How Does Trip Insurance Work?
Planning a trip and curious about trip insurance? You've landed in the right spot. At WorldTrips, we know the importance of safeguarding your travel investment with a plan that provides trip insurance coverage. Trip insurance offers benefits for unexpected events that might disrupt or cancel your travels, such as a hurricane that destroys your accommodations or a broken leg during a sightseeing tour.
We’ll dive into what trip insurance is, what it typically covers, how to purchase a plan, and how to use your benefits. Additionally, we'll discuss important considerations when choosing trip insurance and share tips to maximize its benefits.
What is Trip Insurance?
Trip insurance offers financial protection against unforeseen events that may occur before or during a domestic or international trip. It can reimburse you for travel mishaps or medical treatment for an illness or injury and help you manage unexpected situations.
Benefits of Having Trip Insurance
A major benefit of trip insurance is reimbursement for nonrefundable trip expenses if you need to cancel or your trip is disrupted due to covered reasons. These reasons might include the death of a family member, natural disasters, or even terrorist incidents.
Furthermore, trip protection insurance can cover unexpected medical expenses incurred while traveling, lost or delayed baggage, and trip delays. Some plans, like WorldTrips’ Atlas Journey® trip protection plans, also include travel assistance services and 24/7 access to a travel helpline.
With trip insurance, you can help to protect yourself from financial losses and unexpected costs stemming from covered travel-related issues, allowing you to focus on enjoying your trip.
Should I Buy Trip Insurance?
Wondering, “Should I buy trip insurance?” The decision depends on factors like the cost of your trip, your destination, and your personal circumstances. However, it’s generally advisable to consider trip insurance, particularly for costly or international trips.
Here’s what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has to say about purchasing trip insurance:
“Before you travel, consider getting travel insurance to cover yourself in case delays, accidents, or illness occur on your trip. Your current medical insurance may not cover care in another country. Also, some types of travel insurance help you cover costs if your travel is canceled or disrupted.”
What Does Trip Insurance Cover?
Trip insurance covers a range of unforeseen circumstances that might affect your travel plans. Here’s a closer look at some types of coverage to look for:
Trip Cancellation
Trip cancellation coverage is the core benefit of trip insurance. This benefit can reimburse you for prepaid and nonrefundable expenses if you need to cancel your trip due to unexpected events your plan covers, like illness, the death of a family member, and more.
Trip Interruption
This benefit can reimburse your unused and nonrefundable trip expenses if you end your trip early for a covered reason. Covered reasons may include bad weather that causes your airline to shut down, theft of your passport, a level 4 travel advisory being issued for your destination, and more.
Emergency Medical Expenses
Trip insurance can also help cover emergency medical expenses incurred during your trip, such as hospital stays, physician treatment, surgery, emergency medical evacuation, and more.
Baggage and Personal Belongings
If your baggage or personal belongings are lost, stolen, or damaged during your travels, trip insurance can provide some reimbursement of these items.
Canceled and Delayed Flights
Trip insurance may reimburse your nonrefundable expenses if your flight is canceled due to a covered reason like severe weather or an airline strike.
If your flight is delayed for a specified period (typically 5 hours or more), trip insurance may reimburse you for necessary accommodations, meals, phone calls, and local transportation during the delay.
You can also look for a plan with coverage for a missed flight connection.
Hurricanes
Trip insurance can cover cancellations or interruptions due to hurricanes. Note that hurricane coverage requires you to purchase insurance before a hurricane is named or listed as a potential threat.
When considering trip protection insurance, carefully review all policy details, conditions, and exclusions to understand what is covered. At WorldTrips, we offer comprehensive Atlas Journey trip insurance plans designed to provide financial protection and assistance for your travels.
How To Choose the Best Trip Insurance
Consider these factors to help you find the best trip insurance coverage for your needs:
Level of Coverage
Different plans offer varying levels of coverage. Each policy has specific coverage limits, like the maximum amount it will pay toward eligible medical expenses or a travel delay. WorldTrips offers three tiers of trip insurance coverage with different benefit limits at three separate price points: Atlas Journey Elevate, Atlas Journey Explore, and Atlas Journey Escape trip protection plans. Look for a plan with adequate coverage limits and a price that fits your budget.
