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Don’t leave
home without it, experts advise.
By William Poe
OK, you and your significant other are ready to take off for that
long-awaited two-week excursion to Europe. Let’s make sure you’ve
got everything. Flight tickets? Got ’em. Passports? Check. Hotel
confirmation numbers? Got ’em. Packed bags at the door? Check. Travel
insurance?
Well, if you forgot the travel insurance, travel experts say you’re
not fully packed. “We pretty much recommend that everyone takes
travel insurance,” says Susan M. Damon, regional manager for AAA
Travel.
“We always recommend travel insurance to the leisure traveler,”
agrees Judy Peil, president and owner of Judy Peil Travel, Inc.
“A lot of money is at stake because losses can be substantial.”
Common risks, Peil and Damon say, include unforeseen events that
may prompt the traveler to cancel or interrupt the trip, trip operator
default, baggage loss or delay, emergency medical and dental care,
missed cruise or excursion connections, and, most catastrophically,
the need for emergency medical evacuation.
“I never travel without travel protection myself,” Peil says. “We
really believe in it.”
“You’re never too young or too old to have travel insurance,” Damon
adds. “An emergency can happen to anyone. And you can protect yourself
against potentially huge losses for just a small cost.”
A comprehensive travel protection policy for a major trip, such
as a cruise or an international excursion, typically costs about
six percent of the total cost of the trip, Peil says. “For a relatively
small incremental increase in cost, you really limit your potential
losses and exposure.”
Costs are less for domestic travel, short cruises or for trips to
popular destinations such as Cancun, Mexico, Damon adds. Insurance
for a $1,500 per person seven-day Caribbean cruise, she says, is
about $50.
If leisure travelers should insure their trips, how about the business
traveler?
“Until about 15 years ago, it was common for Maritz to include insurance
with every ticket,” says Bill DeRoze, vice president and general
manager of the midwest region for TQ3 Maritz Travel Solutions, which
serves the business traveler. “With the evolution of the business
charge card, which typically offers travel protection, most companies
now obtain coverage by using those cards, or they essentially self-insure
their risks.”
Many companies with employees traveling overseas do, moreover, purchase
separate medical insurance to cover treatment or emergency evacuation,
DeRoze says.
Of course, many consumer credit cards, especially so-called gold
cards, also provide users with travel protection for baggage loss,
international medical assistance, accidental death and dismemberment,
and maybe more. Similarly, many homeowner insurance policies provide
for extended theft protection, including baggage loss.
Can leisure travelers be adequately protected through their credit
cards and/or homeowner insurance policies? That depends, say the
experts.
“Each card has a different program,” says DeRoze, who has been in
the travel business 24 years. “Some provide coverage door-to-door;
others don’t kick in until the plane leaves the runway. Others are
restricted to common carriers and do not cover private planes. Some
provide additional rental car insurance but only for passenger cars
and not for sport utility vehicles. You really have to examine the
benefit provisions.”
And Damon notes that most homeowners are carrying $500 or higher
deductibles on their hazard policies. “So, in many cases, it’s not
even worth filing a claim.”
One thing everyone seems to agree on is that more leisure travelers
have been buying travel insurance in recent years.
“Now people are booking over the Internet and relying on electronic
tickets, plus there are just more people traveling,” Damon says.
“More and more people are taking travel insurance especially in
the last five years. And the more money they have invested, the
more likely they are to take travel insurance.”
Damon estimates that about 65 percent of the leisure travelers booking
through AAA Travel are buying travel protection, for which the travel
agency earns a commission. “Frequent travelers will insist on it
because either they’ve experienced problems, or they know someone
else who has,” Damon adds.
Peil says that, while most clients probably take some form of travel
insurance, many travelers remain wary of it. “Even though travelers
may be spending a lot of money on their trips, they really have
to think hard about spending a little more. We have to show them
the benefits.”
Damon and Peil generally recommend — and most leisure travelers
purchase — so-called package policies that offer trip cancellation,
baggage, medical, dental, emergency evacuation, 24-hour traveler
assistance, baggage delay, and accidental death coverages. Some
package policies also have options for collision coverage for rental
cars and flight insurance.
“We’ve found that package policies work best for our travelers,”
Damon says. “One policy can cover the whole kit and caboodle.”
For AAA Travel, package policies are underwritten by Access America,
Damon says. Policies purchased through Peil are most commonly underwritten
by Travelex Insurance and CSA, Peil says.
Peil will sometimes recommend a policy being offered by a tour operator
“if it’s competitively priced and if the vendor is stable.” Damon
usually advises non-vendor insurance “because of inherent conflicts
of interest.”
Sometimes, the traveler’s existing credit card-provided coverage
and/or homeowners insurance provides sufficient overall protection,
and travelers will simply add coverage for specific risks, such
as the possibility of trip cancellation.
“Buying only the coverage you need can significantly reduce your
costs,” DeRoze says. “But make sure you read the fine print so you
know exactly what coverage you are buying.”
William V. Poe is principal of Poe Communications, a St. Louis
advertising and marketing communications firm. |
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