Subscribe to The Professor's Free Travel Newsletter Get First Notice of New Tours

Travel Blog

5 Practical Tips on Filing a Travel Insurance Claim

5 Practical Tips on Filing a Travel Insurance Claim

It seems as if all travel insurance policies are different.  Some cover trip cancellation, some cover emergency health issues.  Some policies cover trip cancellation and health issues.

Someone once said, "You never know how good your insurance is until you file a claim".  In this blog post The Professor will try to give advice on the best action to take when filing a travel insurance claim:

Read the Policy:  Make sure your claim is for a covered reason.  Do not assume that if you cancel for any reason a claim is going to be covered.  Many travelers were surprised to find that pandemics like COVID-19 were not covered reasons for filing a claim.  Is the loss of a job a covered reason?  How about bankruptcy of a travel provider?  Are travel arrangements due to inclement weather covered? The policy will be clear as to what is covered.  Read it.

Keep Meticulous PRINTED Records:  Insurance companies want meticulous PRINTED proof of purchases made for your trip.  Keep printed records of hotel, plane, and other travel arrangements.  Don't rely on digital tickets, always get printed ones and keep them in case a claim needs to be made. Also keep records of credit card charges and other payment documents like cancelled checks.  If you make a purchase - get a printed receipt.  Keep copies of everything, even after sending them to the insurance company. In my experience, travel insurance companies will ask for documents.  And after they get them, they will often ask for more.

Act Quickly:  Don't wait to file a claim.  Some policies put a time limits on filing a claim after an insurable event has occurred.  

Be Prepared to Fill Out Forms and Provide Supporting Documentation:  The insurance company is going to ask you to fill out forms and again, they will ask for details like ticket numbers, confirmation numbers, dates, names, dates of purchase, etc. and it all needs to be backed up with printed records.  Also needed will be documentation for the reason a claim is being made.  That means medical records, letters from common carriers like airlines specifically saying flights are cancelled, documents from airlines indicating baggage was lost and for how long it was lost, and unfortunately, if applicable, death certificates.   And, once the insurance company asks for these records, be prepared for them to ask for more records at a later date. 

Coordinate Benefits and Refunds from Travel Companies:  Policies may prohibit travelers from receiving more travel insurance than what they paid.  For instance, if $1,000 was paid for a hotel and the hotel refunded $400, you may be prohibited from collecting more than $600 from the travel insurance company.

Sign up for The Traveling Professor's monthly newsletter and have practical travel tips delivered to your email box once a month.

Related

Share

Travel Blog Categories
Search Blog Posts

Travel Blog

The Traveling Professor is one of the most well-known travel bloggers on the web.   It is considered by many to be one of the best travel blogs to be found because it provides practical and useful travel information.   Since The Professor does not accept advertising from products or services mentioned on blog posts, travelers find his travel blogs to be unbiased and practical.

The Professor's most widely read travel blog posts are on topics like how to pack a suitcase, airline travel tips, hotel booking tips, and international travel check lists.  He is an ardent airfare watchdog, keeping travelers abreast of the latest in airline booking trends.  Traveler blogger recommendation on hotels, restaurants and money and time saving tips are found here.

Another valuable resource is advice on travelers insurance.  Find unbiased travel insurance reviews and recommendation on the best travel insurance for you.