Peter Greenberg: Travel Insurance

By: Peter Greenberg | Source: AARP.org | 2008-07-02

I'm going to Australia in February 2009 and would like to book airline tickets now. Since I haven't paid in full for the cruise, how can I buy travel insurance that will cover both the tickets purchased now and the cruise that will be paid for in December? And, what's the best way to buy travel insurance?
Thanks,
Karin, Punta Gorda, Fla.

You can only purchase travel insurance after you have committed to buying your trip. There are various reasons for this, but the most basic one is that they will not know how much to insure you for if they don’t know the total cost of your trip. But, if you have your trip reserved, and want to insure it, even if you haven't fully completed the payments for it, you should be able to obtain insurance.

When you have committed to your tickets, you should look to a third party to get your travel insurance. Some travel insurance companies to look into are AIG Travel Guard, which includes a 24-hour “911” travel emergency service. AIG Travel Guard policies cover at a minimum for vacation and trip cancellation, travel interruptions and delays, emergency medical and health expenses and lost baggage. CSA Travel Protection offers a 10-day satisfaction guarantee where you can look into their travel protection plans and offers group plans for 10 or more travelers. Yet another company, the Travel Insurance Center, offers several different policies and quotes, including Student Travel Packages and Annual Multi-Trip Packages on top of its more traditional travel insurance and trip protection plans. Finally, there's Access America, one of the largest travel insurance providers out there. Their Classic and Basic options cover most standard catastrophes like delayed baggage and flights. No matter which option you choose, make sure you ask about common scenarios, like what happens if your plane is delayed to the point where you miss boarding your cruise and that sort of thing. And make sure those answers are in writing, and in your policy.