Travel, especially overseas travel, can come with entirely new requirements as some countries require travelers to purchase special insurance to help out with sudden illness during the pandemic.
NBC 5 Responds takes a fresh look at travel insurance and why the extra cost can be worth it.
Vanita Jennings was planning a weekend birthday getaway to Chicago with her fiancé, but the worst happened: he had a stroke the day she left.
“Of course I didn’t have time to break off. We just didn’t make the trip at all, ”said Jennings.
But the Caddo Mills resident had travel insurance and got all her money back.
“I think after a week or less I got my full money back,” Jennings said.
Jennings has had a positive experience and says she would not hesitate to take out a COVID-19 insurance policy for her next trip.
The policies they had also included pandemic-specific language. Since last year, travel insurance providers have been offering options to cover COVID-19 specific issues as travelers have faced trip cancellations, quarantines, border closings, and more.
“Many policies now cover COVID as an unforeseen illness, both pre-departure quarantine, if you happened to test positive and you had to be quarantined prior to your trip, that would be covered too, and the policies now cover medical care and health.” Quarantine costs from a few to $ 2,000 per traveler, and that covers you at around $ 150 to $ 200 per day for 14 days, ”said Kathy Kimmel, InsureMyTrip agent.
Insurance coverage could also include:
Emergency medical care: if a sick traveler needs to see a doctor or hospital during a trip.
Health insurance coverage: or when a sick traveler needs an emergency medical evacuation to the nearest suitable hospital or home
Travel break: When an extremely sick traveler cannot continue his journey and has to return home.
Cancel for any reason: This gives you the option to cancel and get a refund no matter what – it’s more expensive, but it also covers travel fears that could arise if suddenly Covid is raging at your destination and you’re afraid to leave. But not all travelers qualify.
“I would say on average, maybe a family of four, depending on how much your trip costs, maybe around $ 200, give or take if you just wanted the coverage yourself. We have a plan that chances are you won’t be able to cover travel expenses, maybe between $ 50 and $ 70. How long you drive depends on the age of the traveler, ”said Kimmel.
Some countries now require medical care for entry.
“And usually there is a medical minimum that I’ve seen where, for example, Costa Rica has a medical minimum of $ 50,000 and $ 2,000 for a 14-day quarantine,” Kimmel said.
Julie Chaump, a Dallas travel consultant at Strong Travel Services, said she currently wouldn’t let any of her clients travel without this COVID-specific travel insurance.
“Now we have this new level of complexity with COVID-19. And it’s no longer just about canceling and protecting your investment – it has you covered during your trip, ”said Chaump.
Jennings only paid $ 34 to protect her trip. She took advantage of Allianz’s travel insurance, which tells NBC 5 Responds that they’ve seen about a 15% increase as consumers put travel insurance on their trip.
“Buy the insurance because you never know what’s going to happen,” Jennings said.
At the moment, the CDC’s website lists more than 60 countries that the agency specifically says you should avoid visiting now due to COVID-19.
If you visit any of these locations, your trip may not be insured as you have been technically warned.
You can work with a travel agent or an insurance marketplace, but as always, carefully read the plan details before purchasing so you know under what circumstances you will be insured and when you will not.
NBC 5 Responds is committed to investigating your concerns and getting your money back. Our goal is to provide you with answers and, if possible, solutions and solutions. Call us at 844-5RESPND (844-573-7763) or fill out our customer complaint form.
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