The busy Christmas holiday travel season is in full swing, and a major blizzard with damaging winds and snow and life-threatening cold temperatures in the winter storm‘s wake will cause significant travel delays that will impact millions of Americans across the U.S.
And while many airlines have started to waive some fees associated with changing or canceling flights at airports from coast to coast, there is another thing you can do as a traveler for some extra peace of mind: Buy travel insurance.
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If you’re wondering if it’s too late to get travel insurance – even with the blizzard and dangerous wind chills moving in – you’re in luck.
“It’s not too late, as long as you haven’t left on your trip,” said Daniel Durazo, of Allianz Travel Insurance. “The best tip that I can give your viewers is to buy travel insurance when you book the trip.”
Durazo said you’ll be covered for not only the trip you have planned but the period leading up to the trip, where you may need to cancel or change a flight.
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Durazo says it’s a good idea to understand what travel insurance covers.
“So, there’s basically two pieces to it,” he said. “The first piece is cancellation coverage. So, if you can’t go on your trip because somebody got sick or injured, or there’s something else going on which is covered by insurance, you can cancel your trip and get your money back and go another time.”
There’s also something called post-departure benefits.
“Those are the things that can happen while you’re traveling, and they can vary from a medical emergency where you end up seeking medical treatment,” Durazo said. “You’re not going to want to have to pay for that yourself. Travel insurance can pay for annoying things like significant travel delays to expensive things like lost luggage. Travel insurance can cover all of those things.”
WHAT TO DO IF YOUR FLIGHT IS CANCELED
We have some bad news if you’re among those who decided not to spend the extra money to buy travel insurance.
You will be on your own if something happens, like a blizzard forcing an airline to cancel a flight.
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“If they don’t want to add the travel insurance to their trip, there’s really not a lot they can do,” Durazo said. “You know, it’s a small cost not only for the protection of the trip and things that might happen but all the peace of mind. Isn’t it great to be able to go on vacation and not have to worry about something that might happen and know that if you are careful, you can get your money back? If something happens while you‘re traveling, you can get the help you need.”