Travel Insurance

Information Regarding Travel Protection/Insurance

Now for a not so super fun topic but it's one of those things we feel that clients need to consider and understand...let's talk about all things Trip Protection/Insurance (insert majoring boooing here! I know, I know. But it's something you NEED to understand and consider). Just think of learning more about Trip Insurance like when you had to cram for finals (hopefully??). Hated it, but it paid off (hopefully??) in the end. Yeah...it kind of feels like that.

Trip protection/insurance was a rough topic before Covid, and we think it's a bit harder now unfortunately. We do think it's necessary to have a discussion so buckle up and in and off we go.

Because we are not licensed insurance agents, we can't tell you which option to choose but we can provide you some information and comparisons to assist you in making your choice. We always advise clients to contact the trip insurance companies directly and ask questions to make sure a policy fits YOUR specific needs and wants.

HOW TRIP INSURANCE IS CALCULATED

Age of clients and trip costs are the two key factors in determining the price of an insurance policy.

WHAT TRIP COSTS TO COVER

This can be super tricky. You'll need to understand what costs are PRE-PAID, NON-REFUNDABLE costs and what are refundable. Obviously you know what is not paid, right? LOL But pay close attention to when things become non-refundable.

Types of Insurance

Option 1: Third Party Travel Insurance

Benefits:
- Higher benefit limits especially with regards to emergency medical and medical evacuation benefits.
- Possible to cover bankruptcy of supplier.
- Primary not secondary medical insurance so for larger medical bills you aren't paying a large sum out of pocket as they often can be direct billed. Also, there is no need to file claims through your domestic insurance.
- Can cover multiple trip components no matter the supplier used. (e.g. If you book your flights on your own and your travel agent books the rest of your trip this one policy could potentially cover all components.)
- Can have benefits included such as a right to work clause, pre-existing conditions waiver and more pre-departure benefits included if you purchase a policy within 14-21 days of making your first trip deposit (or one policy allows up to final payment).
- For travelers with children under 18 years old, some insurance plans will allow 1 child per insured adult to be covered at no additional charge while others can cover all children under the age of 18.
Considerations:
- Limited or no Cancel for Any Reason (CFAR) (lower limit...usually 60-80% not 100%) benefit so would need to cancel for a policy COVERED reason to receive benefit allowances (only exception is if you pair this with the supplier who has the pre-departure waiver as you wouldn't need this CFAR coverage as that's what the waiver is for).
- If vouchers are given from a supplier, you typically will not get cash back since you received the vouchers and you cannot refuse the vouchers if that is the supplier's or insurance company's policy.
- Changes fees would not be covered with supplier if you needed to make changes to your trip unless that change had to do with a specific covered reason (such as changing the dates of your trip to avoid/fly out early due to a hurricane).

GET ARCH ROAMRIGHT TRIP INSURANCE QUOTE

GET TRAVEL INSURED INTERNATIONAL INSURANCE QUOTE

GET ALLIANZ (pre-exisiting condition waiver up to final payment date-conditions apply) INSURANCE QUOTE

Option 2: Your Supplier Trip Protection Plan

Benefits:
- Can offer up to 100% Cancel for Any Reason (CFAR) benefit with money back (less the cost of the trip protection policy) in the forms of travel vouchers (usually good for up to 1 year from trip date-see individual policy for specific details) or cash back to original form of payment.
- Potential to have airfare change/cancel fees waived (usually if the air was booked through that supplier and not on your own or with a different supplier).
- The potential ability to change destination or travel dates after booking (depending on supplier we use) with little to no fees to clients.
- For senior travelers, the costs can be much lower as many times the company will not take age into consideration (unlike with a 3rd party plan).
Considerations:
- Secondary not primary medical insurance benefits thus you need to have a plan to pay out of pocket for a potentially large bill if you were to be hospitalized (e.g. even if you're treated at a foreign hospital, they can demand an upfront payment of $10,000+ for you to be treated so make sure you understand this option).
- No protection for bankruptcy of the supplier since the insurance is offered by them.
- Lower overall benefit limits (especially for emergency medical and evacuation coverages) than if you purchased a 3rd party insurance plan.

