The Top 3 motivators for purchasing Travel Protection, which one do you say?

Liz Hough on

In my last newsletter I discussed the importance of making sure to give your friends, family, or neighbors a printed copy of your itinerary in case something were to go wrong on your vacation. It is great that they have this, but what do YOU have to protect yourself and your family when something goes wrong? Who are YOU supposed to call when you have to go to the local hospital or medical express station? Who do YOU call when you missed your connecting flight which also caused you to miss boarding your cruise?

Your travel agent should be there to help with you some of those concerns, but we don’t always know the nearest hospital or medical facility that will ensure your best well-being. When you have travel protection, the travel protection company is who you call!

Before 2001 only 10% of leisure travelers purchased travel protection. Since 2001, each year the amount of leisure travelers who have purchased travel protection has exponential grown. At Life is Better Traveling, 95% of our clients who book their vacation with us also purchase travel protection. Why do they book travel protection? There are three main reasons why someone purchases travel protection:

1) I want to cover my hard-earned money because the trip was expensive and/or I had to pre-pay a large amount.

2) My medical coverage does not exist outside of the United States and I want to make sure that I am covered.

3) I am nervous about unforeseen events occurring and I know that travel protection will give me the peace of mind I need.

I bring up three good points that most people will ask or say to themselves right before or right after they have purchased their vacation. I am sure even you have asked yourself one or more of these three things. With so many online travel agencies, airlines, and other suppliers making it so easy for you to purchase travel protection for your vacation purchase. They tell you all the reasons you should purchase it and it sounds so appealing to purchase it, but do you know what you are ACTUALLY getting when you press the shiny “Purchase Travel Protection” button?

Stayed tuned for next week’s newsletter about knowing what you get when you purchase travel protection. Also, if you know someone who is about to take a vacation and haven’t purchased travel protection, please forward this to them and tell them to sign-up for my HIGH CONTENT newsletters about travel at LifeisBetterTraveling.com.

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When to Buy Travel Protection…

Mary Yohannan on

You and your travel agent have been planning your vacation for several weeks. You have come to a decision and are excited to be putting down that initial deposit. You are done with travel planning for now, or are you? One last thing that your travel agent should be talking to you about at this time is purchasing travel protection for your vacation. You are probably not even thinking about travel protection, but I am here to tell you that you should be and this is the time to think HARD about it!

The pressure of purchasing it right after you just put down a large deposit can be too much think about, and I am here to tell you, that is OK. You don’t have to purchase the travel protection plan right away. Most travel insurance companies allow you to purchase travel protection up to a certain number of days prior to departure of your vacation. You will not receive time sensitive provisions, which we will discuss in a bit, but you will still receive good coverage. My recommendation is that you make sure you have made up your mind to purchase travel protection before final payment of your trip is due. At this point, you have had enough time to really think about the coverage you will receive and whether or not it is right for you and your family.

Most travel insurance companies offer a few BONUS waivers or time sensitive provisions if you purchase travel protection within in so many days of your initial deposit on your vacation. The most common two are:

Pre-Existing Medical Condition Waiver. What this typically means is that if you have had any medical conditions so many days prior to the effective date of your policy, then they would be waived and possibly considered a covered reason if you needed to cancel. Some travel insurance companies are 60 days prior to the effective date and others are as far out at 180 days.
Supplier default or insolvency of a supplier such as an airline, cruise line, tour operator, or other travel supplier.

You really are getting more coverage when you purchase your travel protection within the travel insurance companies requirements to get these time sensitive provisions.

Over 95% of my clients purchase some kind of travel protection to cover their vacation. The next time you get ready to book your vacation, I HIGHLY recommend that you add the amount of travel protection into your budget. It makes it a lot easier for you to make the decision to purchase it right away so you get the time sensitive provisions, and you don’t feel that it is an added expense. A good rule of thumb in figuring out this expense, is if you are under the age of 55 travel protection will cost you between 10 – 15% of your total vacation. If you are over the age of 55, travel protection will cost you between 10 – 20% of the total cost of your trip.

Don’t forget to tell your travel agent at Life is Better Traveling to give you a quote for travel protection when planning your next vacation.

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Let’s talk about what you get with Travel Protection, because you may be missing out!

Mary Yohannan on

You have been saving up your money for a few years to take your dream vacation. You are at the airport and the gate attendant announces the flight will be delayed due to mechanical issues. This delay causes you to miss your connecting flight to your final destination. Many hours later you get to your destination, and you slipped on a wet spot in the lobby landing flat on your back. You feel a pinch, and have trouble standing up straight and walking. At this point you wonder if the universe is telling you that you shouldn’t have taken this vacation, then you remember, YOU HAVE TRAVEL PROTECTION! You can use your travel protection to cover all of these weird occurrences.

