It is a safe bet that six months ago you had never heard of Eyjafjallajoekull. You probably would have been unable to identify the name as a typographical error or a type of tropical disease, let alone a volcano. Thanks to the widespread disruption the Icelandic volcano caused when it erupted and spewed an ash cloud across European airspace in April, many people were left wishing they had purchased travel insurance. Tens of thousands of travelers in Europe were left stranded when airports were shut down and flights cancelled due to aviation risks posed by the spreading ash cloud. One Canadian professor was stuck at London’s Heathrow Airport when her flight was cancelled. She was forced to take a nine-hour, three-thousand-dollar cab ride to reach a conference in Amsterdam. It has not been stated whether she had trip insurance or paid the expense out of pocket.

Travel insurance provides you with financial coverage in the event of a natural disaster.

Fortunately, volcanoes don’t erupt every day. Even with the best laid plans, however, many other things can go wrong. People take ill without warning. Travelers encounter family complications. Jobs are changed or can be lost. Even terrorism periodically rears its ugly head. Travel insurance does not add major expense to the cost of a typical trip in comparison to the price of airline tickets, fuel surcharges, accommodations, meals or taxes. Insurance, however, buys peace of mind against the possibility that the unexpected will happen. Travel Insured International is an excellent choice for anyone planning to take a trip individually, with the family, or as part of a group. The company specializes in trip insurance and offers only products and services that fall within that category: Travel Insured plans provide coverage for emergency medical expense protection, airline ticket protection, international travel insurance coverage, and other travel protection needs.

While no one wants to dwell on travel plans that could go wrong, Travel Insured International believes it is better to consider them briefly, when you are first planning a trip. By adding a strong travel insurance plan, you can relax and look forward to enjoying the trip, knowing that your costs are covered if the worst happens.

When considering travel insurance coverage, there are three main components that will protect most people. Travel insurance can reimburse the prepaid cost of a trip if you need to cancel for a covered reason. Baggage loss protection can cover expenses when the airline loses your bag and you have to buy a new wardrobe for an overseas business presentation. And emergency medical expense coverage picks up your medical expenses if you should be injured or take sick while traveling. When you cover all the disruption possibilities you will be ready for anything when you travel, even a volcano.

Considering the amount of money you have to pay up front to book a trip, it is hard to imagine skipping trip insurance. A two-week cruise can easily cost $10,000 for a couple. Despite their investment they may still be out of luck for obtaining a refund when the trip is prepaid and they have to cancel at the last moment. When experiencing international travel, insurance is always advisable because even travel inconveniences can become expensive without it. What happens when you fly to Australia but your luggage never arrives? Chances are that you will be the one left holding the proverbial bag with no clothing to wear other than what you are already wearing. What if you are visiting an Australian beach and have the misfortune to step on a Box Jellyfish? When it happens the normal result is an expensive trip to the hospital. Travel insurance means you will have no need to worry about paying for these worst case scenarios.

Travel insurance provides you with

the safe feeling of knowing you're fully covered

for all possible scenarios.

Travel Insured International has been helping people enjoy worry-free vacations, school trips, and business travel since 1994. Over the years the company has received had a high level of positive feedback from customers who invested in trip insurance and came to appreciate that the coverage was worth every cent. Consider the case of Monica, who booked a flight with an elderly parent who became ill, forcing her to cancel their trip. Because she was insured, Monica was fully reimbursed for the money she had prepaid toward the flights. “It is hard enough dealing with a parent getting ill without facing having the hassle of dealing with the airline and the insurance company. You certainly made this a pleasant experience for me,” she wrote to Travel Insured International.

A customer from Florida wrote this to a customer service representative: “Thanks for all your help. You are a credit to your job and to Travel Insured International.” The note was sent after the unfortunate traveler was delayed in Atlanta, missing a connecting flight to New York. The missed flight resulted in the travelers having to buy new tickets to Europe and spend the night at the airport. Their bags were lost, adding insult to injury. A call to Travel Insured International to intiate the claims process resulted in the extra airline ticket costs being repaid, along with trip delay and baggage delay coverage. Without investing in trip insurance, the travelers would have needed to absorb the additional travel expenses.

When compared to the costs of a trip, travel insurance has a very small price tag. For this small investment, however, you can sleep easy, knowing that you are covered if something goes wrong. You know you have someone in your corner when you protect your trip with Travel Insured.

