CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Macy Rapp from Charlotte booked a flight two months ago to go on vacation in Madrid, Spain this summer. But now that hundreds in Spain and surrounding countries have tested positive for the coronavirus, Rapp said she was feeling anxious.

  • Coronavirus is causing travel concerns for people planning trips
  • "Cancel for any reason" insurance is the only one that will cover you if you cancel your trip over coronavirus concerns
  • Most travel insurance plans will cover you if you get sick before or during your vacation

Rapp bought travel insurance thinking she would be covered if anything happens. But Roni Fishkin with the agency Mann Travels in Charlotte said that is not always the case.

"Travel insurance doesn't protect against fear," Mann said. "If airlines are flying to that destination and it is open for business, you can't get your money back, unless you have something called 'cancel for any reason'," Fishkin said.

Fishkin said "cancel for any reason" will cover you if you cancel your trip over coronavirus concerns. Keep in mind, those policies are more expensive and they aren't always a 100 percent money back guarantee.

"Insurance has a lot of fine print and it is not one size fits all," Fishkin said. "Make sure you have someone selling you insurance who can explain to you exactly what you are buying and what you are covered for."

Rapp looked over her insurance policy. To her surprise, she didn’t see anything about “cancel for any reason.” She tried calling her insurance company, but after waiting about 20 minutes on hold she decided to call back at another time.

"I am hoping it will be gone by the time I am there," Rapp said. "But I would be pretty mad if they wouldn’t let me cancel. It’s scary. I don’t want to get sick, no one else wants to get sick."

If you happen to get sick before your vacation or during, Fishkin said, most travel insurance plans cover that.

"It will help you pay your medical bills, or in the rare case that you need to get yourself out of that destination and brought home," Fishkin said.

The cost of travel insurance is usually based on age, duration of the trip, cost of the trip, and how far in advance a person gets the insurance.

American Airlines is also waiving change fees when a customer buys at ticket through March 31st.