Top tips for buying travel insurance
Don’t Buy It If You Don’t Need It
Courtesy of DFW
“The only time I recommend clients not purchase travel insurance is when they are traveling domestically and the hotel and car reservations can be canceled without penalty,” says David Gedansky, a travel agent in Pembroke Pines, FL. Some hotels, of course, let you cancel even hours beforehand, while others—like some hotels in Alaska, for instance—might charge you a hefty penalty if you cancel within six months of your arrival. “If you have to book your trips way in advance, insurance could make sense,” says Robert Hunter of the Consumer Federation of America. But, he adds, don’t assume insurance is your only recourse. “I had a bad fall on a trip to Africa and hurt my knee. I had an unchangeable ticket but explained my situation to British Airways, and they waived it and even upgraded me going home. There are often ways to get around things.”
“I never tell people they don’t need it,” says North Carolina travel agent Nancy Cutter, “because I’ve seen so many times when it’s paid off.” But, she says, there are levels of risk to consider. “A guy gets gored at the running of the bulls, and he has to fly home with a physician and nurse—that could easily run a quarter of a million dollars. But if someone is just going to Disney World, maybe not.”
