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.
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