Travel insurance

Should you fall, suffer a severe leg break, and need to be "evacuated" back to the US for recovery, those charges start at $20,000USD---paid in cash. I've heard horror stories about travelers being financially ruined by these charges. I never leave the country without medical/evacuation insurance. I use this company:
www.travelinsure.com

Barbara you can get insurance immediately over internet anytime before travel. If you are thinking about it, get it, the cost is tiny to the peace of mind. I use travelguard, and backed by the full faith and funding of the usa, so can you with confidence.

you can buy medical travel insurance, up to a few days before you leave. you can even do it online with some companies. for a small price you have no worries afterwards.

I can tell you one story where a man had a heart attack while on vacation and he was told he would not be allowed to leave the country he was in, until his hospital bill was paid in full. His sons had to combine money, call in favors, fly in with the money, and pay in the bill in order to bring their father home.

I had tried for years to get my parents to purchase insurance for their travels. It was only after they talked to their friend after he got home and learned first hand his nightmare, did they start purchasing insurance. Not only do they purchase insurance for their big trips. They keep Medjet for small car trips.

we personally know of 3 cases where insurance was needed by people on trips we took-two died and one broke an ankle-enough to convince me to get the insurance with all of our overseas trips-it is a small price to pay for peace of mind

Thanks for all the info everyone. I've decided to get a very basic policy which will include trip cancellation and medical. Peace of mind? Priceless!

you can buy insurance anytime but if it is not purchased within 2 wks of your initial deposit all pre-existing conditions will not be covered. My husband and I never leave the country without insurance. Unfortunately, we have had to use the insurance and Travel Guard was very easy to work with. They told us what we had to do and covered all our expenses. We also had to cancel 2 trips before we ever left and they again reimbursed us. So I think it is worth the extra costs, just think of it as part of the expense of the trip. The cost of the insurance will depend on your age and the type of coverage you want, there are different plans to buy. and the agent will tell you about them.

Will the travel insurance cover trip cancellations due to Swine flu travel restrictions ?

Regarding the swine flu: I asked Travel Guard about that, and they said it would not be covered. Only personal illness or injury. Travel advisory situations would not be covered. Also, I checked with Travel Guard, and their insurance would be "secondary." In other words, my medical would pay whatever they cover, and after that if there was anything left, Travel Guard would cover it up to their limitations. I checked with BC/BS, and they said they would reimburse me, but I would have to pay up front. Also, they said the bills would have to come to them in English. I think I'll just purchase the basic coverage to cover the costs of the trip and $10,000 in medical, just for peace of mind.
Thanks for all your responses!
Barbara

Mala - it depends on the individual insurance company's policies.

Most airlines and hotels at the moment are treating it as a force majeure event aka act of God, and allowing rebooking or cancellation without fees which is really nice. (No need to even get the insurance involved.)