insurance iq
Always Have a Plan B
When trips don’t go as planned, trip cancellation and
interruption insurance can help save the day
bY carlY peters
You’ve bought the plane tickets ,
booked the perfect hotel room and
bought emergency travel medical cov-
erage. But the night before you take off,
a pipe bursts in your basement leaving
your home a soaking mess and damp-
ening your travel plans. Suddenly, you’re
up to your ankles in water and travel
debt—unless you purchased trip cancel-
lation and interruption insurance.
Don’t Forget
important notes about
trip cancellation and
interruption insurance
1. the policy must be
purchased at the same time
that you book your trip.
“People plan to travel as scheduled,
but life can sometimes get in the way,”
explains Pamela Murray, AMA Travel’s
sales manager of travel insurance.
“That’s why you shouldn’t book a trip
or travel without adequate protection,
including cancellation and interrup-
tion coverage.”
Trip cancellation insurance covers
the penalty imposed by an airline, tour
2. cancel for any Reason
is bonus coverage you get
when booking with ama
travel. With a cancellation
policy, it allows you to cancel
for any reason (terms and
conditions apply) up to 24
hours before departure and
recover 50% of your costs.
3. if you booked with ama
travel and need to cancel,
advise your travel counsellor
immediately. otherwise, no-
tify your airline, tour opera-
tor or cruise line. if you wait
too long, applicable penalty
charges may go up in price,
reducing the amount you
can recoup. ama travel
policies will pay the penalty
within 72 hours of the cause
of cancellation.
Call 1-866-989-6595
or visit AMATravel.ca/
TravelInsurance
ama insurance is underwritten by orion travel insurance. terms and conditions apply.
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AMA inSiDeR
insurance iq
operator or cruise line if you cancel
a trip. If it’s far out from the depar-
ture date, you might only lose your
deposit. But if it’s closer to take-off or
departure, an operator isn’t likely to
refund anything.
Trip interruption insurance covers
your out-of-pocket expenses that could
be incurred if you need to return home
in a hurry due to a family member’s
illness or death, or a disaster at home.
This claim would reimburse the cost
of a change fee on your airline ticket or
a new one-way ticket home, plus hotel,
meals and taxi fares en route to your
home. Interruption coverage may also
reimburse the cost of the portion of the
trip that you’re missing.
Trip interruption also covers you
if you encounter major delays during
your trip, things like a weather-related
airline delay that causes you to miss a
day or two at your all-inclusive resort.
“Airlines are responsible when an issue
is their fault—mechanical problems
or cancelled flights due to overbooking,
for example. But if there’s a weather
issue, they aren’t responsible and
are not obligated to provide meals
or accommodation,” Murray explains.
But a trip interruption policy would
cover those costs.
To cover the unexpected, AMA Travel
offers different insurance packages that
include cancellation and interruption
coverage. “Our counsellors have seen
many of their own clients experience
the agony of cancellation and the joy
of getting their money back with their
AMA Travel Insurance policy,” Murray
adds. AMA’s knowledgeable travel spe-
cialists will work with you to find the
right insurance package to ensure you
always have a plan B.