If you own a vacation timeshare unit, it’s important to get the right insurance for your annual visit. Timeshare insurance is targeted to the owner of a deeded timeshare and can help put the pieces back together if your vacation goes awry.
Traditional insurance for vacation timeshare units provides coverage for your trip, and is very similar to trip insurance. Coverage is available if your trip is delayed or cancelled for reasons including sickness, injury or an unexpected accident that occurs while traveling to your deeded timeshare. Coverages include reimbursement of prepaid, non-refundable maintenance and exchange or change fees. These fees, charged to the owner of a vacation timeshare, easily run over a thousand dollars, so it’s a key coverage to have before you travel.
Additional timeshare insurance coverages include emergency assistance (medical transportation), travel delay and medical or dental expense. Roadside assistance can come in handy for an owner on the way to a timeshare vacation, providing towing, flat tire repair, lock-out assistance or vehicle fluid replacement. Emergency assistance benefits for the owner of a vacation timeshare include emergency cash transfer, lost ticket help and emergency prescription refills. Lost or delayed baggage coverage is often included in the timeshare insurance policy. And, accidental damage to the timeshare unit while on vacation may also be a coverage you can purchase.
Timeshare ownership today often involves multiple visits to a timeshare unit each year. Some of the newest timeshare insurance policies are annual policies, so you just pay once a year and you’re covered every time you visit your timeshare unit. If you have ownership of a deeded timeshare vacation unit through a major hotel chain, these more comprehensive insurance policies might be best for you and your family.
If you rent your vacation timeshare unit to others, you need insurance to cover any potential losses caused by your tenants. Contact your insurance agent to find out if you can extend your homeowner’s insurance policy to cover renters in your timeshare. You can often add timeshare vacation rental coverage onto your policy for as little as $25 annually.
Deeded timeshare insurance is inexpensive, especially when weighed against the potential pratfalls that can cancel or interrupt your vacation. The costs for insurance for the owner of the vacation timeshare unit varies from $50 to just over $100, depending upon the coverages included and the length of the trip. A timeshare insurance policy for the deeded owner is often available through the timeshare company or a travel agent. You can also find more comprehensive timeshare insurance online.
Talk back with the article's author, Lisa Nichols- tell us about your experience buying timeshare insurance.