Trip Insurance
INSURANCE IS OPTIONAL AND MAY BE BOUGHT FROM THE CRUISE LINE AT TIME OF BOOKING YOUR CRUISE,HOWEVER, HERE YOU WILL FIND RATES WHICH WE CAN GET FOR YOU VIA CRUISE PLANNERS OF MIAMI FLORIDA INC.,(IN MOST CASES LESS EXPENSIVE).
What is travel protection? How is it different from travel insurance? Why buy coverage? What does it cover? These are just a few of the questions you might have as you explore the advantages of buying travel protection for your next trip.
If you have questions about the products we offer and how they'll work for you, this section should give you the answers you need to make your decision.
If you have other questions for us, you can call us toll-free at 1-866-807-3982, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can also email your questions to us. We're happy to help you.
Glossary
Click here to see the glossary for more information on our benefits.
Questions
- What is travel protection?
- Why do I need travel protection?
- What does travel protection cover?
- When is the best time to purchase travel protection in order to be covered?
- Won't my credit card, homeowner's policy, or medical insurance give me the coverage I need when I'm traveling?
- What will the 24-hour hotline service do for me?
- If I cancel my trip, do I get all of my money back?
- What is included under non-refundable costs?
- Are there events or medical conditions that aren't covered?
- Will I have to pay any deductibles?
- Who provides the insurance for these programs?
- Do you have a glossary of travel insurance terms to help me understand my coverage?
- Questions about the Existing Medical Condition Coverage
- Questions About Travel Supplier Default
Answers
What is travel protection?
Travel protection is a combination of travel insurance and 24-hour emergency assistance services designed to give you peace of mind when you travel. Whether you are traveling in the U.S. or abroad, you can have peace of mind knowing that you have travel protection through Access America. We offer a variety of products to meet all types of travel needs.
Why do I need travel protection?
You need travel protection because it lets you travel with a strong sense of security. Travel protection insures your financial investment (up to the amount of your policy limits) should your trip be cancelled or interrupted for a covered reason, and it guards your health in case of medical emergencies. Here are a few of the benefits you'll enjoy:
- Reimbursement of the non-refunded portion of your travel investment if your trip is cancelled or interrupted for a covered reason
- 24-hour access to emergency medical referrals and assistance
- Reimbursement for unexpected travel expenses
- Protection in case of medical emergencies
- Arrangement of and payment for Emergency medical transportation
What does travel protection cover?
The insurance component of travel protection assures that you'll be reimbursed for non-refundable financial expenses associated with a cancelled or interrupted trip, lost baggage, or medical emergencies (Exclusions may apply, depending upon the policy you purchase).
For information about how travel protection works, select one of the following links.
- Trip Cancellation
- Trip Interruption
- Flight Insurance
- Emergency Medical Transportation
- Emergency Medical / Dental Coverage
- Collision/Loss Damage for Rental Cars
- Lost or Stolen Baggage
- Baggage Delay
- Travel Delay
- Missed Connection
- Vehicle Return Benefit
When is the best time to purchase travel protection in order to be covered?
You can buy travel protection up until the day before you leave on your trip. If you want coverage for pre-existing conditions, and/or supplier default, make sure you buy travel protection within 7 or 14 days, depending on the program you purchase, of paying your initial deposit for the trip (and for the pre-existing conditions waiver, if your trip costs less than $10,000 per person).
Won't my credit card, homeowner's policy, or medical insurance give me the coverage I need when I'm traveling?
Not necessarily. You should check these policies before you travel to assess just how you would be covered in case you have an emergency.
Credit cards and homeowner's policies. Many credit cards and homeowner's policies don't cover everything you need to protect, including some types of emergencies and trip cancellation/interruption. If they do provide coverage, it's often limited, depending on the type of card you use or the coverage you have with your homeowner's policy.
Health insurance. Most health insurance plans don't provide direct payment to foreign hospitals. They may also have deductibles and won't cover the cost of emergency medical transportation.
What will the 24-hour hotline service do for me?
Access America's 24-hour hotline is staffed with multilingual specialists who can help you with all types of situations from anywhere in the world, from reporting lost baggage to getting emergency medical treatment. They can also help you replace passports, refer you to legal assistance, secure cash in case of emergency and guarantee payment to gain admission into a hospital.
If I cancel my trip, do I get all of my money back?
No. Trip cancellation coverage refunds prepaid, nonrefundable payments if you have to cancel your trip for one of the reasons covered by your policy. Covered reasons include the following: sudden medical emergencies, financial default of a covered airline, cruise line or tour operator, bad weather, terrorist incidents, and jury duty. Changing your mind about taking a trip or having certain business obligations are not covered. If you cancel your trip for a covered reason, you must notify your travel supplier(s) within 72 hours of the occurrence, otherwise the right to compensation will lapse.
