Read the Fine Print,
Avoid Travel Cover Pitfalls
Meg Green,
Consumer Editor
Traveling can be a lot of fun. Unfortunately, it can be stressful when things go wrong. While travel insurance will help your wallet, there are steps you can take to make the process smoother, including:
• Save your receipts. Travel insurance will cover you for additional expenses, but only if you can prove what those expenses were; and
• Be aware of what your travel insurance limits are. Most policies have daily caps, or limits, of how
much they will reimburse you for. Sure, you bought that policy to pay for a hotel if your trip was delayed overnight, but don’t expect it to cover a $500-a-night room with $200 in-room service. Also, if you beat your luggage to your destination by two days and have to buy clothing, don’t expect it to cover a $10,000 Armani shopping spree.
Perhaps the most important thing is to know what your policy covers and what it does not, including the following:
• Delay insurance usually kicks in after a set period of time, often five or six hours;
• Some travel insurance policies may not cover delays related to bad weather;
• Canceling a trip because terrorism or hurricane jitters have made you nervous about traveling may not be covered;
• Pre-existing medical conditions often are covered only if you purchased the insurance within two weeks or so of your first down payment on the trip;
• Sports-related injuries, especially those from

Travel Insurance Pitfalls
• Be aware that some medical conditions are only covered if you bought the policy within two weeks
of your first trip down payment.
• Know if sports injuries are covered.
• Save your receipts.
• Be aware of what your policy limits are.
• Make sure the policy covers your entire trip, including air, hotel, and any side trips.
• Know if the coverage is secondary or primary. Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8