InsureMyTrip Blog

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At this time of year, it seems everyone’s traveling.  We’re all packing up to head off to Grandma’s house, or on that family ski trip, or getting ready to spend the holiday season someplace warm, tropical, and decidedly un-wintry.  I can’t help but notice that even iconic seasonal characters are all heading off on their own travels.  Frosty?  He’s got a refrigerated boxcar to catch.  Rudolph?  Only in charge of the fastest round-the-world trek ever.  Santa?  Not only Rudolph’s pilot, but traveling with a whole lot of luggage.  Even old Jack Frost is a nomad these days, showing up in the most unexpected places at the least convenient times, and bringing the winter weather along with him.

Fortunately, travel insurance really does have a solution for just about anyone, including our favorite holiday heroes.  Should any of them run into trouble on their travels, having the right insurance policy in hand could do wonders for them.  Dare I say…travel insurance could save the holidays?

If Frosty melts.  Let’s face it — he’s prone to this particular affliction.  If that refrigerated boxcar ended up in, say, Punta Cana instead of the North Pole, our frozen friend could wind up in a lot of trouble.  Medical Evacuation, preferably with the added Hospital of Choice benefit so Frosty could be quickly taken to a more Northern facility familiar with the needs of snowmen, might save Frosty’s life (not to mention his wallet, since evacuation flights are expensive; and as anyone who’s seen the television special knows, he hasn’t got money for a ticket).  Sadly, if it should happen that neither evacuation nor Santa’s December Wind could save our melted friend, we could only hope that he might have purchased an Accidental Death and Dismemberment policy to provide some financial help to Mrs. Frosty and the little snowballs.

If Rudolph’s nose goes out.  Even the brightest of LED lights doesn’t last forever.  While Rudolph might be most famous for having a nose that “blinks like a blinking beacon,” there might come a day when his signature feature is no longer so shiny.  Imagine the consequences of THAT grounded flight!  Fortunately for Santa and any elves who were also scheduled to be riding along as sleigh passengers, the 24-7 assistance providers at their travel insurance company would be able to help them with rebooking and more.  They could even potentially get reimbursement for an eggnog latte at the airport Starbucks, as long as the nose-related delay lasted longer than 5 or 6 hours.  Of course, if the flight were totally cancelled due to Rudolph’s malfunctioning muzzle,  Santa might be wise to check his travel insurance policy to find out whether or not he’s covered for “mechanical failures.”

If Santa’s sack goes missing.  Fortunately, a package policy would provide Santa with coverage for baggage delays in case the elves didn’t quite get things loaded up in time for take-off; if, unthinkably, the sack happened to be irretrievably missing, baggage loss coverage could help the guy in the big red suit replace all those toys.  Of course, gifts for every good child in the world might exceed the total coverage limit on your average travel insurance policy…but that’s another discussion.

If Jack Frost gets out of hand.  We like a guy with enthusiasm for his work, but sometimes, Jack’s a little TOO excitable.  If his antics have you snowbound when you ought to be traveling, or if his signature icy touch damages your cozy winter getaway lodgings to the point that they’re uninhabitable, travel insurance could help.  Trip cancellation coverage may be able to reimburse you for your lost trip if the winter weather causes airports to shut down, or if your home or destination are too badly damaged by storms.

Clearly, travel insurance has a little something to offer to just about everyone this holiday season.  If it hasn’t made it into a place of honor on your to-do list, it might be time to pencil in a phone call to our Customer Care Center in between baking the fruitcake and digging out your most festive theme sweater.  And yes, we’re even open on the holidays — just in case Santa needs to give us a call.

Our thoughts and best wishes are with all those affected by the destructive path of Hurricane Sandy, as well as those who will continue to be impacted by the storm’s devastation over the ensuing days and weeks.  As cleanup crews begin their work and flood waters hopefully recede, there will be many challenges ahead, especially within the travel industry.  With thousands of flights cancelled already and airports and train stations closed for the foreseeable future in some parts of the country, there is potential for disruption that will last for many days, impacting possibly hundreds of thousands of people across the country.  Even international travel could be badly disrupted, since a full halt to flights in and out of international airports in the New York Metropolitan area will naturally ripple outward and affect flight patterns and travel plans abroad.

If you are one of the travelers who has already been affected by Hurricane Sandy, or if you had planned to travel within the next week to ten days or so, there are some steps you can take to help sort through any confusion.  We recommend the following:

If your flight has already been cancelled or significantly delayed (more than 5 hours):

1. Call your travel insurance provider’s emergency assistance number, which can be found on your policy.  Depending upon the type of coverage you purchased, you may be able to receive assistance with re-booking and with finding lodgings, if needed.  At the very least, you’ll be able to confirm with them whether your policy covers incidental expenses like food while you’re waiting, and what kind of documentation you may need to provide to file a successful claim.

2. Call your airline and any other travel suppliers you’ve booked with for your trip.  In most circumstances, this wouldn’t be a recommended course of action, but due to the severe nature of Hurricane Sandy, many airlines and travel suppliers have made special arrangements to assist passengers and clients.  They may be able to provide you with valuable information and support in re-arranging your travel plans, as well as give you some insight into whether or not your particular airline/supplier has decided to provide refunds of any kind for disruptions caused by Sandy.

3. If you’ve determined that you are ready to file a claim with your travel insurance company, call or email the claims department at the company directly to set the process in motion.  The contact information should be listed on your travel insurance policy, but if you’ve purchased from a company whose products are offered through InsureMyTrip, you can also access the information for contacting claims assistance on our website.

