Travel Insurance

We usually only pre-pay our airline tickets and a couple of non refundable hotels and that is what I insure (it is usually about $1500.00 per person) I actually recommend insuring the airline tickets. I tried that "getting a credit and using it later" and it didn't work out that well for me. There were huge fees, you had to use the credit within a year, etc. Since I am buying the insurance, I would just as soon include the portion that is my airline ticket. I highly recommend CSA travel insurance. They are the only company I have actually filed a claim with and I was 100 per cent satisfied. To answer your original question: insure the whole trip for the parts that are non-refundable and therefore at risk. (If you have to go home after 2 days, but you will not be charged for any hotels you can cancel, why insure that part?)

Although I had never purchased travel insurance before, I purchased a comprehensive yet inexpensive policy from Travelex for a recent trip to Spain, primarily to cover the cost of four non-refundable airline tickets. The tickets themselves were quite cheap, but the change fee was $250 each, plus the difference in fare. With the spread of H1N1 last fall, I didn't want illness derailing a trip and costing me alot of money. So, I purchased a basic plan that covered trip cancelation/interruption, medical, medical evacuation, and alot more for 3.8% of the total trip cost. In my case, the entire cost of the tickets and pre-paid hotel were covered. I thought it money well spent for peace of mind.

It depends. If you have to prepay for the trip (including airfare), you'd want to insure it all, if you mean for trip cancellation or delay. Trip medical insurance should cover the time period of the whole trip. I have only insured for trip cancellation once, for a prepaid tour. Otherwise, I just up my med evac insurance, since my regular health insurance covers me in Europe already.

I always get medical and evacuation insurance through www.imglobal.com as my insurance does not cover me outside of the US. Usually do a $2500 deductible along with $100,000 coverage. They offer trip insurance, however, I personally think it's not worth it.

Because I carry tripod with me to Europe, I check my bag. So, the last time I traveled I also took advantage of extra insurance for a lost bag. IT wasn't pricy. I was fine, but it was piece of mind. Pam

I found that many policies offer a “cancel for any reason” option with a higher premium, but there are rules and restrictions. Check online and/or call two or three carriers and inquire about this add on as it relates to your concern. You can even ask them to e-mail a copy of the policy (contract) so you can read through all the legal details before you buy if you prefer to see it in writing first. Travelex did this at my request…no problem. . For me, the cancelation/interruption coverage offered with the basic plan covered illness, so I didn’t need to purchase a “cancel for any reason” supplement.

I've been thinking about travel insurance for my upcoming trip, too.

This is mainly because I need to apply for visas to my destinations, and if I find a good fare beforehand, I'd like to be able to cancel my airfare in case I don't get a visa for whatever reason. The policy descriptions I have read thus far don't really specify whether or not they cover immigration-based cancellations though...any travel insurance pros out there?

My wife and I are under age 55, and we purchased travel insurance for our trip to Ireland last Aug. My wife slipped on a rock and fell in the deserted village north of Westport, and broke her arm and shoulder. The policies for both of us was $98.00 total. We collected an upgrade to 1st class for her (mine would have been $3000.00...yes they offered it to me for that amount) The upgrade was per Drs. orders. They also paid all of our other out-of-pocket medical expenses while in Ireland. It was way worth having, and I would never consider going again without it.