Travel Insurers

Travel insurance is the best way to protect yourself against financial loss. The most useful plan is a comprehensive policy that includes coverage for trip cancellation-and-interruption, cruise line default, trip delay (including missed cruise connections), and medical expenses (with a waiver for preexisting conditions).

Without insurance you will lose all or most of your money if you cancel your trip, regardless of the reason. Should your cruise line go out of business, default protection will reimburse you for any payments you've made -- or pay to get you home should you find yourself stranded. Another way to protect yourself is to book with a line that belongs to the United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA, 342 Madison Ave., Suite 1522, New York, NY 10022, tel. 212/599-6599 or 800/468-7862, fax 212/599-6744), which requires members to maintain $1 million each in an account to reimburse clients in case of default.

Trip-delay provisions will cover unforeseen expenses that you may incur due to bad weather or sometimes mechanical delays. It's important to compare the fine print regarding trip-delay coverage when comparing policies.

For overseas travel, one of the most important components of travel insurance is its medical coverage. Supplemental health insurance will pick up the cost of your medical bills should you get sick or injured while traveling. U.S. residents should note that Medicare generally does not cover health-care costs outside the United States, nor do many privately issued policies.

Always buy travel insurance directly from the insurance company; if you buy it from a cruise line that goes out of business, your default coverage will be invalid.

In the U.S., Access America (6600 W. Broad St., Richmond, VA 23230, tel. 804/285-3300 or 800/284-8300, fax 800/346-9265); ASA Inc. (12223 S. 45th. St., Phoenix, AZ 85044-2415, tel. 888/ASA-8288 or 480/753-1333, fax 480/753-1330); Customized Services Administrators (CSA; P.O. Box 939057, San Diego, CA 92193-9057, tel. 800/873-9855); International Medical Group (IMG; 407 Fulton St., Indianapolis, IN 46202, tel. 800/628-4664 or 317/655-4500, fax 317/655-4505); TravelGuard International (1145 Clark St., Stevens Point, WI 54481, tel. 715/345-0505 or 877/216-4885, fax 800/826-0838).

In Canada, Royal Bank Financial Group/RBC Life Insurance Company (tel. 800/565-3129 from US & Canada or 905/799-4930 collect from anywhere, fax 905/791-5807); Travel Insurance Coordinators (#300 - 2609 Westview Dr., North Vancouver, BC, Canada V7N 4M2, tel. 604/986-4292 or 800/663-4494, fax 604/986-5797).