About Travel Insured International:

Whether your plan involves domestic or international travel insurance can be only a sideline business for some insurers with many products in a vast portfolio. Travel Insured International, however, focuses on travel insurance as its first and only business. The company began in the travel insurance business in 1994, and remains dedicated to this specialty line. Family-owned and operated, Travel Insured International remains a leader in trip insurance largely because of a companywide emphasis on providing exemplary customer service, Whether answering questions online via live chat, providing a quote over the telephone, or assisting with claim support, representatives from Travel Insured are a pleasure to work with.

The occurrence of a politically motivated terrorist attack grabs the immediate attention of travelers. This is especially true when the attack takes place in a country the traveler is scheduled to visit or is already visiting. How can travelers protect their travel costs and ensure medical care and evacuation coverage in the case of a terrorist attack? Most insurance companies rely on the U.S. State Department to publicly declare an attack to be terrorism as the deciding factor that allows for coverage. Once that is established, there are two separate time periods during which most travel insurance plans will cover insured travelers:

• after they buy their insurance plan but before they leave on their trip
• during the trip

Insurance for Terrorism Before Your Trip Leaves

Travel insurance can provide coverage
for acts of terrorism.

Consider this situation: You are leaving on a two-week tour of India next Wednesday. Your prepaid itinerary includes a scheduled visit to the city of Mumbai. On Saturday before your trip a bomb explodes in downtown Mumbai killing people. The U.S. State Department publicly declares that this was an act of terrorism. When you booked your trip you bought a comprehensive travel insurance policy with terrorism coverage. Now you want to cancel your trip to India. How does the travel insurance plan protect you?

• You may cancel the trip because the terrorism occurred within a city on your pre-booked travel schedule, within 30 days of departure, and after the effective date of your trip cancellation coverage.
• You will normally receive up to a full refund of your prepaid trip cost.
• Some plans, however, may only reimburse you in the form of a credit allowing you to rebook a future trip.
• If you want a cash refund, you need to check insurance plan terms before buying. But be sure it provides a refund, not a travel credit.
• Purchasing Tip: Usually a travel insurance plan you buy from a travel agent or from an insurance company will have stronger coverage than a plan you buy directly from the travel company taking you on the trip.

Insurance for Terrorism During Your Trip

Consider this situation: You are on your trip to India. While riding the train into the city of Mumbai, a bomb goes off in the passenger car in front of you. People are killed and you are rescued uninjured with others from the damaged train. Now you want to return home from India as soon as possible. How does the travel insurance plan protect you?

• Trip Interruption coverage will reimburse your additional expenses for transportation home not included in the prepaid trip cost.
• It covers your prepaid costs of unused, non-refundable land or sea travel not yet taken before your trip was interrupted.
• Worldwide emergency travel assistance from a good insurance company will help arrange to get you home, or to safety and then home.

Medical Coverage

Consider this situation: You are seriously injured during the same terrorist attack on the train going into Mumbai. You need immediate medical attention. How does the travel insurance plan protect you?

• Your emergency medical expenses and medical evacuation expenses are normally covered.
• Your insurance company will provide a medical consultant to arrange your medical transport, treatment and payment with healthcare providers.
• A good insurance plan will pay to fly your dependant child or children home. It may pay for an adult to fly to your bedside if no one is with you.
• Your coverage will prepay or reimburse your additional expenses for transportation home not included in the prepaid trip cost.
• Worldwide emergency travel assistance will arrange to get you home, with a medical attendant if needed, when you are able to travel.

Why Would You NOT be Covered for Terrorism?

When does travel insurance not protect you for terrorism and why?

• You have already booked your trip to India and hear Mumbai might be a terrorist target. You want to cancel even though nothing happened yet.
• You are scheduled to travel to Mumbai, India, on May 15. The terrorist attack occurs on March 20. You want to cancel. The attack did not occur within 30 days of your scheduled departure so there is no coverage.
• You are scheduled to visit Mumbai, India, and a terrorist attack occurs in Goa, India. You are not scheduled to visit Goa so there is no coverage.
• Your prepaid itinerary does not include visiting Mumbai. During your trip you go there on your own. A terrorist attack occurs while you are there. There is no coverage. You did not include Mumbai in your prepaid plans.

To cancel prior to your trip and obtain coverage that might otherwise be denied, such as due to fear an attack might happen, a “Cancel for Any Reason” upgrade is an option that most travel insurance companies offer. It allows you to cancel up to two days prior to departure, usually for a partial refund of up to 75% of prepaid trip costs. Most such plans must be purchased with 14 days of your initial trip deposit.

