A new scam is rocking Florida and those who are looking at perhaps making it a vacation destination. In recent years, this scam has evolved, growing more and more convincing and robbing people of their hard earned money. We'll take a look, first at what traveler's insurance is, and what the scam itself entails in this frightening look at how it has been impacting people.
What Is Traveler's Insurance?
Traveler's insurance is insurance that is bought to protect people in the event should something unforeseen happen. Things like illnesses, inclement weather, any manner of situation that may prevent a traveler from actually being able to go. For instance, if you were to get sick before you leave, your traveler's insurance would cover the nonrefundable portions of either your delay or even just canceling the trip altogether. This also covers things like the money you would have paid out for mail, for things such as baggage loss or delays, and also covers medical emergencies while on vacation quite often.
Basic travel insurance usually will not cover a last minute change of mind, but paying out a little more can make sure that your policy includes cancellations for any reason. So, if something does come up, or you simply just do not want to go, for whatever reason, you're covered.
What is the Scam?
Generally speaking, if it is not referred to as specifically traveler's insurance, you may want to check it out a little more deeply. Often, companies that were selling the services were not aware that the scam was afoot- they were offered generous signing bonuses and lead to believe that the commissions would be great. However, once the scam begins to unravel, many found that they were left high and dry- no policy, no vacation. Most of the victims have been the elderly- and given the amount of time that it takes often to investigate these sorts of things and to track down the culprits, it's often something that just isn't feasible.
As of yet, there is no definite number of the times this scam has been used because many just don't find themselves in the position to find out. Things go well, everything happens as it should. But for those who found they lost a great deal of money, assuming they were covered by the bogus coverage- the ending is not so happy. Once they filed their claim, they found out all too late that the policy was fraudulent and the company was gone.
Being aware that this sort of fraud exists out there is the very first step in being able to avoid getting hit yourself. Make sure that you know and trust your insurance agent and that you are reading all of the fine print before you buy. Traveler's insurance- the real thing is certainly worth what it costs, however, the scams that are out there can definitely cause a kink in your travel plans.
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