Probably the most confusing portion of travel planning is deciding if you should purchase travel insurance. Thinking about all of the situations that might occur before or during your trip It is imperative that you protect your investment with some sort of coverage, so you do not lose your money or the enjoyment of a wonderful vacation.

All vacation travel companies have some sort of cancellation penalties if you are forced to cancel after the final payment, varying between 30-75 days before you leave. As you can imagine, lots can happen with you or your family within that 4-10 week period; illness, death, or emergency change of plans to mention a few. How sad, to have fully paid for not only the trip but airline tickets and other pre-paid arrangements and then lose it all!

Most suppliers of vacation packages have some sort of insurance available if these unexpected events happen, but for cancellations it usually entails a voucher (no money returned) or to add on medical coverage, it is an additional charge. And most importantly, pre-existing health issues are not covered.

The trick is to find a travel insurance company that covers your possible needs. It takes lots of meticulous reading of brochures to know exactly what each company covers and how it might pertain to your particular needs. The easiest and best option is to use a travel agent who sells travel insurance. He/she will have spent time studying each supplier’s coverage and be able to suggest the best insurance policy for you.

The biggest concern is medical coverage. Your health insurance and Medicare do NOT cover you if you are outside the US. Make sure that the policy you select not only covers you while you are on the trip (emergency transfers and medical expenses) but it covers your pre-existing conditions along with all of the members of your family, even those not traveling with you.

Another big concern is lost or delayed luggage. Good policies will allow expenditures of $400/person for bags delayed more than 24 hours, so you can buy toiletries and clothes to get you by. Also, if the baggage is lost, most policies will give you $1000/person to replace your lost belongings.

A third concern is covering the extra expense of a trip delay; flight cancelation, weather delays, and the cost accrued trying to catch up with your group.  And along the same lines, what if you just cannot go on the trip due to extenuating circumstances. Good policies will cover a multitude of reasons why you need your money returned. As a side note, when traveling overseas and during the winter, it is very wise to go an extra day early to avoid missing your trip/group.

Finally, some travel insurance will cover rental car liability issues. While out of the US, your car insurance will not cover you. This could be a huge problem if you are not covered by some insurance.

The goal is not to overburden you with all of the things that could go wrong on your vacation. The focus is how you can protect yourself and your investment and not ruin the possibility of having a wonderful vacation.

If you have additional questions, contact Larry Strayer at Above and Beyond Travel via his email; This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .