Travel Club Plan

We designed this FAQ to give you plenty of information, and allow you to enroll while you are review more details. We provide a generous 21 day “free look“, to add comfort in your decision to trust VacationGuard^®. This FAQ attempts to highlight the efforts we use in trying to meet your expectations, while demonstrating our decades-long passion for this business in the process.

It can provide you with travel insurance benefits for your Member trips, which are booked via your Travel Club or provider.

VacationGuard^® created customized travel insurance benefits to cover the real needs of Affinity Membership Travel, which we call our Travel Club plan. Different than traditional travel protection, our customized policy covers the things that are needed for Member based travel, with simplicity and ease.

In October 2015, we moved to a vertically integrated model, where everything is handled seamlessly inside a carrier based model and world class service. VacationGuard^® products and services are provided by Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection,* or BHTP, who has over a century of expertise amongst its executive team and is a premier baseline of travel protection. The carrier issuing the policy is Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance, proving unmatched financial strength and safety, rated A++ by A.M. Best.

VacationGuard^® premiums are designed from over a decade of experience with these plans, while reflecting exposures for the provider you may purchase it through. By working closely with our partners to monitor the affinity member needs, we simplified your enrollment experience.

One price, one rate, providing:

• Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption
• Trip Delay
• Emergency Accident Sickness Medical Expense
• Emergency Evacuation Expense for Medical reasons
• Car Rental Collision Coverage
• Lost Baggage and Baggage Delay, and more.
• Including our 24/7/365 customer support and MyAssist team

Please visit: www.VacationGuard.com/flyer/Club

Please visit: www.VacationGuard.com/DOC/Club.

Yes. It is available for your membership based trips with the Provider, who is offering you our plan, and who coordinates your booking and manages your Member based reservations.

Our Travel Club plan is offered on a per-trip or per-reservation basis, where your covered travel dates will be reflected in the enrollment you make with your provider.

For your added comfort, we extend you a generous 21 days to review our plan after purchase. We will refund you at 100% without delay or issues, for any reason, provided you have not traveled nor incurred a claim during the “Free-look“ period. It’s part of our culture for providing Vacation Peace of Mind.

Yes. VacationGuard^® covers the plan holder, and subject to maximum occupancy of the unit will automatically extend up to 7 traveling companions without requiring to be named on the enrollment.

While we automatically include up to 7 traveling companions, see the Traveling Companion definition in the policy, as well as the policy conditions, which states that benefits are extended to the insured and Traveling Companions of the insured, subject to state specific requirements.

Yes. One of the unique plan benefits for VacationGuard^® Travel Club plan is that the plan can waive the pre-existing medical conditions exclusion, provided you purchase the plan within 3 days of your final trip deposit, and you are medically fit to travel. Given that medical issues are unpredictable; this can provide you additional comfort at time of claim. This is why the best way to purchase when you are booking your initial reservation.

The look back on the policy is just 60 days, unless this exclusion is waived by a specified condition as outlined within your purchase process.

You should call whoever processed the actual enrollment for you. If via an agent, contact that distributor. If done via an on-line enrollment where VacationGuard/BHTP ran your credit card, we can process the cancellation.

Yes. It’s actually most efficient that way, and will only take about a minute.

VacationGuard^® is not rated by person or by age. The plan cost is for your Member reservations as coordinated by the Travel Club or provider offering you our plan. VacationGuard^® automatically covers the planholder and up to 7 additional traveling companions, defined as someone traveling with you and staying at the same destination as you, and under your reservation.

A non-Travel Club member who seeks coverage on their own, beyond what is automatic for a traveling companion, would need a different plan. We’d recommend our “Leisure Plus“ product, on www.VacationGuard.com.

VacationGuard^® benefits will follow you globally for your qualified Travel Club reservations. While it comes up rarely, the insurance carrier is limited by State Department regulations on where carriers may offer protection, and this would be reviewed during your enrollment review by the carrier.

While your travel can be global, the plan is limited to purchase by U.S. residents only.

Whether you are driving or flying, VacationGuard^® plans provide benefits that can automatically start 2 days prior and after your actual covered trip dates. This allows you to have benefits 2 days before your resort check in date, and follow you up to 2 days after your covered Trip check-out date, or when you get home, whichever is sooner.

Yes. Provided that stay is within 2 days of a covered trip check-in, VacationGuard^® plans allow for automatic extension of benefits to pre-paid and non-refundable expenses directly related to your covered trip. See the Forfeited definition in the policy.

If your trip involves travel outside the 2-day extension we provide, and you wish to have travel insurance coverage for those days, you may want to explore a different travel insurance plans for those periods. You can use our “Leisure Plus“ plan on www.VacationGuard.com., where you list the additional travel dates you need, and the trip cost you wish to insure.

Yes. Provided their use is during your covered trip. See the Forfeited definition in the policy.

Yes. Provided it’s used as part of your covered trip. See the Forfeited definition in the policy. Airfare is for change fees, unless you forfeit the ticket in entirety. Further, we extend benefits for Frequent Flier redeposit fees if you used your frequent flier miles to travel for your covered vacation ownership trip.

Our Travel Club plan can respond for your member based vacation ownership portion of your trip, along with our automatic 2 day extension. However, the personal vacation time that is outside the membership based booking, is in fact personal vacation time. If you wish to insure that portion of your trip, you would need a different travel insurance policy to do so. View “Leisure Plus“ or “Exactcare” for your personal vacation needs on www.VacationGuard.com.

VacationGuard^® plans are rated for travel arrangements planned in advance. All our plans have a 10-day window to reflect this in our rates and process. For an existing reservation: You must purchase VacationGuard^® at least 10 days prior to your travel dates. However, if you are inside of 10 days from travel, VacationGuard^® could also be added if you are making a last minute reservation for getaway fun.

Once your transaction payment has been approved, our plan benefits take effect at 12:01am CST on the day after your approved transaction.

The Benefits are shared amongst the affected traveling companions as applicable and subject to state specific requirements.

The plan operates on a reimbursement basis. Once your loss can be validated as caused by a covered event, you will be reimbursed for your loss.

Yes, as it will expedite your handling. Please go to www.VacationGuard.com/claims, where you can fill in your claim on-line. All claims are handled by Berkshire Hathaway Travel protection, who provides the products and services for the VacationGuard^® program.

In an effort to ease the claims process, you may upload or email receipts to our system in a jpeg or PDF. And while it will take longer via hard copy in the mail, you may send your claim form verification as well:

VacationGuard^® Claims
c/o Berkshire Hathaway
1145 Clark Street
Stevens Point, WI 54481

Yes. To save you time and ease this process, you may view the status of your claim on line, 24/7, at www.VacationGuard.com/claims, at the sign-in area. You will need: Your policy #, your claim #, and the email used for tracking your account.

We pay punctually upon an adequate and approved claim submission; you can be paid in minutes.* Fastest payment on approved claims is based on electronic payment of claim.

*Speed of transaction varies by processing financial institution.

If you register your preferred payment method with us in advance we can pay approved claims virtually within minutes, to get benefits while on your trip if applicable. Virtual payment options include PayPal or EFT when chosen as preferred payment method.

Car Rental Damage is a primary benefit, meaning we can pay the rental car company directly for a covered loss with proper claims information and submission. You just provide them your policy number and our information for the claim.

Certain states do not allow this benefit to apply as part of travel insurance, specifically TX, KS, and NY. Your policy documents will outline the plan benefits as allowed by your state of residence, or just contact VacationGuard to verify. Residents of states where this benefit is prohibited can inquire with their insurance agent about coverage when renting a car.

There is no deductible for Car Rental Damage under VacationGuard^® benefits, saving you from having to worry about your personal auto insurance deductible.

No. Our policy extends benefits to one rental car only, for the plan holder renting it. The policy can extend this benefit to the planholder, and/or a traveling companion, for up to one car, but both people would have to be listed on that car rental agreement.

Just provide the rental car company your VacationGuard^® policy number, from your confirmation of coverage you carry on your trip. They can then submit a claim referencing your specific policy number. Note that rental car providers in some countries may require you to still add their own protections, which is beyond our control.

Yes. Uniquely, we have benefits for the drive-to vacation too. If you get in an accident or the roads are closed preventing your passage, our protection plan can reimburse you for Trip Delay benefits like food and lodging benefits until you are able to continue.

Yes. We only require your Traveling Companions be joining you at your destination under your reservation, but do not require you to physically be traveling together to get to the destination.

Always ask to see the insurance policy being extended. Many companies offer “services“ but not actual “benefits“ that pay. Some companies offer tiered pricing for benefits, and rate by age and by person. VacationGuard^® was built to provide dependable coverage from over a decade of proven results.

To keep this plan more affordable, VacationGuard^® plans do not have a “cancel for any reason“ Trip Cancellation benefit, nor would it be represented that way.

VacationGuard^® support is open 24/7, at 866.314.9480. Our contact information is in the footer of this page.