Trip Insurance: Protecting Your Travel Investment

You’ve been planning for weeks, you’ve selected the perfect yacht for your charter, invited friends to join you, signed the agreement and sent your deposit. Now there’s one more thing to do to make sure you are fully prepared: protect your trip plans by purchasing trip insurance. Unforeseen circumstances can disrupt even the most meticulously planned trips. This is where trip insurance comes into play. Whether it's medical emergencies, trip cancellations, or unexpected events, having the right insurance coverage can provide peace of mind and financial protection.

Let’s explore the various types of coverage, the importance of purchasing trip insurance, cost considerations, and other helpful information to get you started.

Types of Trip Insurance

There are two main types of trip insurance: Trip Cancellation and Medical Insurance.

Trip Cancellation 

Policies vary in the requirements and amount of coverage. Important considerations include the state of residence, age of travelers, destination, and how soon you purchase insurance after booking your trip.

Protect Your Travel Investment 

Imagine investing a substantial amount of money into flights, accommodation, and activities for your dream vacation, only to have it abruptly canceled due to unforeseen circumstances. This is where trip cancellation insurance proves invaluable. It provides reimbursement for non-refundable expenses if your trip is called off or interrupted due to specific covered reasons. Covered events typically include illness or injury, natural disasters, terrorism, or the financial default of travel suppliers. By securing trip cancellation insurance, you can recover your pre-paid expenses and avoid financial losses.

Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) insurance allows travelers to cancel their trips for any reason whatsoever, providing a higher level of flexibility for those who have concerns about unforeseen events, or want the freedom to change their plans without financial repercussions, ensuring a worry-free experience. This type of insurance usually reimburses a percentage of the non-refundable trip costs, often up to 75%, depending on the policy. It's important to note that CFAR is a time sensitive benefit and must be purchased within 1-21 days from your initial non-refundable trip deposit date.

Medical Insurance

Safeguard Your Health Abroad 

When venturing to faraway destinations, it's crucial to prioritize your well-being. Travel medical insurance acts as a safety net by offering coverage for unexpected medical emergencies and expenses while you're away from home. It can include services such as emergency medical treatment, hospitalization, medical evacuation, and even repatriation to your home country. Without insurance, medical costs in foreign countries can be exorbitant and put a significant strain on your finances. With travel medical insurance, you can access quality healthcare without worrying about the financial burden, ensuring a stress-free and safe travel experience.

Insurance Cost

Cost is probably the number one reason people don’t buy travel insurance. We spoke to Yonder Travel Insurance, who curate policies from the top travel insurance providers to help you find the most affordable policy with comprehensive coverage for your nonrefundable yacht charter plus airfare costs if you have suddenly have to cancel or return home early. Their average travel insurance premium is between 4-8% of the trip/charter cost. With multiple coverage options, you can pick the best one for your trip and your budget. 

If you know you’ll be taking more than two trips this year, your most cost-effective travel insurance option may be a policy which protects all your travel in a 365-day period.

Yonder shared with us a list of common events that are covered if you have to cancel or return home early from your charter:

• Your injury, illness or death.

• Injury, illness or death of a family member or traveling companion.

• Hurricane or tropical storm at your home or destination.

• Quarantine (COVID-19 considered a covered illness).

• Being required to work over the charter dates.

• Jury duty.

• Inclement weather or mechanical issues that cause a delay or cancellation with your airline.

It should be noted that every travel insurance policy has a list of 15-30 covered trip cancellation/trip interruption events and coverage may vary by policy/provider.

Following are additional frequently asked questions about trip insurance:

When should I buy travel insurance?

It's recommended to purchase travel insurance as soon as you start making nonrefundable payments towards the charter trip. Some benefits such as Cancel for Any Reason and Pre-Existing Condition Waivers must be purchased within 1-21 days from the deposit date.

Is there a trip cost limit?

Some policies have a trip cost limit per person but Yonder has the ability to quote a specialty charter policy that doesn't limit to the amount you insure and has insured $1mil+ charter trips.

To book a stress-free yachting vacation with your preferred travel insurance option, get in contact with one of our brokers.