travel insurance

I did a search on TRIP INSURANCE and it brought up about 25 forum threads on the subject. Unfortunately the 'new' search function here does not sort the results by date, nor does it even show the date in the thread title so it can be a little cumbersome.

After you input 'trip insurance' in the search box, uncheck all of the options except FORUMS and click on GO (rather than hitting enter). That usually works for me.

thanks for the info

hi cbrochu30,

$300 for trip insurance? I've purchased plans for various trips and the cost has been $60-$80 range. I've been using http://www.travelguard.com/, but can't speak to how easy/difficult claiming anything would be. I've traveled solo, if that's a reason the cost is lower, too.

These days, I don't try to insure all of the trip cost (the more you want to cover, the more the premium), just a few hundred of nonrefundable $ items and then get the med evac upgrade, which is what I truly want.

Any trip insurance plan is all in the details. Got to read those details.

I just got on that website and the quote I got for the gold coverage was $339. I am guessing it is because of my age (58). I did not add anything to the basic plan.
Claudette (VT)

Nancy, where is the search box?

At the very top of the page-quite obvious when you look for it! I missed it too!
Claudette

We've used Squaremouth for search for insurance policies. You can then filter by what you want/need. For a 2 week trip to the UK, (my husband and I are 56) $4000 trip cost, it's about $170-200 for $50K each for medical and med evac, and then all the cancellation/delay coverage. Your trip cost only needs to cover the amount you are on the hook for if you cancel immediately before your trip, or cut your trip short. So flight, hotels, car rentals, trains, etc. Read the fine print on what is covered or not regarding cancellation, trip interruption, etc.

Also, double check to see what coverage your credit card has. Our United Explorer card has pretty much the same coverage as the policies on square mouth except medical and medical evacuation. So we can buy a policy for $70 without any trip cancellation included.

The squaremouth site makes it really easier to compare 5-6 policies on one page.
Squaremouth

I would suggest you read very carefully the exclusions of any travel insurance you are considering. Almost all policies exclude interruptions or cancellations because of things like war, terrorism, or civil disturbances. I'm not sure how they handle natural disasters, and I would suggest you check very carefully to ensure they are not excluded.

The few times that I've traveled with a group, I've purchased travel insurance because of the very large nonrefundable expense. When I travel on my own, many things can be canceled and refunded, so I typically don't get travel insurance – other than high-quality medical evacuation insurance.

Call your home insurance company to see if they offer a travel insurance package. In the past, when I've purchased travel insurance, I've done so through a bank insurance broker or though CAA (Canadian equivalent to AAA), but I've found it expensive and have often skipped it. For my 3-week European trip earlier this month, I checked with the company I use for home/vehicle insurance, and ended up getting a one-year, multi-trip plan that includes travel medical as well as trip cancellation and interruption insurance for the entire family for far less than what the bank and CAA quoted for a single trip. (This also covers my daughter, who went to England this month, and will cover my son when he goes to Colombia.) It was $183, and $158 of that is tax deductible.

Our trip insurance is usually pricey partly due to our ages (now 66 and 68), our need for pre-existing condition coverage and the number of pre-payments I make.

This year we hit a new issue. Some companies will not honor the insurance at all if the trip, door-to-door, is over 30 days. Of course those that do cover you for over 30 days cost more. Still, compared to the cost of the trip, the price is worth it.

Our previous trips have been under 30, so I guess Insure My Trip never mentioned this little detail. In the future I will keep that in mind and definitely check to be sure that there will be no issues should we need to be gone longer than originally planned for some reason.

We use Travel Guard. On one trip we had an injury and filed a claim for reimbursement when we returned. They paid for everything including the rehab visits after we returned home. They did require documentation, but nothing that was unreasonable. Hope this helps. TC

I always buy insurance and make sure it covers lost baggage, trip cancellation, medical/dental costs incurred while abroad, death while abroad, and medical evacuation insurance. Although I have been fortunate enough to not ever need it, I personally know three people who have had to be evacuated on a medical jet from other countries...it costs as much as a new car or more.
The last few trips, I've found coverage using this website...insuremytrip.com. You enter the basic information about your trip and they give you lots of options from various companies. You can customize based on the specific services you want covered. Seems like I always end up going with Travelguard but there are others that are just as good.
Whatever you end up paying, it's worth it.

If you go to "Travel Tips > Trip Planning > Do I need Travel Insurance" by starting by clicking on the left hand menu, you will find a lengthly article from the RS folks about that subject. I have taken out TI for the last 4 years, since I turned 65 and went onto Medicare that does not cover me in Europe. I started by reviewing the stuff in
InSureMyTrip. From there I settled on Travel Guard which I have used the last 4 years and have never made a claim, thankfully. We do take the option for the $1,000,000 umbrella coverage as it does not add much cost but really jacks up the coverage. To get covered for pre-existing conditions by Travel Guard, you have to take out their policy as soon as you make your first travel payment (airfare?) We have guessed at the total value of our trip just to get a policy opened but you can make any changes later which we often do. We paid $533 for the two of us this year (ages 62 & 68). As others have stated: be sure to read the fine print and ask any questions that you can not find the answers to.

thanks to everyone for the very helpful tips. I will be checking with my credit card company and AAA. I think I received such high quotes because I have decided to splurge on transportation by flying business vs economy.
Claudette

What I want is to be re-reimbursed if another natural (or un-natural) disaster happens and I am required to stay longer than planned (actually would not mind that happening) or can't fly out for whatever reason. I only have 8 nights to play with and 2 travel days. Flights and hotels are reserved. Hotels can be cancelled but not the flight. Med-evac is another issue that I would rather not think about but realize you never know what may happen.

Really read the fine print carefully in that case...a lot of policies will not cover "acts of God" (read natural disasters) or terrorism. Be sure your policy covers them if those are the specific reasons you are purchasing it.

Also -- if flights are grounded due to weather (or volcanic eruptions) doesn't the airline have to provide the service later at no additional cost?? Like others above, i'm more concerned about Medevac costs ... but we are both retired so schedules are flexible and our Medicare supplements DO cover emergency medical/dental outside the U.S.

Medicare does cover emergency medical/dental (as has been stated). We for a few years have gotten travel insurance through Insuremytrip. As a matter of fact, the first year we got it, my husband was hospitalized in France for 3.5 days, and we were very pleased what was paid for. Since we do not tour and take trips on our own, we are not concerned about cancellations - this year we purchased MedJet Insurance since evacuation was our biggest concern.