Tagged: insurance

Road Trips in Europe: 12 Pitfalls for U.S. Drivers to Be Prepared For

Prepare to enjoy life in the slow lane.Europe isn’t, generally speaking, the place to channel your inner speed demon, despite the myths about German motorways having no speed limits.…

Why You Should Think Twice Before Buying Rental Car Insurance From Expedia and Others

I have spent 39 years working in the travel industry, writing about travel, and advocating for travelers, but just like everyone, I still get caught off guard by consumer gotchas. No…

Multi-Trip Travel Insurance: One Policy That Covers Every Trip for a Year

For years you've heard it drilled into your brain: Always buy travel insurance for major trips. But even minor trips may involve big problems. Airlines and airports are halting…

Frommer's 8 Great Travel Insurance Providers

The travel insurance industry can be confusing to navigate, thanks to all the unclear language and companies disguised under misleading names. To help travelers pick the most reliable…

Travel Insurance at a Glance

If you're taking an expensive tour or cruise, or if you're buying a vacation with components that won't be refundable if things go wrong (such as a making deposit on a rental home),…

Buying Travel Insurance During Covid-19: Should You? What Kind?

Last updated December 10, 2021 We don't have to tell you how uncertain everything is right now. But, when travelers want to assuage anxieties about the future, they can take one smart…

Is It Wise to Book Group Tours at This Time? Our Advice

Even in the best of times, group tours are tremendously complicated travel products. A tour company not only has to create an appealing itinerary. It must also arrange for all…

What You Need to Know About Credit Cards and Rental Car Insurance (It's All Changing)

This photo lies. Nobody smiles when dealing with car rental insurance. Still, holders of the right credit cards in the past could escape having to buy insurance at the rental counter—a…

Costa Rica Says It Will Only Accept American Visitors from Certain States

The rest of the world is well aware of the growing disparity in infection rates between states within the USA. This week, Costa Rica acted, proving it has been studying the situation…

Some Countries Require Proof of Medical Insurance Now: How to Get It

August 17, 2020 We look forward to the day when this pandemic winds down, but until Covid-19 is eradicated, countries will want to guard themselves from the expense of providing…

Tourist Industry Crash: Visitors Are Avoiding the USA for Their Own Safety

The rest of the world now sees America as a mortal danger. "At all costs, you do not want to go into a U.S. hospital without insurance," one Canadian told the Palm Springs Desert Sun.…

Welcome to Cambodia! That'll Be $3,000, Please

We have a new winner for the title of World's Harshest Covid-19 Entry Requirement.  Cambodia has announced that all visitors to that Southeast Asian country (famous for the Angkor Wat…

Health Care Abroad is not Free for Americans, Warns Arthur Frommer

A relative of mine who periodically visits friends living in England had a recent premonition about a Christmas trip there.    For a reason that she is still unable to fully know, she…

Arthur Frommer: If Thomas Cook Can Go Belly-Up, Consumers Must Protect Themselves

The recent shutdown of service by the venerable Thomas Cook company in Great Britain, stranding tens of thousands of tour passengers, is a wake-up call for all of us.     It means that…

How to Tell If You Need Travel Insurance, Based on the Type of Vacation

On average, the addition of insurance to a trip can bulk up a vacation’s cost by nearly five to ten percent, according to Allianz, one of the world's largest travel insurance…

Do I Need Car Insurance When I Rent a Vehicle? Maybe Not

Insurance is a huge profit center for car rental companies. Because people who rent cars can be confused, scared, or rushed into agreeing to the extra charge, the major renters get…

A Tragic Backpacker Death Teaches an Important Travel Lesson

What happened to Kit Mallinson was the nightmare every parent has when they send their child away on a trip.Last December, the 18-year-old backpacker from Dorset, England, boarded a…

After the Storms: What You Need to Know If You Have Booked Travel to Impacted Regions

In just two short weeks, Mother Nature ravaged many of the Western Hemisphere’s most alluring vacation destinations. Some should rebound quickly (Disney World and Universal Studios…

Rental Car Rates Could Zoom Sky-High Thanks to Lobbyists

Today, the American Car Rental Association (ACRA), a lobbying group for the car rental industry, is wrapping up its annual Washington, D.C. "Legislative Conference," during which it…

Interest in Travel Insurance Surges Following Terror Attacks

Experts in the travel insurance industry say that consumer interest in terrorism coverage and trip cancelation policies has surged following recent attacks in Brussels, Paris, Nice,…

A Primer on Travel Insurance: When You Need It (And When You Don't), Misconceptions About Coverage, and New Trends

If there’s one lesson travelers have learned this winter it’s that even the best-laid plans can go badly wrong. Thanks to a season of unrelenting storms some 1 million flights…

AppleCare+ Now Lets You Repair Your Apple Products Where You Travel

AppleCare+, and its similar product AppleCare Protection Plan, are like insurance policies for your Apple product—iPhone, iPad, iPod, laptop, and the like. If you crack your…

A Nightmarish Incident on a Recent Cruise May Cause Vacationers to Rethink Buying Insurance Directly from the Cruise Line

By now, you likely have heard the story of elderly couple who were put off an Azamara Cruise ship in a small town in Turkey, when the 89-year-old husband fell and broke his hip.…

Costa Concordia Sinking Leaves Other Cruise-Ship Passengers Alarmed -- and Out of Luck

The tragic sinking of the Costa Concordia cruise ship is leaving a line of worried passengers in its wake. Betty Westbrook is among them. The retiree from Allen, Texas, called me…

Should the Travel Industry End Its War on Smokers?

Haven't smokers suffered enough already? You can't help but wonder when you talk with someone like Efrin Knight, a French professor from Miami who enjoys an occasional cigar. "It's…