Reduce The Added Stress On Vacation With Travel Insurance

COVID-19 restrictions might be lifted all over the globe - but does that mean you can relax your travel worries and get back to planning normal trips?

In most cases, travel is getting back to normal. However, there are some pandemic travel tips that you might want to continue to heed.

One of them is purchasing travel insurance.

When people first started to consider whether the COVID-19 pandemic would impact their travel plans, many had a rude awakening as they realized that most plans excluded pandemics from coverage. However, as the pandemic wore on, insurers began to adjust and cover travelers if they had to cancel a trip, seek medical attention while away, or contracted the virus just before embarking.

These issues are generally covered by travel insurance now - but there are other situations in which travel insurance won’t kick in. This leads many travelers to wonder whether insurance is even worth the cost - or if they should just risk it.

So is travel insurance necessary, especially with most countries now out of lockdown?

In this guide, we’ll tell you what you need to know.

Types of Travel Insurance

Whether you’re planning on jet-setting around the globe on your first sight-seeing trip post-pandemic or you just want to go see the niece across the country who was born in the midst of it all, it’s wise to consider whether travel insurance is worth it.

However, before you can decide whether travel insurance is a good idea, you need to consider the several types of travel insurance that exist.

There are many forms of travel insurance, the guiding purpose of each being to cover travelers for losses and risks that might occur during or even just before a trip.

More people are considering buying travel insurance than ever before. This makes sense, especially when you consider how important it is now to understand the risks of taking trips during periods of such uncertainty.

Here are the main types of travel insurance to be aware of.

Standard Travel Insurance

Standard travel insurance typically exists as an upscale on the booking pages of your travel company, hotel, or another travel-related vendor. Often, it isn’t very comprehensive, especially when it comes to health-related concerns.

It might protect your trip from things like flight delays, cancellations, interruptions, lost luggage, and sometimes include allowances for limited medical coverage. Most cover urgent medical care and repatriation related to COVID-19, but there are only a few limited travel insurance policies that will cover you for outright cancellations or trip disruptions.

The cost of this sort of policy will vary depending on which state you reside in, the cost of the trip, your age, the departure and return date, and any deposits you paid.

Your coverage will depend on the type of policy you buy and from which company you purchase it. Look specifically for medical evacuation and COVID-19 coverage in the policy - read the fine print. Set up your deductible appropriately so that you’re prepared for whatever these crazy times throw your way!

Travel Health Insurance

If you want to go one step beyond standard travel insurance, you will need to consider travel health insurance. This is a comprehensive coverage plan that should cover any expenses in the event to sickness, a medical emergency, or injury once you leave your home country.

It’s a unique type of plan that is like a hybrid of health insurance and travel insurance. It tends to be designed primarily for international travel, though that’s not always the case.

As you might expect, the cost of this sort of policy will vary depending on your trip length, the destination, and more. In general, you can expect to pay anywhere between $50 and $300.

At its core, travel health insurance is relatively simple to understand. However, figuring out whether you truly need it or not can be a bit murkier and more complicated.

Travel health insurance can help you avoid high hospital bills and the potential stress associated therein. It’s also a good idea if you want to have an idea of where to turn in the event of a medical emergency while traveling abroad.

It can be a good idea if you have a preexisting condition or if you plan on doing adventure sports (like surfing or rock climbing) while abroad. You can buy special policies for these sorts of things, too, either as additional riders on your travel health insurance policy or as separate policies entirely. Talk to an agent or other insurance provider to get an idea of what might be right for you.

Cancel-For-Any-Reason Policies

CFAR policies are probably what you’re thinking of first when you think about travel insurance. CFAR, or Cancel-For-Any-Reason policies, let you cancel your trip...for any reason! These policies cover deposits and nonrefundable payments made before your trip is canceled, less any refunds that are owed.

This can cover issues related to COVID-19 as well as many others - for example, if you work in a job that requires you to change your plans due to last-minute scheduling changes. However, it’s still important to read the fine print, since your reason has to be a “covered” reason. Most reasons are covered, but not all - so be very specific here.

Due to COVID-19, some countries flat-out require travel insurance - CFAR policies tend to be the best for these situations. Nations like Costa Rica, Thailand, Bermuda, and Aruba require you to have travel insurance to cover potential losses due to trip cancellations.

Even if you don’t anticipate having to cancel your plans, having a CFAR policy is a good idea if you’re traveling anywhere abroad. You never know when a country might change its rules about visiting, and it’s good to be covered. The plans can be quite expensive, however, adding about 40$ to the cost of a traditional policy.

Credit Cards

This isn’t the case with all credit card companies, but many have insurance options as add-ons for their valued customers. These often cover trip interruption and provide a  bit of travel health insurance.

Some go one step further, offering things like rental car collision damage waivers, delayed trip reimbursements, roadside or emergency assistance, emergency medical coverage, coverage for emergency transportation and evacuation, travel accident insurance, or even lost or delayed luggage assistance.

