Post-Departure Insurance Everyone?

Tom, as a senior are you on Medicare? If you are, Medicare won't cover you & your supplement may not either unless you have something really special. We usually insure with TravelGuard. It's reasonable & the coverage is good. My husband & son travel to Zimbabwe where evacuation coverage is especially important. Things happen. I wouldn't go without coverage.

Absolutely, all travelers should medical/evacuation coverage. Don't forget accidents can happen to anyone regardless of how "healthy" one is.

Don't leave home without Traveler's Insurance. Purchase it at the time you purchase your tickets. That way you are covered in case of illness or other causes that may have you cancel your trip. I believe there is also a time limit before your departure that you must purchase the insurance.

Right! I'm healthy also, but never leave for Europe without medical and evacuation insurance coverage. You never know what can happen. In 7 trips I've thankfully never had to use it. But if the occassion arises you don't have to scramble to cover any major expenses.

I like American Express Traveler's Insurance, I feel like I'm getting good coverage for a good price and I'm comfortable it would be easy enough to use if needed. Note: Fortunately, I haven't had to put it to the test yet so I can't vouch for actual usage.

Very important item. Don't leave home without it!
I always buy Access America policy that also includes trip interrupton or cancellation to get the ticket refund also. i.e.

This policy for June, 2009 cost me $97.00.

Concierge
24-Hour Hotline Assistance
Emergency Medical Transportation $50,000.00
Emergency Medical and Dental Benefit $10,000.00
Trip Cancellation Protection $1,775.82
Travel/Trip Delay Coverage $200.00
Trip Interruption Protection $1,775.82

Look into "TravelSafe" too. I compared policies for a while a few months ago, and they had some of the best terms/coverage I found and were quite cheap. They also will refund your prepaid expenses at any time if you decide to cancel your trip for any reason. They covered my 3-week trip for under $100! Bargain!

I shouldn't be surprised that those responding to the question are strong advocates for coverage, and I'm a convert now, especially when I find the rates so reasonable. If I feared getting sick or having an accident I wouldn't leave home, but for what amounts to pocket change, I'm going to travel knowing if there is a problem, my bank account wont be a victim too.

I've signed up for Amex Travel Insurance, available on a month to month basis for us (Seniors) at $18 per month. The Id cards and policy details should be in the mail and if the details support my understanding of the coverage, I'll consider it a real bargain.

You can compare the policies of numerous companies at www.insuremytrip.com, so you can choose the coverage you need without paying for things that you don't.

I'd never leave without it. And as we have medical travel insurance as part of our home-owners insurance year-round I don't have to worry about it if I'm leaving on a moment's notice (which has happened). Trip cancellation insurance might be nice. But if you don't have it worst case scenario is that you're out a few thousand $ at the most. Very annoying but it's not going to change my life. An accident with injuries can easily cost 6 figure numbers that your medical insurance at home may not cover. I think they're few people on this board who could handle a loss like this without blinking an eye ...

And it does happen! Just in my immediate family I know a healthy 30 year old who fell of a bike while travelling in the Mediterranean, broke his hip and had to be flown home. The transport alone was $20K! And that was a short flight within Europe and not a long one across the Atlantic.

Wow. I've never purchased this insurance. One time I bought trip cancelation insurance because I had to pay a lot up front, but that was it. My insurance does cover me overseas, but not for medical evacuation. This gives me something to think about. Thank you for the post, Tom.

p.s. Am I the only one who doesn't do this? Or is it just that the people answering the question are the ones that do?

I think most people don't know that evacuation fees are typically $20,000+ and have to paid upfront. For several years I traveled without this type of insurance, not because I didn't believe I needed it or was too lazy, I just never knew. One day read an article about it in a travel magazine, and was horrified about how some people were financially ruined by by something like a broken leg or worse. I never leave the country without it.

We never leave our country without purchasing extra medical insurance.. since we know the 50 bucks a day our insurance coverage would pay out to cover us out of country( if it covered us at all) would be about enough to pay for a bandage in the States..

