“I’ve been researching travel insurance, and someone mentioned to me that I needed to get driveway-to-driveway coverage for my trip. I’m not sure I need that. What is it and why should I get it?”
“Driveway-to-driveway” coverage is a term that sometimes gets tossed around in the travel insurance industry. It’s just another way of saying that we always recommend that travelers get insurance to cover them from the moment they leave their home, until the moment they return. In general, this term mainly applies to people who are buying comprehensive plans, which offer coverage for many concerns, including trip cancellation, travel delay, baggage loss, and medical benefits.
Sometimes, it may seem like driveway-to-driveway coverage is more than you need. For example, we often hear from travelers who intend to begin or end their scheduled trips by visiting with family or friends along the way. While it’s true that you’re more likely to need your travel insurance coverage while you’re, say, touring France than while you’re relaxing at Aunt Sally’s home in Florida on the way back, that doesn’t mean that driveway-to-driveway coverage isn’t a smart idea. Most travel insurance companies will, in fact, require you to purchase a policy that covers your entire trip; but even if that weren’t the case, there are still other good reasons to do so:
Inconveniences like flight delays and cancellations, or lost luggage, can happen at any point in time – even on the way to or from Aunt Sally’s house.
The “unforeseen” is just that: Unforeseen. Severe weather, airline strikes, and other disruptions could derail your travel plans whenever you’re away from home.
As long as your scheduled trip is less than 30 days in length – that’s from the time you leave your house until you arrive back at your front door – a driveway-to-driveway travel insurance policy likely won’t be any more expensive than one that covers your trip to France. In other words, most travel insurance companies are only concerned with how much your trip costs, not how many stops you’re making, or how many days you’ll be gone.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article serves as a general overview of benefits and should only be used for informational purposes. Refer to your individual certificate of insurance for specific coverages, exclusions and benefits. When in doubt, please contact one of our licensed agents for additional assistance.
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Question
If injured abroad and the injury requires surgery, does the insured have the option of returning to the US (if the needed surgery is not immediately required) for surgery under the policy terms?
By Jack - April 27, 2018
Answer
The policies provide Trip Interruption coverage in the event you had to interrupt the trip for a covered reason and return home early. The number one covered reason for Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption is the unforeseen illness or injury of you or a traveling companion that deems you unfit to travel, by order of a licensed physician; or the unforeseen hospitalization or death of a family member. To see all of the covered reasons to cancel or interrupt your trip, please click on the dollar amount that appears under the words "Trip Cancellation" when viewing a quote. If you are hospitalized during the trip and the attending physicians deem it medically necessary for you to be transported home for further treatment or to recover, as long as you are stable, this is something typically covered under the Evacuation benefit. When viewing quotes, please click on the amount listed below Evacuation to see exactly how this benefit works as each plan is different. Medical expenses are only covered for illnesses or accidental injuries that occur during the trip and during the coverage period. Once you return home and the trip is over, the coverage ends.
By MattG - April 28, 2018