Many people dream of spending their summer vacation in a foreign country. Perhaps this was the year you finally were able to book that vacation. Then, you heard the news about Osama bin Ladin. If you are considering canceling your vacation, you may be wondering what your travel insurance can do for you.
Not everyone who goes on vacation buys travel insurance. If you are not planning on traveling far away from home, and will not need to fly anywhere, then your need for travel insurance might be minimal. In general, travel insurance is designed to cover expenses due to lost luggage, missed flight connections, or an unexpected cancelation of travel plans due to a natural disaster.
Let’s say that you were planning on spending your summer vacation somewhere outside of the United States. Can your travel insurance help you cover at least some of what you paid for on reservations and plane tickets? Or, are you just going to be out of luck, (and money)?
Does travel insurance cover terrorism? Yes, and no. If an act of terrorism occurs in the city you are about to travel to, or one that you are actually in at the moment something happens, then travel insurance can be useful.
In this case, your travel insurance policy could be used to recover your nonrefundable deposits for travel tickets and accommodations to the city that was just hit with a terrorist attack. If you actually are vacationing in a city while an act of terrorism occurs, then the travel insurance could be used to help recover costs of an interrupted trip.
Unfortunately, in order to have your travel insurance cover you in case of terrorism, it will require an actual act of terrorism to have happened. No, you cannot get reimbursed if you feel the need to cancel your vacation because you have become so worried about the possibility of terrorism happening that you are now too afraid to get on a plane.
Some companies that sell travel insurance will let people purchase extra insurance that is often referred to as a “cancel for any reason” rider. Buying this will raise the cost of your travel insurance. It will allow you to cancel your vacation for any reason at all. That reason could be because you have become fearful of terrorism, because your boss won’t let you use your vacation days after all, or because your horoscope suggested you would be better off staying home this summer. Any reason really does mean whatever reason crosses your mind.
In order to make use of your “cancel for any reason” rider, you are going to have to make sure you cancel your trip at least two days before your planned departure. You could get as much as 70% or 80% of the cost back, (but you shouldn’t count on getting 100% of your money returned to you).
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