Did you know, that 44% of current [travel insurance] claims are related to in-trip flight trouble, including delays, cancellations, unexpected forms and delays at security? It’s honestly not hard to believe. In fact, yesterday, tracking app, Flight Aware shared that over 7,000 flights were delayed. Think about the news stories you’ve seen all summer of passengers stranded at the airport for days due to travel interruptions. (By the way, check out this article; “How to Get Flight Vouchers“). When you are booking a trip, it’s so easy to hit “decline” for the additional $20 or $30 to insure your travels, thinking it can’t make that much difference, but let me be the first to assure you…it absolutely does. Travel insurance works pretty similar to other insurance policies we have, essentially we’re paying for a just in case. I am a huge advocate for travel insurance because in my experience, it’s been worth it every time.

What Does Insurance Cover?

It’s all in what you need. Some policies are buildable, which means you can add or remove what you need based on your specific travel needs. While the options that pop up at the end of your flight or hotel bookings are great, Personally, I opt to be covered for any and every possible situation: flight delays or cancellations, baggage loss or damage, hotel flops, emergency medical coverage, theft or rental car accidents…even people backing out of the group trips or for one off events like concerts! Typically, I have insured my spontaneous adventures with Allianz. But as more and more travel plans are getting interrupted, the claim processing times have significantly increased. I do not like that. For an upcoming trip to Colombia, I ditched my favorite and trusted insurance provider (Allianz) and decided to insure through a new start-up company, Faye. These newbies comprised of travel and insurance experts are rapidly making their mark in the industry with their $8M seed funding in TechCrunch & being named by Fodor as one of the must-download apps of 2022.

Meet The New Kids On The Block

Why Faye? For starters, I’m an elder millennial, which means I like having things at my fingertips. I want and need to be able to access what I need, whenever or wherever I need it. Faye is a 100% digital, consumer-centric travel insurance for Americans that protects travelers’ entire journey while providing a modern, digital and positive user experience. If that isn’t cool enough for you, keep reading. Secondly, 9 to 5 business hours just do not cut it for me when I’m traveling because emergencies can arise any time of day or night. Faye’s whole-trip travel protection offers 24/7 customer assistance designed to care for travelers through every step of their journey from takeoff to check-out! Talk about support!

The third reason I like Faye, is because the process is simple and straightforward. There were no pesky pop-ups, confusing industry jargon or gimmicks. The entire process took less than 10 minutes. I provided the details such as name, date of birth and ages of travelers, as well as dates and destinations of travel and wallah…three of us were covered for 13 days of travel for around $350. So needless to say, the fourth reason I am a fan of Faye is because coverage is affordable.

Please note: if you would like to add on medical coverage and have pre-existing conditions, your policy must be purchased at least 14 days prior to your departure.

So, What Does Faye Cover?

You are actually covered for more than you think. Jeff Rolander, Director of Claims (who previously managed the claims department at Allianz for several decades), notes that many travelers are unaware of common travel scenarios in which they qualify for a reimbursement. While these are specific to what Faye may cover, ask your travel insurance provider if your coverage includes these scenarios:

1. Activities you’ve already paid for but can no longer attend: Purchased show tickets, a tour, or pre-paid for wine-tasting but can no longer attend because you fall ill, contract COVID-19, or a travel provider goes bankrupt? You can be reimbursed for up to 100% of non-refundable trip costs, including tickets and activities.
2. Common flight and luggage snafus, like missed connections: You can receive $200 for common trip inconveniences and delays, such as lost or delayed baggage of 6 hours or more, flight delays of 6 hours or more, or canceled flights. When it comes to trip delays, you can be covered for up to $300/day in additional expenses like food and hotels if your trip is delayed by six hours or more.
3. Its hurricane season – national disaster evacuation: Traveling during hurricane season can present some hurdles when leaving the states. Not to mention, we’re seeing a significant number of bookings for Thailand and the Philippines this summer, which is Typhoon season. Check with your travel insurer about the hurricane coverage they offer – not all are the same. Ask if your provider covers cancellations due to mandatory evacuation as well as when your destination becomes uninhabitable. Faye covers this and in extreme situations, our international plan covers up to $100K in expenses if you require transportation from a place of danger to a place of safety, including during a Level 4 hurricane.
4. Rental property lockout: If the keys to your vacation rental property are lost, stolen or damaged, resulting in the inability to access the property for 3 hours or more, you can be reimbursed for $200. 
5. Accidental/unintentional vacation rental damage: Spill wine on the carpet, accidentally break a lamp or stove catches fires when cooking? You can be covered for up to $3K in repairs and replacement costs.

In Conclusion

Of course, I am hoping that my trip will happen without a hitch but having travel insurance with Faye has added an additional level of security to my travel plans. However, I can not imagine such great customer service not delivering every step of the way.

You can get Faye for your next adventure by visiting their website or downloading their user friendly app in the App Store or Google Play store.

Happy Travels!