What is included under non-refundable costs?
Non-refundable costs include the total sum of all of your trip payments that would be forfeited due to cancellation prior to trip departure. Some examples include cruise, tour and airline ticket costs. Be sure to consult your travel coordinator to determine what costs are non-refundable for your particular trip as cancellation policies vary. Examples:
- Cruise - If a cruise costs $3,000 and the cruise policy is 50% loss at 90 days out, 75% loss at 45 days out and 100% loss up to 7 days within departure, you would need to insure for the full $3,000 since you would be out the full amount in the event you cancelled within the week before departure.
- Airline - If an airline ticket costs $700, and the ticket is 100% non-refundable at the time of purchase, you would need to insure for the full $700 in order to qualify for the pre-existing conditions waiver (other requirements still apply).
Are there events or medical conditions that aren't covered?
Every travel protection plan contains restrictions and limitations. For information about what your coverage includes, select one of the following links. You can also contact us if you have questions about your coverage.
- Trip Cancellation
- Trip Interruption
- Flight Insurance
- Emergency Medical Transportation
- Emergency Medical / Dental Coverage
- Collision/Loss Damage for Rental Cars
- Lost or Stolen Baggage
- Baggage Delay
- Travel Delay
- Missed Connection
- Vacation Delay
- Vehicle Return Benefit
Will I have to pay any deductibles?
There is no deductible on our most popular plans, Classic and Deluxe. Other policies we sell may have a $50.00 deductible for Medical and Dental. Please refer to your letter of confirmation to determine if you have a deductible. You may also have deductibles through your primary insurance in cases in which we are the secondary insurer.
Who provides the insurance for these programs?
The insurance coverage you get when you purchase travel protection from Access America is provided under Form No. 52.401 or 52.201 issued by BCS Insurance Company or Form No. 101-C-XX-01 or 101-P-XX-01 issued by Jefferson Insurance Company. BCS Insurance Company is rated "A-"(Excellent), and Jefferson Insurance Company is rated "A" (Excellent) by A.M. Best Co. Your insurance comes with certain limitations and exclusions.
Do you have a glossary of travel insurance terms to help me understand my coverage?
You can contact us if you have specific questions about your coverage.
Questions about the Existing Medical Condition Coverage
- What is an existing medical condition?
- What is the existing medical conditions exclusion?
- If I have an existing medical condition, can I still purchase insurance?
- What does Medically Able mean?
- What is included under non-refundable costs?
What is an existing medical condition?
An existing medical condition is an illness or injury that you, a traveling companion or family member were seeking or receiving treatment for or had symptoms of on the day you purchased your plan, or at any time in the 120 days before you purchased it. Please also note that you may still be covered for losses caused by reasons other than those related to an existing medical condition. See the Certificate of Insurance / Policy for details.
Return to Existing Medical Condition Coverage
What is the existing medical conditions exclusion?
The program does not cover losses or expenses if they result from an illness or injury that you, a traveling companion or family member were seeking or receiving treatment for or had symptoms of on the day you purchased your plan, or at any time in the 120 days before you purchased it.
Return to Existing Medical Condition Coverage
If I have an existing medical condition, can I still purchase insurance?
Yes. On select products, we offer existing medical condition coverage. In order to have the existing medical condition covered, you must meet the following criteria:
- you must purchase your plan within 14 days of making your first trip payment or first trip deposit.
- you must purchase trip cancellation coverage that covers the full cost of all your non-refundable trip arrangements.
- you must be a U.S. resident and be medically able to travel on the day you purchase the plan, and.
- the total cost of your trip is $50,000 or less. ($50,000 is for Deluxe only. The amount should correspond to what is currently listed for each product)
Please also note that you may still be covered for losses caused by other reasons other than those related to an existing medical condition. See the Certificate of Insurance / Policy for details.
Return to Existing Medical Condition Coverage
What does Medically Able mean?
Medically Able means that, at the time of purchase of insurance, you had no illness or injury ( of which a prudent person would reasonably know or be aware) that would prevent or substantially interfere with your ability to travel. Some factors to consider when determining if your condition prevents or substantially interferes with your ability to travel, include: 1) whether you recently had a significant change in medication, 2) whether you require medical assistance or ongoing treatment, or 3) whether you have a medical procedure scheduled in the period between your trip purchase and planned departure dates (for which continuing side effects are known or likely to occur).
Return to Existing Medical Condition Coverage
What is included under non-refundable costs?
