By Ashley Taylor
MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) Vacationers who have invested in travel insurance say it has saved them hundreds of dollars.
“You never know what’s going to happen. You might change your mind, you might get sick, there might be a problem,” said Trisha Lewis.
Lewis said she gets travel insurance whenever she goes on a trip. Lewis added, “If I’m going to put upwards of 150-200 dollars for a flight which isn’t a lot these days…it’s worth 15-25 dollars because if something happens you are going to lose your money.”
Another vacationer, Edward Sheffer said he bought travel insurance when he and his wife booked a trip to Savannah, Georgia. Sheffer stated, “My sister in law was not doing well but we had no idea what was going to happen, and unfortunately the week we were supposed to leave is when she passed away.”
Sheffer said the trip was canceled, but he saved hundreds of dollars. Sheffer added, “We couldn’t make it and the fortunate thing for us was that AAA processed the insurance and we recovered everything we paid to take the trip.”
Unexpected circumstances are driving many vacationers to pay about 10 percent of their total vacation cost for travel insurance. Tracie Lawrence, AAA Manager said, “It’s based on the trip cost. For example for a trip that is 500-600 dollars the travel insurance is usually 50-60 per person…it’s very reasonable.”
Lawrence said she has seen an increase in the numbers of people who get the extra coverage. Lawrence added, “On average I would say 75-80 percent of the folks taking trips that do get the insurance and go with it. We recommend it 99 percent of the time for airline tickets, group trips with AAA, for cruises.”
Lawrence said it is all about protecting people’s money and vacation. It could even protect people from a company that suddenly went bankrupt like Direct Air’s shut down which left hundreds of passengers forced to make different plans.
Lawrence added, “People plan for them for a long time so now all of a sudden…what if somebody passes, your child breaks an arm…what if your home is burglarized…there are all types of things that we’re going to be protected.”
There are several travel agencies that offer insurance, but before buying it make sure of what it covers