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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Unfortunately, a CDC advisory is generally not a covered reason to cancel a trip on standard travel insurance policies. Despite the recent advisory for a neighborhood near Miami, Florida, travelers would not be covered to cancel their trip to Florida out of fear of contracting the Zika virus.
Travelers with the Cancel For Any Reason upgrade can cancel their trip without providing a reason up to 2-3 days before their departure date, though they will only be reimbursed up to 75% of their trip cost.
Some travel insurance policies provide cancellation coverage if a traveler becomes pregnant after purchasing the policy, regardless of their destination.
“This coverage is not specifically related to the Zika virus, but it can apply to women who would want to cancel a future trip if they became pregnant,” said Squaremouth Product Manager Adam Rusin. “However, only some policies offer this coverage, so travelers should make sure to look closely at a policy’s Trip Cancellation benefit before purchasing.”
Read more: Zika Virus and Travel Insurance Information Center
Too Late to Get Travel Insurance Coverage for Tropical Storm Earl
It is now too late to get travel insurance for Tropical Storm Earl. Once the storm was named, it became a foreseen event.
While travelers can still buy a policy after a tropical storm or hurricane has been named, they will be denied for any claim related to the named storm. The only way to get a successful claim is to have a travel insurance policy in place before the storm is named.
“The majority of our customers buy online without calling us. Any of these customers could be buying for any number of reasons unrelated to the storm,” said Squaremouth Customer Service Director Jessica Harvey. “The customers we do speak to, we advise not to buy.”
Most travelers who make this mistake can get a refund as long as they cancel within 14 days of buying the policy, but no later than one day before they leave home.
Read more: Hurricane Season: 3 Things You Thought You Knew About Travel Insurance That Are Wrong
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