Non-refundable costs include the total sum of all of your trip payments that would be forfeited due to cancellation prior to trip departure. Some examples include cruise, tour and airline ticket costs. Be sure to consult your travel coordinator to determine what costs are non-refundable for your particular trip as cancellation policies vary. Examples:
- Cruise - If a cruise costs $3,000 and the cruise policy is 50% loss at 90 days out, 75% loss at 45 days out and 100% loss up to 7 days within departure, you would need to insure for the full $3,000 since you would be out the full amount in the event you cancelled within the week before departure.
- Airline - If an airline ticket costs $700, and the ticket is 100% non-refundable at the time of purchase, you would need to insure for the full $700 in order to qualify for the pre-existing conditions waiver (other requirements still apply).
Return to Existing Medical Condition Coverage
Questions About Travel Supplier Default
The following question-and-answer section provides you with information about our policies concerning coverage in case of a supplier default. We've tried to cover most of the questions you might have. If you have other questions for us about travel suppliers, you can call us toll free at 1-866-807-3982, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can also email your questions to us. We're happy to help you.
- What is the Covered Supplier List?
- Isn't this just like the list that other travel insurance providers have for financial default coverage?
- Why did you create a list of covered suppliers?
- What is the purpose of the list?
- How was the initial list created?
- So if a travel provider is on the list… my client's covered for financial default right?
- Business is good… but hypothetically, what about if my agency suffers a financial default and we are on the list, is my client covered?
- What happens when a travel supplier or carrier is not on the list… is travel protection out of the question?
- For a traveler who buys a cruise+airfare package, or a tour+airfare package, and the cruise line or tour operator is on the covered supplier list and the airline is not, what happens if the airline defaults before or during the traveler's trip?
- What about if a carrier is taken off the list after my client has purchased insurance... what then?
- What are your evaluation criteria and do you actually perform financial evaluations?
- Did you evaluate every travel supplier?
- What does it mean if a supplier is not on your list?
- I noticed that there are no international providers on the list-does this mean that they are not financially trustworthy?
- I commonly use a carrier that is not on the list, can I do something to change that?
- Is the list subject to frequent revision?
- Is there a limit to the number of suppliers that can be on your list?
- All of this is good information, but I still have questions.
What is the Covered Supplier List?
The covered supplier list is a list of airlines, cruise lines and tour operators for which a traveler can file a Trip Cancellation or Interruption claim in case of financial default and be covered up to the full amount of insurance purchased. It can be found on the Access America website. Or you can call us at 1-866-807-3982, to inquire as to whether a specific travel provider is included.
Return to Travel Supplier Questions
Isn't this just like the list that other travel insurance providers have for financial default coverage?
No, unlike some other travel insurance providers, Access America's list contains travel providers and carriers that are covered, with respect to financial default coverage. Also, bear in mind that many of the other travel insurance providers have eliminated financial default coverage altogether!
Return to Travel Supplier Questions
Why did you create a list of covered suppliers?
Travel insurance companies have long been the only source for full coverage supplier default for American travelers. Over the years, our products have paid millions of dollars to customers who have lost deposits as a result of supplier bankruptcies.
The tragic events of September 11 have dramatically changed the insurance and travel industries. It is no longer realistic for travel insurance companies to provide default coverage for all travel suppliers without any restrictions. In fact, several travel insurance companies have removed this coverage from their products altogether. Creating a list of covered suppliers was the most positive way for us to manage risk for our insurance company partners and maintain this benefit for American travelers and travel agents.
Return to Travel Supplier Questions
What is the purpose of the list?
The purpose of the list is to enable our insurance company partners to manage the amount of risk they have for potentially large claims such as those caused by the financial default of travel suppliers. By covering those suppliers that meet our criteria we are able to achieve that goal. Inclusion on or exclusion from the list is not intended to be and should not be relied upon as a statement about or a judgment of any travel supplier.
Return to Travel Supplier Questions
How was the initial list created?
Because of the sheer number of suppliers in the travel industry, as well as time constraints, we decided that for our initial list we would evaluate only those airlines, tour operators or cruise lines used most often by our travel agent partners and their travelers. The list was never meant to be all-inclusive -- we always knew that it would expand as additional suppliers requested consideration.
Return to Travel Supplier Questions
So if a travel provider is on the list... my client's covered for financial default right?
Maybe. Being included on the list at the time your client purchases the protection is only one requirement that must be met before financial default coverage becomes available. In order for your client to benefit from financial default coverage, the following other requirements must be observed:
- The travel protection policy must be purchased within 14 days of the initial trip payment
- The financial default occurs more than 7 days after the Policy's effective date, and
- The financial default results in the complete cessation of services of the tour operator airline or cruise line.
