I'm planning a trip to France in April & May 2027. First couple weeks will be a Rick Steves tour. 2nd two weeks will be another company that provides an apartment, a community manager and 3 or 4 'events' a week with the group all in one location. I'll be staying in Bordeaux. Complication is travel insurance is included in their price. After that location, I will probably stay a week on my own.
Question is, what is the most efficient way to handle this? Should I just buy 3 different insurances. 1st for Rick tour, 2nd included in price of apartment but need to buy a supplement in order for pre-existing to be covered, 3rd part of trip, not through a company, but on my own? I was wondering if I could just ask the 1st insurer to cover me for the Rick tour AND the last part where I am just on my own, probably in Paris (maybe for a week.)
Have any of you encountered something like this: same trip, more than one insurer? How did you handle it?
Posted by
Tampa, FL
767 posts
It’s a tough question. I think first you should find out exactly what the coverage is for your second 2 weeks in the apartment. Mainly you need to know what, if any, medical coverage there is. If there is none, you’d need to get some for that. Also, try calling a travel insurance company or two, describe your trips and see what they may suggest. I use Allianz for my trips, fortunately I haven’t had to file a claim.
Posted by
OP
Twin Cities, Minnesota
2621 posts
Yes, I have checked the medical coverage on the Bordeaux part and as I said above I need to buy a small supplement to have pre-existing covered.
Posted by
Michigan
635 posts
You might check into an annual travel insurance policy. Yes, you would have redundancy with the 2 weeks you are already paying for, but that might be a good thing - and may be less expensive in the long run, especially if you have other trips in 2027...
Posted by
Olympia, WA, USA
6794 posts
Or you can look for a single policy covering the whole five weeks or so, from beginning to end of your trip. The easiest way to do this is through insuremytrip.com or squaremouth.com. Both sites provide quotes from licensed insurers based on your trip information and age. You might find that costs little or no more, or perhaps even less, than the three separate policies you're considering.
You'll want medical coverage for the whole time, and if you should find yourself needing medical care across the different phases of your trip it would probably be easier to deal with a single policy. Your other coverage needs are likely for travel interruptions or delays that could occur at the start or end of any phase. See if a single policy is more cost-effective than splitting coverage into multiple policies. Sounds like a fun trip, especially if you turn out not to have needed insurance!
Posted by
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
3062 posts
I have not faced your situation, but so have had a couple of tricky trips. I talked to Allianz and found their reps to be very helpful. I now have an annual policy with them. Never had a claim.
Posted by
Paris 🇫🇷
11529 posts
Dick's advice seems very sensible to me.
Posted by
OP
Twin Cities, Minnesota
2621 posts
Talked to Travel Guard, the company Rick Steves' Tours suggest. I've insured from them before and have been happy with their service. They said NOT to do separate plans. They require you insure your trip door step to door step when getting coverage from them. For the other insurance provided with the 'apt.group' that provides insurance as part of their coverage, Travel Guard would be primary and they would include pre-existing medical conditions since I am getting it within the 15 day window. The apartment group coverage does not include pre existing. I'd have to pay extra for that anyway. Finally, I checked online with Allianz for their annual plan. It was very reasonable, but did NOT include pre-existing medical coverage. I'm thinking I may go with TravelGuard. Thanks, everyone for helping me think this through.