Have you been wishing you could travel to Europe after being licked in and locked down since the COVID-19 pandemic?

Well,  the fall season might be the time you can finally go abroad, but there are some caveats.

In September, travel to Europe will reach its highest point in over a year, accounting for 40% of all trips that month, according to travel insurance comparison site Squaremouth.com.

This comes as the EU recommends restricting entry to US travelers amid the spreading Delta variant, according to a news release.

Top Places

Half of Squaremouth’s reported top destinations for September are countries within the European Union: Italy, Greece, France, Spain, and Croatia, with almost $9 million in insured trip expenses to these countries.

Here’s what travelers need to know about travel insurance coverage for border restrictions:

Border Closures Rarely Trigger Cancellation Coverage

Border closures and respective travel restrictions are one of the largest gaps in coverage within standard travel insurance policies at the moment, says Squaremouth.

Cancel For Any Reason Gives The Best Chance of Coverage

The Cancel For Any Reason upgrade is still widely available for travelers who have recently booked trips, and are concerned about lingering or new border closures at their destination.

Cancel For Any Reason is a time-sensitive benefit that is only available shortly after traveler books their trip, typically up to 21 days following their first booking. This benefit reimburses up to 75% of the insured trip cost.

Unfortunately, this means the Cancel For Any Reason benefit is no longer available for travelers who booked their trip to a European country more than three weeks ago.

Final Thoughts

Whether it’s Paris, Rome, Moscow, Portugal, or wherever you dream of visiting, before you book your flights, hotels, and passages, be sure to check with your travel agency and your final destinations restrictions.

It’s not a bad idea to invest in travel insurance as well in case anything should go awry before, after, or during your vacation.

Methodology:
Squaremouth.com hosts the largest number of travel insurance providers and policies that offer coverage related to the Covid-19 pandemic. Squaremouth Analytics studied data from thousands of policies purchased for travel between September 1, 2021, and September 30, 2021, to identify spending habits and the most popular destinations.

Squaremouth maintains a list of country insurance requirements here.

Source: Squaremouth