TRIP INSURANCE

Trip insurance is strongly recommended to protect your investment in this holiday. Failure to purchase trip cancellation and/or interruption insurance, will likely mean that you will not be able to get any or all of your money back.

Answers to Client Questions and Concerns

Why should I buy this insurance?
You have no way or knowing what might happen between now and when you leave on your trip. CSA's travel insurance helps protect you from the loss of your prepaid, non-refundable trip costs. Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption are the most common causes of loss due to unexpected circumstances, like sickness, injury or death of you, your traveling companion or even a non-traveling family member, hurricane evacuations, terrorism and more.

Exactly what does the insurance reimburse?
All prepaid, non-refundable trip costs (such as airfare, cruises, tours), emergency medical or dental expenses, medical evacuations, personal effect expenses caused by baggage delay, additional transportation costs from a missed connection to catch up on your trip or return home, plus more.

Won't the credit card that I use to pay for the trip reimburse me if something goes wrong, or the travel supplier?
Credit cards don't cover trip cancellation or trip interruption. And travel supplier's coverage isn't as comprehensive for trip cancellation, or commonly available for Collision Damage Waivers, or coverage if a supplier falls into bankruptcy.

Doesn't my medical insurance cover me?
Travel insurance covers the gaps often associated with normal medical coverage, like pre-existing medical conditions. It can also help with some out-of-pocket expenses. For example, if you develop an acute illness while on your covered trip, a one-time medical expense will be paid for treatment under $1000 when using CSA's designated provider network of 30,000 physicians and 850,000 service providers worldwide.

Trip Cancellation and Interruption Examples:

• You, or your family member or travel companion, get sick and are unable to make your trip.
  
• Airline or travel supplier bankruptcy or default (must purchase insurance by final trip payment for coverage)
  
• Being involved in a traffic accident while en route to departure.
  
• The resort where you're booked is flooded due to a hurricane.
  
• You get snowed in and are prevented from departing on your trip for five or more hours.
  
• A terrorist incident occurs in a city on your tour itinerary just days before your trip and you're forced to cancel travel.
  
• A quarantine on your cruise prevents you from leaving to use your non-refundable excursion.
  
• Mechanical breakdown of your plane.
  
• Your flight is delayed for more than 3 hours and you miss your cruise.
  
• Due to a natural disaster, you or your traveling companion's leave is revoked.
  
• Your company is involved in a merger and you're required to work.
  
• Your or your traveling companion is required to serve on a jury at the last minute.
  
  

Everett Potter writes in the New York Times, May 2002...
“For anyone planning a trip that involves a sizable financial outlay, travel insurance would be a good idea. It can cover missed flights, bungled connections and illness. For any trip that must be cancelled, or for delays or interruptions, it can be a safeguard against a big financial loss.

Though they vary, travel policies usually include accident, sickness, baggage loss and flight insurance, and financial protection in the event of trip interruption and delay.

The best policies also come with medical evacuation, a feature rarely offered by conventional health insurance plans. Out of pocket costs can be anywhere from $8000-$100,000 per evacuation. The expense comes from utilizing one or more airplanes or helicopters to retrieve the sick traveler.

Trip cancellation is probably the most likely occurrence, usually due to illness, accident or weather. Trip interruption also is a possible scenario, usually because a traveler must cut short a trip to go home.

The cost of travel insurance varies but figure on 5-7% of the trip cost per person. So for a $3000 per person trip, it will run an additional $150-$210.

When shopping for a travel insurance policy, look for one that has a 24-hour hot line providing international access – essential for medical emergencies.”