Viking’s goodwill gesture was a welcome surprise to this traveler
Douglas Guiler and his wife planned to embark on a Viking cruise this summer. But two months before they were scheduled to depart on the cruise, Guiler’s wife died. Guiler asked his travel agent...
View ArticleAvoid these common travel insurance mistakes on your next trip
When I think of travel insurance mistakes, I’m reminded of Carol Buckley’s case. She recently contacted me about her daughter, who had booked two airline tickets from Boston to London, purchasing the...
View ArticleIt wasn’t my fault. Why should I be penalized for missing my flight?
It just wasn’t David Ababio’s day. His back was injured and he couldn’t walk quickly. Then the airport bus wasn’t running. He arrived at the KLM counter ten minutes too late to check in for his flight....
View ArticleA week of volunteering in Kenya nosedives because of air ticket error
When Kristina Aubert tries to check in for a flight, she finds that her name is misspelled on her air ticket, costing her a week of volunteering as a nurse in Kenya. Are her travel expenses gone...
View ArticleWithout trip insurance, even a tragedy may not lead to a refund
Ethelynne Bates-Huffman had to cancel her trip to Norway, booked through Vantage Travel, for one of the most terrible of reasons: the sudden death of her husband. But her desperate plea to Vantage...
View ArticleCan I purchase two trip insurance policies and use them both?
Can travelers have too much insurance coverage? We were recently asked this question by a consumer who suffered an injury while traveling, forcing him to cut short a trip to Europe. He had purchased...
View ArticleDoes a sudden serious illness and no trip insurance equal a missed honeymoon?
This unfortunate couple had to cancel their wedding when the fiancé became seriously ill. Then when they tried to postpone their honeymoon cruise, things got even worse. Question: We booked a cruise...
View ArticleI already have auto insurance, so why is Europcar forcing me to buy it for my...
When Allison Blake rents a car through Hotwire for her trip to Mexico, she is forced to purchase auto insurance coverage even though she already has it through Allianz. Can our advocates persuade...
View ArticleInsider tips on how to file a travel insurance claim
If you’re reading this, chances are something horrible has happened while you’re on vacation — a health scare, a disruption, even an unexpected death. Maybe you’ve phoned your travel insurance company...
View ArticleInsider tips for avoiding a pre-existing insurance trap
Pamela O’Meara narrowly escaped the pre-existing conditions trap. Oh, you know the trap. It’s the one where your insurance company tells you the policy is no good because your medical condition existed...
View ArticleI canceled my cruise, why can’t I get a refund for my trip insurance?
Zelma Friedling booked a Caribbean cruise a year in advance but canceled after two hurricanes hit the islands they were scheduled to visit. The cruise line refunded the money she paid for the cruise,...
View ArticleOffended by our request for more information? We can’t help
“These researchers for Chris Elliott respond with more legalese than the cotton-pickin’ insurance company did.” This was the response we received from Donald Norton to a question we asked him about his...
View ArticleBritish Airways won’t give me proof that my ticket was nonrefundable
After a terrorist attack in London, Kelly Bukaty cancels her British Airways flight. But her travel insurance company won’t reimburse her airfare without proof that her ticket was nonrefundable. Can...
View ArticleWhy won’t travel insurance cover my flight cancellation?
Michele Kemp and her family cancel a flight after her sister falls ill. Good thing she bought travel insurance, right? Wrong. But how can she get her money back? Question: I was supposed to fly from...
View ArticleHow climate change is affecting travel — and what you can do about it
When Kimberly Button drove her RV to Glacier National Park in Montana this summer, she expected relief from her muggy home town of Orlando. “We assumed that we’d have mild temperatures,” she says. “We...
View ArticleDoes travel insurance cover a pre-existing condition and the death of a loved...
Robert Hamilton was looking forward to his six-night stay in Colorado that he booked through VRBO and Turnkey Colorado. But he also knew that with his mother-in-law hospitalized, he probably should buy...
View ArticleWhen travel insurance saves the day
When Katie Kubitskey made plans to attend a friend’s destination wedding in Izmir, Turkey, last summer, she never imagined she’d need travel insurance. After all, Kubitskey, a marketing manager from...
View ArticleHere are the best travel insurance companies
Barbara Goldsmith and her husband are planning a trip of a lifetime to Alaska this year. The couple, both in their 70s, are “healthy and active” — but they’re also worried. What if something goes wrong...
View ArticleThey booked a cruise. Then they found out how long it would take to get to...
When Carole Schachter and her husband booked a cruise vacation in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, they were looking forward to winding along the Columbia and Snake Rivers. But they didn’t factor travel...
View ArticleHere are the best travel insurance policies
What are the best travel insurance companies? That’s easy: I list them in my annual Readers’ Choice Awards. The best policies? That’s not easy. And it’s a question I get almost daily from my readers:...
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