Travel insurance

Travel health insurance is different than a trip cancellation insurance. Which one do you mean?

The actual tour come with cancellation/interruption ...per the tour site. So how much insurance in addition to what is supplied...do we need to buy ...additional interruption insurance, if already on trip what is the Rick Steves interruption insurance for?

Janelle, if the tour itself has trip cancellation/interruption insurance then you don't have to buy that, however if you are going to spend time on your own before or after your tour, then you may want to cover that too, but it's not totally necessary (unless you're going to be there for some time). The only other insurance to be aware of is health insurance. Be sure you know what your home policy covers or doesn't cover when you're abroad. Whether or not you buy add'l health insurance is totally up to you. Personally I do becuase it gives me peace of mind as I don't have a lot of money to fork over if something drastic were to happen to me while traveling. However, many on this board don't find it a necessity. Up to you, whatever makes you comfortable.

Most people would recommend a travel health insurance that includes repatriation as very few home insurances cover this while you are abroad. And should you get sick or have an accident the cost can be in the 5 or even 6 figures for treatment and/or flying you back home. The cost of your actual tour is minimal compared to this.

Travel health insurance is cheap. There's no reason not to get one. Mine cost something around $20 for 15 days. You can apply for an insurance through any travel agency.

We have used "American Express Travel Insurance" for eight years now. You call them about two weeks before your are leaving on your trip. Then you are furnished with all the paperwork and ID cards. You start paying on the day you start the coverage. It isn't a big deal, as the amount charged is very inexpensive. Then when you return from your trip, you notify "American Express Travel" and they cancel your coverage. We had to make two claims, after returning from Australia. We were immediately reimbursed.

Sean, would you be good enough to tell us the name of the insurance company that sold you travel insurance for 15 days for $20 ? I think everyone on this board could benefit from this in formation.

I will share this valuable information upon request. I don't so spam advertising.

That is not spam advertising. It is call sharing information which everyone does on many subjects - best restaurants, best hotels, tour guides, etc. And why purchase through a travel agency if you are not using their services for other travel items.

Have you tried to find an explanation for RS coverage elsewhere on this web site, like in the "Tours" section or by filling in the "Search" box in the upper right had corner of this page? I also see that the RS web site related to tours lists a phone number to call for "Tour Questions".

Spoke with Rick Steve's office. Have an clear understanding.:-)

Norma, go to http://www.squaremouth.com/ which is one of the online resellers of trip insurance. On the pulldown answer to "should this quote include trip cancellation insurance" answer no. You will get quotes that provide medical coverage, in some cases trip delay and lost baggage, and they will be inexpensive. I used this recently for a trip and I think my premium for $1 million medical and evacuation was around $30.

try "American Express Travel Insurance"..It allows you to customize it.

Sean, I'd like to know. This is my request. Please share.

Bad news on Amex travel insurance. As of Monday, they aren't issuing any. I found that out when I called Tuesday. However, following the advice posted here, I went to Squaremouth. I was interested only in the medical evacuation/ repatriation, but that comes bundled with several other features. I filtered out trip cancellation, which I think is one of the very expensive options. Anyway, I was presented with 35 choices ranging from $70 to over $600 for two 70+ ers. On a whim, I called to ask if there were differences I was missing among the 5 (low-cost) offerings, and what advantages might come from the high-end policies. The agent I spoke to was very straightforward. He told me what they all offer is much the same, except for the limit on evacuation. $100,000 is considered adequate; no one needs $2,000,000. On his recommendation, I bought the $70(for 2) policy, which has a $150,000 limit. BTW, for anyone who's trying to make their way through the insurance labyrinth, we are covered for emergency medical treatment by our medicare supplement, so I didn't pay attention to that part. I don't know what the limit is in the travel policy; but for others, it might be an important aspect to consider.

Making a copy. Your numbers are good and seem more realistic than some of the earlier numbers that were thrown around. Thanks for doing the work.

Frank, I don't think my numbers were unrealistic. Rosalyn bought insurance for 2 persons for $70. That means it's $35/person. Still very cheap in my opinion.

I just checked my daughter's policy that she bought from Insure My Trip this last year. She's 20, and a month in Nepal for medical and evac, up to 100K, cost her $26.00 She didn't pick up the hazardous or athletic activity because she wasn't trekking.

That is amazing. It would cost many times that in Canada.

Rosalyn, I agree, thanks for doing leg work and posting your findings. Really Sean, based on the info in your PM back to me, it might be best if you didn't continue to contribute to the insurance discussion. Thank you.

Pam, tactfully put. Well done.

Pam, I think that many rookie travelers will go to bed a little less ignorant tonight, knowing that travel insurance can be affordable. Rosalyn and Karen proved me right. If that's not contribution, I don't know what is.

Just to underline a couple of points . . .I used the word, "labyrinth," advisedly, because it's very hard to make good decisions about insurance. There are many legitimate factors involved in a price, e.g., age of travelers, length of trip, destinations, and options included. There's also obscure and confusing language. I stated and want to emphasize that we didn't want trip cancellation and don't need emergency medical treatment coverage. For those reasons, we chose the least expensive policy that offered med.evac. and repatriation. Others, who have prepaid big ticket items, or whose health insurance stops at the U.S. borders, would need to scrutinize the level of coverage for those features.

Thank you for the clarification. Important that all the comparisons are made between apples and apples and not apples and oranges.

Nigel, go to HTH Travel Insurance and check out their TravelGap Voyager plan. They are quoting: $30 for a medical limit of $1,000,000 $16 for a medical limit of $50,000 This is for two-week trip for someone aged 27 years. I guess it's more expensive for older people. Here's the link: http://www.hthtravelinsurance.com/purchase/quote/quote_upd.cfm

Michael, check out WorldNomads.com They're quoting $138 for a 2-week trip for a couple under 67 years. Follow this link http://www.worldnomads.com/afturnstile.aspx?affiliate=LNYPLT&utm_source=LNYPLT&utm_medium=Affiliate&subid=home&utm_content=Quick-Quote&utm_term=QQ--English&utm_campaign=QQEnglish&country=USA&startday=1&startmonth=10&startyear=2013&duration=2w&typeofpolicy=couple I think it's best to compare insurance companies and see what plan works for you.

3 days ago in response to a request for Sean to share where he got his Travel Insurance for $20, he responded, "I will share this valuable information upon request". 24 hours later, after I noticed this thread which interested me, I asked too. I still haven't seen an answer, despite a few other contributions to this thread by Sean. You're right, Sean, it is valuable information. Valuable to all the people who read this thread and want to buy their insurance at a low price with a good benefit. That's all the people who never write in but read. Please share, as you offered.