travel guard trip insurance

Wow. I was wondering if it was covered. Good to know.

Ricka

Did you insure your airfare plus the trip price? I did.

Did you read the policy before purchasing? I don't mean this in any sort of judgemental or unkind way. I think most of us tend to skip this. I think this is a good lesson to us all. Read through policies and know what you are , or not, getting. Most policies have very specific reasons that will allow you to cancel and very specific exclusions as well.

I will say, that reports about airlines and their willingness to change so far have been quite positive. Rick Steves isn't going to cancel a tour unless the CDC states, "don't travel there" or tour enrollment drops to point that it is not financially feasible. If that level of alert is made, the airlines will also be canceling or curtailing flights. You may not get the assistance you hoped for from travel insurance, but you should get some relief directly from the airlines.

Thank you for posting. I've always bought thru Travel Guard and it seems like they always listed the airfare separately? I do generally call when I purchase so I can talk things thru with one of their people. I was surprised one time when I was discussing the "cancel for any reason" policy and found it did not actually cover "any" reason. That has made me ask more questions when purchasing but really, sometimes you don't know everything to ask!

On one of the other virus threads someone posted that some of the airlines are letting people change dates so hopefully your airline will be more helpful.

Carol, I have used Travel Guard for the last 6 Rick Steves trips and never had a problem so I am very familiar with their policy and have had to file claims several times before.

As I recall, the airfare has to be purchased within so many days of booking the tour in order to be included, and you have to tell them how much it is in order for them to adjust the premium.

Stan that is not correct. You don’t have to book the airfare within X period of time. What you do need to do, under most policies, is inform them of the cost of the airfare, have them add it to the policy and pay an additional premium. Many insurers will not honor a claim unless 100% of the non-refundable costs are insured.

Alan, can this be done online, or should we call Travel Guard. We didn't buy our plane tickets until well after we booked our tour and got the trip insurance.

I know some credit cards will cover the cost of airfare if the flight is cancelled or something like a death in the family occurs, but I'm not sure ours does. I guess it would be smart to check that first.

Another reason I depend on my good friend in the travel agency biz to get me the best value but also the best coverage. However, your post strongly reminds me that I need to ask a few more questions as we get closer to final arrangements and bookings.,thanks!

Jane you need to call them. But, give yourself lots of time to be on hold. I had to call Travelex and Nationwide regarding questions I had on upcoming travel. 45 minutes on hold for one, an hour for the second. These companies are being deluged. I don’t know of a way to do this on line.

You need to read the fine print. My brother had taken out a policy for airfare and a cruise. My sister-in-law attempted suicide and was in a mental facility and the cruise line refused to cover mental illness. The airline gave them credit toward a future flight.

Thanks, Alan. I checked my credit card benefits, and it includes "Travel Accident Insurance" as well as lost luggage. Hmm. I'll get all my notes together, and sit down for a long wait with Travel Guard. I do think we should cover the cost of the flights, with so much being up in the air, so to speak.

Very important point that we did not think of either when booking a tour that does not include airfare. We have Travel Guard, too, for an upcoming RS tour. The Travel Guard "cancel for any reason" optional upgrade offers up-to 50% of what has been paid.
Huge lesson learned.
Thanks for highlighting this major issue to always consider prior to booking a trip/tour.

I have taken out a Travel Guard policy every year for the last 9 years since going onto Medicare. I have reviewed my current policy and there is no mention about air fare. The only thing I have is a total amount of my coverage which I declared in taking out the policy which included air fare, hotels and transportation. I do not include the price of the tour since RS has such a generous refund policy.

For those who have, or are considering, Nationwide for travel insurance, you can send an email to their customer care to notify of any additional non-refundable costs, as you incur them. With Nationwide, this must be done within 10 days of each non-refundable payment.

When I've done this (twice) recently, I've had a return email response within 2 hours confirming the new coverage amount and the additional premium due, if any.

This is why I book refundable premium seats on Norwegian Air. They aren't flat bed seats, but they recline enough to get adequate rest on the way. Fully refundable so I don't need to insure the flights. They often use the Dreamliner, which flies less pressurized, so I'm less tired and not swollen or achy. Can get off the plane and go. Or not get on at all, and not spend anytime on the phone with Travelguard!

I purchased the insurance just for the airfare, but I still think I have to follow United's rebooking policy. Trying to get clarification but right now that is proving impossible.

I bought Travel Guard and included the price of the airfare in the policy amount. Following this thread for tips on how to reclaim my United airfare. We don't want to reschedule- or at least I want to reschedule after my 12 mo's time to repurchase the airfare. I want to cancel. That's why we bought insurance.