Traveling This Year? Here’s Everything You Need to Know About Traveler’s Insurance Post-COVID

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Should you consider travel insurance coverage now?

Important points

• Travel insurance protects you, your belongings and your travel plans in case of emergencies.
• With the proliferation of COVID-19, many travel insurance companies are offering additional coverage.
• Typical benefits are COVID-related medical emergencies, travel cancellations, tests and quarantine costs.

According to the US Travel Association, travel spending reached a new high in May, reaching $ 101 billion. Over the weekend of July 4, AAA predicts that nearly 50 million Americans will travel. That’s 4% higher than 2021 levels and just 2% lower than 2019. With travel returning to pre-pandemic levels, here’s what you need to know about travel insurance after COVID.

What is travel insurance?

When deciding to travel, there can be many different risks you face. They range from being injured or suffering from an illness while traveling to the miss of an airline connection. Travel insurance helps protect against these types of risks and any financial losses you may suffer as a result. While some travel credit cards offer a limited amount of insurance, they are often not enough to cover every situation. There are many different insurance options, and the most common cover offered includes:

• Medical expenses due to injury or illness
• Lost or stolen luggage
• Last-minute travel cancellations, missed connections or travel interruptions

COVID-19 coverage

Many travel insurance companies now offer COVID travel insurance. You need to choose a plan with COVID coverage. Some benefits of this coverage are:

• COVID-related medical emergencies and medical evacuation. If you pick up any strain of COVID after the policy’s effective date, your trip can provide medical insurance coverage.
• Insurance will also cover any travel cancellations if your trip is canceled due to COVID-19.
• Some policies cover the cost of COVID tests if you have symptoms and a doctor recommends them.
• Some policies also cover the cost of quarantine for COVID-19.

Each policy will have different requirements to qualify for this additional cover. Travel insurance is used for protection in case the unexpected happens. It does not cover preventative care such as physical or vaccinations to prevent disease.

If you plan to travel soon, it may be worthwhile to get insurance coverage for COVID-19, given the new risks of illness. As more variants spread and many countries implement travel restrictions, travel insurance can help you recover your costs in case your trip is canceled. If you already have an existing travel insurance policy, you should review the policy documents to see if it covers COVID-19 issues. Some policies cover COVID-19, and others do not. If you do not have this type of travel cover, contact your insurer to see what options are available to you. This is a smart move in these uncertain times.