How will travel insurance protect you in the face of terrorist threats and actual acts of terrorism? It pays to know the facts. If you purchase travel insurance for terrorism coverage, make sure you fully understand your options.

About the author: John Stone is the Media Relations Manager for Travel Insured International. Founded in 1993, Travel Insured International offers comprehensive travel insurance with coverage underwritten by Arch Insurance Company (a Missouri corporation, NAIC #11150) with offices located in Jersey City, NJ.

(NewsUSA) - Man-made and natural disruptions to air travel are all-too-often the norm. Not only can weather delay take-offs and landings, but new airline rules can also keep planes grounded.

For example, if a plane is sitting on the tarmac for more than three hours, it has to return to the gate. On the upside, there are ways to cope with the unexpected. Here are a few simple tips to prepare for delays before leaving home:

• Print copies of itineraries with the 800 numbers for your airline, and others that fly the same route, just in case you have to rebook from the airport. The paper-free option? E-mail those numbers or enter them manually into your smartphone.
• Check airline Web sites for delay postings. New rules mandate that airlines have this information online. Alternatively, you can go to www.flightstats.com.
• Make sure you can access your office and home computers in the event you are stuck while traveling. Free and inexpensive programs like LogMeIn (www.LogMeIn.com) make it quick, easy and secure to access files, calendars and applications from any computer, smartphone, netbook or iPad with an Internet connection.
• Enlist a friend or family member who knows their way around online travel sites, and keep them on your mobile phone speed dial. If you have to make alternative plans, they can probably do it faster than anyone.
• Remember travel insurance. A few extra dollars tacked onto the price of your trip can provide peace of mind if you have to change plans for unforeseen reasons. Check what your airline, travel agent, booking site and credit cards offer to make sure that you're covered.
• Have fun. Many airports are adding luxuries like spas, high-end restaurants and even showers to keep passengers happy. Find out what your airport, and the ones that you will visit, offer before you go, so you're able to enjoy them to the fullest.

While there is no surefire guarantee for disruption-free air travel, a little advanced planning can go a long way -- even all the way to your destination.

Don't forget to take a group photo at your next family reunion.

(NewsUSA) - As extended families spread out throughout the country, it becomes more difficult to get everyone together. Holding a family reunion, then, gives everyone a chance to meet, catch-up and learn a little more about their family history.

But arranging a reunion can be a massive undertaking, and it's easy to become overwhelmed. However, with a little planning, anyone can pull off a successful family reunion.

Follow these tips to ensure a fun, rewarding family reunion experience:

Isaac Cymrot, the Northeast Regional Sales Manager for Travel Insured International, was honored for the second time by Travel Agent Magazine in its March 15, 2010, issue for being among the Top Travel Supplier Representatives of 2010, as voted by the magazine’s agent readers.

Isaac Cymrot

2^nd-Time Top Rep Winner
Travel Agent Magazine

The 2010 reader survey, the second supplier rep list compiled by Travel Agent Magazine following up its 2008 supplier awards, honored a total of 37 industry representatives. The winners’ names were written in, not checked off, by voters selecting from supplier categories that included airlines, consortia, tourist boards, tour operators, hotel companies, GDS systems, cruise lines, car rental companies and  travel insurance firms.

Although several supplier companies returned to the winners’ list by virtue of the agent readers’ appreciation of their representatives, Cymrot is an individual repeat winner. He is one of only six individuals on the 2010 list of 37 winners who was also previously named to Travel Agents’ Top Suppliers’ Representatives list of 2008, when 34 individuals were recognized. Cymrot also became the first and only individual repeat winner in the travel insurance category.

Cymrot, whose responsibilities now include management of Travel Insured’s industry partnerships from Maine to Virginia, thanked the travel agents for being the source of his success. “Travel Agents are placing more value on our face-to-face meetings and travel insurance training sessions than ever before in response to the sharply increased interest clients have shown in protecting their travel investments,” he said in a statement to Travel Agent Magazine. He praised agents for making sure they understand the travel insurance products they sell as a successful strategy toward being “the total consultant to their customers.”

Isaac Cymrot, Northeast Regional Sales Manager for Travel Insured, can be reached by email at icymrot@travelinsured.com or at 1-800-243-3174 x 135.