If you are planning to travel within the next 7-10 days, and are concerned about the impact of Sandy on your travels:

1. We recommend staying in contact with your airlines and travel suppliers first.  While their phone lines may be quite busy for a few days, it’s important that you have a sense of how your specific carrier(s) may be faring and what their plans are to get things back on track.  If your trip is still several days away, it may be a good idea to follow your airline on social media, either through Twitter or Facebook, so that you can receive continual updates without having to wait on hold.

2. Review your travel insurance policy and make sure you understand what benefits it offers you for travel delays and cancellations, as well as other hurricane-specific coverages such as Destination Uninhabitable and Primary Residence Uninhabitable.   Whether or not flights are actually able to depart and arrive by the time you’re scheduled to travel is one thing, but whether you can actually go through with your trip if your home or the lodgings you’ve secured have been significantly damaged is another.  If you have any questions about your benefits, we’d be happy to review your policy with you, even if you’re not an InsureMyTrip customer.  Our licensed travel insurance experts can walk through your specific policy with you and explain what your policy will cover, and what it may not.  They can be reached at 800-487-4722 during normal hours of operation.

3. When in doubt, call your travel insurance company directly to inquire about assistance services and filing claims.  The contact information for your specific provider can be found on your policy.

We hope everyone stays safe and well during the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.  If you have any additional questions, don’t hesitate to contact us.  We’re here to help.

With Thanksgiving, and thus the kickoff to the official holiday travel season, just a month away, it’s a good time to review the top travel insurance coverage options available to those celebrating the long weekend away from home.  Thanksgiving travel is a relatively unique event in the grand scheme of holiday comings and goings; with most people making their turkey day festivities only a weekend affair, there’s a greater chance of major congestion, long lines, and frustrating mishaps crammed into one short time period.  However, because it’s also a family-centered holiday for most of us, traveling over the Thanksgiving weekend also brings with it some fairly high stakes as far as the emotional importance of getting from here to there in a safe and timely fashion.

Although conventional travel insurance wisdom usually says that people who are planning a quick, domestic trip may not really need to purchase a travel insurance policy, the exception to that rule happens to be Thanksgiving.  With jam-packed airports and train stations nearly guaranteed, the chances that something inconvenient will happen while you’re traveling for Thanksgiving are far greater than they would be for almost any other weekend getaway.  If you’re making plans to celebrate outside the comfort of your own home this year, you may want to consider the following coverage options to give you a bit more peace of mind while you’re navigating those crowded terminals.

1. Travel Delay.  Delays may be the most likely form of turkey-travel annoyance, so it’s smart to be prepared in advance.  With a travel insurance policy that covers you for travel delays, you can take advantage of benefits like reimbursement for incidental expenses (food, lodgings, etc) you may incur while waiting for your plane or train to actually depart.  Travel delay coverage is also generally part of a broader Package Plan, which may offer you assistance with rebooking if needed, as well as reimbursement for any fees associated with changing your travel plans to get to the Thanksgiving table on time.  Be sure to read your policy carefully; most of the time, you’ll only be eligible to receive benefits for travel delay if the delay stretches out for a defined period of time (typically, it’s 5 hours or more, but it varies by plan and provider).  Still, in the crowded landscape of the Thanksgiving weekend, a five-hour delay is perfectly possible.

2. Cancellation.  If, for some reason, your delay stretches out to become no longer a delay, but a severe headache, you may be able to take advantage of the cancellation benefits offered by your travel insurance policy.  Again, the terms vary by plan, but in most cases, delays lasting more than 24 hours make you eligible to cancel your trip and file a claim to receive reimbursement for all your pre-paid, non-refundable expenses.  So if your flight is supposed to take off at noon on Wednesday, but you end up being told that you’re not getting out until 2 p.m. on Thursday, you may be able to cancel your flight and call an in-town friend who’d be happy to pull up another chair at the feast table instead.

3. Baggage Delay.  There are few things more frustrating, particularly on a short trip, than getting to your destination on time — without your luggage.  While many of us probably plan to simply streamline our belongings to what fits into a carry-on, the reality is that all too often, crowded flights require last-minute bag checks that you probably didn’t anticipate.  One of the benefits offered by a travel insurance Package Plan is for baggage delay, giving you the opportunity to replace necessary belongings that don’t accompany you as planned, then file a claim for reimbursement with your travel insurance company.

4. CFAR.  Cancel for Any Reason coverage, otherwise known as CFAR, is a benefit we tend to talk about in almost every situation due to its flexibility.  It’s definitely worth a look for Thanksgiving travelers, because any number of last-minute scenarios may overtake a weekend trip — even one that involves Grandma’s pumpkin pie.  If your pet becomes too ill to be left at home, or you suddenly become obligated to show up at work the day after the holiday, or if your travel plans were going to take you to Minneapolis just as a huge band of snow starts to work its way across the Midwest, CFAR can provide you with the ability to back out of your trip and recoup your pre-paid, non-refundable expenses.  Just be forewarned that in order to exercise your CFAR benefits, you would have to cancel your plans and notify all your travel suppliers at least 48 hours in advance of your scheduled departure.  There are also some specific eligibility requirements to purchase a CFAR policy, so make sure you read the terms of any plan carefully before buying.

These coverage options, along with the many other benefits offered by travel insurance, can help take some of the aggravation out of a busy and often chaotic Thanksgiving travel scene.  On behalf of InsureMyTrip, I wish every one of our travelers a safe and happy Thanksgiving weekend, no matter where you intend to spend it.