This is especially true if you have a  travel credit card. Many of the most popular travel credit cards offer limited travel insurance benefits even if you don’t purchase an additional policy. For instance, Capital One Venture Rewards offers 24-hour travel assistance services for medical referrals and emergency transcription.

Although it may not be worth taking out an entirely brand-new line of credit to go on one trip, you might want to check in with your credit card company to see what’s in place and what’s covered under your current card

Travel Insurance Changed Since Pre-Pandemic Times

As we mentioned earlier in this article, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, most insurers refused to cover incidents related to the novel coronavirus, arguing that it was a foreseen event.

However, there’s increasing awareness of the fact that COVID-19 might not ever be eradicated - and as such, more companies are stepping up their game to ensure that people feel more comfortable with traveling. To get our society back to a “new normal,” people need to start traveling again - and so there are more insurance plans and discounts in place to capitalize on this need. 

So while the need for travel insurance has more or less stayed the same, the willingness of companies to cover COVID-19-related issues has improved dramatically.

That said, countries are still changing travel advisories frequently. Even if you have travel insurance, it’s a good idea to remain vigilant. Research all requirements and restrictions of your upcoming destination - and keep checking back. You will need to know what the location-specific rules and regulations are to help keep yourself and other people safe.

This is solid advice during the pandemic - but it’s also good advice for travelers to heed in general. Education is everything when it comes to your safety while traveling!

Older Americans Fewer Trips

Now that you know what travel insurance is, it’s important to consider how COVID-19 has changed the travel insurance landscape.

It’s been more than a year and a half since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. It’s dealt a serious blow to all kinds of businesses, but especially those in the travel and tourism niche.

Although Americans are just getting back into the swing of things when it comes to travel, the reality is that the average age of travelers is dropping. That makes sense when you consider that older Americans are most at risk of infections and complications related to COVID-19.

While the average age of the American traveler was 50 in 2020, it dropped to 38 by the end of that year. It’s expected to continue to go down. This change was reflected in the number of travel insurance policies, too, with younger Americans more likely to purchase policies in 2020 and later as compared to years past.

Caribbean Countries Become More Popular

It’s no secret that beach vacations have always been a hot commodity, but Caribbean countries saw their popularity increase dramatically with American tourists last year. Of the twenty most popular international destinations, seven were Caribbean islands.

While this might reflect a desire to get away to a warmer climate and spend some time soaking up the rays (hey, the vitamin D from the sun is a great way to combat illnesses, after all!) It could also be related to the fact that international borders were closed and there were limited options for people looking for getaways.

Before the pandemic, international trips comprised 90% of all travel bookings, but that number quickly dropped to 67% within the next ten months. European trips have sharply declined in popularity, likely a reflection of the border restrictions that are still in place throughout much of this continent

Many Caribbean countries, on the other hand, remained open to American travelers. Trips to the U.S. Virgin Islands increased by more than 200% while those to Turks and Caicos saw an increase of more than 300% in 2020.

Travelers Spent Less on Trips

Before the pandemic, travelers were willing to shell out a lot more cash on their vacations than they were following it.

This was likely related to several factors. Some travelers had less disposable cash to spend during the most difficult months of the pandemic, suffering from the financial constraints and uncertainty that gripped most of the nation during this time.

Others simply took advantage of travel deals that were in place, not necessarily doing less but getting more for their money than they ordinarily would.

Refundable bookings and travel insurance became hot commodities during the pandemic - and these are two features that are likely to stick around in the future, too. More travelers sought the ability to cancel a trip at the last minute, with the need for flexibility likely to be an important factor moving forward.

Travel Insurance Is A Great Investment In Post-Pandemic Family Vacations

So do you need travel insurance, even after the lockdowns have lifted? That depends on your comfort level with travel and family vacations in a post-lockdown world.

Some people view travel now just as they would before the pandemic - things are back to normal. We’re ditching the masks, interacting with people indoors, and jet setting around the globe.

However, no matter how “normal” it might be in your corner of the world, it is important to remember that in many parts of the world, heavy lockdown and pandemic restrictions are still in place.

Therefore, travel insurance could be a good investment, especially if you plan on traveling to an international destination. You never know when circumstances would change around the world - even if you’re fully vaccinated and ready to travel, the universe might have different plans for you.

Whatever the case may be, follow these travel tips post-pandemic to keep yourself safe and healthy - and consider buying travel insurance so you don’t have to worry about what might happen just prior to or during your trip!

Lisa Czachowski is a professional social blogger and has worked on several online publications including Citrus Sleep. Lisa is an experienced content writer and copyeditor. You will find many of her works throughout CitrusSleep.com that cover a wide array of subjects including sustainability, natural, sleep products, health, fashion and many more. She is passionate about what providing as much information as possible on products you bring in your home and what we wear.

Follow Lisa at Lisa Czachowski

More Articles You May Enjoy