What Does Travel Insurance Cover? 8 Surprising Things It Includes!

You may think you know what travel insurance covers. Trip cancellation right? Well- there is SO much more to it. We share eight items covered by travel insurance that you may not know about (including how to get travel insurance with a pre-existing condition).

I don’t know about you, but when I travel, I LOVE to overspend. I find that it keeps me on my toes when I get to pay for a $1000 flight to catch up with my cruise ship after I missed the departure due to a hurricane-delayed plane. Just kidding- but if you’re traveling without travel insurance, this might as well be you.

For 10 years, Ipsos Public Affairs has conducted the Vacation Confidence Index Survey on behalf of Allianz Global Assistance. Key findings this year? More folks (18%) had taken a vacation in the last three months. Also fascinating? Millennials were more like to stay on budget than Generation X. The average vacationer overspent his budget by 27%!

One way to avoid overspending? Prepare for surprise costs by purchasing travel insurance. You have the option to purchase by the trip or to select coverage for your whole family that lasts the entire year. Read on as we lay out eight things you might not have known travel insurance covers.

Travel insurance will cover redeposit fees on points or miles to an airline loyalty program due to cancellation.

There are a lot of savvy travelers out there working the points and miles game. Therefore, when it comes to protecting a flight where the investment isn’t “monetary” and easily seen on a receipt, you need to make sure you’re still covered. Rest easy – some travel insurance programs cover the redeposit of miles or points and reimburse you for fees you may have had to pay to reclaim them.

Note: It is important to understand that this only applies to your points paying for your travel from your account. It will not cover points you use on friends or family.

Follow proper steps to cover pre-existing conditions.

You know what sucks? Beating cancer and wanting to travel the world, only to find out that there isn’t a travel insurance plan out there that will cover your trip cancellation policy. Existing conditions include anything that has exhibited symptoms or was treated 120 days before you purchase your Allianz plan. You may think this means waving goodbye to coverage, but you can obtain travel insurance if you follow 3 simple steps.

1. You must purchase your travel insurance within 14 days of purchasing your trip (or putting down that first payment).
2. Purchase a plan that fully covers all non-refundable costs of your trip. $10,000 of coverage is the recommendation.
3. You must be well enough to travel at the time that you book the trip. I highly recommend getting a doctor’s note.

Lastly you must be a US resident.

Peace of mind with 24 hour hotline assistance.

Does the word concierge make you feel fancy? Allianz Global Assistance Hotline comes with your travel insurance plan. That means if you’re in Sri Lanka with a headache, you can call the hotline to find the closest drug store and learn what local medications are available. Will you always need it? No. But knowing it’s there makes a trip a true vacation.

Payouts for travel delays or delayed baggage.

Forget the arranging of multiple receipts. Allianz has added a fun new feature where, if you have proof of a covered delay. they’ll pay out a flat fee. So you can go to one store for clothes, another for toiletries, and another for shoes and not worry about tallying up the receipts. This is available with One Trip Prime and One Trip Premier Plans. The icing on the cake? You may not even have to file a claim if the delay is on a flight Allianz Global Assistance is monitoring.  WHAT? No paperwork? Just service. Wow. Spent more than $100? File that paperwork. Your plan will still cover you.

Don’t lose money on prepaid outdoor activities and lessons.

Most folks know travel insurance will cover your hotel, airline and rental car losses if a trip has to be cancelled due to a covered reason. But what if you were headed to a ski resort and had already prepaid for lessons, rentals and other activities? Allianz Travel Insurance will cover that too! Don’t flush away the cost of prepaid activities. Double check all policies to ensure that your travel insurance includes this coverage.

Emergency medical evacuation up to $1 million.

You never think you’ll need it, but it can happen to anyone. How do I know? It happened to my father-in-law. A hospitalization in Ireland ended with a diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. A lack of medical evacuation in his insurance led him to fly back with no immune system, wearing a face mask and gloves on a commercial flight. Fortunately he survived it, but you better believe we will never again buy a policy that doesn’t include medical evacuation. (Want to read the whole “diagnosed with cancer in Ireland” story? My husband covered it. It’s a good one.)

Does travel insurance cover terrorism?

It’s a brave new world that we live in, and unfortunately travel advisories, warnings and instances of terrorism are a part of it. We still travel but we choose coverage that will protect us. Look for a plan that covers you in a terrorism incident (a lot do not cover this!). With Allianz, terrorism incidents are covered if there are no terrorism incidences in the country you are traveling to within 30 days prior to your plan purchase. Once purchased, you are covered to cancel if an incident happens within 30 days of your departure.

The Solo Travel Supplement if a Travel Companion cancels for a covered reason.

A downside to traveling with friends? Their problems can sometimes become your problem – or your financial burden. You and your best friend book a cruise. Her personal military leave is revoked. You both have travel insurance. She is covered (except if it’s for a war). You are covered because your insurance covers you if a traveling companion’s leave is revoked.

But what if you decide to still go. Now it gets awkward. Single accommodations cost more. Your friend only put down a deposit and you don’t want to ask her for the difference. If you have the right travel insurance policy, it’s no problem. Travel insurance will cover the difference and you still get to go at the same cost. Win!

How would these tips help keep you on budget? According to the Vacation Confidence Index 1 in 10 Americans said they went over budget on vacation. This figure was determined by their anticipated spend vs. actual spend. How much do your actual out of pocket costs match up with what you thought your vacation would cost? Are you good at planning things out and allowing for emergency contingency funds? How would travel insurance help your budget?