Travel Insurance shows its value to travelers hit by home disasters. Connecticut travelers with roofs crushed under fallen trees or New Jersey residents surrounded by floodwaters from the March Nor’easter can cancel or cut short trips under Trip Cancellation / Interruption coverage to focus on the crisis at home.

East Hartford, CT (Vocus/PRWEB ) March 24, 2010 -- News video of the March 13-14 Nor’easter that struck the New York metropolitan area told the tale of disaster at home. High winds caused dozens of toppling trees in southern Connecticut and Westchester to crash into homes, cars and power lines, while overflowing New Jersey rivers turned some Essex and Passaic county residences into uninhabitable islands amid floodwaters.

Home disasters from March Nor'easter illustrate value of trip cancellation insurance.

Travel insurance can protect the trip plans of some residents based in severely damaged New York area suburban communities that are home to many of the most active U.S. travelers. Travel Insured International provides Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption coverage when an insured traveler has their primary residence made uninhabitable by a fire, flood or other unforeseen natural disaster. The coverage applies in all four plans sold under Travel Insured’s Worldwide Trip Protector line of insurance products. Other unforeseen disasters for which the uninhabitable residence coverage for Trip Cancellation / Interruption could apply are hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, blizzards or avalanches.

Trip Cancellation / Trip Interruption due to a disaster is covered in all of the Worldwide Trip Protector plans, whether the disaster hits home before the insured has departed or when the insured is already traveling and needs to cut short the trip. Trip Cancellation coverage provides for reimbursement of up to the full trip cost for any prepaid, non-refundable travel payments. Trip Interruption, depending upon the specific plan, can cover up to 100% or up to 150% of prepaid trip costs. Trip Interruption benefits can include the unused, non-refundable portion of the shortened trip, and the new airfare paid by the traveler to make a return flight, minus any credit earned from the originally prepaid return ticket.

Financial Advantage

Travel Insured International, as a third-party travel insurance provider, offers a financial advantage over most policies purchased directly from travel suppliers for insured travelers who suffer a home or destination disaster. A Travel Insured plan provides a cash refund for covered losses unlike many supplier plans that offer a credit toward the same trip, often with a rebooking deadline period within which the credit must be taken. Remember that travel insurance for an unforeseen storm to be covered must be purchased before that storm is predicted by the U.S. national weather service.

Whether a traveler lives in the tornado targets of the Midwest and Southwest, the hurricane belts of the southern and eastern seaboards, the wildfire and earthquake zones of the West, or the blizzard regions across the national map each winter, an unforeseen natural disaster that threatens to make a U.S. traveler temporarily homeless can happen anywhere.

The difference for recovering prepaid costs for a suddenly unlikely vacation, and avoiding adding more financial insult to injury, is in having the right travel insurance plan. A plan from the Worldwide Trip Protector line can handle the travel end of the crisis so that travelers can focus on recovering their homes.

Where was all this snow when I was a kid growing up in the Washington DC area? I would have enjoyed snow a lot more back in those school days than I have appreciated the weather we travel professionals have dealt with this year! There are no snow days in the travel industry, just longer hours and more frustrated clients.

Usually I reserve this space for a topic related to selling travel insurance. This month, however, it is appropriate to address the most frequently asked question of the past few weeks. What is the coverage for all this snow? Even if your agency is not based in the Northeast or mid-Atlantic regions, you may have clients who were affected by these weather events. If you were lucky enough to avoid major client inconveniences, you may confront a similar situation from a hurricane, or even a simple thunderstorm, that delays their clients flights.

The Question of the Month in January touched on this subject, but I want to take a minute to expand on weather coverage.I received the following scenarios from an agent partner in New Jersey, and I think the best way to explain coverage is to use these as a guide. The names have been changed to protect the innocent, but the time frames and trip costs are accurate for reference purposes.

The Travel Scenario

Two couples - the Smiths and the Joneses - were flying to Ft. Lauderdale, FL from Newark, NJ to catch a cruise. They made the decision not to fly a day early and are booked on the 7 a.m. flight on Saturday, Feb. 27. The total per person trip cost is $1,400. For this example let us say that they are each 55 years old. Due to the storm that hit Newark on Thursday, Feb 25, and ended the following day, thousands of flights on Continental were cancelled.

On Friday Feb 26, the four travelers were informed by Continental that their flight was cancelled for Saturday. Despite checking all flights on multiple airlines from all the major New York and Philadelphia area airports, they could not be rescheduled on any flight that would get them to the ship in time for embarkation.

