As summer begins to heat up, this is a great time to remind people about travel insurance.

You know when you go to an electronic store to buy a stereo system, TV or entertainment system and the salesperson tries to sell you that extended warranty? My opinion has always been, if it is a quality brand, why pay more money for an extended warranty? I suspect some of our clients feel the same way when we offer travel insurance after they have booked a vacation.

Here is my opinion of travel insurance and I tell my clients this, it is a waste of money if you don't need it and a godsend if you do. You are spending hundreds if not thousands of dollars on a vacation and do you really want to risk losing all that money? When suppliers say NON REFUNDABLE, they are not kidding.

Consumer Reports May 2007 Issue questioned the need for travel insurance. Though I have been a fan of the magazine over the years, they missed the boat completely on this one, no pun intended. There is limited coverage through health care providers, credit card companies, homeowners policies etc, but normally they are not considered primary. Meaning, they wait to see who else is going to pay a claim before they get involved. My opinion is if I have a valid claim, I want my money back! If I get sick or injured traveling outside the country, I want to make sure my medical costs are covered. It is as simple as that.

After this past winter season in Denver of blizzard after blizzard, the year before with all the hurricanes, summer flight delays, lost luggage at an all time high and clients canceling vacations for medical reasons that no one would of ever predicted, we are not only glad we offered it, they were glad they purchased it. In fact, we are not doing our job as a professionals if we do not offer it to you. We will never push it on you but at least you can make an informed decision.

When I took my nieces on a cruise last year, I bought travel insurance for all of us. Why? because my father-in-law was having medical issues that could of caused us to cancel. Plus, anytime you travel with kids, you never know what will come up. What happens if one of your kids slips on a banana peel outside the country and needs medical attention? Will your health care provider cover it?

What if you have to fly home last minute due to an illness in the family, will your credit card company out of the goodness of their heart say not a problem, we will pick up the cost of the flight. If they will, I need to change credit card companies.

We use third party insurance for a few reasons. The first is if you buy a policy with the tour company or cruise line, they will not protect you if they go bankrupt.

Second, we always use insurance that is considered primary, meaning if you have to file a claim, they pay out first rather than waiting to see what will be paid by other sources. The last thing you need is the hassle of who is going to pay if you need to cancel.

Third, if you buy insurance through the tour company or cruise line, you do not always get all your money back. Sometimes it is a percentage or maybe they give you vouchers for future travel. Travel waivers are an alternative to help pays costs not covered through travel insurance.

And last but not least, you don't want hassles when you have to file a claim. Everyone is great when it comes to processing the premium. Where the rubber meets the road is when you have to file a claim. I have learned not all travel insurance companies are the same and why I only do business for a few select companies.

Anytime you are spending a lot on a vacation, can you afford to lose all your money if you had to cancel? So did I waste my money when I bought travel insurance for the cruise? No, the piece of mind was worth every penny.

David L Rojahn
Owner
DTR Travel Inc.
http://www.dtrtravel.com