Travel Insurance Provides Peace of Mind for the Holidays

During Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s, millions of Americans will travel out of town to visit loved ones. This means busy airports, train stations, and bus depots filled with travelers who are scrambling to reach their destinations. The joy of relaxing and spending the holidays with loved ones is well worth the effort, but we all know that a lot can go wrong during the journey.

Many travelers face the threat of inclement weather during this time of the year. Airports all over the northern part of the United States have been known to get shut down or experience significant flight delays because of snow, ice and similar weather. And if you are a regular holiday traveler, there is a good chance you may have experienced one of these delays and even spent the night in an airport.

This year, do yourself a favor and add travel insurance to your itinerary. Also known as “trip insurance”, travel insurance provides the coverage and protection you need to ensure that you can really enjoy the holidays.

While individual plans differ, the best travel insurance plans offer the following coverages:

• Trip Cancellation: You make your holiday travel plans, then circumstances come up that are beyond your control and force you to cancel your trip. With most airline tickets and other pre-purchased travel services, you would be out of luck if something like this happened, especially if you purchased a heavily discounted travel package (which would almost certainly be nonrefundable). With travel insurance, you can get reimbursed for the cost of prepaid expenses related to your trip if you have to cancel for a covered reason.

• Trip Interruption: Along the same lines as trip cancellation, what if something comes up during the middle of your trip that forces you to cut it short? Without insurance, you would usually have to eat the cost of the unused portion of your trip, and most likely pay change fees to return home on a different day. With insurance, these expenses can be reimbursed if you have to interrupt your trip for a covered reason.

• Travel Delays: As we talked about earlier, travel delays are more common during the holiday season mainly because of crowds and weather. And it is important to realize that an airline is not going to put you up in a hotel room for a weather-related flight delay, for example. Having comprehensive travel insurance can get you reimbursement for lost prepaid trip expenses for a covered travel delay.

• Baggage Lost/Damaged/Delayed: With all the busyness at the airports, other travel hubs, and hotels, it is very easy for luggage to get lost at least temporarily, and to be damaged by reckless baggage handlers. These hazards are covered by most travel insurance plans, although some require that your luggage be delayed up to 24 hours before you can be reimbursed for it.

• Emergency Medical Coverage: Most policies provide coverage for medical and dental emergencies that occur during your trip. This type of coverage is especially important for international travel as most health insurance plans only provide domestic coverage. But even if you are traveling within the United States, this coverage will most likely come in handy as it may extend beyond what your regular health insurance plan covers.

• Medical Evacuation: If you are spending the holidays in an area where adequate medical care is unavailable, most policies will cover the cost of emergency transportation to bring you to an area where you can get the medical treatment you need.

How to Find the Best Deal on Travel Insurance

Purchasing travel insurance is a wise move to cover you during your holiday vacation, but it can be difficult to figure out which policy is best for your needs. There are many choices out there; and comparing different policies can be time-consuming and confusing. To help sort everything out, it is best to work with a local independent insurance agent. An independent agent has access to a wide range of available insurance plans, and they can do the shopping for you to find the plan that best suits your needs and budget.