The gate agent was able to get them on flights to St Thomas (the first port of call) on Monday, March 1. The ship was scheduled to arrive in St Thomas on Tuesday, March 2. The clients were required to pay a $250 fee to change their airline tickets to St. Thomas.

In addition to the extra airfare, they also needed a hotel for one night at $250 per room in St. Thomas prior to boarding the cruise. Finally, they missed the first two days of the cruise due to missing the ship’s departure from Ft. Lauderdale.

The following answers are based on the clients having purchased Worldwide Trip Protector to provide the benefit levels.

Question #1: The Smith’s decided not to rush to St. Thomas. At that point could they have cancelled their cruise if they taken out your insurance policy?

The answer is yes as long as their initial airline delay was 24 consecutive hours. In this example the original departure time was February 27 at 7 a.m.  If their airline could not accommodate them on a different flight departing before 7 a.m. on February 28, they would then be eligible for this coverage. The client must understand that if the airline can get them on a different flight to their destination departing within 24 hours, but it still means missing their embarkation, they are not eligible for trip cancellation. They would only have access to the Missed Connection coverage (only if there is a connection flight), after a three-hour delay, and Travel Delay coverage, after a six-hour delay, if they do not reach the 24-hour delay mark.

Question # 2: The Jones’ decided they wanted to catch up to the ship. What can the clients claim on their policy for reimbursement of their out-of-pocket expenses?

There are three pieces of the coverage that the clients can claim in this scenario:

• Trip Delay coverage would reimburse up to $200 per person per day with a maximum of $1,000 to cover hotel nights, meals, toiletries, and other essentials.
• Trip Interruption coverage, which took effect because the initial delay was longer then 24 consecutive hours, would reimburse them for the first two, “unused” days of the cruise, and / or the additional airfare to reach their destination. In this example the per-person trip cost is $1,400 for a seven-day trip, and we would divide the total trip cost by seven to determine the per-day amount of $200 per person per day which would be reimbursed to them.
• Missed Connection coverage would apply if the clients had a connecting flight instead of a direct flight. This benefit would reimburse them up to a maximum of $500 per person for additional airfare and change fees. For example, if the Smiths were originally scheduled to make a flight connection through Atlanta, instead of flying nonstop to Florida, this coverage would apply if the flight from Newark to Atlanta was delayed for at least three hours resulting in their missing the connecting flight in Atlanta. The missed connection forces them to fly from Atlanta to St. Thomas to catch up to their cruise.  In this case, the clients are eligible for the Missed Connection coverage that reimburses them for additional airfare and/or change fees.

Question #3: What does your insurance company offer to clients to assist them with making travel changes en route due to trip delays?

We always recommend that clients work with the airline’s employees at the airport or their travel agent to coordinate their new flight arrangements.  They can also take advantage of our 24-Hour Emergency Travel Assistance services included in every policy.

From the “No Question is Dumb” Mailbag – The Question of the Month:

Do you have a question about policy coverage or how to handle a specific situation?  This is your opportunity to ask the travel insurance experts at Travel Insured.  Email your question to icymrot@travelinsured.com with “Question of the Month” in the subject line.

Q: Two friends have booked a cabin to share on a cruise.  One of them, however, must cancel for a covered reason and the other, who still wants to take the trip, is faced with paying a single supplement as a result. What are her options?

A: One of the advantages of booking one of our policies is that the friend who is choosing to travel alone can claim for the single supplement.  There are two rules to keep in mind: First, the person continuing the trip must have his or her own policy, even if the companion who is canceling does not.  Second, the friend must be canceling for a covered reason under Trip Cancellation.  If both these conditions are met, then the person being charged the single supplement will be able to claim for a reimbursement for that amount once he or she returns from the trip.

It is very important to remind your client not to claim for the single supplement until he or she returns from the trip.  Should the traveler claim before leaving, and then have another covered loss occur during the trip, he or she will not be able to file a second claim.  Once the first claim is filed the policy is no longer active, leaving the single traveler unprotected while traveling.  Remind your client to wait until after the trip when he or she will be able to file a claim for any covered loss that happens during the trip, such as an emergency doctor’s visit or a trip delay expense. At the same time the traveler will still be able to claim for the single supplement. 