Provider Reputation
Research the reputation and financial stability of insurance providers. Look for companies with good customer reviews and strong financial ratings from independent rating agencies.
Plan Cost
Compare the costs of different plans. Lower costs plans may offer less coverage, so evaluate the value for your money.
Exclusions
Familiarize yourself with policy exclusions, which are situations not covered by the insurance. Common exclusions include pre-existing medical conditions or high-risk activities.
More About Pre-Existing Conditions
It’s important to understand how the plan you’re considering defines pre-existing conditions and whether it provides any coverage for these conditions. A pre-existing condition typically refers to an illness, disease, or other condition for which you:
- received a test, examination, or medical treatment;
- received a recommendation for a test, examination, or medical treatment; or
- took or received a prescription for drugs or medicine during the specified period immediately prior to the start of your coverage.
However, plans can vary in the way they define pre-existing conditions, so be sure to read the definition for any plan you’re considering carefully. Note that some plans exclude pre-existing conditions while others offer limited coverage or require additional documentation.
The Atlas Journey Elevate and Explore plans from WorldTrips include coverage for pre-existing conditions if you purchase your plan within 21 days of the date you made your first payment toward your trip and you’re medically able to travel on the date your coverage starts.
WorldTrips’ Atlas Journey Escape plan includes coverage for pre-existing conditions if you purchase your plan within 14 days of the date you made your first payment toward your trip and you’re medically able to travel on the date your coverage starts.
You can see the definition of pre-existing conditions for Atlas Journey trip protection plans by clicking the “Exclusions” tab on our Trip Cancellation Insurance page.
More About High-Risk Activities
If you plan to engage in adventure activities or extreme sports, check if your trip insurance covers these activities. Some policies exclude high-risk activities like bungee jumping, cave diving, hang gliding, and more. Consider adding optional coverage for these pursuits.
When you purchase an Atlas Journey Elevate or Explore plan from WorldTrips, you’ll have the option to enhance your coverage with an Adventure Sports benefit upgrade. This upgrade extends your coverage to include adventure sports such as safari, bungee jumping, hang gliding, parasailing, spelunking, surfing, and more.
Add-ons
Depending on your travel plans and priorities, you may want to consider adding additional coverage to your base plan to customize your policy according to your needs. Some trip insurance plans offer add-ons for rental car damage and theft, pet care, adventure sports, and more.
One popular add-on is Cancel for Any Reason coverage. When you purchase an Atlas Journey Elevate or Atlas Journey Explore plan from WorldTrips and add this upgrade, you will be reimbursed for 50% or 75% of your nonrefundable trip costs—whichever you choose upon purchase—if you cancel your trip for any reason not already covered by your Trip Cancellation benefit.
How To Buy Trip Insurance
Here are some tips for places to look for trip insurance, the best time to buy a policy, and how to purchase.
Where To Buy Trip Insurance
- Insurance Company: Many insurance companies offer trip protection plans. You can contact your current insurance provider to explore your options or do a quick Google search for “trip insurance.” WorldTrips offers a variety of trip protection plans featuring optional upgrades, flexibility, and immediate proof of coverage. You can get a quick and easy plan price with no obligation to buy.
- Online Comparison Websites: Online platforms like SquareMouth offer a convenient way to compare trip insurance plans and find the best coverage for your trip.
- Travel Supplier: You may be able to purchase trip insurance through your travel supplier, such as an airline, cruise line, or tour operator. However, these plans tend to be limited in scope. Coverage is often exclusive to the company’s products and services, benefits tend to be fewer, and optional upgrades may be nonexistent.
