Travel insurance is more than a luxury; it’s a necessity if one’s trip is to be successful.  However, travel insurance is not a cookie-cutter arrangement where one size fits all.  At QuoteWright.com, we recommend that travelers understand the following facts about travel insurance coverages:

1.  Buy you insurance early in order to qualify for extra benefits.  Most travel insurance plans offer time sensitive benefits that are only available if you purchase your policy within 10 to 30 days following the date of your first trip payment. The specific numbers of days vary by plan and company.  QuoteWright.com recommends that travelers should shop for travel insurance within 10 days of their first payment which is when they have the most available options.

2.  Pre-existing medical conditions are the single largest cause of misunderstanding between travelers and travel insurance companies.  “Pre-existing medical conditions waiver” is one of the time sensitive benefits that is offered free of charge if a traveler meets the required conditions;  buy within a specific period of time, insure to the full, pre-paid, value of the trip, and be the traveler must be physically able to travel when buying the insurance.

3.  Trip cancellation, trip interruption, trip delay, and missed connection coverages are “named peril”.  That means that only those perils or covered reasons named in the policy can trigger the benefits.   Don’t assume that any and all valid reasons for cancelling, interrupting, or delaying your trip will be covered.  Your concept of valid might be totally different than the insurance company’s.  Only those reasons listed in the policy will be covered.

4.  Cancel for any reason coverage is available but do you need it?  “Cancel for any reason coverage” is a safety net that can be added to some policies to cover travelers for cancellations that wouldn’t be otherwise covered by the basic trip cancellation coverage.  Most travelers don’t need “cancel for any reason” coverage however, if you need coverage for a specific reason that won’t be covered by basic trip cancellation than you need this coverage.  “Cancel for any reason coverage” is a time sensitive benefit that is only available if you purchase your coverage within the required time period.   Plans will either include this coverage or it may be added as an option.

5.  Secondary versus Primary coverages.  The vast majority of travel, trip, or cruise insurance is “secondary” coverage.  A common misconception is that secondary travel insurance plans require that you already have primary medical coverage in place in order to purchase coverage.  In reality it just means that if you have other insurance that covers the same loss than that company becomes primary (first payers) and the travel insurance company becomes secondary.  If you don’t have other coverage than the travel insurance company becomes primary.

At QuoteWright.com we believe knowledge is power and that each traveler should understand the coverage that is available for them.  A common misconception about travel insurance is that policies are standardized and that all plans available from different companies are basically the same.  In reality there are no standards for travel insurance plans and coverages and  prices vary widely.  Travelers should talk with a travel insurance professional before buying coverage.

Travel insurance policies offer different types of coverage, and most people know what their own policies cover. Yet they often neglect to read the fine print when they buy travel insurance, and the exclusions may surprise them. According to MSNBC, most travel insurance policies do not cover these ten situations.

1. Tour Cancellation. Many travelers purchase cancellation insurance in case they have to cancel a trip at the last minute. However, most policies do not cover cancellations if the tour itself gets cancelled for any reason unless it’s caused by the tour company’s bankruptcy.

2. Short Baggage Delays. Carry-on baggage is a good idea for travelers. Most insurance policies will not reimburse for expenditures due to baggage delays shorter than 24 hours.

3. Loss or Damage to Certain Personal Items. Travel insurance does not cover loss or damage to tickets, documents, keys, cash, or credit cards. These items are common exclusions to baggage/personal items coverage.

4. Pre-existing Medical Conditions. Most insurance policies will cover medical conditions that existed prior to travel however, you have to qualify for the “waiver of pre-existing” to get coverage. New health problems resulting from a pre-existing condition may not be covered unless you do qualify for the “waiver,” American Citizens Services (ACS), an office of the United States Department of State provides assistance with medical emergencies involving Americans abroad but assistance is limited and by law they can not make payments on your behalf.

5. Wars and Protests. While most travel insurance policies cover terrorism, civil wars and protests are usually excluded. Traveler insurance will not protect travelers who are forced to change plans because of violent outbreaks.

6. Pet Death or Illness. Dogs and cats may be part of the family, but travel insurance policies are not sympathetic to sick pets. Service animals may be the exception. According to the U.S. State Department, service animals are not considered pets and are usually accommodated abroad, if possible, however, travel policies don’t include animals within their covered perils for canceling or interrupting your trip.

7. Pregnancy and Childbirth. Normal pregnancy and childbirth are common exclusions in travel insurance policies. However, most policies will cover “complications of pregnancy.”

8. Psychological Illnesses. Mental illnesses, emotional breakdowns, and emergencies that result from self-inflicted wounds are not covered by travel insurance. People who cancel a trip due to psychological illness will be penalized in the pocketbook.

9. Divorce or Legal Separation. Most travel insurance policies do not accept legal separation or divorce as valid reasons for canceling a trip. However, some companies are adding coverage for this situation.

10. Adventure Sports Injuries. Many policies will not cover sports injuries incurred during travel. Injuries from bungee jumping, mountain climbing and paragliding, are typical exclusions.

Sometimes situations like those mentioned above make it necessary to cancel a trip, or end it early to return home. Thus, when purchasing travel insurance it is a good idea for vacationers to see if they can find additional coverage for “cancel for any reason” benefits before they begin their next adventure.

Bio: Marina Salsbury planned on becoming a teacher since high school, but found her way instead into online writing after college. She writes around the Web about everything from education and online schools to exercise.

News reports are beginning to appear that the swine flu has been diagnosed in Vietnam.  QuoteWright urges travelers to southeast Asia to make sure they have adequate travel medical coverage and to make sure they avoid plans that exclude coverage for epidemics and/or pandemic.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012, the Minnesota Insurance Department announced an enforcement action against Travel Guard and their underwriting company, National Union Fire Insurance Company (a part of Chartis), due to allegations that they violated Minnesota State Law by automatically enrolling travelers, who booked their trip through Travelocity.com, in travel insurance without their affirmative consent.  The Minnesota Insurance Department further indicated that as part of the enforcement action that Travel Guard and their underwriter have agreed to refund travelers for the premium that they paid.  For further information please visit the Minnesota Insurance Department.

Even though this isn’t specifically related to the recent rule change by the U.S. Department of Transportation it address almost the same issue – opt-out sales methods on the internet.  I wrote a recent article about the DOT rule change that became effective January 25, 2012.  It effectively eliminates online airline agents from using opt-out sales methods for travel insurance and other related services.  Now the DOT requires the traveler to “opt-in” for ancillary travel sales.  In publication of their rule the DOT said that “optional services are included in the total price of the ticket due to the deceptive nature of such opt-out provisions”.  In a similar vein the Minnesota Insurance Department has indicated that the basis for their action against Travel Guard and their underwriter is due to “an unfair method of competition and deceptive practices in the business of insurance” by using the opt-out sales method.

Will this be the last that we hear of this?  Probably not.  Travel Guard is not the only company that could be involved.   Several of the other travel insurance companies (really marketing companies) have also done the exact same thing with other online airline agents.  In addition it is also a common practice with tour operators and cruise lines.  Almost every State has laws similar to Minnesota and since the Federal Government and Minnesota already have determined opt-out sales methods to be a “deceptive practice” than you will probably see other State and insurance companies involved.

Access America has officially changed their name to Allianz Global Assistance, as of February 1st. Nothing else has changed in the plans that we offer from them, still the same Basic, Classic and Deluxe that have been Access America’s offering for quite some time now.