Bookings made on or after August 1, 2023, follow the plan and coverage details as outlined below. For bookings made on or before July 31, 2023, see Trip Mate’s insurance details.
For those who book a smarTours package, we recommend you obtain travel insurance regardless of your age or the tour you’ve selected. While you have every intention of taking that trip of a lifetime, illnesses, family emergencies, and more can hamper your best-laid plans.
smarTours is partnering with Trip Mate to offer a Travel Protection Plan. This plan includes travel insurance benefits for trip cancellation, trip interruption, accident and sickness medical expense, lost or delayed baggage, missed connections, and more. Under the plan, COVID-19 is also treated the same as any other sickness. It also includes Generali Global Assistance’s 24/7 one-call worldwide travel assistance if you need help in a pinch (as a non-insurance service). We do not require you to select Trip Mate for travel protection but we encourage you to have some type of travel protection when traveling with us.
Here’s an overview of what the Travel Protection Plan includes:
| BENEFITS | MAXIMUM BENEFIT AMOUNT |
|---|---|
| Trip Cancellation | Up to 100% of the Non-Refundable Trip Cost |
| Trip Interruption | Up to 100% of the Non-Refundable Trip Cost |
| Missed Connection | $500 |
| Trip Delay (up to $200 per day) | $1,000 |
| Accident & Sickness Medical Expense | $50,000 |
| Medical Evacuation and Repatriation of Remains | $100,000 |
| 24-Hour Accidental Death and Dismemberment | $25,000 |
| Baggage/Personal Effects | $1,000 |
| Baggage Delay | $250 |
You can select to purchase the travel protection plan when you book your trip, either online, or via our call center. If you’ve already booked your trip and would like to add this protection plan, you must do so before your final trip payment is made. If you’ve already paid for your trip in full, you may still purchase a Trip Mate Retail Plan through Trip Mate directly, though different prices and terms may apply.
Plan Details and Fine Print
If you’re wondering what all those Travel Protection Plan benefits mean, here’s a brief summary of each term. Full details of the plan may be found on Trip Mate’s website. Plan benefits, limits and provisions may vary to state or jurisdiction, and not all coverages are available in all states or jurisdictions.
Trip Cancellation – Protects the unused, forfeited, prepaid non-refundable Payments or Deposits for the Travel Arrangements You purchased for Your Trip in the event You have to cancel due to a covered reason.
Trip Interruption – Provides You with a reimbursement for the unused, forfeited, prepaid non-refundable Payments or Deposits for land or water Travel Arrangements for Your Trip, plus the Additional Transportation Cost paid, if Your Trip is interrupted for a covered reason.
Missed Connection – Provides You with a reimbursement for the unused, forfeited, prepaid non-refundable Payments or Deposits paid to the Travel Supplier for the land or water Travel Arrangements You purchased for Your Trip, plus the additional transportation cost to join Your departed Trip, if You miss Your Trip departure because Your arrival at the Trip destination is delayed for 3 consecutive hours or more for a covered reason.
Trip Delay – Assists with Reasonable Expenses incurred when You are delayed for 12 consecutive hours or more while en route to or from, or during the course of Your Trip, for a covered reason.
Accident & Sickness Medical Expense – Provides Medical Expense benefits for a covered Sickness or covered Injury incurred while on Your trip.
Medical Evacuation & Repatriation of Remains – Among other things, this reimburses transportation expenses incurred to transport you to the nearest medical facility where treatment is available if you incur a sickness or injury that is acute, severe, or life-threatening during Your Trip and adequate treatment is not available in your immediate area.
24-Hour Accidental Death & Dismemberment – Provides a benefit for loss of life, limb or sight resulting from an injury caused by an accident during Your Trip.
Baggage and Personal Effects – Provides reimbursement when Your Baggage or personal belongings are damaged, destroyed, lost, or stolen during Your Trip.
Baggage Delay – Provides reimbursement for the purchase of reasonable additional clothing and personal articles purchased by You if Your Baggage is delayed or misdirected by a Common Carrier for at least 24 consecutive hours or more.
The Travel Protection Plan also provides the following non-insurance services:
- Generali Global Assistance: Multi-lingual professionals are available 24 hours a day to provide help, advice and referrals for medical emergencies. They will help you locate local physicians, dentist, or medical facilities, amongst other services. A complete list of these services is included in your Plan Document.
- FootprintID®: Provides a secure solution for individuals to take control of their medical records and enable immediate access wherever you are in the world.
- Blue Ribbon Bags: Blue Ribbon Bags (BRB) provides a service that will track and expedite the return of your delayed airline baggage, beginning when the destination flight lands. The information from BRB will come faster and more accurate than any other source, including from the airline. Blue Ribbon Bags covers EVERY flight, on EVERY airline, everywhere in the world.
Trip Mate encourages you to go online to:
- Review or print your Plan Document: www.tripmate.com/wpf394h.
- Follow the step-by-step guide on how to submit a claim online.
- Check the status of your claims at www.tripmate.com; please have your claim number handy.
This advertisement contains highlights of the plans developed by Trip Mate Inc., which include travel insurance coverages underwritten by United States Fire Insurance Company, Principal Office located in Morristown, New Jersey, under form series T7000 et al, T210 et al and TP-401 et al and non-insurance Travel Assistance Services provided by Generali Global Assistance, FootprintID® and Blue Ribbon Bags. The terms of insurance coverages in the plans may vary by jurisdiction and not all insurance coverages are available in all jurisdictions. Insurance coverages in these plans are subject to terms, limitations and exclusions including an exclusion for pre-existing medical conditions. In most states, your travel retailer is not a licensed insurance producer/agent and is not qualified or authorized to answer technical questions about the terms, benefits, exclusions and conditions of the insurance offered or to evaluate the adequacy of your existing insurance coverage. Your travel retailer may be compensated for the purchase of a plan and may provide general information about the plans offered, including a description of the coverage and price. The purchase of travel insurance is not required in order to purchase any other product or service from your travel retailer. CA DOI toll-free number is 800-927-4357. The cost of your plan is for the entire plan, which consists of both insurance and non-insurance components. Individuals looking to obtain additional information regarding the features and pricing of each travel plan component, please contact Trip Mate, Inc. (dba Trip Mate Insurance in CA and UT; CA license #0805270); P.O. Box 527, Hazelwood, MO 63042; 1-833-297-2255; assistancefees@tripmate.com. While Trip Mate, Inc. markets the travel insurance in these plans on behalf of USF, non-insurance components of the plans were added to the plans by Trip Mate, Inc., and Trip Mate, Inc. does not receive compensation from USF for providing the non-insurance components of the plans.