How Travel Insurance Works
These general principles apply to most travel insurance plans.
Please read the Description of Coverage carefully for specific benefits, terms, and conditions of the Travel Protection Plan.
Travel insurance helps pay you back for expenses incurred due to certain kinds of unexpected events. These events can happen before or during your trip. They include things like cancellation, interruption, lost or stolen baggage, and medical emergencies, to name a few.
Travel Insurance is purchased before an event occurs. For example, you can't buy travel insurance after you decide to cancel a trip, for the same reason that you can’t buy car insurance to cover an accident that has already occurred.
It does not cover losses from an event that you know is likely to happen, like a hurricane that has been forecasted. This is known as a "foreseeable event."
Travel insurance can reimburse if your trip is cancelled due to Covered Reasons, like severe weather events, accidents, illnesses, or the death of a family member, etc.
Covered Reasons, and other important details about the policy, are all described in a document called the Description of Coverage (DOC). It’s a good idea to read the DOC before you buy your insurance plan.
If you need to cancel your trip, you should contact your vendor(s) – tour operator, airline, hotel, etc. – to refund these expenses first. If your purchase is not refundable, you can file a claim according to your insurance policy.
There may be a time limit to file any claims, and you will need to provide proof of your loss(es).
If you want or need to cancel for any other reason – like not having enough snow for skiing on a ski trip, or changing your mind because you are afraid to travel – you will need Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) coverage in order to receive benefits. This is usually an upgrade for which you will be charged additional premium. (Not available to residents of NY. Other eligibility requirements may apply.)