Florida Travel Insurance Lawyer
Whether it’s a short getaway or an extended trip, traveling is expensive. It is not unusual to spend thousands of dollars on a vacation to your dream destination. Given the financial investment you are making when booking that trip, you may purchase travel insurance in case you need to cancel the trip, or something causes the trip to be cut short. You purchase that insurance with the belief that you will be reimbursed if either scenario comes to pass.
Unfortunately, travel insurance companies often deny claims or fail to fully reimburse claimants who file a claim. Knowing what to do and who to call for help if your travel insurance claim has been denied, delayed, or underpaid provides you with the best chance of getting your claim paid in full.
What Is Travel Insurance?
Most people are familiar with the concept of travel insurance. After all, you can rarely book a flight or a hotel without being asked if you wish to purchase travel insurance at the time you make your payment. Nevertheless, there are numerous misconceptions surrounding the coverage provided by most travel insurance policies.
Travel insurance can be purchased as part of a comprehensive policy or as specialty insurance. Comprehensive package plans are the commonly offered plans and might be referred to using names such as “travel insurance,” “trip insurance” or “trip cancellation and interruption insurance.” These plans are intended (or at least marketed) to provide blanket coverage in case your trip is canceled or interrupted typically offering reimbursement for the cost of flights and hotels, medical emergencies, and lost, stolen, or damaged luggage.
Specialized travel insurance plans are limited to covering things such as medical expenses while away from home, Medevac evacuation from a foreign country, or accident insurance that covers accidental death or dismemberment.
The third type of travel insurance, known as “Cancel for Any Reason” (CFAR) insurance offers to reimburse you if your travel plans are canceled without regard to why they are canceled. While this type of travel insurance offers broad protection against cancellation, it is also typically noticeably more expensive than comprehensive or specialty insurance.
What Does Travel Insurance Cover?
The terms “trip cancellation” and “trip interruption” as used by companies selling travel insurance are common misnomers. They provide travelers with a false sense of security when planning a vacation and/or while on the vacation because it sounds as if the coverage will pay for any cancellation or interruption. In fact, most of these policies will only reimburse an insured for trip cancellation or interruption under relatively narrow conditions.
While each policy includes its own definitions of covered events and exclusions, most trip cancellation and interruption policies only provide reimbursement based on covered, “unforeseen” events. What is an “unforeseen” event? This usually refers to an event that was “not known, anticipated or reasonably expected, and occurs after the effective date of the benefit under which the claim is being made.” A natural disaster, your own serious illness causing hospitalization, or the death of an immediate family member are things that might qualify as an “unforeseen” event.
The Covid-19 pandemic caused both insurance companies and travelers to examine travel insurance coverage and exclusions. While most insurers could hardly argue that the lockdowns during the early days of the pandemic were not “unforeseen,” are Covid-19 related cancellations and trip interruptions covered today? The answer to that question depends, to a significant extent, on both the unique circumstances of a claim and the general policies of the insurance provider. Most policies will not provide reimbursement if you cancel plans because of a general fear of the virus; however, you may be covered if you test positive for the virus shortly before embarking on the trip. Also, beware that some policies now specifically exclude reimbursement for Covid-19 related cancellations or trip interruptions.
What Should I Do If My Travel Insurance Claim Was Denied, Delayed, or Underpaid?
Travel insurance providers are frequently third-party companies that offer plans to travelers. They routinely use a variety of tactics to avoid paying claims, including outright denials based on the cancellation/interruption failing to meet the definition of an “unforeseen covered event.” If your travel insurance claim has been denied, is taking an unreasonable about of time to be processed, or you have received less than the full value of your claim, contacting an experienced Florida travel insurance lawyer is in your best interest.
How Can a Florida Travel Insurance Lawyer Help?
Having to cancel or cut short a much-anticipated trip is stressful enough without also having to fight with your travel insurance provider over reimbursement. The insurance policy you purchased, however, is a legal contract. As such, you have important rights that apply when the insurance company fails to fulfill its obligations under the contract. A Florida travel insurance lawyer will review your policy and the circumstances that led to the filing of your claim. The attorney will attempt to resolve your claim by negotiating an out-of-court settlement; however, if a settlement cannot be reached, your attorney will advocate for you in court.
Where Can I Get Help with My Florida Travel Insurance Claim?
If you are having problems getting fully and fairly reimbursed by a travel insurance provider for losses you suffered, call us at 407-500-1000 or submit our online form today. One of our experienced Florida travel insurance will explain your rights to you and discuss your legal options at no cost.