With travel insurance, you’re free to enjoy a vacation.

Vacations often create lasting memories of new adventures, home towns revisited or other experiences to cherish forever.

Then there are memories best forgotten, like medical emergencies or lost luggage. In these cases, travel insurance can give peace of mind when facing the unexpected while away from home.

In its most basic form, travel insurance provides trip cancellation protection that reimburses you for penalties imposed by cruise lines, tour operators, airlines and hotels should you have to cancel a vacation due to illness, injury or death of a family member or companion. Other reasons, such as strikes, natural disasters or bad weather before your trip begins, would cause the benefits to kick in.

Trip interruption protection is another travel insurance benefit. Should the vacation be interrupted–in most cases at least six hours–this benefit can reimburse travelers for a one-way economy airfare home and prepaid expenses. Hotel and meal costs that may be incurred to allow travelers time to catch up to a cruise or tour also are covered under this benefit.

For more information on travel insurance and assistance, contact your AAA Travel agent. Vacation with peace of mind this year.

If you’re one of the millions of animal lovers whose summer plans include vacationing with your dog or cat, there are more options than ever for pet-friendly accommodations, activities, and destinations.

This May, check out the 10th edition Traveling With Your Pet: The AAA PetBook®, sold for about $16 at AAA offices, AAA.com/ BarnesandNoble and better book stores. Find details on more than 13,000 pet-friendly AAA Approved hotels and campgrounds, as well as pet-friendly attractions, dog parks, and pet-accessible federal lands and animal hospitals.