‘The Devil Is In The Details' When Booking Travel Insurance

There’s no question about it, buying travel insurance is complicated.

So, make sure you ask a lot of questions, weigh a lot of factors, and do a lot of research.

“It is really kind of understanding, what are your true concerns when you're traveling? And, how do you get insurance that’s going to step in at any point in a meaningful way?” Senior Vice President of InsureMyTrip Suzanne Morrow said.

InsureMyTrip is a comparison website, like Google Flights or Expedia, but for travel insurance.

Here are some factors she says you need to consider when exploring travel insurance options.

• What type of trip do you have planned? Is it for business or pleasure? Is it a cruise? Is it a months-long excursion?
• How much money do you have at risk?
• Are you looking to cover yourself if you get hurt or sick beforehand and can't go?
• Or, what about if you need medical care when you're away?

Morrow stresses that the fear of traveling will never be covered by insurance.

“If you book a trip and then it gets close and you're like, ‘Ah there's another variant, I don't want to travel.’ That is never going to be a covered reason," Morrow said.

She said that is unless you purchase a “cancel for any reason” policy, but Morrow says that’s technically not even considered insurance. She said residents of New York, for example, can’t even buy it because state officials there barred it.

Okay, this is confusing right? But back to the basics here.

Morrow said if there’s an issue and the airline makes the customer whole in some way, you—the traveler—do not have what’s considered an insurable event.

But, she explains, insurance can step in if there’s a travel delay, baggage delay or a trip cancellation, depending what coverage you choose.

So, before you book, ask a lot of questions and talk to an insurance or travel agent.

“So being aware of what you're really purchasing because the devil is in the details. Like, ‘Oh, I have trip delay,’ well, your barrier was 12 hours, you weren't delayed for 12 hours and I think those are the things that annoy customers. It's like, ‘I bought this, right?’” Morrow said.

And if you don’t have to file a claim and use your travel insurance, that doesn’t mean you get your cash back. InsureMyTrip said this is a common complaint they hear about.

If you haven’t bought a flight for the holidays or a winter getaway yet, make sure you know what the cancellation policy of the airline is, too. That’s important.

And when you’re booking a flight online, you always get asked, ‘Want to check this box for an airline ticket protector insurance?’ Morrow said, once again, do your research.

She said you could probably get better coverage, cheaper through a different source.