Pre-pay your travel costs so they are covered by travel insurance

Often, when people purchase travel insurance, they don’t think about all the extra fees and travel costs. It’s important to remember that only pre-paid travel costs are covered under the trip cancellation, trip interruption, and ‘cancel for any reason’ coverage. That means it’s important to pre-pay for travel fees such as airline surcharges – airlines add extra fees for items like peak holiday travel days ($10-$50), seat selection, and more.

If you pre-pay for those fees, and include them in the total trip cost when you enroll in your travel insurance plan, those fees are more likely to be reimbursed as long as you cancel or abandon your trip for a covered reason.

Insure pre-paid hotel rates

Many hotels – especially during the busy holiday seasons – offer packages and rate discounts for travelers who purchase and pay for their rooms ahead of time. In many cases, those deals are 100% non refundable, which makes those trip costs perfect candidates for inclusion in your total trip cost. Pre-pay for your lodging, then include those costs in your total trip costs when you enroll in your plan and as long as you cancel for a covered reason, they’ll be reimbursed as well.

Note: If you have to cancel your trip,  let the hotel know as soon as possible. If they can re-book the room with another traveler, they may wave their usual cancellation penalties.

Be wary of longer trip delays due to fewer flights

Some airlines have cut flights in anticipation of reduced passenger traffic due to the continuing recession. Many experts are recommending travelers book the first flight of the day because (like getting the first doctor appointment of the day) schedules haven’t yet had a chance to get backed up.

When a scheduled flight is canceled late in the day, the next available flight may not leave until the following day and even if it does leave, it may already be full of other passengers so you could get bumped even further down the line. Consider a travel insurance plan with travel delay coverage, which can reimburse tired travelers for unexpected meal and lodging expenses when a trip’s departure or return is delayed. There is typically a per-day limit and a minimum delay, but if things get really iffy, at least you’ll have some reimbursement.

To understand the problem see what the airlines owe you when a travel delay occurs.