(NewsUSA) - If you're looking for a unique way to mark an occasion, spend time with friends and family or even host a work event, consider a wine tour. Most wineries are open year round and cater to groups of all sizes. Consider the following to help you plan:

* Choose a theme: Many wineries have theme weekends throughout the year that celebrate changing seasons, holidays, local happenings and new vintages. Start with an invitation and then plan everything from food to music around your theme.

* Location, location, location: Make it convenient and choose your tour destination based on the number of wineries and hotels in one area. The Finger Lakes Region in New York is home to more than 200 wineries spread along five organized wine trails that make touring easy.

Travel resources such as www.tourcayuga.com can help visitors map out their route, learn more about a specific trail or find things to see and do along the way -- even point you to wineries off the beaten path. Other growing wine regions such as Napa and Sonoma Valley, Calif., and the Niagara region found between Western New York State and Southern Ontario offer more than 50 wineries for visitors to choose from.

* Leave it to the professionals: If you don't know the area, schedule a guided tour. Many Inns and bed and breakfasts, for example, provide overnight packages that include private, luxury wine excursions (as well as picnic lunches and other "wine themed" surprises). Check out Aurora Inn's "Wine Country Getaway" package at www.aurora-inn.com or 10 Fitch's "Spoiled Girl's Getaway Package" at www.10fitch.com.

* Get in on the action: Don't just taste the wine, be part of the process. Call the wineries you plan to visit in advance to see how you can roll up your sleeves and get involved in everything from the picking to the stomping. For example, Heart & Hands Wine Company on the Cayuga Lake Wine Trail in Union Springs, New York, offers an annual "Crush Camp." Work alongside the winemaking team by picking fruit, sorting and pressing grapes, performing lab analysis and even the cleaning!

* Make it a lasting memory: Take a photo of your group, and turn it into a unique wine label for your favorite wine bottles, or hand them out as inexpensive souvenirs. Photo coasters are another fun, affordable way to remember your tour. Host a tasting event at your own home, and ask friends to share their favorites.

Wine touring can be a fun, unique and inexpensive way to spend a day with friends, loved ones or a large group. Don't wait until the last minute to book your tour or overnight reservations, particularly in the peak months of June through October. Try to plan midweek to avoid big crowds. Saturday is the busiest day at most wineries.

The snowstorms of February were reason enough to buy travel insurance against flight delays. Airlines have added new reasons for insurance including higher rebooking fees, less flights, and mass cancellations to steer clear of new DOT rules.

East Hartford, CT March 10, 2010 -- The snowstorms of February unleashed travel disruptions across the country that were reason enough to validate travel insurance as a must for travelers seeking protection against undue expenses from weather delays. There are new reasons, however, why airlines this winter have acted more quickly ahead of a predicted snowstorm’s arrival to cancel blocks of flights when bad weather is forecast to disrupt their flight schedule.

As reported last week by the New York Times, the Department of Transportation’s new three-hour tarmac delay rules, which took effect at the end of December, have put new pressure on airlines. They are required to return any aircraft that has not departed to return to the terminal within three hours of leaving the boarding gate or face stiff penalties. The three-hour delay rules, in addition to requiring each airline to provide adequate water and toilet facilities onboard for delayed passengers, carry a fine for each violation of up to $27,500 per passenger.

An airline’s fine is potentially more than $1 million for a planeload of as few as 50 passengers. The possible punishment motivates most airlines to avoid even the chance of a violation. Rather than risk giving up to other flights the precious boarding gates that their planes may not be able to re-occupy if a snowstorm closes a congested airport, airlines now take the precaution to cancel blocks of flights on stormy days.

The trouble may just begin for passengers whose flights are cancelled. Airlines in the past two years have reduced flight frequencies while paring back their schedules. The next flight to a destination may be tomorrow or, as the Times reported of two passengers, “four days from now.” While some, but not all, carriers may waive fees for passengers to rebook, the passengers’ delay expenses for meals and lodging are typically on their own. Additionally, passengers deciding to take an airline refund to rebook their trip for later travel dates may still be required to pay a higher airfare than the one for their original booking dates.

Travel Insured International, a leading third-party insurer, reminds travelers of the strong coverage against weather-related delays included in a comprehensive travel insurance plan, such as one from its Worldwide Trip Protector line of products. 

Thanks to new DOT rules, passengers will not be trapped in an aircraft any more. Thanks to a good travel insurance plan, they can avoid being trapped in the airport terminal as well.