Like most tour operators, we require travel insurance in order to join our trips. Guests will often ask why, with questions like: Do I have to? How much does it cost? Is my credit card insurance enough? What is the difference between travel insurance and trip insurance? What if I don’t get insurance?
To unveil the mysteries of all things travel insurance, we brought in our partners at Wanderwell, who not only provide a variety of travel insurance options (along with excellent service!) but are also a B-Corp Certified provider and member of 1% for the Planet. Here are their answers to the most common questions we receive.
1. Why should I buy travel insurance?
One thing that's certain about travel is its unpredictability. The numbers of Americans traveling abroad for leisure, business, study, gap year, and missionary work are climbing every year. Along with common medical issues that can easily appear in a foreign country, the rise of recent epidemics, natural disasters, and security threats give travelers plenty of good reasons to assure their health and safety are fully insured prior to embarking on a trip. Some countries are now requiring visitors to show proof of travel insurance prior to entering. Many travel providers, like Traverse, require traveling customers to purchase and maintain a qualified travel insurance policy for the duration of the trip.
Whether you miss a flight, lose your luggage, have an injury abroad, or need to cancel or interrupt your trip due to a family emergency, travel insurance can be invaluable.
For short-term travel, there are two types of coverage: Trip Protection and Travel Medical-only. There are a few key questions to answer to help you find the appropriate type of travel insurance for your trip and which type of coverage is most appropriate for your needs.
2. What’s the difference between Trip Protection and Travel Medical-only coverage?
Trip Protection Coverage:
These plans provide Trip Cancellation, Trip Interruption, and Trip Delay coverage if you are prevented from taking your trip due to a covered reason; most notably - illness, injury, or death to the traveler, a traveling companion, and/or an immediate family member not traveling, unforecasted inclement weather, as well as more reasons. Trip protection style travel insurance plans are designed for short-term travel, combining protection of your trip with medical insurance. Benefits generally include Trip Cancellation, Trip Interruption, Trip Delay, Baggage & Personal Effects, Travel Medical, Emergency Medical Evacuation, and much more. Plan premiums are based on each traveler's age, length of trip, total nonrefundable trip costs, destination, and resident state.
*Make sure your policy includes global assistance services, which help you to coordinate guaranteed payments to medical providers, hospitals, and clinics, as well as arrange emergency medical evacuations.
*For trip protection style travel insurance, the sooner you purchase the policy, the more it will cover. This is mainly due to time sensitive purchasing requirements (ie, the inclusion of pre-existing conditions and the option to add Cancellation for Any Reason - CFAR - upgraded benefits) and the fact that you are not insured until you purchase a policy. In most cases, if you purchase a trip protection plan within 13 days from the day you make your initial trip payment of any kind, the plan will include coverage for pre-existing conditions. Check with the policy description for details.
*Cancel for Any Reason (CFAR) upgrade option can be added to some plans. CFAR typically provides reimbursement for up to 75% percent of the prepaid, nonrefundable, forfeited payments you paid for your trip, if you cancel your trip for any reason not otherwise covered by your policy.
Travel Medical-only:
Travel Medical-only style plans have lower costs than trip protection plans, but they are designed to cover medical-related expenses only - including Accident & Illness, Emergency Medical Evacuation, and Repatriation. Some plans include minimal benefits for items like Trip Interruption and Baggage & Personal Effects.
*Make sure your policy includes global assistance services, which help you to coordinate guaranteed payments to medical providers, hospitals, and clinics, as well as arrange emergency medical evacuations.
Some COVID-19 Coverage Notes:
COVID-19 MEDICAL EXPENSES are covered and treated the same as any other sickness.
COVID-19 Coverage provides Trip Cancellation reimbursement for unused, nonrefundable insured trip cost if you are prevented from taking your trip IF you or your traveling companion become sick with COVID-19 before your trip is to start and a doctor states you cannot travel.
COVID-19 is considered a "known event". Any trip cancellation or trip interruption claims related to travel restrictions or fear of travel due to COVID-19 will not be payable.
We’ve seen many flight delays, lost luggage, and missed connections over the years and have found that Trip Protection is worth the extra spend to insure the investment of my trip!
3. Doesn't my medical insurance in the USA already cover me?
Despite what you may think, most domestic medical insurance in the United States is limited to zero coverage overseas. If your domestic medical insurance does cover claims for care received abroad, it is likely limited to emergencies only and subject to your deductible. Travel insurance covers the many gaps often associated with depending on your U.S. domestic medical coverage abroad.
4. Won't the credit card that I use pay for the trip or the travel supplier reimburse me, if something goes wrong?
Not all credit cards cover trip cancellation or trip interruption, and even those that do often exclude cancellation and interruption due to pre-existing conditions. In such coverage, medical coverage is often excluded or limited.
Also, coverage purchased at the end of a booking process (through the airline, hotel, etc.) isn't as comprehensive for trip cancellation, and it typically isn't available for ancillary or upgraded benefits, such as coverage if the supplier falls into bankruptcy or for Collision Damage Waivers.
5. To recap, what are the top 5 reasons to have travel insurance?
You become ill or injured on your trip.
Flight delays and missed connections or your baggage or personal belongings are lost, stolen, delayed, or damaged.
Your passport is lost or stolen.
You need to cancel/interrupt your trip due to:
illness, injury, or death to the traveler, a traveling companion, &/or a family member not traveling.
unforeseen inclement weather and terror events, and carrier default.
any reason at all (generally requires an upgrade and covers only ~75% rather than 100%).
You require an emergency medical evacuation from one facility to the nearest adequate facility or you need emergency assistance services and 24/7 Global Medical Assistance.
Need travel insurance?
We partner with Wanderwell, a B-Corp Certified provider who can offer both Travel Medical and Trip Protection coverage. If you choose to purchase through Wanderwell, you can buy the trip protection directly from our Traverse Journeys partner page by clicking here, and a portion of your purchase will be donated to WeForest through 1% For the Planet to aid with carbon offset for your trip. With Wanderwell, the Safe Travels Journey and Safe Travels Voyager plans each meet our minimum requirements for coverage. Plan inclusions and eligibility vary by resident state of the traveler.