My friend was hurt and passed away in the States,, she was only lived about 24 hours past her injuries,, she had no extra insurance. Her family payed bills totalling over 150,000 dollars for her,, and although they could manage,, do you have any idea how they felt opening those bills.

I would not like to do that to my family.. I don't take chances. It cost us 200 dollars almost 16 years ago to have a flower bud (with tweezers) taken out of our 2 yr olds nose( don't ask,, LOL ). Took doctor all of 1 minute.. we can only imagine what a real injury would have cost.

I get medical travel insurance for the same reason I have homeowner's insurance--I expect and hope that my house won't burn down, but if it does, I'd be financially devastated, so I prefer to insure against that possibility. Same thing with a major medical problem overseas. Whether it's a medical issue like a heart attack or an accidental injury like getting hit by a car, the costs would be huge and I don't want to take the chance.

On the other hand, I don't bother with trip cancellation insurance. I don't sign up for prepaid tours or cruises, and the hotels I book almost always allow cancellation in advance. Worst case scenario I might have to buy an expensive new airline ticket (if, say, the airline went belly up and other airlines refused to honor my tickets) or even cancel the trip. That would be a shame but it wouldn't financially ruin me like hundreds of thousands of medical bills could.

I think most people fail to get medical/evacuation insurance because they don't know it exists, they are assuming or hoping that bad things won't happen to them, or they have no assets and assume that they can just go bankrupt if they incur medical debt. None of those apply to me, which is why I don't travel without medical coverage.

Carroll, usually this topic incites more debate. I'm firmly in the pro-insurance camp. Always bought it, never needed it. But the cost of a medical evacuation can easily hit $50-$75K, and then there's the cost of the treatment overseas which is seldom covered by US insurance.

It's like wearing a seat-belt; I've gone years without an accident and have never been in one where I would have needed it (knock on wood). But I don't want to take the chance of someday needing it and having it hanging useless next to me.

I've never purchased medical/evacuation insurance (nor trip cancellation insurance, but that's a different subject) and always swore I wouldn't unless I were in some "risk" category (elderly, known medical issue, travelling to a high-risk area, etc). However, based on the replies posted above I might actually at least look into it for my next trip abroad. If it's truly inexpensive it might be worth the peace of mind. That whole risk/cost equation always tips toward the insurer (obviously), but if priced right and has the right terms it might be worth it.

Check all details of any policy before you buy, just like any other insurance. Read the fine print to make sure you are getting what you think you are buying. I can't stand insurance companies, until I need them. Then I love them. Just like attorneys.

Regardless, have a great trip, wherever you go.

Also, it would be nice to hear from some folks who have not only purchased this insurance, but have actually used it. Thinking you're protected is one thing; being protected is another (that old fine print thing again). Can anyone add some first-hand reports to this discussion?

We never bought insurance until last year, because our HMO will reimburse for emergency treatment. However, my daughter works in the field of education abroad; and her tales of what medical evacuation costs convinced me that we need to be covered. Last year we purchased a reasonably priced package from Global Travel Shield, an AMEX affiliate. This year they are offering the features "ala carte." The prices vary by amount of coverage and your age. We chose $100,000 medical/dental/evacuation coverage for $60/pp (2 over 70's) and $1000 for baggage loss for another $20/pp. I liked being able to select the components and levels I want without buying those I don't need.

Years ago I fell in Mexico and suffered a horrific open fracture of my leg. My insurance company here in the U.S. would not medically evacuate me since the injury was not considered life threatening. Since I did not take out travelers insurance on this trip (always did when I went to Europe) I spent a week in a Mexican hospital and had two surgeries there. I'm a very athletic, healthy person but accidents can and do happen when you least expect it! To make matters worse, I was traveling solo.

If you are a member of AAA - they have some good cheap plans. I've never even thought of buying anything but I didn't realize the cost of a medical evacuation was so expensive