More Top Travel Insurance Questions Answered

Since we published our first two articles on the Top Travel Insurance Questions, we have received even more questions from travelers looking to learn about travel insurance and its related coverages.

These great, new questions are covered in the third part of our series. If you missed them, you can read the first two articles here:

1. Top 10 Travel Insurance Plan Questions Answered
2. Top Travel Insurance Questions Answered: Part Two

Will travel insurance cover cancelled flights?

Yes, travel insurance may cover non-refundable expenses incurred related to cancelled flights.

We frequently see these types of claims filed under the Trip Delay benefit. These benefit covers costs incurred when the start of a trip must be delayed for a covered reason. So if a flight is cancelled and you miss a day at your destination, any non-refundable costs from your destination may be covered.

In many cases, if an airline cancels a flight, you will be refunded the total cost of the initial flight and they may provide you with a replacement flight at no additional cost.

For longer flight delays, travelers may be forced to spend money that they didn’t anticipate spending, such as buying an additional meal at the airport or spending a night at the hotel to take a flight rescheduled for the next day. Under your Trip Delay benefit, you can be covered for those related expenses.

When choosing your travel insurance plan, it is important to look at the benefit limits and time triggers related to the Trip Delay benefit. With Arch RoamRight and most other travel insurance plans, your trip delay must exceed a specified amount of time in order to be eligible for coverage, and coverage varies by plan.

What about missed flights?

You can have coverage for a missed flight if the flight was missed due to an unforeseen covered reason. These covered reasons can include:

• any delay of Your Common Carrier;
• a traffic accident in which You or Your Traveling Companion are involved while en route to departure (must be substantiated by a police report);
• Your or Your Traveling Companion’s lost or stolen passports, travel documents or money (must be substantiated by a police report);
• quarantine, hijacking, Strike, Natural Disaster, terrorism or riot;
• a road closure (substantiated by the department of transportation, state police, etc.) due to severe storms preventing You from getting to the point of departure for Your Trip;
• Your Sickness or Injury or the Sickness, Injury or death of Your Traveling Companion, or Family Member traveling with You.

If you miss a flight for a reason not listed, you will likely not have coverage.

Will travel insurance cover cancellation due to work?

Those who are concerned about having to cancel for work-related reasons can also purchase the Cancel for Work Reasons optional upgrade. Cancel for Work Reasons allows you to cancel your trip for reasons such as being forced to work during your previous scheduled vacation, being transferred to a different city, and others. Please note that Cancel for Work Reasons is not available for individuals who are self-employed, or are company owners or partners. To be eligible for the Cancel for Work Reasons upgrade, you must purchase your insurance within 21 days of your initial trip deposit.

The Cancel for Work Reasons upgrade is available with the Preferred, Elite, and Pro plans. With the Pro Plus plan, Cancel for Work Reasons is automatically included at no additional cost (if you purchase within 21 days of your initial trip deposit).

Will travel insurance cover riots?

Arch RoamRight travel insurance plans can cover claims related to riots and civil/political unrest if the riots or unrest cause a trip delay or missed connection, or force a mandatory evacuation for the area where you are located.

It is important to refer to your policy to understand the coverage you have as it relates to riots and unrest, as well as to understand the time triggers for benefits such as trip delay.

Will travel insurance cover cancellation due to illness?

Yes, travel insurance can cover cancellation due to illness, provided that the illness was unforeseen at the time you purchased your travel insurance policy and you have supporting medical documentation showing your inability to travel.

You can also have coverage under the Pre-Existing Conditions Exclusion waiver if you purchase your travel insurance early.

Existence of a Pre-Existing Condition generally excludes or prevents coverage for the specified circumstances under a policy. This applies to medical conditions affecting the insured, their traveling companion (insured or uninsured), or either of their family members. A Pre-Existing Conditions Exclusion waiver removes the application of that exclusion to prevent coverage. Please note that the Pre-Existing Condition Exclusion Waiver is not available with all Arch RoamRight plans.

For policies that do offer a Pre-Existing Condition waiver, you must meet all the following conditions:

1. Purchase your travel insurance plan within 21 days of making your first trip payment;
2. Insure the entire non-refundable cost of your trip;
3. Must not be disabled† from travel at the time your premium is paid; and
4. This must be the first and only booking for this same time period and destination.

†For definitions, please refer to the travel insurance policy.

Will travel insurance cover pregnancy?

In Arch RoamRight travel insurance plans, pregnancy can be a covered reason for trip cancellation and trip interruption if the pregnancy occurs after the effective date for coverage, as verified by your medical records. The day the pregnancy occurs is not the date that you find out you are pregnant, but the date of the first pregnancy symptom as documented by your medical records.

However, under the Pre Existing Conditions Exclusion clause, benefits are not payable for any claim resulting from normal pregnancy and/or child birth, except as otherwise covered under the trip cancellation and trip interruption benefits. A normal pregnancy is defined as a pregnancy that does not feature any of the Complications of Pregnancy as defined by your travel insurance policy.

Also, trip cancellation coverage is available for family members who have planned a trip, and wish to be present at the time of birth, so long as their travel insurance policy was purchased before the pregnancy occurred.

To learn more about how Arch RoamRight travel insurance plans work with pregnancy, you should read our blog post “Do You Need Extra Travel Insurance if You Are Pregnant?”

Will travel insurance cover bad weather?

When it comes to weather-related cancellations, delays, interruptions, or other claimable events, it is important to know the applicable triggers. Most importantly, it is essential to understand the difference between weather events – such as a hurricane – and bad weather – such as rainy weather that ruins your beach vacation.

In our post “Does Travel Insurance Cover Hurricanes” we outlined what is covered in relation to a hurricane – mandatory evacuations, flight delays/cancellations, and destinations or primary residences deemed uninhabitable.

We also discussed the things that are not covered, which is cancellation due to the a threat of a hurricane, poor weather (like the rainy beach vacation we mentioned before), and a destination that is habitable, but unsightly, after a hurricane.

If you are planning a trip during hurricane season to an area that is at risk for hurricanes, it is important to purchase your travel insurance early. Once a hurricane is named, it is no longer considered an unforeseen event, and you therefore may not be covered by a travel insurance policy if it is purchased after the hurricane develops. For example, Hurricane Michael was first named a hurricane on October 8, 2018. Only travelers who purchased travel insurance prior to October 8, 2018 were covered for claims related to Hurricane Michael.

Purchasing early is not just recommended for hurricanes, but for other potential weather events as well that may disrupt your trip. Travel insurance purchased after these weather events are foreseen do not provide coverage for claims related to that weather event.

Note: Available plans and coverages may have changed since this blog was published.