Will your trip insurance pay if you decide not to go to Dominican Republic?

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The Dominican Republic is a popular year-round tourist destination for many Americans, but a mysterious string of deaths has some travelers worried about going there right now.

If you have a trip booked to Dominican Republic or are thinking about booking one, you may be wondering if trip insurance would cover you if you decided not to go after you booked. Here’s what you need to know.

Does trip insurance protect me if I cancel a trip over safety fears?

You might think that if you book your travel to Dominican Republic and then back out of it due to the negative headlines, you’ll be covered by the trip insurance.

But money expert Clark Howard, who travels both domestically and internationally multiple times a year, says your typical trip insurance policy won’t cover what’s happening in the Dominican Republic.

That’s because in addition to the Caribbean nation downplaying the incidents, the U.S. State Department has not issued a travel warning for Dominican Republic.

Clark says that if you’re planning a trip to a place where there may be the threat of social unrest or anything else that might lead you to scrapping your plans for a trip, you want to look into a Cancel for Any Reason policy.

What to know about Cancel for Any Reason policies

Cancel for Any Reason policies are optional coverage that can generally be purchased as part of a trip insurance policy.

These policies give travelers protection in case a trip is canceled for a reason not expressly stated in the primary policy. Here are some key points to know about Cancel for Any Reason coverage:

  • It is expensive: Adding Cancel for Any Reason coverage could increase your premium by as much as 40%.
  • It is time-sensitive: To be covered, the traveler will need to cancel their trip at least 48 to 72 hours before their trip.
  • You only get partial reimbursement: Typically, travelers will get somewhere up to 70% of their money back if they cancel within the allotted time frame.

So, as you can see, Cancel for Any Reason policies probably don’t make a lot of sense for most people.

If you are that concerned that you may need to cancel your trip because of something frightening going on in your destination, it might make the most sense to consider other potential vacation spots.

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Want to know more about trip insurance? Take a deep dive here.

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