Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
4 Travel Insurance
Check your existing insurance policies
and credit card coverage before you
buy travel insurance. You may already
be covered for lost luggage, canceled
tickets, or medical expenses. The cost
of travel insurance varies widely,
depending on the cost and length of
your trip, your age and health, and the
type of trip you're taking, but expect
to pay between 5% and 8% of the
vacation itself.
TRIP-CANCELLATION INSUR-
ANCE
Trip-cancellation insurance
helps you get your money back if you
have to back out of a trip, if you have
to go home early, or if your travel sup-
plier goes bankrupt. Allowed reasons
for cancellation can range from sick-
ness to natural disasters to the State
Department declaring your destina-
tion unsafe for travel. Insurance policy
details vary, so read the fine print—
and especially make sure that your air-
line or cruise line is on the list of
carriers covered in case of bankruptcy.
For information, contact one of the fol-
lowing recommended insurers:
Access
America
(
&
866/807-3982; www.
accessamerica.com);
Travel Guard
International
(
&
800/826-4919;
www.travelguard.com);
Travel Insured
International
(
&
800/243-3174;
www.travelinsured.com); and
Travelex
Insurance Services
(
&
888/457-4602;
www.travelex-insurance.com).
MEDICAL INSURANCE
Most
health insurance policies cover you if
you get sick away from home—but
check, particularly if you're insured by
an HMO.
LOST-LUGGAGE INSURANCE
On domestic flights, checked baggage
is covered up to $2,500 per ticketed
passenger. On international flights
(including U.S. portions of interna-
tional trips), baggage coverage is lim-
ited to approximately $9.07 per
pound, up to approximately $635 per
checked bag. If you plan to check
items more valuable than the standard
liability, see if your valuables are cov-
ered by your homeowner's policy, get
baggage insurance as part of your
comprehensive travel-insurance pack-
age, or buy Travel Guard's “BagTrak”
product. Don't buy insurance at the
airport, as it's usually overpriced. Be
sure to take any valuables or irreplace-
able items with you in your carry-on
luggage, as many valuables (including
books, money, and electronics) aren't
covered by airline policies.
If your luggage is lost, immediately
file a lost-luggage claim at the airport,
detailing the luggage contents. For
most airlines, you must report
delayed, damaged, or lost baggage
within 4 hours of arrival. The airlines
are required to deliver luggage, once
found, directly to your house or desti-
nation free of charge.
5 Health & Safety
If you get sick, ask your hotel
concierge to recommend a local doc-
tor—even his or her own. You can also
try the emergency room at a local hos-
pital; many have walk-in clinics for
emergency cases that are not life
threatening. You may not get immedi-
ate attention, but you won't pay the
high price of an emergency room visit.
For local hospital information and
emergency numbers, see “Fast Facts:
Chicago,” on p. 78.
If you suffer from a chronic illness,
consult your doctor before your
departure. For conditions like
epilepsy, diabetes, or heart problems,
wear a
MedicAlert identification tag
(
&
888/633-4298;
www.medicalert.
org), which will immediately alert
doctors to your condition and give