When To Buy Trip Insurance
Timing is crucial. Purchase trip insurance soon after making your initial trip deposit to maximize your benefits and ensure coverage for unforeseen events before departure. For example, you may have to purchase a plan within 2-3 weeks of your initial trip payment date to have coverage for pre-existing conditions or the option to add Cancel for Any Reason coverage.
How To Buy Trip Insurance
You can contact the sales department of the company where you want to purchase your insurance, or you can purchase a plan quickly online. WorldTrips offers a quick and easy online quote engine for purchasing an Atlas Journey trip insurance plan. Just enter your trip details, select your plan, and enter your personal information and payment details to purchase. Your policy documents (including an ID card you can use as proof of coverage) will be emailed to you immediately upon purchase.
How To Get the Most Out of Your Trip Insurance
Here are some tips to help you maximize your trip insurance benefits:
Understand Your Policy’s Terms and Conditions
Read and comprehend the fine print before purchasing a policy, as different providers offer varying coverage, conditions, and exclusions.
Know How To Contact Your Insurance Provider
In case of emergencies during your trip, keep contact information for your trip insurance provider’s emergency assistance hotline handy so you can reach out for support.
Request and Keep Documentation
Keep all receipts for trip-related expenses and document any incidents that may lead to a claim. If you experience a theft or loss, obtain a police report or other official documentation. If you seek medical treatment, request your medical records and an itemized bill.
Having these documents will help support your claim and could expedite the claim process.
Making a Trip Insurance Claim
Prior to your trip, be sure to review your policy so you understand what it covers, what documentation you need to file a claim, and how much time you have to file a claim.
How To File a Trip Insurance Claim
- Contact Your Insurance Provider. Depending on the type of claim, you may need to notify your trip insurance provider and your airline, the police, or another entity about the incident as soon as possible. For example, many insurance companies require notification of the need to cancel a trip within 72 hours of the inciting incident.
- Gather Required Documentation. You will need to submit documentation to support your claim. Depending on the type of claim, this could include:
- Proof of purchase for the trip (e.g., flight tickets, hotel bookings)
- Receipts for additional expenses incurred (e.g., medical bills, accommodation costs)
- A detailed account of the incident (e.g., police report for theft, medical report for illness or injury)
The policy documents for your plan should include examples of supporting documentation for various types of claims.
- Complete and Submit the Claim Form Provided by Your Insurance Company. You must submit a claim form within the required time frame outlined in your policy documents (often 30-90 days). You can typically complete and submit a claim online, or you can request a paper form. Be sure to attach supporting documentation and keep a copy of all documents for your records.
- Follow Up If Necessary. Stay in touch with your insurance provider until your claim is resolved. Submit any additional documentation requested by your insurance provider as quickly as possible to help speed up the processing of your claim.
- Receive Payment or Appeal If Needed. If your claim is approved, payment will be processed as specified by your insurance provider. This may be through a bank transfer, check, or other means. If your claim is denied, you may appeal the denial following the procedure outlined by your insurance company. Review the denial letter carefully to ensure you respond accordingly and provide any additional evidence needed.
Claim Processing Timelines and Procedures
Review your policy documents to understand the deadlines for claim submission. The insurance company may request additional information once it has received and reviewed your claim. Processing times can vary based on claim complexity and the insurer's procedures, but turnaround times are typically somewhere between 15 and 90 days.
More Trip Insurance Resources
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WorldTrips' Atlas Journey, Atlas Cruiser, and Atlas On-The-Go trip protection insurance products are underwritten by Tokio Marine HCC's U.S. Specialty Insurance Company (USSIC). USSIC is a Texas-domiciled insurance company operating on an admitted basis throughout the United States. Coverage is available to U.S. residents of the U.S. states and District of Columbia only. This plan provides insurance coverage that only applies during the covered trip. You may have coverage from other sources that provides you with similar benefits but may be subject to different restrictions depending upon your other coverages. You may wish to compare the terms of this policy with your existing life, health, home, and automobile insurance policies. Coverage may not be available in all states.
In the State of California, operating as WorldTrips Insurance Services. California Non-Resident Producer License Number: 0G39705