Does your insurance cover lost luggage?

Traveling with your family is a great way to create memories that’ll last a lifetime. Whether traveling to a new destination or a favorite family destination, planning for each trip is important.

Unfortunately, planning doesn’t prevent your luggage from being lost. For my family there’s always a sigh of relief when we see our luggage spinning on the carousel.

Homeowners or Renters Insurance Coverage

If your luggage is lost, it’s likely that your renters or homeowners insurance will provide some coverage. Off-premises coverage protects your personal property anywhere in the world. However, it’s important to understand that the percentage of coverage may be less because the items are outside of your home. In addition, you may have to pay a deductible first.
Before you travel, call your independent insurance agent to review your current policy. This way, you’ll know ahead of time what kind of coverage you have and if a deductible applies. If you travel frequently, you may need more protection than what your current insurance policy provides.

Credit Cards

Based on the type of credit card you hold, you may have coverage for lost luggage. The benefit of using your card for reimbursement is that there’s likely no deductible. Before you travel, contact your credit card company to see what they offer. If you travel frequently, you may want to upgrade your current card or find a new card that offers more travel benefits. 

Travel Insurance Coverage

If you travel frequently or overseas, purchasing travel insurance is your best option. It covers a lot more than just lost luggage, Including:

• Accidental death
• Baggage delay
• Baggage loss
• Emergency medical evacuation and repatriation
• Missed connection
• Trip delay
• Trip interruption
• Trip cancellation

Tips to help you navigate this unfortunate situation

1. Be patient. Depending on the size of the airport and the number of passengers on your flight, it may take some time before you see your luggage spinning on the carousel. 

2. Check other carousels. If you’re the only one left waiting for your luggage, check other carousels to see if yours was put on one by mistake.

3. Carry extra clothes. When traveling overseas, I always carry a large backpack that contains an extra set of clothes.

4. Try to stay calm. Finding out that your luggage is lost can increase your travel anxiety. An increase in anxiety can cause you to do foolish things. Take a few minutes to collect yourself and then talk to airline staff. Yelling and being disrespectful won’t help you get your luggage back quicker. 

5. Contact your airline. It’s likely that your airline will provide you with a stipend so that you can purchase some items while their searching for your luggage.