Travel Insurance to Offer Peace of Mind During Winter Months

Photo Courtesy of Creative CommonsIf Old Man Winter has his chilly grip on your travel plans, InsureMyTrip.com is something to consider. The site provides travel insurance protection that is meant to ease travelers' minds during stormy conditions.

Trip cancellation and interruption protection is based on the occurrence of unforeseen events so once a storm has been publicly identified, it can only spell trouble for travelers without insurance protection.

Travelers need to purchase travel insurance coverage before a storm is predicted and named, not when it's bearing down on their intended destination. Coverage for weather-related trip cancellations and interruptions differs by insurance company and plan, and there are many products and options to choose from:

Package Policies: Trip Cancellation Package Policies offer the broadest protection, including coverage for trip cancellation, interruption, baggage and travel delay, as well as medical and emergency evacuation. To receive the most benefit from the travel insurance policy including financial default and terrorism protection as well as coverage for pre-existing medical conditions, the majority of the policies require that you purchase your policy within 10 to 30 days of your first trip payment.

Travel Delay: A delayed flight can strand a person for hours or even cause them to miss a connecting flight to a vacation cruise. These events occur often and can wreak havoc on your itinerary not to mention your wallet for hotel accommodations, meals, and transportation caused by weather-related delays and cancellations. In the event of a travel delay lasting 5-12 hours (varies by company and plan), travel delay coverage can provide from $150 to $250 a day up to $1,500 maximum (varies by company and plan) for covered expenses a traveler may incur while stuck in limbo.

Missed Connection: In the event you miss the boat, this benefit covers missed cruise departures resulting from a 3+ hour cancellation or delay of all regularly scheduled airline flights due to inclement weather or any common carrier-caused delay. Maximum benefits up to the covered amount are provided to cover the additional costs of transporting you to the en route cruise, reasonable accommodation and meal expenses, and nonrefundable trip payments for the unused portion of your cruise. Coverage is secondary to any compensation provided by a common carrier.

Trip Interruption: Most Package Policies will reimburse your trip cost (per/person) plus 50 percent more to get you home quickly in the event of an emergency.

Cancel For Any Reason: This is an optional benefit that empowers travelers to cancel trips for any reason including sudden unemployment, schedule conflicts, even bad weather, up to two days prior to departure. Cancel For Any Reason policies vary by company and must be purchased within 10-21 days of your first trip payment date.

Photo courtesy of Creative Commons.