At least other airlines admit they're hiking fees. But it seems Frontier will slip a travel insurance charge onto your ticket unless you deliberately opt out of it. Travel troubleshooter Chris Elliott has the scoop:

After finishing [a] transaction, [customer Angela Gross] discovered she had also signed up for a $10.95 insurance policy. How did that happen? A small box at the bottom of the booking screen was pre-checked, indicating she also wanted to buy the policy.

Seems pretty slimy, which is why we weren't surprised to find out that Spirit has been known to do something similar. Check those check boxes before booking, people!

Related Stories:
· Like It or Not, Airline Adds Travel Insurance [Elliott]
· Frontier Airlines: Another Fee-Friendly Carrier [Jaunted]
· Airline Fees coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Cubbie_n_Vegas]]]> pbb 2008-08-21T15:30:14-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/7/8/214645/0884

Have you seen Foxy Brown? The partially deaf New York rapper (and dine-and-ditcher) took a flight to London on June 29th. First, she delayed the flight by an hour so she could sit near her entourage. Now, she's up and vanished. According to the New York Post, she didn't even tell her lawyer where she went. The Post speculates she's laying down tracks for a new album -- or turning over a new leaf on her bad-girl reputation.

Should Foxy's probation officer have had her take out a travel insurance policy? Well, she's not considered a flight risk, but it depends whether she intended to go hang-gliding in the Cotswolds or just shopping at Harrods. Consumerist offers some situations where travel insurance might be helpful.

Related Stories:
· Foxy Stiffs Her Bill at Junior's [Jaunted]

[Photo: Gothamist.com]]]> egw 2007-07-09T08:39:45-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2006/10/16/213616/49
When we were your age, we had to walk two miles and bike up a hill to get travel insurance. Even then, we were only covered for things like getting our leg bitten off by a wolverine. The kids are crazy these days, though, and things are changing in the insurance industry.

Cancel-for-any-cause policies are becoming more popular. These plans typically allow you to get more of your money back and with shorter advance notice, depending on the company. That means that you need not have a wolverine dilemma to cancel--perhaps you just got in a fight with your travel buddy and no longer want to spend a week cooped up together. Then again, with a sample $2000 trip for two, you could end up parting with as much as $563 if disaster strikes.

The best new policy, however, has got to be Travel Guard's Tee, Tour & Travel package. Yeah yeah, it'll cover you if your game gets rained out, but it'll also buy you $250 worth of drinks if you hit a hole in one. Now, if that covers mini-golf, we are so sold it ain't even funny.

[Photo: Pete Hindle]

Related Stories:
· Travel insurance for any woe [LAT/Mercury News]
]]> djk 2006-10-17T12:39:44-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2005/7/1/12217/55005

It would be more awful to think that you had no recourse and have to shell out $300 for a new one.

Instead of that-why not insure your gadgets. Luxist [via CBS] reports that independent insurance companies are now offering coverage for iPods, Blackberries, cellphones and the like-for a mere $5 a month when tagged on to your existing homeowners rates.

Hey, better safe then sorry.

Related Stories:
·   New Insurance Protects Expensive Gadgets [Luxist]
·   New Insurance Will Protect Expensive Gadgets [CBS5.com]
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