Travel experts recommend getting travel insurance ahead of Fourth of July weekend

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Fourth of July holiday travel period begins on Thursday and 47.9 million people are expected to travel according to AAA.

3 million are expected to hit the skies, but there are growing concerns after thousands of flights were canceled over the Memorial Day, Juneteenth and Father’s Day holiday weekend.

Travel experts suggest that flyers purchase travel insurance to help their Independence Day weekend go a little smoother.

FOX13′s traffic reporter Shelia O’Connor spoke to Omar Kaywan, co-founder of Goose Insurance, about why travel insurance is important.

Kaywan said that in most cases, travel insurance helps to make sure you don’t lose out on thousands of dollars if something goes wrong with your trip, like a flight getting canceled.

“You bought your ticket and you also bought the hotel and your accommodation is non-refundable, your airline ticket is non-refundable, and the insurance will cover the non-refundable cost of the entire trip,” said Kaywan.

Kaywan suggests using a third party to purchase your travel insurance instead of using what gets suggested by the airlines.

Kaywan told FOX13 that purchasing insurance from a third party allows you more time to go through the policy and ensure what you need to be covered, is covered.

With airlines, Kaywan said most passengers are on a time crunch and can’t thoroughly vet the policy.

“When I purchase a ticket, it gives me a 10-minute timer before the screen goes away. Now you’re buying something and you don’t even have a chance to review what kind of policy this is, who the provider is? How do I make claims? What am I covered? What are the solutions? These are the most important aspects you need to consider when buying travel insurance,” said Kaywan.

Depending on your trip, Kaywan told FOX13 that a travel insurance policy can be pretty inexpensive.

“An average trip is around $2,000 to $3,000, going on a 7-day trip, you’re looking at maybe $40 to $50. It’s really not a lot of money when you look at the grand scheme of things,” says Kaywan.

Kaywan also mentioned in most cases, it only takes a few minutes to purchase an insurance policy for your trip.

“You can buy travel and medical insurance in less than 60 seconds, while you’re waiting for your flight to take off,” said Kaywan.

Kaywan said it’s important for travelers to be proactive because once a flight gets canceled, it’s usually too late to purchase a travel insurance policy.

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