Recommendations for a GOOD RELIABLE Travelers Insurance Company

The first question is ------ What do you want to insure????? And what is the total value of what you want or need to insure? If you look closely most of the problems with travel insurance is that the person made assumptions about what was covered. And, more importantly, what is not covered. Insurance is fairly precise.

One challenge is some people will report good results with a particular company while others will report poor results with the same company. I'm not sure that there is any company that you can be assured with always pay all claims.

Here is my approach. First I determined what coverage I already had through my credit card. In my case it is excellent coverage for trip interruption, trip cancellation, lost luggage, etc. and I feel confident that I could use it. It would cover most of any non-refundable travel costs. Next, I confirmed what was covered under my existing medical insurance plan (medicare advantage). I have coverage for urgent and emergency care anywhere in the world. I am good with that. That left coverage that would get me home in a medical emergency. I signed up for Medjet, a medical evacuation company.

Your needs and existing coverage may vary from mine, but the need to assess what is already covered and determine what additional costs you want covered is the same. Once you know what you want to cover it will help steer you to the correct company.

Most of those who have been not been happy with the travel insurance claim process from various companies either complain about the length of time to process the claim or a denied claim for a non-covered event. Knowing what your policy actually covers is important. Don't just assume that covers certain situations without checking in advance. People who are satisfied are less likely to leave reviews than those who feel they have been cheated, so take reviews with a grain of salt.

We use TravelGuard. They have paid two large claims in one month’s time. Both claims were for trip cancelations due to hospitalizations and unexpected surgeries. No hassles.

Just to prove my point about some people having good experiences and others bad....... One forum poster lost quite a bit of money when the travel agent she paid for her trip turned out to be a fraudster. Long story, but in the end Travel Guard did not pay her claim and she simply lost all her money. That is where reading the fine print really matters. They may cover some claims without any difficulty, but others may fall outside of what they consider the scope of the coverage. Reading the coverage carefully is so important. No expects that they will have to deal with fraud from a travel provider and I still feel very sorry for that poster.

You can search for this in the search bar - as it is brought up at least once every couple of weeks.

If you are able to get USAA, they have the best - They use Travel Insured. They offer 2 International options.

If not, and you're an AAA member, they offer a good policy through Allianz.
Insuremytrip.com offers good comparison. Just be sure you are comparing apples to apples. My brother was killed in a wreck here in America while we were in Europe - we flew home last minute, all reservations and plans were canceled without issue and we were reimbursed for all losses.
Another time, my appendix ruptured one day before we were to go to Wyoming - all flights and all reservations were easily canceled without issue.
Our friend fell and broke her ankle in Germany and they flew her back home.

Many negative reports are based on claims that were denied because of unrealistic expectations, or false assumptions.. You need to understand exactly what is covered and what is not..

In the case that Carol now Retired mentioned, the claim was denied because fraud and criminal activity were excluded from the insurance coverage. That was very unfortunate for the person who was defrauded, and it seems unfair. . . But it is fairly standard in insurance policies. As is an exclusion for losses resulting from pandemics. Many travel insurance companies now offer “covid coverage”, but you need to read and understand exactly what is included.

Another person posted here about their claim for covid-related expenses being denied. They thought it was so wrong because they bought a policy that covered covid. But their situation was this: they were on a Rick Steves tour when they tested positive. They were required to leave the tour and isolate, but the pro-rated cost of the tour days they lost was refunded. Their claim for reimbursement for the extra costs of lodging, food, and transportation was denied because the cost of the tour for those days was refunded. So there was no insured actual loss. I know it sounds unfair, but if what they insured was the cost of the RS tour, and that was refunded for the days they had to leave the tour, then that was all they were due.

So you really need to look closely at the policy and consider what you want covered.

We have had 2 good experiences with claims that were promptly paid for cancellation due to our or our travel partners being injured or too sick to travel. Both involved travel in Canada, and one was insured with Berkshire Hathaway , but I do not recall the other.

