Driving on Vacation: How Travel Insurance Can Help

Travel insurance is for more than just hotels and flights – it comes in handy on the road too!

Most travelers use a motor vehicle at some point during their trip – whether it’s just a drive to the airport, a rental car, RV, taxi or a road trip with your own car. However you get around on your trip, travel protection from Generali can help when you need it most.

A travel protection plan can help in many ways when you use a car during your trip. And, considering that traveling by car is one of the most dangerous activities people take part in regularly, extra insurance coverage is seriously worth considering.

For example, if you have a car accident during your trip, travel insurance can cover emergency medical expenses, or pay you back for lost trip costs if your trip is interrupted. Plus, Rental Car Damage coverage is available with all our plans.

Those are just some ways our plans can help. Explore all the ways a travel protection plan can ease the worries of the road:

Car Accident

A car accident can wreck a trip and cost a bundle. From a simple fender-bender to the worst-case scenario, it’s a perfect example of the many ways a well-designed travel protection plan can help when a trip-wrecking event happens.

Whether you need medical treatment or reimbursement for a canceled trip, here’s how our plans can help:

Medical Emergencies

One of the main reasons many travelers buy travel protection is for the Medical and Dental coverage. This especially applies to the situation we’re considering, since 28% of car accidents result in an injury, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Travel medical insurance covers all sorts of emergency medical expenses, either in conjunction with your existing health plan or by itself. And the emergency assistance services that come with our travel protection plans works with your health insurance and the medical system where you’re traveling to help get you to safety and medical care when disaster strikes.

In addition, the travel protection plan can help pay for emergency evacuation expenses with Emergency Assistance and Transportation coverage, so if you have an accident in the middle of Death Valley or another not-so-easily-accessible area you can get out of harm’s way without breaking the bank.

Also read: Why You Might Need to Buy Medical Coverage Before You Travel

Accidental Death & Dismemberment

Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death around the world for people aged 5-29. We designed our plans with this in mind.

If you’re in an accident during your trip and suffer a loss of life, limb or sight, our Preferred and Premium Plans include Accidental Death and Dismemberment – Travel Accident coverage that can provide payment to you or your designated beneficiaries. You can add a beneficiary to the plan at time of purchase or before you leave on your trip.

Also read: Why to Get Road Trip Travel Insurance

Trip Cancellation and Interruption

Once any medical emergencies are dealt with, the next question is: How does this accident impact my trip?

Let’s say the accident happens on the way to leave for your trip. Even if no one is hospitalized, an accident can take a lot of time to sort out and odds are you didn’t leave for the airport early enough to make it to your flight on time. That’s when the travel insurance coverages protecting your trip costs kick in.

With our plans you can be reimbursed for prepaid, non-refundable travel expenses if you have to cancel or interrupt your trip for a covered reason. One of those covered reasons is being directly involved in a documented traffic accident while en route to departure.

Here’s how it works:

Let’s say the accident takes so long to resolve that you miss your cruise. We can help rebook flights and other transportation to catch you up to your cruise at another port of call and Trip Interruption coverage can pay you back for the insured trip costs of the vacation days you missed. But, if you can’t get reconnect with your cruise, Trip Cancellation coverage can reimburse you for the entirety of your insured trip costs.

Also read: How Trip Cancellation Insurance Can Help You

Travel Delay

If your trip is interrupted by a car accident, it’s likely you could also use the Travel Delay coverage that’s part of our plans.

You may need to stay in a hotel, receive transportation to and from the airport and buy meals until you’re back on the road again. These are some of the most common expenses that we can reimburse, and things like phone calls, extra pet kennel fees, and even additional parking charges may also be covered.

In fact, if your trip is delayed for any covered reason, not just a car accident, you may be reimbursed for extra parking charges if your car is parked in a pay lot. If a storm grounds your plane and you miss your flight, we may pick up the tab for those extra parking fees.

Keep in mind that each travel protection plan includes a minimum travel delay time in order to qualify for Travel Delay coverage.

Also read: Where to Travel for the Most Scenic Drives in America

Rental Car Damage Coverage

We’ve covered how travel insurance can help protect you from high medical costs, reimburse you for lost trip costs, and even pay benefits if the worst happens in an accident, but what about costs to repair damage to the vehicle?

Your car insurance might pay for those costs, but you’ll likely end up paying higher premiums after. If it’s a rental car involved in the accident, you could use your travel insurance to cover repairs and avoid involving other insurance.

Rental Car Damage coverage can reimburse you up to $25,000 if your rental car is damaged through collision, theft, vandalism, natural disasters, or any other cause beyond your control while you’re on your trip. The coverage is available as an extra-cost add-on with Generali's Standard and Preferred Plans and included with the Premium Plan.*

Rental cars can seem like magnets for various hazards – especially when driving in unfamiliar areas, in places with different road rules than we’re used to. They get dinged in parking lots. Deer run into them. Careless lane-changers change into them. Why not get some extra coverage?

Also read: Tips for Safe Driving on Vacation in Europe

Vehicle Return

Suppose you’re incapacitated on your trip and can’t return your rental car. What then?

Fortunately, our 24/7 Travel Assistance offers vehicle return as part of its services, so that’s one more thing you don’t have to worry amidst the chaos.

If you experience a medical emergency or mechanical problem with your vehicle that prevents you from driving, this travel assistance service can make arrangements to return the vehicle to your home or the closest rental agency. You will have to pay any fees for the vehicle return, but we’ll take care of the details.

You can see there are lots of ways that travel insurance and assistance services can help when you use a car or other motor vehicle on your trip. The best way to really learn this is to give it a try with your next vacation.

Generali plans are ready when you are, for trips of all kinds. Get a quote and hit the road!