Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection

What Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection is

Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection, shortened to BHTP, is the travel insurance brand of the company that underwrites it, so the brand and the insurer sit in the same business. The about page states that BHTP "is a division of Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance" and that "All products listed on this website are underwritten by" Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Company of Omaha, with Nebraska as its state of domicile, "California Certificate of Authority Number: 3148-4" and "NAIC# 22276." The same page names the producer: "RIECP, LLC dba in CA: BHS Insurance Services CA Lic. #0K09397," based in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. It also describes BHTP as "the travel insurance plan brand and Errors & Omissions (E&O) insurance within the broader Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (BHSI) offerings." The homepage says the parent "holds a financial strength rating of A++ from AM Best."

The about page gives the business line "Plan Simplicity, Claims Excellence" and says "our teammates are focused on delivering innovative travel insurance plans along with a fair, fast claims experience," describing a "pay-first, pay-fast mentality" in claims. It places BHTP within a parent that offers "commercial property, casualty, healthcare professional liability, executive and professional lines, surety, and travel insurance programs."

The plan lines

BHTP sells several named plans. The seniors page says "BHTP's comprehensive travel insurance plans like the ExactCare line or WaveCare include all those important coverages," meaning trip cancellation and interruption, lost, delayed or damaged luggage, emergency medical evacuation and pre-existing conditions. The international page describes AirCare, an add-on to "one of our base ExactCare plans," which brings flight-protection benefits that "pay out automatically" for covered events such as missed connections, tarmac delays or baggage delays, and it says AirCare adds "fixed-benefit claims payments." That page also states that "All our comprehensive plans can cover medical emergencies, trip cancellation, trip interruption, medical evacuation, and lost, damaged, or stolen luggage," and that, depending on the plan and when it is bought, cover can extend to pre-existing conditions and cancel for any reason. The ExactCare, WaveCare and AirCare pages give no benefit amounts, so their limits come from the quote.

AdrenalineCare, the adventure plan

AdrenalineCare is the plan with a full benefit table on the site. The page says it "provides trip cancellation and interruption coverage for non-refundable trip expenses (including license fees), plus it covers equipment delay, medical emergencies, lost baggage and has higher limits for medical evacuation," and that it includes "coverage for extreme sports, equipment delay and license fees." It lists "Up to $50,000 in emergency travel medical insurance and $750,000 for medical evacuation," and its coverage table shows trip cancellation at 100% of trip cost, trip interruption at 150%, emergency evacuation and repatriation of remains at $750,000, sporting equipment delay at $500, accidental death and dismemberment at $10,000 and car rental collision at $35,000. The table marks the pre-existing medical condition exclusion waiver, adventure sports coverage, financial default and cancel for work reasons as "Included," and the bullet list says pre-existing conditions are covered "if qualifying conditions are met." These figures belong to AdrenalineCare alone.

Buying and pre-existing conditions

The medical insurance page ties pre-existing cover to timing: "Buy your travel insurance within 15 days of making your initial trip deposit." It adds that if a traveler buys "a BHTP policy within 15 days after making your initial trip deposit, pre-existing medical conditions may be covered, and your travel insurance medical coverage may become primary," meaning it pays before the traveler's own health insurer. The international page notes that "many plans let you buy coverage up until the day before you leave." Buying runs online in three steps on the homepage: enter trip details, choose from recommended plans, and buy. The international page says to "Go from quote to coverage in just a couple minutes" and to "Receive coverage details in clear, easy-to-understand language." On price it gives only a general guide, that a plan may cost "about 8 to 10 percent of your total prepaid trip cost." The footer adds that "Plans vary per state" and that the full terms, limitations and exclusions "are contained in the travel insurance policy."

Claims and assistance

Claims are a large part of BHTP's pitch. The AdrenalineCare page says most claims can be filed with a pic and a click, "on the go, without piles of forms," and that every policy includes payment through BHTP Burst, promising "Get paid in minutes*" by direct deposit, with a paper check always available. The asterisk leads to this footnote: "Based on industry average. Fastest payment on approved claims is based on electronic payment of claim. Speed of transaction varies by processing financial institution." The same footnote backs the international page's claim of payment "up to five times faster than industry averages." Live claims help is "available worldwide (7 am - 7 pm CST, M-F, excluding some holidays)," and the FAQ lists the service team at 844-411-2487 on the same weekday hours. The seniors page says "All our plans include 24/7 global travel assistance," for anything from changing a flight or hotel to finding a doctor, replacing a prescription or coordinating a medical emergency, and the homepage promises "Coverage and claims support for just about anywhere you travel in the world."

The site's FAQ page answers general questions about travel insurance, and it opens with the warning that its information "is not necessarily specific to what is included and covered in a Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection plan," so its answers describe travel insurance in general rather than BHTP's terms. Its questions cover when coverage starts, lost passports, financial default, terrorism, weather cancellations, coming home early, dental problems and whether diabetes counts as a pre-existing condition.

Who it suits

BHTP suits a US traveler who wants the insurer and the brand to be the same company, with the underwriter's NAIC number, domicile and California authority printed on the about page. Adventure travelers get the most published detail, since AdrenalineCare lists its medical, evacuation, equipment and rental car limits and includes adventure sports cover. Travelers with a pre-existing condition have a stated 15-day window after the first deposit, and older travelers are addressed directly through the ExactCare and WaveCare lines, whose limits appear only in a quote. The FAQ's general answers are a primer, not a statement of any BHTP plan's terms.