What Is Travel Insurance and How Does It Work?
By Sara Mohrbacher, Vice President – WRC Agency
Leaving town for a nice vacation after being under quarantine or restrictions for much of 2020 is still a pipe dream for most of us. Eventually, traveling will be something we can enjoy again and we’ll have to remember to think about a few details before departing.
We’ve all heard about canceled flights and lost baggage, but most of us don’t automatically think “do we have medical insurance and are we covered?” Travel insurance helps protect you from unexpected events that can occur before or during your trip.
The coverage most people are aware of is trip cancellation. It provides reimbursement for unused, nonrefundable, prepaid trip costs if you need to cancel your trip for a covered reason such as sickness, job loss or flight cancellation due to adverse weather. Coverage is offered to protect both domestic and international trips, whether you’re taking a cruise, studying abroad with a student travel program or taking a family vacation.
If you are considering whether to purchase travel insurance, consider these scenarios:
- Could you afford to lose your nonrefundable, prepaid travel expenses if your trip were canceled due to an unforeseen event?
- Are you traveling somewhere that could be affected by severe weather?
- If you were to get sick or injured on a trip, would you be able to pay out of pocket for the necessary healthcare?
- If your flight were delayed or canceled, would you seek reimbursement for the inconvenience and additional charges such as change fees?
- If your luggage were lost or stolen, could you afford to replace the missing baggage or personal effects?
If covering the costs in any of these scenarios would be a hardship, you should consider travel insurance. The cost of travel insurance can range from 4 to 10 percent of your total trip costs.
Most travel medical plans provide coverage for COVID-19-related care if you have purchased and entered the destination country before:
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issues a Warning Level 3
- A government agency in your home country publishes or issues a Travel Warning or Emergency Travel Advisory for your destination country. Eligible medical expenses that may be considered for coverage include, but are not limited to, charges for illness, injury or medical evacuation.
For additional information, go to the Patriot Travel Series (Medical Coverage) and Application.
If you only want to cover trip cancellation expenses, there are three plans to choose from:
Note: Coverage and prices are subject to change
If you are interested in obtaining a quick quote through WRC Agency, please contact us and we will be happy to assist you.