Travel Insurance

I usually book thru TravelGuard but that's because I am usually booking one of Rick's tours along with some independent travel and you get some extra coverage if you buy the insurance within 2 weeks of booking the RS tour. I've never had to put in a claim so have no idea if they pay out well/easily or not!

We buy TravelGuard for our trips abroad too. A very successful agent I know, who has been organizing/booking custom trips abroad for 40 years, swears by that one for her own travel.

We normally buy travel insurance through TravelGuard. This coverage came in handy several years ago in Greece when we were unable to fly from Athens to Santorini (where we had a reserved hotel room) due to an airport strike and then those pesky Aegean winds. The insurance company put us up in a hotel for the night and covered the cost of that hotel and the missed night at the hotel in Santorini. We have recently filed another claim with TravelGuard as my luggage was delayed for 4 to 5 days on our trip to the Christmas markets this month. I will report back on the forum on the outcome of that claim. We have also filed a claim with the airline.

You can compare many policies at www.squaremouth.com or www.insuremytrip.com. My former employer's health insurance covers me abroad, but I usually take out a med evac/repatriation policy.

We've had good experiences with Travelex. I'd agree that the "insure my trip" website is a good shopping tool.

Another vote for RS endorsed Travel Guard Insurance. I always purchase it within 15 days of making my RS tour deposit so all of my pre-existing conditions are covered. We also add on an umbrella rider - cheap compared to all of the increased coverage.

Shop around online and work out which suits your travel plans best. Check policy excess charges and the level of cover.

I have an annual policy which is cheaper than paying for each trip. I am covered for "dangerous activities ", which my previous policy didn't. They classified dangerous activities as renting bicycles, snorkelling and paddling a canoe!

We have always used Travel Guard and have had only one claim. The manner in which they handled it was great!! Had to document the claim with paper work but nothing that was not reasonable. We always sign up within 15 days of our first trip deposit so as to be covered for preexisting conditions. You can go to their web site and check out the different polices. You might want to consider medical evacuation insurance as well. Can give you details about variations if you are interested

According to someone at Squaremouth and reported by someone on the forum as well a few months ago, most of the policies are "door to door." That means from your dwelling to wherever and back to your dwelling. It sounds like a good deal. But, if you are going to visit Aunt Martha in Atlanta enroute to Europe or on the way back, and you have a claim, it won't be considered because there is an intermediate voluntary stop along the way.

Likewise, if you get stuck and can't get home before the policy ends, any claim you make will likely be denied. I will be driving with my husband to the Seattle area, spending a couple of nights, then flying Seattle--London. I'll return to Seattle, spend a couple of nights, then fly back to Tucson.

I know we have purchased travel insurance for most of our trips and was very surprised to learn about this fine print, which by the way, I have not been able to find in any travel insurance contract. Maybe I need better glasses.

Now I'm sorry we paid for that insurance because it appears we didn't have any chance of getting a claim approved on past trips where we drove to a different airport to fly out or were on standby and either had to spend a night in the US before getting a flight out or before returning. I feel fortunate that we've never needed the insurance so far.

Has anyone else ever faced this situation? Did you find an insurer who would insure you under similar circumstances?

The Squaremouth person did say that you can get medical/repatriation insurance regardless of where you depart from back home.

I purchased fromTravelex for a trip we were to take this past summer. Had to cancel the trip due to my husband being ill and we got all our money back. I first requested refunds from the individual hotels, airline, etc then submitted the rest to Travelex. It was kind of a pain to collate everything since we were planning our trip on our own and the form basically had a spot for the airline and the tour but I typed up an itemized list and got the refund. I purchased travel insurance again from them for the trip we are on now and there was no problem obtaining it even though I had just received our claim money.

A follow up to my reply re TravelGuard/AIG. I just received the compensation from the insurance company ($200) for my delayed luggage which was the amount I was entitled to under the insurance policy. TravelGuard paid the claim within a few days but the US mail screwed up the delivery of the check to me so it was just received. I would definitely recommend this insurance as it has come through for us a couple of times so far.

I use TravelGuard and when my father passed and we were on a river cruise in Vienna, they refunded all that was supposed to be and they were easy to deal with

Hi Janie:

My recommendation is that travelers give some thought to getting medical evacuation insurance when they go overseas. When I went to Europe in 2014 I purchased a medical evacuation policy from Travel Guard (Med Vac plan). It provided evacuation to the closest qualified hospital that could handle a medical problem that I might have, and possibly transportation to home. In London this probably meant an ambulance ride to a local hospital. [Note: I purchased the policy because part of my travel was to Turkey and I was not sure about the health care facilities in that country.] The policy did not address my biggest concern: transportation from any overseas location, or even a domestic location of sufficient distance from one's home, to the hospital of my choice which would be in my home town. This type of medical transport service can cost up to $100,000. Consequently, when I go to the UK this summer I plan to purchase an insurance plan from either MedJetAssist (less than $300 for one year coverage for one person) or OnCall International which will provide medical repatriation service.

Before a 4-person family trip to France/England/Ireland last March, I compared policies at www.squaremouth.com and ended up purchasing one from (I think) Allianz that covered everything we might need (e.g., trip interruption, trip cancellation, medical evacuation). Since my mom is elderly and my husband (who was not on the trip) has some health issues, I knew there was always a chance the trip might be cancelled or interrupted by a sad event ... and wanted to be prepared in case the worst happened :-/ I believe I paid around $240 for $12,000 worth of coverage -- well worth it for the peace of mind!