Facts show that 17% of those who traveled had their travel impacted by medical problems, natural disasters like a hurricane, or mechanical/carrier caused issued which delayed their trip for more than 3 hours. When you have purchased travel insurance, also called travel protection, there are three main services that you are getting:

1. Medical Coverage

Most insurance plans, including Medicare and Medicad, do not cover a person outside the borders of the United States. Your credit card may have some medical coverage, but you may have had to purchase your trip with that card, and even then, the coverage amount is minimal. Hospitals outside of the United States will require a person to make full payment before they are allowed to leave the hospital, no matter how much the charges may be. This could lead to a financial hardship on the whole family. With Travel Insurance, you have several tiers of medical coverage and it can either act as your primary medical insurance or secondary medical insurance.

2. Travel Arrangements

There are many things that can happen including trip cancellation, trip delay, and trip interruption. Life happens and sometimes things happen right before a trip that forces you to cancel but the supplier might have 100% non-refundable cancellation policy. But your travel insurance doesn’t and you can recoup the cost of that trip not taken. Did you know that when you have trip interruptions you can be reimbursed for meals, lost luggage, and missed connections?

3. Concierge services

Most people don’t realize that travel insurance companies offer this service. Want to go golfing? Call the travel insurance company and they will set up a tee time for you. Did you forget to send flowers to your mother for her birthday before you left to go on vacation, call the travel insurance company and they will send flowers, balloons, or a cake. There are so many possibilities to use this service and it is all part of the plan you purchase.

Travel Protection is for everyone who is going to take a vacation or even a small trip. If your credit card offers travel protection, you really need to make sure you check what is covered, how much is covered, and if you need to have purchased your vacation with that card to get the coverage. Since becoming a travel consultant, I have been purchasing travel protection for myself and my family even when we take small trips here in the United States. Why do I do this? I know that it is there if I need to use it, I know how much I am covered for, and if I need any reservations somewhere I can call the concierge services to do it for me. Oh, and it also gives me peace of mind.

Stayed tuned for next week’s newsletter about knowing what you get when to purchase travel protection. Also, if you know someone who is about to take a vacation and haven’t purchased travel protection, please forward this email onto them and tell them to sign-up for my HIGH CONTENT newsletters about travel BELOW….

The Top 3 motivators for purchasing Travel Protection, which one do you say?

Mary Yohannan on

1) I want to cover my hard-earned money because the trip was expensive and/or I had to pre-pay a large amount.

2) My medical coverage does not exist outside of the United States and I want to make sure that I am covered.

3) I am nervous about unforeseen events occurring and I know that travel protection will give me the peace of mind I need.

Stayed tuned for next week’s newsletter about knowing what you get when you purchase travel protection. Also, if you know someone who is about to take a vacation and haven’t purchased travel protection, please forward this email onto them and tell them to sign-up for my HIGH CONTENT newsletters about travel at LifeisBetterTraveling.com.

When and How to Buy Travel Insurance

Mary Yohannan on

Travel Insurance,

When and How to Buy

You plan all year, sometimes even two years in advance to take that big trip. You have been slowing putting money aside, saving up, and right before you are supposed to go on this amazing journey something happens. You can’t go! What are you going to do? You read through all the cancellation policies and most of them say “100% non-refundable 6 days prior.” Oh no, you are within that time frame. No refund! All those hard earned dollars down the drain.

Most of us are lucky that this scenario does not happen to us. However, life has a way of throwing curve balls at us so you want to make sure that when that curve ball comes your way you know exactly where to hit it, with travel insurance.

There are many travel insurance companies out there selling only travel insurance. The question now becomes, Which one works best for you? Your travel agent is the best guide as to which company will provide the most coverage for your needs. You don’t need to purchase the “Platinum Plan” to get good coverage. Most times their basic plans, or gold plans will cover up to 100% of your non-refundable costs and give you very good health coverage also.

Some things you want to make sure you do when buying travel insurance:

Tip #1: Buy travel insurance within 15 – 21 days of your initial deposit to ensure coverage for pre-existing medical conditions.

Tip #2: Only buy “Cancel for Any Reason Coverage” if you really are on the fence about going on the trip. Most medical issues for both travelers and immediate families is covered under their reasons for cancellation plus, this is an added cost that you may not need to pay.

Tip #3: Check what your medical insurance covers for out of country visits. Don’t buy additional medical coverage if you already have good medical coverage.

Tip #4: Renting a car? Check what your credit cards and car insurance coverage for any damage to vehicle overseas. Consider buying additional coverage if you already have high premiums here in the states or you don’t have enough coverage.

Tip #5: Make sure to get a comprehensive copy of your purchased policy from your travel agent. Each state has different policies so make sure you have received the correct one for the state you live in.

Tip #6: READ OVER YOUR POLICY!!! The more you know before you go the better. If you have any questions about the policy call the travel insurance company directly for a full explanation.

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Congratulations to Mary!

She recently earned the distinguished Certified Travel Associate (CTA) designation from the Travel Institute, the travel industry’s oldest education organization. She completed a comprehensive exam-based training program that demonstrates extensive industry knowledge and experience, and she must continue to fulfill stringent education credit requirements each year.

Have a Great Week!