Before hitting the road, the ins and outs of road trip insurance

The closure of the seemingly endless national pandemic has resulted in high demand for cumulative travel.

As the second big long summer vacation weekend begins, people looking to celebrate Independence Day hop into their cars and caravans for road trips, which many consider a safer bet than traveling by car. plane or cruise.

“After weeks of being home, many Americans want a change of scenery,” said Giorgos Zacharia, chief technology officer for travel site Kayak.com. “But, with international travel restrictions still in place and safety as a priority, road travel is more attractive to American travelers right now.” Kayak found that car rental searches for the weekend of July 4 increased 20% compared to last year.

Brittney Castro, an internally certified financial planner for personal financial management site Mint.com, said most people have not spent a lot of money on travel so far this year.

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“Most have some kind of monthly travel budget and I think they are now re-evaluating their travel goals and savings and saying we are now going to use this money for a road trip,” he said.

While AAA did not release projections for the July 4 trip, it did say that Americans will make 700 million group trips this summer, and 97% of them will drive. (Meanwhile, only 15 million people will fly, up from 58 million a year ago.) The American Hotel & Lodging Association, meanwhile, found that 72% of people planning a trip will take an overnight vacation by car over the next five months. Of these, 75% expect to drive two or more hours.

All those hours on the road can mean a lot of wear and tear, on vehicles, schedules and temperament of travelers, and insurance companies are taking note, implementing new travel plans specifically for road travelers, or reminding recreational vehicle owners and automobiles the practicalities and dangers of vehicle insurance policies. Here’s a look at what’s on offer.

Domestic travel now comprises the majority of all insured travel in the Squaremouth.com online travel insurance market, compared to just 12.3% in 2019, according to spokesperson Kasara Barto. “As more people begin to travel domestically, road trips can become a more popular type of travel,” he said. “We are definitely seeing a peak.”

Customers visiting the site, which offers policies from 31 travel insurance providers, have increasingly asked about road trip coverage. Historically, car vacations, unlike air travel or cruises, were not insured, Barto said.

Competitive site InsureMyTrip.com also predicts that more travel insurance providers will offer some form of road trip coverage, “as the industry adjusts to travel restrictions and health considerations due to the pandemic,” according to spokeswoman Julie Loffredi.

Two travel insurers recently unveiled plans designed for road travelers. Indianapolis-based Seven Corners launched ARMOR, ideal for road trips of up to 30 days over 100 miles from an insured’s home within the US, Canada, and Mexico.

The plan provides for emergency medical evacuation from remote destinations such as national parks. Your other important benefit is the return home of passengers, pets and / or vehicles in case of driver injury. An online quote search for an August trip within the US by a single 45-year-old driver revealed a $ 50 premium.

Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection, meanwhile, introduced its first national coverage plan, ExactCare Lite, designed for road trips of at least 100 miles from insured households and available in 40 states.

“We anticipate that domestic-only coverage plans will trend this summer and fall as travelers begin to explore the open road again,” said Dean Sivley, president of BHTP based in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. “While travelers remain cautious, BHTP’s new road trip product, ExactCare Lite, provides peace of mind for non-refundable deposits like hotels and attraction tickets, as well as emergency medical expenses and more.”

An online quote search for an August trip within the US by a single 45-year-old driver yielded a $ 19 premium. ExactCare Lite coverage includes:

• Trip cancellation, even for work reasons, up to $ 500 per person;
• Trip interruption, even for a traffic accident, up to $ 750 per person;
• Up to $ 100,000 in medical evacuation coverage;
• Up to $ 10,000 in coverage for emergency travel medical expenses and accidental death and dismemberment;
• Travel assistance by phone or email 24 hours a day, 7 days a week worldwide for travel and medical emergencies; and
• Coverage for a child 17 years old and younger per insured adult.

Hikers should carefully weigh the pros and cons before buying, said Meghan Walch, product manager at InsureMyTrip.com. “While an affordable travel insurance plan designed specifically for a domestic road trip is an attractive option, we always encourage travelers to understand what exactly the policy covers and what it does not cover before making a purchase,” he said.

If a trip is too expensive, carries severe cancellation penalties, or travelers are afraid of Covid-19 or weather events, they might consider a traditional plan to “cancel for any reason,” Walch added.

Barto at Squaremouth.com also cautions that people crowding into a motorhome or luxury car, rented or owned by them, for their road trip should also check the fine print of their new road trip policy.

“Many times liability coverage is not included in a travel insurance policy and most travel insurance policies exclude recreational vehicles or exotic cars like Lamborghinis,” he said.

RV and RV sales are skyrocketing, according to Paul Bender, CEO of American Adventure Insurance in Thousand Oaks, California. “It is difficult to maintain inventory on the lot,” he said. “I think people are thinking, ‘I can social distance in my RV, my motorcycle, or my boat, as long as I’m careful.’ ‘It matters a lot.”

Castro, of Los Angeles-based Mint.com, said he noticed an increase in recreational vehicle rental among customers and acquaintances. “I haven’t found anyone who wants to buy an RV yet,” he said. “But I know people who are really renting an RV and taking the trip down the Pacific Coast Highway.”

Bender stresses that it is important for RV owners to purchase the correct type of insurance. It is simply not advisable to include an RV driver in a regular car policy, although it may be cheap. A good specific RV policy from a provider like Progressive Corp. or Foremost Insurance Group will include full loss replacement, unlimited towing, and so-called full timer coverage, which “is actually the coverage of the owner traveling with you.” he said, and covers liability for injuries to guests and passengers.

Policies purchased through American Adventure Insurance also offer many of the same benefits as new insurers’ road trip plans. These include emergency expense coverage, pet injury coverage, and camp liability.

“I am not an expert in these others [road trip] policies, but if they charge a premium for specialized coverage on a 12 or 30 day trip and your RV or trailer is only insured under your [auto] Politics, go ahead and pay that premium, “said Bender.” But you can move your RV policy to a progressive or more advanced one and pay a lot less throughout the year and have the same coverage all the time, whenever you go out. “

Regardless of the coverage you buy, keep your eyes on the road and watch the speedometer while on vacation, said Nicole Beck, a licensed insurance agent and director of communications at insurance comparison website TheZebra.com.

One in 12 American drivers commits a traffic violation each year, and half of them are ticketed. Then violators can see their car insurance rates increase from 4.4% to 78.3% (or $ 68 to $ 1,212) annually on average, generally for up to three years, but sometimes for up to a decade. You could go home on vacation to face higher auto premiums.

“In this pinch time, when you want to be more conservative about your spending, it just isn’t worth getting a ticket,” said Beck. “The first solution is to drive safely, obviously.”

A common misstep for hikers is cell phone breach. “It will probably be big, if you don’t know where you are going,” he said. “You are playing with the GPS of your smartphone.” That could cause a 23% increase in your insurance premium, The Zebra discovered.

If a police officer notices that your seat belt was also unbuckled? “If you don’t wear your seat belt, you’ll pay about $ 138 a year more,” said Beck.