paulette mann and her family love to travel. but one vacation was cancelled abruptly. she tore her knee and had to have surgery. >> the first thing i thought was oh, my god, i had travel insurance. >> paulette had prepaid everything from airfare, ski lifts, rentals, excursions, plus 10% of the trip's cost to her insurance company. >> i think the insurance company probably paid back got 80% to 90%. >> people mremium insurance pol like paulette's are more expensive that allowed her to cancel for any reason and gave her the most flexibility. >> it's really important that consumers read the policy carefully so they understand exactly what is and what isn't covered. >> like when the policy offers a waiver for preexisting medical conditions, provides health care coverage or covers medical evacuations. travel agents may have preferred relationships with only a couple of insurance providers. instead, use comparison websites like insure my trip.com and square mouth.com. each sells more than 100 policies from a variety of companies. and stick to insurance that will cover potenti