Author: John Cook

Ten Things Travel Insurance Doesn’t Cover

Travel insurance policies offer different types of coverage, and most people know what their own policies cover. Yet they often neglect to read the fine print when they buy travel insurance, and the exclusions may surprise them. According to MSNBC, most travel insurance policies do not cover these ten situations. 1. Tour Cancellation. Many travelers…

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Minnesota Fines Travel Guard $250,000

Tuesday, February 14, 2012, the Minnesota Insurance Department announced an enforcement action against Travel Guard and their underwriting company, National Union Fire Insurance Company (a part of Chartis), due to allegations that they violated Minnesota State Law by automatically enrolling travelers, who booked their trip through Travelocity.com, in travel insurance without their affirmative consent.  The…

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Travel Insurance and the Costa Concordia

I read today that Carnival Corp, the owner of the ill-fated Costa Concordia has stated that they are providing “lodging, refunds and other support to people affected by the accident”.  I instantly thought about what would have been covered by travel insurance if Carnival didn’t step up to the plate to do the right thing.…

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Travel insurance resolutions for 2012

Resolution 1:  Make sure you qualify for pre-existing conditions coverage.  The biggest “gotcha” is the exclusion for pre-existing conditions.  Many plans offer a “waiver of pre-existing conditions” provided you buy the insurance early, within the required time period – usually 10 to 30 days depending on the plan following your first trip payment date.  We…

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