I have used Travel Guard numerous times. I have had a couple of circumstances that required me to make a claim, and these were handled fairly and promptly.

Generali Global Assistance has comprehensive travel insurance coverage in its 3 policies. Generali is also a reputable company.

“If you are able to get USAA, they have the best”

Thank you ChinaLake, i did not know that and i have USAA.

I am very sorry about your brother. That must have been horrendous. My condolences.

I filed a claim and was paid in 2 weeks. The travel company I used has since been bought by another, so I am not mentioning it's name as a recommendations

HOWEVER I did learn some things about filing a claim.

1. Have a copy of your coverage with you (either on a device or printed up) My brother-in-law (Rick) who was traveling with us had a printed copy (2008 we didn't use our devices as much). When the accident happened, he immediately pulled it out and read what we needed to do. There were some very specific instructions (get a police report, call and begin the claim immediately, etc.) We followed them to a T. I have lost count of how many bad reviews I have read that started with..."we called when we returned home" or something similar.

2. Rick's second piece of advice: Your best chance of getting the claim paid is when you first mail it off. Once it is rejected once, it will be even more difficult. Take the time to have EVERYTHING they are asking for and that you have dotted every i and crossed every t. I didn't have a police report but included witness statements about the accident and why we didn't have one and the insurance company still paid. Once again, I have read bad reviews where people say "They wanted more information about... but we sent it but they still have not responded".

3. Have a "wise Rick" travel with you

A lot of getting a claim paid depends on you.

I've used squaremouth.com and insuremytrip.com to search for and compare travel insurance companies. Forbes rates travel insurance companies and makes recommendations for the "best of" in various categories, depending on your needs, such as, lost baggage and personal belongings, trip interruption or cancellation, medical coverage, medical and non-medical evacuation, and repatriation back to the US. I've purchased John Hancock, Seven Corners, AXA, and Travelex. I've never made a claim but I always take time to read the fine print and call to get questions answered before making my purchase. I am on medicare and have never heard of any medical coverage provided outside the US or US territories through a medicare plan.

I’ve used many but i’ve only had one claim and that was with AXA. They were exceptional and fast. All i did was send in receipts for 2 doctor visits and 4 prescription meds and a check was in the mail to me immediately, no questions asked.

Have you checked out Travelinsurance.com?
I just paid a deposit for a big trip next year to a part of the world that could be iffy, so I bought travel insurance for the first time. I too was at a loss and didn't want to to get ripped off by companies that wouldn't pay or had too many hoops to jump through. I found this site to be very good and when I called their 800 number, got a very helpful and knowledgeable person. He suggested a company based on our needs and parameters. There was no mark up. I would've paid the same if I had gone to the insurer's website. I have no problem paying a commission for someone's expertise.

We had an Allianz policy for a trip to Spain in November and filed a claim for a missed connection Miami to Seattle on the return home. At the time of the missed connection, I had no idea if they would pay. We spent the night in the airport because our rebooked flight was an early morning flight the next day. They did pay the claim, $100 a day per person without receipts. It would have been $200 each with receipts but our extra costs were not $200 each. Even though I submitted itinerary info, boarding passes, screenshots of late flights, etc they did ask for extra documentation, a letter from the airlines confirming reason for the missed flight, email with our original purchase. It took about 3 weeks and seemed like they were asking for duplicate info, but they did pay $200 exactly what the policy stated.

We also have USAA and buy our trip insurance through the,. They have an option where you can make that coverage primary, which we do.

I am on medicare and have never heard of any medical coverage provided outside the US or US territories through a medicare plan.

If you have a Supplemental Medicare Plan, you may have some coverage. Under my wife’s and my plan, we each have $50,000 lifetime coverage for medical issues outside of the USA.

Thank you everyone! Lots of great info to sift through! I will call my insurance co. tomorrow and start from there!
Can't wait for our trip!
With gratitude,
Sheila