Imagine that for you have been saving and planning for a special family reunion at a wonderful location but at the last minute your spouse or child becomes so ill your family cannot go. Or an approaching hurricane or forest fire forces the event to be cancelled. Imagine that while on vacation, you become seriously ill and require emergency medical treatment that is not covered through your health insurance. Changes in your trip and travel plans can add up to costly financial losses. Trip cancellations can result in loss of nonrefundable deposits and/or prepayments. Flight delays, missed transportation connections or cancellations can result in having to make expensive alternate plans. Lost or delayed baggage can mean having to pay to replace the items you packed.

If you have paid for items, reservations and other trip-related expenses with a credit card your credit card company may include some type of trip insurance that offers complete or partial coverage in the event that you need to cancel your trip (or that the trip is cancelled due to circumstances beyond your control). If you belong to a traveler’s club such as AAA you may also want to check to see what member benefits you have through that membership that may include trip insurance.

There is another option however – trip insurance. Many insurance companies now offer single-trip or multi-trip insurance policies to provide financial coverage for inconveniences, damages, delays or financial losses including:

• Trip cancellation or interruption
• Travel delay
• Baggage loss or delay
• Expenses related to necessary medical or dental work needed while on travel
• Expenses incurred for necessary emergency evacuation
• Accidental death coverage for flight-related death
• Collision and/or damage coverage for rented cars
• Accidental death or dismemberment during travel
• Lost ticket or lost passport
• Bankruptcy of the trip provider

When considering purchasing travel insurance, or evaluating potential policies, look for and/or ask an agent:

• Does your company offer single-trip policies, multi-trip/blanket policies (to cover for multiple trips within a timeframe, i.e. one year) or both?
• Does this policy provide coverage for both personal and business travel?
• Does this policy cover expenses or losses incurred as a result of a natural disaster or unforeseen severe weather?
• Does this policy provide coverage for international travel or domestic only?
• Does this policy provide coverage for my spouse and children/dependents or do I need to purchase separate policies for them.
• What exact times, dates and parts of this trip or vacation does this policy cover? For example, if you buy trip insurance for a particular vacation, such as a bus tour or a cruise, are you covered for any delays that might cause you to miss getting to the bus or ship?
• How much coverage does this policy provide for emergency medical expenses?
• Does the policy exclude coverage for any pre-existing medical conditions and if so, which ones?
• Does your company make direct payments for medical expenses to hospitals and/or doctors or do you reimburse for costs incurred?
• If I am considering cancellation insurance for my trip; if my trip is cancelled and rescheduled, does the policy apply to the new trip schedule?
• Does the policy provide secondary coverage for any losses not covered by other forms of insurance I may already hold such as homeowners/renters and/or health insurance?
• How much is the annual cost (premium) to obtain and maintain this coverage?
• Is there anything I can do to qualify for a discount on the premium?
• How do I go about making a claim? Do I call someone or is there a paper form that I need to complete?
• After I make a claim how long will it take to receive payment?
• If I make a claim, will my rates increase next year or for the next time that I buy a single-trip policy?