Option 3: Pre-Departure Waiver

Note: This waiver option is only available with 1 supplier and is not available for any cruise vacations)

This will allow for a very flexible vacation package as you can cancel for any reason up to 2 hours prior to departure or change components up to 8 days prior to departure if needed. The cost of the PDP is relatively low at $55-110 per person (depending on the destination). If you needed to cancel your trip you could get your money back in the original form of payment less the cost of the PDP.

Because there is no actual insurance coverage (trip delay, trip interruption, baggage loss/deal, emergency medical, etc.) with this PDW, we do also suggest that clients consider purchasing a trip insurance policy as well.

Benefits:
- Low cost option to create a "cancel for any reason" package.
Considerations:
- Not a true insurance policy as it has no coverage for emergency medical, emergency evac, trip interruption, trip delay, bag delay, etc. The sole issue with this waiver is to cover cancellation and changes for your trip prior to departure

GET ARCH ROAMRIGHT TRIP INSURANCE QUOTE

GET TRAVEL INSURED INTERNATIONAL INSURANCE QUOTE

GET ALLIANZ (pre-exisiting condition waiver up to final payment date-conditions apply) INSURANCE QUOTE

Things To Note

What we've found, especially since Covid came into our lives, is that there is NO perfect insurance policy. Trip insurance, like any insurance, is meant to OFFSET COSTS not always cover things 100%.

Always keep in mind how insurance works...you pay premiums...the insurance company won't guarantee an outcome until the underwriters audit your situation, documentation and receipts and make a determination based on your policy. Pro Tip: Keep EVERY receipt while on vacation and ALWAYS ask for a receipt. Just to be safe!

We always STRONGLY recommend you purchase a policy. It's hard when you "don't know what you don't know", right?! We want to give you some examples of issues that you might be able to avoid if you choose to purchase a policy.

Where we see a lot of people get confused or make mistakes are:

Not understanding the difference between PRIMARY and SECONDARY medical coverage.
Thinking they can cancel their trip and get all money back for ANY reason versus only for a SPECIFICALLY STATED COVERED reason.
Thinking because they purchased a trip insurance policy that they AUTOMATICALLY get 100% of their trip costs back, NO MATTER THE CIRCUMSTANCE.
Thinking they have trip insurance but it's only a trip protection plan (e.g. Pre-Departure Waiver doesn't have any medical nor post departure benefits; only has cancellation/change benefits.)
Not having a credit card/money available to cover all upfront, out-of-pocket costs associated with having a SECONDARY MEDICAL policy, especially associated with having a SECONDARY MEDICAL policy but can also be an issue with a primary policy.
Not keeping every (must be detailed) receipt so the insurance company eventually denies a claim.
Not understanding that even for PRIMARY MEDICAL plans you may need to cover all out-of-pocket expenses and be reimbursed once you file a claim and it is approved.
Not filing a claim within the allowed timeframe.
Not purchasing a plan within the 14-21 day window (or some policies include these benefits up to final payment date) from the time you make your first deposit so you miss out on the pre-departure benefits (like pre-existing conditions waiver...which can apply not only to the travelers but for anyone (family member) who you may need to cancel your trip for).
Not understanding the pre-existing conditions time period to purchase or the "look back" period if the policy wasn't purchased in that timed window.
Not understanding to pay attention to the CANCELLATION PENALTY WINDOW at the point of cancellation. (i.e. Your cruise is in 50% penalty when you cancel...you would get a REFUND for 50% of the trip and then the 50% that is in penalty at the time of cancellation would be dealt with according to the policy.)

Again, we are NOT licensed insurance agents, and can't help you make the decision of which policy to purchase nor can we force anyone to purchase a policy; however, we think they can be of great value. We want you to understand that YOU must learn how the policy works, what is included and decide based off the research that you do. While we can't answer any specifics, we do like to give clients this helpful information to make purchasing a policy as easy as it can be. 🙂

As always, let us know if we can assist you or answer any questions.

And congratulations...you survived Trip Insurance 101 by ABT! 😉 Other than your head spinning just a bit we hope you're more informed and understand things better going forward.