amber

This may be a silly question, but I thought i'd just ask, on the off chance someone could provide some useful suggestions. My husband and I booked a nine day trip about two weeks ago to the Carribean, traveling during Thanksgiving week. After talking about it, we made the decision to continue with our trip, despite some fears related to flying and being out of the country during a time when international issues are so tenuous. We booked all of the travel ourselves (American Airlines, Sandals), and did not purchase cancellation insurance. I'm worried now that due to unforseeable problems in the future, we may have to eat the costs of this trip. Is anyone aware of a company that will now cover an involuntary cancellation even though it was booked a while back? If anyone has done research on this, I would really appreciate your help. Thanks.

Mariarosa

Hi amber! A while back I researched trip cancellation insurance for a trip that I was planning on booking on my own. I never bought it (a stupid decision, I know), but I do know that you can purchase trip insurance at any time. The only portion of the insurance that you forfeit if you don't buy it within 14 days of your first deposit or payment (whether it was the airfare or the hotel deposit) is coverage for pre-existing medical conditions. If you don't have any, the coverage will be the same. <BR> <BR>Here are 2 very helpful websites: <BR> <BR>www.travelguard.com <BR>insuremytrip.com <BR> <BR>However, read the policy carefully before buying it. I'm not sure whether trip insurance does covers cancellations/interruptions caused by terrorist attacks or war. Maybe someone else who is more familiar with these policies can jump in here and help you further. Good luck!

Peggy

We had a similiar situation last year. We did have travel insurance & were to leave for Fiji on the 20th of May. On the 19th the coup took place! We did not want to cancel as we were going to an outer island & did not feel threatened & are already familiar with the area. But the only way the insurance would pay was if the airline did not fly there or cancelled our flight, not if we just decided we were too uncomfortable to go. If they were flying there was no compensation. So get insurance now in case there is airline disruption at the time, otherwise plan on going. By the way, we had a wonderful time & we have tickets to Mexico next month & plan on going then also. But I always get insurance, www.travel-guard.com. Small investment for peace of mind. Good luck!

Lou

This is one of the pitfals of NOT using a travel agent. They do not charge extra for their services and in most cases will get you a better travel package than trying to book on your own.

Peggy

Travel agent or not trip insurance works the same way. And the one time I got travel insurance through an agent I was charged 4X what I would have paid on the web, & yes it was the exact same company & coverage. I'm not saying that is always the case. I think researching your own trip & all options, comparing it to a package deal (if one exists) is the best way & the results can always vary trip to trip.

Don

A travel agent makes NO difference when it comes to trip insurance. The insurance is usually a third party product, so if you decide to cancel, you deal with the third party and not the travel agent. Read the fine print, you almost need a lawyer to figure out what is really covered. The one exception I've seen is the pre-trip insurance by usairwayvacations.com, they let you cancel for ANY reason before departure.

Sue

The trip cancellation insurance we get thru our travel agent also allows us to cancel for ANY reason within 24 hrs prior to departure.

Don

Would you mind sharing who your travel agent is, and what the insurance company is, so that others can also get that kind of deal?

Mariarosa

You DON'T need a travel agent to get trip cancellation/interruption insurance that allows you to cancel up to the departure time. For example, I have purchased vacation packages online using American Airlines Vacations (to Paris and the BVI's) and their insurance policy allows you to cancel for any reason, up to your scheduled departure day. For more information see: <BR>http://aav6.aavacations.com/consumer/waiver.asp <BR> <BR>The key here is to read the policy carefully to understand what the trip cancellation/interruption insurance covers. For example, not all of them cover medical emergencies abroad, etc.

