When Alice Hodges had to cancel a planned upcoming trip for medical reasons, she figured getting a refund for her flight would be easy since she purchased insurance.

The Delran, Burlington County, woman was set to travel to Vietnam to visit her son and his family and meet her newborn grandson. She booked her flights through the third-party booking site Trip.com, and at checkout, she also purchased insurance, allowing her to cancel for any reason.

In all, she spent more than $1,800. But ultimately, after she was forced to cancel, Hodges was only offered a voucher for a future flight.

"I said I don't want a voucher I paid you," she said. "I didn't know what else to do, and I watch Channel 3 all the time, and Josh [Sidorowicz] In Your Corner came on."

After months of trying to get a full refund, Hodges contacted CBS New Philadelphia. We got to work contacting Trip.com and AXA, the travel insurance company, to figure out what happened.

While neither responded to CBS News Philadelphia, they did follow up with Hodges. The issue appeared to stem from the fact that Hodges requested her refund through Trip.com when she should've filed a claim directly with the insurance company.

"I did not know what I needed to do," she admitted.

Kevin Brasler, executive editor with the nonprofit Delaware Valley Consumers' Checkbook, said it's critical to know what you're signing up for if you purchase travel insurance.

"All these travel policies, whether it's cancel for any reason, or the trip protection plans and interruption plans that are sold by airlines, have a lot of fine print," he said.

Be sure you understand exactly how to file a claim, Brasler said, because a misstep could lead to unnecessary delays and confusion.

Make sure any plan you pick will fully cover the cost of your trip. Some only cover a certain percentage.

Review the exclusions and limitations, Brasler warns. Even insurance advertised as providing "total protection" can come with a lot of caveats.

To determine if you need insurance, Consumers' Checkbook recommends considering how much money you're truly risking:

• Will the airline issue a credit? 
• Will the hotel let you rebook? 
• Would a tour operator or cruise line let you travel later? 
• What would any rescheduling fees cost? 
• Is the amount you might lose worth covering with insurance?

"If you're going to go on safari and you're going to pay $8,000 to a vacation guide, and it's nonrefundable and they make clear this is nonrefundable … then maybe it's worth insuring against that type of risk," Brasler said. "But most of us don't need to insure our $300 round-trip tickets against loss."

Sites like SquareMouth and TravelInsurance.com let you compare plans to help you choose what's best for your trip.

When Hodges submitted her insurance claim, it was initially denied because she'd already received a voucher. In an email, the company told her their insurance "would only be involved in the event the voucher is either voided or expired."

It took several more weeks for the airline to agree to void the voucher. But after months of back and forth, Hodges was notified that her claim was approved. She received a full refund.

"Lesson learned," she said. "More than anything, is to know about the insurance, ask questions you need to know who to go to, how to go to, and do your research."

Looking for help with a consumer issue? Click here to submit your complaint to In Your Corner.