“Unfortunately, what consumers end up getting
often is less than they expect,” said Octavio
Blanco, who has researched travel insurance for
Consumer Reports magazine.
Blanco says travel insurance is a good idea if
you’re traveling to a place where you feel more
at risk of getting sick or if you have a medical
condition that could force you to cancel
your trip.
But he doesn’t recommend buying it simply
because you think you might want to call the
trip off. Policies generally have a very specific
list of covered reasons for cancellation — losing
a job or a terrorist incident within 30 days of
the date of travel, for example — but general
concern about traveling isn’t one of them.
Travelers should expect a travel insurance
policy to cost between 4% and 10% of the
total cost of their trip. But plans vary widely.
Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection offers
a policy starting at $26 that covers lost
luggage and flight delays. A pricier plan for
adventurous travels will pay up to $750,000 for a
medical evacuation.
A plan that lets you cancel for any reason costs
40-60% more than a standard plan, says Meghan
Walch, product manager for InsureMyTrip.com,
a website that lets shoppers compare travel
insurance. Consumers have to decide if they
want to pay $700 or so for “cancel for any reason”
insurance on a $1,000 flight or just eat the cost
of the flight if they decide to cancel the trip.
Walch said the industry has seen a spike in sales
of “cancel for any reason” policies since the new
coronavirus hit. Travel insurance sales generally
have tripled since January, she said.