Don

USAirways Vacations trip cancellation insurance waiver (cancel for ANY reason): <BR>http://www.usairwaysvacations.com/fidd/fustcpc^^^.htm <BR> <BR>American Airlines Vacations insurance waiver (cancel for any reason BUT "note that some airfares are not covered by this program and remain nonrefundable"): <BR>http://aav6.aavacations.com/consumer/waiver.asp <BR> <BR>So I have to wonder how you know if the flight you book with aavacations is excluded or not? <BR> <BR>

Mariarosa

Hi Don! Good point! I wonder how you would know that. However, even completely non-refundable tickets can be cancelled and used at a later date, provided that you pay their ridiculously high change fee (is it $100 now?) + fare difference (if the fare is less they will issue you a credit voucher). USAirways waiver sounds great, I will take a look at their website next time I'm making plans.

Don

Thanks Mariarosa! I hope others will keep adding their tips on what airlines, travel agents, and insurance companies provide the GOOD insurance. usairwaysvacations and aavacations seem to be much better than most with their cancellation for any reason. As consumers we should demand the kind of insurance we really want instead of getting policies with page after page of fine print.

Mariarosa

Hi Don! I agree, I also want to know about other companies that are providing great insurance and customer service (Anyone else wants to jump in?). Frommers.com's newsletter from today (9/20) addressed some of the companies (including travelguard) who have bent their policies to accomodate people who want to cancel their travel plans, in the aftermath of Sept 11th tragedy. However, the article is very clear that this is not their regular policy and that usually you need to have a "valid" reason for canceling a trip. <BR> <BR>The article can be found at: http://www.frommers.com/newsletters/today/article1.html and it is called <BR>"The Good Guys: A Travel Insurance Company Makes Reimbursement Easier, A Sightseeing Operation Offers Refunds and a Tour Operator Waives Change Fees"

Sue

Sorry Don but when people state the name of an agency in a string that involves Mariarosa she immediately jumps all over them with very unkind words.

chas

CSA has a great reputation, excellent prices and appears to be standing by their trip insurance which is underwritten by Commercial Union Insurance Company. You can check them out through a number of sites including www.tripinsure.com

amber

Thanks to everyone who responded. For those who are interested in my preliminary research, this is what I found out. <BR> <BR>American will allow us to reschedule our flights for any reason but will charge us a $100 rebooking fee per person, payable at the time of rebooking. <BR> <BR>Our resort gives a full refund prior to 45 days departure. After that, you follow their cancellation policy in which you must forego some pretty hefty amounts based upon your cancellation date. Looks like typical industry standard boilerplate stuff. Their sales representatives say that they've been attempting to reaccomodate those displaced by the 9/11/01 events, either by rescheduling them free of charge or providing full refunds, determined upon the specific circumstances of each traveler. <BR> <BR>As for the insurance companies, all of them say that they will not cover for cancellations resulting from 1) an act of war, 2) governmental actions (i.e. FAA closure of airports), 3) voluntary cancellations (i.e. domestic or international situations/threats which would prompt traveler to cancel), 4) terrorist attacks in your hometown resulting in difficulties leaving for personal reasons (unless you are covered by another provision such as medical problem, residence becoming inhabitable, etc.). You are only covered if your destination city experiences a terrorist attack within thirty days of your arrival. <BR> <BR>Our worries were more related to leaving the country in the event something were to occur causing domestic emergencies or international instability/threats, so I guess with respect to insurance, buying it will not help us there. The one advantage I see is that many companies offer Trip Delay protection which compensates a portion of the costs if you are willing to leave, but unable due to airline closure, terrorist attack, etc. <BR> <BR>Many of the companies I called seemed to be making some exceptions for the awful 9/11 events, but they pointed out these are exceptions to their exclusions. I suggested a lot of different scenarios to ask them about and a lot of the representatives were unsure if those scenarios would be covered. They said there is still some confusion going on with respect to what was and wasn't covered because events like the one which happened this month were so new to them. <BR> <BR>Well, I hope this helps if anyone had the same question. <BR> <BR>I believe someone did mention something about voluntary cancellations being covered in their policy. Anyone know of a company which will insure that?