What happens if I lose something while traveling?

Well it the time of year for all of us to start dreaming about the vacation that is on the horizon. While visions of palm trees and umbrella drinks may be dancing in our heads, what happens if the unthinkable happens? By that I mean we lose something while on vacation. Whether it is the airlines losing our luggage, misplacing a wedding ring, or suffering a theft, it is important to know what, if anything, we are covered for through our insurance so we can continue to enjoy ourselves.

Depending on where you are going, your insurance may cover certain items up to a certain percentage of what you are covered for personal property. This is called an “off premises” coverage and is typically 10% of your personal property coverage. Most carriers will cover travel in the U.S, Canada, and Mexico. Before you travel, talk to your agent and make sure you are covered for where you will be going.

So what is covered? Well that depends on what type of policy you have. Typically, your clothing will be covered. So if the bag monster eats your bags at the airport, or there is a fire at the hotel, or someone gets crazy and decides to throw your bags off a cliff, you will be covered. Jewelry is a bit trickier. Most carriers will cover any jewelry up to a certain amount, usually around $2500, under your normal personal property coverage. For anything over this amount you will need to make sure you have a jewelry rider on your policy. This will increase this limit to ensure all of your jewelry is covered and can be increased in incremental levels to minimize premium cost. Talk to your agent to find out what your carriers limits are and if you need this rider on your policy. For the electronics that none of us can live without (yes even in paradise) like our phone, laptop, and any other gadget that make our lives so much easier, most carriers will cover these items up to $5000. If what you plan on taking is worth more than this amount, talk with your agent and see if the coverage can be increased. Not all carriers and policies have these typical coverages. Again, talk to your agent before assuming that you are covered.

So What is the downside of claiming a lost or stolen Item on my personal property insurance? Well there are a couple of things to keep in mind. First is that a deductible applies. Whatever your deductible for your home would be applies to this type of loss. The typical deductible on these policies are between $1000 and $2000. So you would be responsible to pay this amount first and the insurance would pay the rest. The second thing to keep in mind is that it will count as a claim on your insurance and could cause a rate increase. Depending on the worth of the items lost, it may outweigh the downsides of making the claim. Again talk to your agent before making a claim to get an idea of what it might do to your premium and whether it makes sense to make a claim.

So what can we do to insure we are prepared?
1) Pack less. Bring only what you will need. Buy anything non-essential when you get there.
2) Bring less valuables. It is a vacation after all. Leave all of the distractions of home at home.
3) Create an inventory. Make sure you know what you are bringing just in case something does go wrong. There are apps to help do this such as: Nest Egg, Home library, Inventory Droid, Personal Closet, Home Cloud, My Media Inventory.
4) Contact your insurance agent and go over your coverages. This should be done yearly anyway and will ensure you are properly covered.