Will Travel Insurance Cover Your Bout of Flu On Vacation?
The H1NI flu pandemic appears to be triggering a rise in travelers booking travel insurance. If you're spending big bucks on a vacation - especially an adventure travel vacation - consider springing for a sound travel insurance policy. The key is to check out exactly what is included. Typical policies provide coverage for trip interruptions, medical care and cancellations, but the key is to read the fine print about what constitutes a cancellation, the medical care definition, and transportation home if you get ill or hurt.
"Cancel for any reason" can be a wise idea during flu season. It's also a safety net, if someone in your family, such as your child or an elderly parent gets sick. In a Travel Weekly article about insurance and H1N1, Dan McGinnity, vice president of Travel Guard, said that anyone traveling to a destination that might be susceptible to an outbreak is strongly recommended to purchase "cancel for any reason" protection, which he said costs about 40% more than a standard plan. "Most standard plans would not include coverage simply for fear of traveling to an area, like Mexico last May," McGinnity said. He added that cancellation due to a travel warning issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is also not covered by standard protection plans.
We've bought travel insurance from Travel Guard for two major adventure travel trips. Turns out we didn't use the insurance during our recent trip to the Galapagos Islands. But I got sick during our trip to Peru, a few years ago, and had to see a doc. When I sent the bills (which cost more than the money we had paid for the insurance) to Travel Guard after returning home, they paid immediately.
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Hi Lois,
Thanks for that post. I thought that your readers might like to know that the Travel Weekly article you cite also discussed Access America’s H1N1 policies. Access America is the U.S. travel insurance brand of Mondial Assistance, the world’s largest travel insurance company with more than 9,000 employees in 28 countries.
All Access America policies cover our customers for illness due to H1N1 for trips booked through 2010 and it is not necessary to purchase Cancel Anytime which is considerably more expensive than typical travel insurance.
Thanks,
Daniel Durazo
Director of Communications
Mondial Assistance USA