travel insurance masterThe new year means new opportunities to travel and cross off even more destinations on your list! With the excitement comes the opportunity to easily miss the important things you should check and do before your departure. To avoid any travel mishaps, check out our recommendations below.
Check your passport expiration date
As a general rule, your passport must be valid for six months beyond the date the traveler exits the United States. Be sure to allow plenty of time to have your passport processed and/or renewed. Delays with passports were all to common this year! The State Department also recommends paying an additional fee for one-day or two-day delivery for return of your completed passport. Starting December 27th, passport prices will increase. However, this comes with good news as travelers may be able to renew their passports online in the next 6 to 12 months. Stay tuned for updates!
Remember to check your luggage
Don’t wait until the last minute to pull your luggage out of storage. A broken handle, wheel, or other damage could seriously interfere with your travels. You don’t want to push back your arrival time to the airport and cause a delay shopping for new luggage. By being preemptive, you can test your luggage to ensure it’s still functional and durable. Don’t forget to add something recognizable to the exterior of your luggage so baggage claim is a breeze.
Get Packing
You don’t want to wait until the last minute to pack either. With a checklist to help you remember the necessities, and our favorite packing hacks, you’ll be ready for wherever your next trip takes you. We love using packing cubes to stay organized, and rolling clothes to help prevent wrinkles. Always remember to have a change of clothes in your carry on and anything you need if you decide to hit the pool, or other activity, when you arrive.
Check your destination’s requirements
The pandemic has caused many changes and updates in the foreign tourism requirements around the world. Before your next trip, it’s crucial to check that there is no travel ban during your travel dates, and see what is required. Your international destination may require proof of a negative COVID-19 test within a day or several days of arrival. Some destinations have made travel insurance mandatory too. Check the minimum coverages you’ll need, and use Travel Insurance Master’s filters to narrow down the plans to meet these requirements.
Flying? Be sure to get tested
The CDC now requires all international air passengers, 2 years or older, regardless of vaccination status and citizenship, to show a negative COVID-19 viral test taken no more than 1 day before travel to the United States. You must show your negative result to your airline prior to boarding. Check with your airline for more details and up to date information.
Your hotel may offer one of the approved tests during check out, or you may have an option to purchase a test at the airport. If you go this route, just be sure to allow enough time to get tested and receive your results prior to boarding.
Although all our Trip Cancellation plans cover trip cancellation or interruption if you get sick or test positive with COVID-19, travel insurance does not usually cover the testing costs unless directed by a physician.
Protect Your Trip
With all the unknowns of the pandemic, let alone the nature of travel itself, it’s more important than ever to protect your next trip. The unexpected can happen on any adventure and travel insurance is there to help you when you’re traveling 100 miles or more from home.
For a relatively small amount, you’ll protect yourself, and your investment of time and money too. If everything goes as planned, the little cost of travel insurance will be quickly forgotten. It’s when the unexpected happens, and you didn’t purchase travel insurance, that it becomes something you’ll never forget. We’ve seen how the world and travel can change at the drop of a hat, don’t risk leaving your next trip unprotected.
Travel insurance doesn’t have to be complicated! At Travel Insurance Master, we partner with a number of the world’s leading providers that we know and trust, so you can shop and compare all of their plans and benefits in one place. In just 3 super easy steps, you’ll input your trip and traveler details, and we’ll recommend the best plan and value for you. On the results page, you’ll also find similar plans to compare side by side, and smart filters to narrow down the plans by the benefits you’re looking for.
All of the Trip Cancellation plans on TravelInsuranceMaster.com cover trip cancellation or interruption if you get sick or test positive with COVID-19. Trip Cancellation does not cover cancellation because you’re afraid of contracting COVID-19 though, and that’s where you will need to purchase a Cancel for Any Reason (CFAR) plan. Cancel for Any Reason is just that – you’re able to cancel for any reason whatsoever usually 2 days prior to departure for a reimbursement of up to 75% of prepaid non-refundable expenses. For the CFAR benefit, be sure to purchase your insurance early usually within 1-21 days of initial deposit.
Travel insurance treats COVID-19 the same as any other illness. Emergency Medical and Evacuation will provide coverage for your medical expenses if you were to contract it during your travels, and evacuation if medically necessary. If you or your travel companion are diagnosed with COVID-19 by a physician while on your trip, Trip Interruption may reimburse non-refundable prepaid trip costs and expenses for you to return home. Trip Delay provides coverage for additional hotel expenses and meals if you are delayed due to quarantine required by a physician on your trip. Be sure to review your plan details for specific coverages, coverage limits, and the proof you will need to show.
Ready to purchase? Simply click buy plan, enter your final trip and payment details, and receive the plan straight to your email. There’s less worry and more adventure waiting for you when you travel with Travel Insurance Master.
