Travel insurance in a covid-19 world
After 2020 if there is one thing the world learned, it was life is unpredictable. Covid invaded the world in 2020, and travel came to an abrupt halt overnight. Families who had spent thousands of dollars for upcoming vacations now found themselves on the phone for hours on end trying to secure refunds for canceled vacation packages, accommodations, airfare, prepaid event tickets, rental cars, and so much more.
However, as many people worldwide were locked in their homes part of 2020, some of us still traveled. But the questions that come up all the time are: How do you travel in a Covid world? What if your flights get canceled? What if the country closes the border again? How do you get refunded for travel booked after May 2020? Two simple words: travel insurance. Yes, it still exists, and you should be buying it directly from an insurance carrier, not checking the little box on the bottom of a website page as an afterthought.
What's wrong with the coverage from checking the little box?
Travelers who thought they have coverage soon discovered that clicking that little box provides little if any coverage for a pandemic and a long list of other reasons. One of the biggest issues with buying airline travel insurance from a travel provider is they are only covering that purchase. If you purchase the travel protection when buying airline tickets, it only applies to airplane tickets. If you read carefully, you will also be surprised what little "protection" is actually purchased. Most policies have a list of situations and issues that will deem a policy invalid. The biggest question remains How is Covid covered? As you can see above, the Covid -19 coverage is limited. After clicking the link to the Allianz website of American Airlines travel insurance partner, we still are unsure what the cover is for Covid-19.
Aardy.com travel tip:
" American, Delta, and United all sell terrible Airline Travel insurance. Alaska and JetBlue airlines have the same problem. Airlines seem to possess a universal desire to sell what looks like cheap airline Travel Insurance. The problem is that the coverage levels are deficient. When you run quotes and compare with independent Travel Insurance carriers, you can see how expensive Airline Travel Insurance is when you buy it from the airline. Bottom line – you can protect your airline flights and subsequent travel plans with Travel Insurance. But don't buy it through the airline website."
~Aardy.com Airline Travel Insurance - 2021 Review
CFAR is the Gold Standard in Travel Insurance
What is CFAR? Coverage For Any Reson! Life is complicated; vacations should be. No matter what comes up, new job, lose a job, illness, or plain don't have time to enjoy your vacation right now, you can cancel. CFAR needs to be purchased no later than 14 days before your departure, and a claim needs to be filed no later than 48 before your departure. Those are the only two stipulations. CFAR policies paid 75% of non-refundable out-of-pocket trip expenses.
Aardy.com travel tip:
" We like to use it when booking a Non-Refundable flight a long way in advance – we have called this the Airline Ticket Hack. You book a Non-Refundable Airline ticket, yet enjoy the same type of cancellation benefits as with a Flexible or Refundable ticket."
~ Aardy.com . CFAR Travel Insurance - 2021 Review
Sample trip from Washington $12,000 of out of pocket travel cost
Who We Use for travel insurance
At Pacific Vacation | StayPV, we offer travel insurance when booking directly on our website. You will be offered insurance from Rental Guard and coverages based on your arrival date. Rental Gaurd asks for ALL out-of-pocket expenses like airfare and car rentals for complete vacation investment coverage.
If you don't see an option for insurance at the time of booking, don't worry, we have another option. If you book through an OTA (online travel agency) or were not offered travel insurance at the time of booking, buy our carrier Rental Guard. You will be sent an email offering travel insurance through our travel insurance partner Aardvark Insure. We like the straightforward way Aardy displays prices, coverages and competitively shops several carries at once. If you get stuck, they have an agent just a phone call away!
If you see a great vacation deal, book it without fear of losing your vacation investment by protecting your vacation investment with travel insurance.