INSURING YOUR INVESTMENT

USA TODAY SPECIAL EDITION

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Editor Harry Lister, front, and pilot Jim Jeans view the Virginia Piedmont from Jeans’ 1942 Boeing Stearman PT-17.

THE OUTBREAK OF AND response to COVID-19 has affected our lives, our livelihoods and the economy at the local, national and global levels. And it has had a profound effect on the travel industry.

As we grapple with the unprecedented scope of this pandemic, many events, festivals and celebrations have been suspended or canceled. However, across the country, businesses that provide lodging, food and transportation are starting to reopen with varied stipulations and baseline measures that aim to reduce the risk of spreading the coronavirus.

The USA TODAY Network is committed to providing timely, engaging and accurate information in our coverage, but given the evolving nature of this health crisis, we realize that there will undoubtedly be changes to the accessibility of many of the locations, venues and services mentioned throughout this publication. Please check directly with businesses for the latest updates.

We also know that the travel and tourism industry is resilient. It has rebounded from natural disasters, economic recessions and other crises before, and while this pandemic is uncharted territory, it is our hope that national and international exploration will resume soon. In the meantime, we will continue to look beyond today and provide you with the amazing sights, sounds, tastes and experiences that await when we can all Go Escape again.

Harry Lister Issue Editor

JIM JEANS

UP FRONT | TRAVEL

USA TODAY SPECIAL EDITION

GETTY IMAGES

Policies can offer peace of mind when booking a trip

By Amy Sinatra Ayres

WHETHER YOU’RE CANCELING OR postponing a trip due to the outbreak of COVID-19, or you’re dreaming of scheduling a new vacation, you might be researching the ins and outs of travel insurance.

If you want to delay plans you made before the outbreak and you purchased insurance, the first step is to review your policy, says Peter Evans, executive vice president of InsureMyTrip.com. For standard policies, fear of traveling is not a benefit, but some include coverage if the U.S. State Department or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issue travel warnings for the area you were planning to visit. And if you have purchased an upgraded “cancel for any reason” policy, it lets you do just that.

Evans and Kasara Barto, public relations manager for travel insurance comparison site SquareMouth.com, also recommend going directly to the travel supplier — such as the airline, cruise line, hotel or tour operator — to see what your options are. Many are waiving change or cancellation fees, and if you’d rather reschedule, you may be able to get a voucher or bump the trip to the next calendar year.

“We’re seeing tremendous flexibility right now because (travel suppliers are) all in this, and they’re trying to make it work for everyone,” Evans says.

Some standard travel insurance policies include cancellation benefits for financial default, such as if your travel supplier goes out of business; employment layoff benefits in case you lose your own job; or “cancel for work reasons,” which kicks in if your time off from work is revoked due to impact from the virus.

A policy with the “cancel for any reason” upgrade offers the most comprehensive coverage. Those policies are time sensitive — they’re generally only available for purchase within the first two to three weeks after booking the trip — and they are more expensive, explains Barto. “It does cost about 40 percent more than a standard travel insurance policy, and it reimburses 75 percent of the trip costs. However, it really does allow a traveler to cancel for any reason,” she says.

Rule of thumb when planning a trip : do your research and ensure you’re educated on how the insurance policies work. “We are hearing from people that are still planning future trips, and the best advice is to just read through your policy and make sure that what you’re concerned about can be covered by the policy that you’re purchasing,” Barto says. “It’s really a personal decision.”