Travel insurance usually covers you and the investment you’ve made for your trip should your travel get canceled or interrupted.
Purchasing travel insurance is one way to buy yourself peace of mind when planning a trip.
Most travel insurance policies will cover a combination of events such as trip interruption, travel delays, missed connections, trip cancellations due to injury, medical emergencies that occur on the road, unexpected weather events, loss or damage of your baggage, and emergency medical transportation and evacuation.
The cost of travel insurance is based on the specifics of your trip. The best way to get a price is to request a quote through the websites of travel insurance providers.
Typically, the more you pay for a policy, the more comprehensive your coverage will be across any combination of these areas of coverage.
Be aware that every travel insurance policy also has exclusions.
In general, travel insurance does not cover claims due to known, foreseeable, or expected events, epidemics, pandemics, government prohibitions, warnings, travel advisories, or fear of travel.
Pre-existing medical conditions are often excluded from coverage, meaning your benefits don’t apply to claims related to that condition.
‘Any reason’ policy
Some policies cover pre-existing medical conditions if you meet certain criteria, for example, if you purchased the policy within 14 days of paying for your trip and if you were well enough to travel when you booked your trip.
Buying travel insurance is most logical when you have invested a lot of money on an initial trip, or when it is required by a destination or tour operator.
If you want full flexibility to cancel your trip you’ll need to find a policy that allows you to purchase a Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) add-on.
This additional benefit does exactly what the name implies and allows you to cancel your trip for any reason. Typically, you’ll get around 75% of your prepaid nonrefundable trip expenses back, although the exact timing and percentages vary by policy.
