Jim Grace, President of the US Travel Insurance Association told KOMO that most travel insurance policies cover cancellations due to medication, terrorism or when the travel company goes bankrupt. And you can also add volcanoes to that list. “A typical policy will cover weather-related events which is actually what we’re talking about with this ash plum, they consider that wind carrying the ash, hence weather,” says Grace.

How much will a decent travel insurance policy set you back? Experts say a good rule of thumb is four to eight percent of the cost of your trip. It may not be worth the investment if you’re just taking a weekend getaway, but for that once in a lifetime trip, travel insurance will offer peace of mind. “If you’re buying a travel investment — it’s the trip of a lifetime, a honeymoon … and it’s a big event and you’re investing thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars, it probably would make sense to consider insurance to protect that investment,” said John Pittman in a CNN report, vice president of industry affairs for the American Society of Travel Agents.

Right now, about one in three American travelers bother with purchasing travel insurance, according to statistics from the US Travel Insurance Association. Since September 11, the SARS outbreak and the H1N1 scare, more people are deciding to purchase travel insurance, according to Grace and after the volcano delays, sales may erupt.

If you decide you want travel insurance, you must buy it before a major event happens. For instance, with the volcano, travelers who purchased travel insurance policies before April 13 were likely covered from ash delays, but anyone after that would not have been covered. “It’s kind of like buying homeowner’s insurance after your house is on fire. That wouldn’t be covered,” Dan McGinnity, vice president of travel insurer Travel Guard North America, told CNN.

Travel Plans Haulted By Volcano? Travel Insurance May Help is a post from: Peppercoin Insurance

A lot of things could go wrong when travelling, even more than if you just stayed at home. These problems could range from the inconvenient to the financially devastating. Whatever your problems when travelling, there is a good chance that they can be more easily handled with travel insurance.

What Is Travel Insurance?

Travel insurance is just insurance for when you travel. You could try to make the issue more complicated but it really is that simple. There is a long list of unfortunate events that could befall you when you are travelling and if one, or more, does occur then you will have to deal with what happens. Travel insurance helps to protect you from the financial fallout of many problems that may arise when you travel.

What Could Happen?

It could be as simple as lost or stolen luggage. Either situation would be quite the inconvenience when you travel and will result in monetary loss. Either one would throw a wrench into your well-laid vacation plans.

You may sustain an illness or injury while you are travelling. If this happens then you will, of course, need suitable medical care. Depending on your circumstances, this could be an even more expensive situation that you might think.

For example, imagine you were on a cruise and fell ill or became injured. Where would you go for advanced medical care services? You would have to make it back to shore, probably by means of medical transport.

Medical transport can get you to the medical care you need but it is far from cheap. And you will have to consider this cost before you even begin to think about how much your actual time in a hospital or other medical facility will cost. You may assume that the costs that you incur in this situation would be covered by your health insurance but your assumption may be wrong. You may be paying for many of the services you receive on your own.

How Does Travel Insurance Help?

Travel insurance protects you from the potentially damaging financial repercussions of these events and many more. If there is something unfortunate that is likely to happen on a vacation then there is probably a travel insurance policy to cover it. Most travel insurance policies cover all the basics to some degree.

With travel insurance, you can be financially compensated for lost or stolen luggage. You can have medical services covered including medical transport services. Travel insurance policies can help you to recoup your losses if your trip is cancelled for certain reasons such as illness, weather conditions, or other unforeseen obstacles that are approved by your travel insurance policy.

There is nothing worse than not being able to go on your vacation but still having to pay for it. Not only has your trip been cancelled in this situation but you have to save up if you want to think about rescheduling it. Travel insurance pays you in these situations so that you will not be financially blindsided by unexpected circumstances.

Does anyone really buy travel insurance? Yes, they do. People buy travel insurance when they want a truly worry-free vacation.

Does Anyone Really Buy Travel Insurance? is a post from: Peppercoin Insurance