Janine Foster was excited to take a cruise this past spring, but her flight that morning had a mechanical issue.
"We were standing at the little ticket gate, they put up a sign - 6:45,” she says. “Well, 6:45 came, then it was 7:45, then, at eight minutes to 8 - 'sorry for the inconvenience, this flight has been canceled.’"
Foster’s cruise was set to depart Miami six hours later. "We went to every counter, and we could not get there; time sensitive," she says.
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With her flight canceled, she missed her cruise. Luckily for her, the cruise line agreed to refund most of her trip.
But in many cases, that doesn't happen if you did not purchase extra protection.
Watch as a travel agent discribes when to buy extra insurance
What to know about travel insurance
As many Americans get ready to take that long-awaited summer vacation, you may wonder whether it’s worth getting travel insurance.
After you’ve scrimped and saved to pay for the vacation, you may cringe at the idea of shelling out more money for insurance.
Yet, Lesley Sawhook, owner of Exclusive Travel Partners, says many travelers regret not taking out a policy if something unexpected happens.
“We've had people who show up on property, and on the very first day they slip by the pool and break their leg,” she says. “That's not something you're planning on happening, but a lot of times your medical insurance won't work out of the country. Then if you're needing to get on a flight and go home and now you're out that $10,000 you paid on your trip, that $200 to $300 investment's looking pretty good.”
Sawhook says those with pre-existing conditions need to be extra diligent with insurance, especially when taking a cruise. She says that a lot of people don’t realize that “even if you've added the travel insurance, you have to add and pay for that travel insurance within 14 days of booking that cruise for that pre-existing condition to be covered.”
She says that it takes time to gather your medical records before the trip, in case you would have to be evacuated by medical helicopter off the ship.
Sawhook suggests working with a travel professional who can connect you with insurance carriers where you can choose your coverage options based on your specific needs, such as if you’d prefer a full refund instead of a credit on a future trip.
Common misconceptions that could be costly
Sawhook also advises consumers to make sure they clearly understand any policy, rather than blindly clicking on the added protection when you book your travel, or thinking you have full protection with your credit card.
“A lot of my guests will be like, oh, I don't need it. My Amex covers it,” she says. “Okay, but if you have to be medevacked off a ship, is it going to cover that? I don't think so.”
She says a “cancel for any reason” policy sounds simple, but consumers need to read the fine print, especially with cruise lines.
“Even if you have to cancel for any reason, they may let you cancel, but you're just going to get a future cruise credit. You're not going to get a refund.”
“I always try to encourage my cruise guests to add travel insurance,” Sawhook says. “If they won't, I tell them to have a flight out two days minimum before their cruise. Especially now that you're in hurricane season and the weather's crazy, you've got to allow for those delays because that ship's not waiting for you.”
Foster says this was the first time booked a flight to a cruise the same day the ship was scheduled for departure.
She says she will rethink that next time and will make sure every part of the trip is insured. Almost all cruise insurance policies will protect you if your flight is canceled or delayed and you miss the sailing.
A reminder, Sawhook says, to make sure you realize the cost you could incur if you aren’t covered by insurance and something happens.
That way, you don’t waste your money.
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