This travel community has been extremely helpful, so now, another question. What are your travel insurance company recommendations? This trip will be combined Road Scholar trip and independent travel. I booked my own air tickets.
So many companies, so much information. Although I goofed and didn't purchase when making my initial deposit and have yet to pay for the tour in full, I want to purchase insurance. Which companies are best, why? All recommendations gratefully accepted.
There has been extended discussion here. I hope the attached Search is helpful. Many policies require you to buy within 7-21 days of the first payment , to cover preexisting conditions. Good luck!
Pat - wow, awesome. Thank you so much. How did you locate the thread? I'm not very good at finding things except for scrolling through all the questions posed under "France". Thank you again.
surtshin, to do a full-fledged search like Pat did, go to the top of the site (if you are on a computer/laptop) and look for the magnifying glass with the word "Search" next to it. Type in the words "travel insurance" and hit "Go" (or just press the return key).
You will get probably hundreds of threads as well as Rick Steves blog articles. To narrow that search down a bit, go to the box on the left of the search results (it will say "Filter by Type"). Click the Travel Forum link at the top, and once you have done that, another filter box will appear below that says, "Filter by Date". Just click on the "2 Years or Newer" button and that will filter the results down to a reasonable level.
Edit to add: I forgot to mention that if you are on your phone, to get to the Search button, click the block of 5 white horizontal lines in the upper left hand corner of the site. The same magnifying glass and Search word will appear, then just do the same thing as above. Easy peasy!
The Search function here is very awkward, to say the least.
Steps:
Enter topic in Search box, usually on top of the page, on most screens.
Click Travel Forum
Click Two Years and newer . ( or six months and newer, but I find post-COVID a good time frame.
Good luck, and have a wonderful trip. Safe travels!
It is hard to recommend any particular company, as everyone’s needs and standards are different. You could start by reading some of the information on types of coverage etc. provided by InsureMyTrip, which is a website we use, along with Squaremouth, to search and compare policies for “standard” trip insurance that covers both trip cancellation and medical insurance/evacuation.
The cost of the insurance depends on the cost of the trip, age of the travelers, length of the trip, and level of benefits chosen. Three of those things you cannot control, but the last you can, so try to get an idea of the amount of medical and evacuation coverage you want/need. And remember that the cost of your trip is only the non-refundable costs (like a RS tour, or other tour, or hotels you prepay and cannot cancel, maybe your flight costs if they are non-refundable and not-changeable. You do not need to insure the cost of hotels you can cancel up to a day or 2 in advance.
The website will produce a list of many policies you can compare for cost and coverage, and give a rating.
The thing you most want to consider is are you looking for travel insurance (for such things as if you have to cancel your trip, lost luggage etc.) or is your primary concern medical insurance for international travel.
I use these people, they're super helpful
Squaremouth.com. You put in all the details specific to you and they will provide you with companies. I use Worldtrips as i do not live in the United States and most travel insurance companies do ask what US state you live in. I have put in one claim and were very pleased with the outcome.
Janet & Everyone, thank you so much for the suggestions and instructions about how to search.
Just goes to show that travelers are awesome folks.
