Purchasing Travel Insurance for Travel As Gifts

The holiday season is a great time to share the gift of travel! While some may shower loved ones with travel gear like new earbuds, carry-on bags or travel tech – we really love when people give the gift of actual travel. Nothing compares to the feeling of experiencing a new culture or seeing a new landscape.

A trip with someone you love, or for someone you love, can say “I care about you” like no other gift. But it comes with risks – will they like the destination? Will you be together at the time of departure? Will they be able to take vacation time from work?

It’s because of these questions, and so many more, we strongly recommend also purchasing travel insurance for the trip. Here are some great tips on how to protect the travel investment you gifted to someone else.

Can I Purchase Travel Insurance for Someone Else?

Yes! Unlike other types of insurance, you can purchase a travel insurance plan for someone else. Actually, we recommend it in this situation. You will need basic information about the travelers like their age, gender, home address and birthdates. Don’t feel like you have to wait until after you give the gift to insure it. By then, it may be too late!

When you purchase a policy for someone else, you will need to ensure the traveler is the person listed on the policy. If they need to make a claim, they will need to provide proof of your payment for their prepaid, non-refundable trip costs. It will then be the traveler who is reimbursed for the claim, not the purchaser.

What If They Should Need to Cancel the Trip?

When you purchase the generous gift of travel, you may be opening yourself up to the risk that your loved ones cannot go. How do you handle that situation? We’ve got you covered. By purchasing travel insurance as early as you can, you will likely be eligible for important time sensitive benefits and options. This means you’ll most likely be able to find a comprehensive travel insurance plan with Cancel for Any Reason coverage option.

Cancellation for Any Reason allows you to cancel the trip for any reason, which could include the traveler’s inability to get vacation time approved at work, if they don’t like the destination you chose or if they’re afraid to fly, and receive a percentage of the pre-paid, non-refundable trip cost back. Any reason not listed in the covered reasons of standard trip cancellation is fair game with this coverage.

Cancel for Any Reason has several unique eligibility requirements, one of which is timing to the initial trip payment. For this reason we recommend purchasing the plan close to when you make your first deposit.

What If They Become Ill or Injured While Traveling?

Another time-sensitive benefit on some travel insurance plans is a pre-existing conditions waiver. This could be extremely important for any traveler with a medical condition. As a gift giver, it may be an important addition to a plan as you may not know the travelers’ full medical history.

If the travelers file a travel insurance claim due to illness of some kind, the insurance company retains the right to look back through your medical records for a defined period of time (which varies by plan), to help them determine whether or not your illness resulted from a known pre-existing condition. All comprehensive plans exclude coverage for claims relating to a pre-existing condition. If eligible, the pre-existing conditions waiver removes that exclusion.

Having this waiver in place can save your loved ones hundreds, maybe even thousands, of dollars if they should become ill or injured while traveling – especially if it is related to a prior medical event. The pre-existing condition waiver has eligibility requirements to be considered, and depending on the plan, may apply to both the traveler and non-traveling family members.

I Received a Trip as a Gift – Can I Insure It?

If you are the recipient of gifted travel, you can still insure your trip. First, you need to identify what you’re looking to insure. While you can purchase travel medical insurance alone, it’s often included in comprehensive travel insurance plans.

Even if you were not the one to pay for the trip, it may be worth the conversation with the purchaser to find out the value of the trip to protect their gift from being lost. Comprehensive plans will also offer more options for delays, baggage troubles, and cancellation woes. As you shop for the right travel insurance plan, you’ll need to know some details of the trip, like departure and arrival dates. When quoting plans, you’ll be asked for the initial trip payment date, or the date that money was placed towards any aspect of the trip. For your cruise, use the booking date.

If you’re uncomfortable with asking the value, or you’re not concerned with potential lost costs, a ‘zero trip cost’ plan may still offer you the baggage, medical and delay coverage you may need for your trip.