One Thing You Should Know About Apartment Rental Insurance

Each Friday, we feature a reader-submitted tip as our Travel Tip of the Day. This week’s tip comes from reader Cynthia, who says:

“I found this out the hard way following Hurricane Irma. We were supposed to fly to Spain where I had rented an apartment for a week through VRBO. I did buy trip cancellation insurance for the flight but neglected to do so for the apartment.

When Hurricane Irma made it impossible to fly out of Miami I tried to cancel our apartment rental explaining that we couldn’t get out of Florida. No dice. The apartment owners wouldn’t budge. Apparently, according to VRBO, cancelation policy is strictly left up to the owners (and their conscience). You need to read the fine print. Most of them will refund 100% only if you cancel 60 days or more in advance. However, hurricanes don’t give you that kind of warning. So buy the insurance!

I also learned that although your credit card may offer some kind of travel interruption/cancellation insurance, it probably does not cover situations involving natural disasters such as earthquakes or hurricanes. So, buyer beware.”

For more on travel insurance (which can be confusing), see below. Thanks, Cynthia!

• A Story That Shows the Importance of Getting Travel Insurance
• Purchasing Travel Insurance: 5 Tips From a Pro
• Lost and Stolen Passports: Can Travel Insurance Help?
• Do I Have Travel Insurance and Which Policy Company Do I Use?

____________________________________________________________