Return to Travel Supplier Questions
Business is good... but hypothetically, what about if my agency suffers a financial default and we are on the list, is my client covered?
No, when you sell travel protection your client's financial default coverage does not cover losses related to the default of your agency. In addition to the above requirements, in order to collect under financial default coverage, a client must have purchased the insurance from a company other than the defaulting tour operator, airline or cruise line, or their affiliates.
Return to Travel Supplier Questions
What happens when a travel supplier or carrier is not on the list... is travel protection out of the question?
No, even if a travel provider is not on the covered supplier list, excepting only the financial default coverage (with respect to that provider), your clients will still receive the outstanding coverage that you have come to depend on from Access America. They will receive coverage as noted in their confirmation letter: this includes trip cancellation and interruption coverage for all other covered reasons.
Return to Travel Supplier Questions
For travelers who buy a cruise+airfare or tour+airfare package, and one supplier is covered and the other is not, what happens if supplier that is not covered defaults?
If the cruise line, tour operator or travel agent makes alternate air arrangements for the traveler and the traveler's trip is not delayed, then no claim can be filed. If alternate air arrangements are made but the trip is delayed 6 or more hours as a result, the traveler can file a Travel Delay claim. If the airline's default causes the traveler to miss his trip altogether, he can file a supplier default claim and receive full coverage, provided that the cruise line or tour operator is on the covered supplier list.
Return to Travel Supplier Questions
What about if a carrier is taken off the list after my client has purchased insurance... what then?
Relax... your client is covered. For financial default coverage to be available to your client, is only necessary that a travel supplier be on the list at the time the travel protection is purchased.
Return to Travel Supplier Questions
What are your evaluation criteria and do you actually perform financial evaluations?
We evaluate each supplier using a variety of underwriting criteria. These include a supplier's financial scores from one of three major national independent rating services, our underwriting experience, the number of the supplier's passengers we insure, and the ownership structure of the supplier. We neither perform financial evaluations nor review financial statements ourselves but rather rely on the expertise of the national independent rating services.
Return to Travel Supplier Questions
Did you evaluate every travel supplier?
No, we initially chose to look at those that accounted for the majority of our partner travel agencies' business. As other suppliers wish to be considered - and many have since we released our initial list - we are happy to review them.
Return to Travel Supplier Questions
What does it mean if a supplier is not on your list?
If a travel supplier does not appear on our list, it does not necessarily mean that they do not meet our underwriting criteria. In fact, there are many suppliers not on the list, either because they have not requested evaluation, or we have not had time to review their information, or the information they submitted was incomplete. Just because a supplier is not on the list, this does not mean that they are not financially sound. It may just mean we have not performed an evaluation of that supplier.
Return to Travel Supplier Questions
I noticed that there are no international providers on the list-does this mean that they are not financially trustworthy?
No, as a preliminary matter we objectively evaluate prospective additions to the list according to standardized and accepted industry underwriting criteria. However, if a travel supplier (foreign or domestic) does not appear on our list, it does not necessarily mean that they do not meet our underwriting standards. In fact, there are many suppliers not on the list, either because they have not requested evaluation; we have not had time to review their information; or the information they submitted was incomplete. This being said, the information sources we currently use to evaluate suppliers are not as available for foreign owned companies. We are now reviewing other sources of information that might allow us to evaluate and include these suppliers in the future.
Return to Travel Supplier Questions
I commonly use a carrier that is not on the list, can I do something to change that?
Because there are literally hundreds of travel suppliers, Access America could not identify and evaluate them all. We have endeavored to select those airlines, tour operators and cruise lines used most often by our travel agent partners and their travelers. If there is a travel provider that you would like to see on the list, and which is not presently included, please contact us at coveredsupplier@accessamerica.com. We will be happy to begin the evaluation process necessary for that supplier's possible inclusion on the list.
Return to Travel Supplier Questions
Is the list subject to frequent revision?
Yes, Access America is constantly evaluating travel suppliers for possible inclusion on the list. As a result, we make changes to the list on a regular basis. Please look for a special reminder memo in the home page and partner section of the website alerting you to additions (or deletions) to the list.
Return to Travel Supplier Questions
Is there a limit to the number of suppliers that can be on your list?
No, we will include any airline, cruise line or tour operator that wishes to be considered and meets our qualifications.
Return to Travel Supplier Questions
All of this is good information, but I still have questions.
Access America welcomes your comments and questions, either about the financial default coverage or any other benefit of our travel protection programs. Accordingly, we encourage you to visit our website at www.accessamerica.com, or call us at 1-866-807-3982.
Call: Cruise Planners of Miami, Florida Inc. at 305-388-3498 ask for Ricardo Hernandez