own travel insurance needs, and during that time, we’ve learned that there is almost never a one-size-fits-all solution.

Our passion has become helping every traveler find the perfect fit for his or her needs.  When we got to know the people at Meet, Plan, Go!, an organization devoted to helping those who want to take an extended sabbatical (or “career break”) from their day jobs to travel, it immediately became clear to us that this was a community of dedicated and passionate travelers with some very specific travel insurance requirements.  It’s no small thing to take the kind of leap of faith these career breakers must take — to organize a way to purposely leave behind everything familiar and strike out into the world for an adventure that might last months or even years.  We were inspired by their courage and their spirit, and we knew we had to find a way to help them secure their travels so they could fulfill their dreams without having to worry about illness, injury, or unexpected setbacks.

We’re pleased and proud to be the exclusive travel insurance provider for Meet, Plan, Go! After extensive planning and research, our Customer Care Center now has a dedicated hotline specifically for career breakers, and our representatives are thoroughly educated on the unique needs of those taking an extended leave so they can provide specialized service to the career break community.  We look forward to working with Meet, Plan, Go! and their members, and we thank them all for taking us with them.  Nothing excites us quite as much as being able to play a small part in someone’s grand plans.

To speak with one of our licensed Customer Care representatives about insuring your career break, call 885-773-9375.

CEO Jim Grace and John DiScala (aka Johnny Jet)

“What a special moment this is for me, to meet all of you.”

I know Jim meant it sincerely.  More than a decade after founding InsureMyTrip, Wednesday night’s Regional Customer Appreciation Dinner in Warwick, RI was the first opportunity he’s ever had to meet more than one or two of our travelers at a time.  It was also very likely the first opportunity he’s had to share a meal with them and listen to a phenomenal talk by superstar travel blogger Johnny Jet, who graciously accepted the invitation to join the party as the keynote speaker.

In the company of a room full of InsureMyTrip customers, Jim, along with many staff members from several departments, had the pleasure of learning about the people who keep our business alive and thriving.  Discovering the passion our customers have for travel was a renewed revelation for us; who would have thought that the majority of the people attending the dinner would have racked up at least 30 countries visited on their journeys?  Even more thrilling: one couple we spoke to was able to proudly proclaim that they had been to more than 70 countries in the world.  Seventy!  That’s more than Johnny Jet himself can claim (although I’m sure Johnny’s working on increasing his tally, probably daily).

Here’s the funny thing: We dreamed up this event because we wanted to give a little something back to all of you.  We wanted to recognize the loyalty of our customers and show even just a small number of you that we truly appreciate you.  It gave us all great pleasure to host a dinner for you, to introduce you to our friend Johnny Jet, and to present our prize winners, Mr. Sunder Kaveri and his lovely wife Kusum, with two round-trip tickets from Qatar Airways.  (We hope your trip to India is fabulous, Mr. and Mrs. Kaveri!)  But even though we thought it would be an evening about giving back to you, we were the ones who walked away feeling as though we’d gained something.

Sometimes, in the day-to-day routine, it’s easy to forget why we do what we do.  We come to work, we answer phones, we work on site features or IT support or communications efforts, we attend meetings and make presentations and check off our to-do lists.  As we’re going about the work that keeps InsureMyTrip running, we don’t always have the chance to stop and think about what’s behind each and every click on our site and every ringing phone in our Customer Care center.  What’s behind those calls and clicks are stories — the excited planning for your summer vacations, your honeymoons, your family reunions, your once-in-a-lifetime tours of Europe.  And by meeting some of you in person and sharing an evening with you, we were reminded of those stories and of that excitement, that passion for travel.  Your spark helped to reignite ours.

So thank you, travelers, for being a part of our community.  Thank you for your loyalty, thank you for your business, and now we’re happy to be able to say to at least a few of you: Thank you for your friendship.

Jim Grace and Johnny Jet with our Qatar Airways giveaway winner