Travel insurance… any favorites?!

I use allianz but haven't had to file a claim yet. So, i can't speak to their handling of claims.

https://www.allianztravelinsurance.com/

If you look under the forum Money Saving Strategies, you will find at least 2 posts on the first page asking about travel insurance with multiple answers. Try doing a search, and you will find dozens if not hundreds of posts.

I usually purchase medical evacuation and medical coverage for foreign travel with American Express. It usually costs about $60 for both myself and wife for 3-4 weeks of travel.

I usually purchase the insurance with the airline for tickets and if taking a tour, will purchase the trip cancellation insurance.

I purchased travel insurance with Allianz prior to our RS Tour in June. My husband tested positive for Covid on day 10 of our 14 day tour. I submitted a claim with Alliianz for our out of pocket hotel and food expenses, and 2 weeks later I received a check from them in my account.

Agrotz34. I’m sorry your husband tested positive for Covid. I am glad to hear of the positive experience you had with the claims process since that is the same company I purchased from for my upcoming trip. Thank you for taking the time to share your experience.

I’m sorry if I’m late to this feed, or if someone has already addressed my comment.

Is it just me or is $800-$500 normal for 22 days (Greece) of ins coverage? *I didn’t even factor Turkey into the equation bc it only gave me 1 country option. 😳😬

I clicked on the Allianz link and gave it a try and was shocked to see the quote.

I remember using AIG when I flew to Croatia/Slovenia but it was part of my flight package deal. I think I bypassed the option this time thinking I would just buy separately.

Gee, I think I’m going to have to shop around. 😢

Nova,
The fee will depend on the projected cost of your trip as well as what coverage you select. If you are looking for cancellation at any time coverage, it will be expensive.

Pricing will vary greatly depending on what you need, and what the package offered has. For Allianz and their quick calculator, the biggest factor is the cost of the trip. They base the cost on their greatest risk, and that is trip cancelation. That is fine if you are taking a tour and paying a large sum up front, but if you are an independent traveler, that can be misleading.

The cost of the trip put in should be an estimate of what you would need to be reimbursed for. Write a check on a non-refundable trip for $10,000, then you better cover it. If an independent traveler, with liberal airfare change policies, hotels that can be cancelled with no charge, lots of things payed for there...yeah your trip may "cost" you $10,000 if you went, but if you cancel, maybe you are out less than a $1000, if any. You will not be reimbursed for expenses not actually incurred.

So if you are more concerned about medical and evacuation, get a policy that focuses on that. Covid risks, look for that. Also look at other sources, like airline cancellation policies, Credit card coverage, etc.

*I didn’t even factor Turkey into the equation bc it only gave me 1 country option.

I’ve also been shopping for travel insurance lately, and I’ve found that most of the familiar big name insurance companies cover multiple countries. I believe that you select the country that you’ll spend the most time in for the purposes of the application, but other countries you visit are covered as well. Of course, read the fine print since I’m sure this could vary according to policy/company.

Paul, thank you for your response to the issue of trip insurance. When this topic comes up on the Forum, I read too many responses taking the approach that all travelers need to purchase comprehensive trip insurance. The frequent attitude is that "It's just part of the cost of travel." I don't believe that is necessarily true.

As an independent traveler, I purchase airline tickets and reserve hotels and apartment rentals with the option to reschedule or, in some cases, cancel without penalty. On some trips there is no cost-advantage or need to make advance reservations for on the ground transportation or admissions. Financial commitment in these situations is minimal.

Medical costs are another issue. I have standard Medicare and this pays for medical costs out of the US only under very limited situations. However, my Medicare supplement plans pays 80% after a $250 annual deductible for emergency medical care. I can also submit receipts for prescription medications outside the US. I suspect many people already have similar medical coverage.

What is not covered is the cost of medical transportation. If I were planning a trip to a third world country or to a particularly remote setting, I'd be thinking about the cost of getting to a good hospital. If I'm traveling in most of Europe, I don't think this is a big problem. Medical transportation home to the US is a bigger expense but a far less likely issue. I understand there is insurance just to cover this situation.

The other potential expense is that due to illness, quarantine, or accident, my husband or I need to stay unexpectedly in a location and consequently have to cover lodging and food costs. Again, there is insurance for these situation, if a traveler feels the need to buy it.

If I purchased a group trip or cruise with severe penalties for cancellation, I'd be looking at this differently. I guess my point is that cost and risk management are more complicated than just assuming everyone needs comprehensive trip insurance.

We’ve used Allianz when getting it on our own and AIG when purchasing it at the same time as the flight.

agrotz34, I’m so sorry your husband tested positive for Covid. Hopefully he is now recovered. Thank you for reporting that Allianz covered your expenses and paid promptly.

I bought Allianz AllTrips Premier (annual policy) to cover my September and June trips. I tend to insure for the worse case scenario so my initial cost is more. But divided between two trips it’s affordable. I will also be buying Medjet Horizon, annual policy, for evacuation to get me home.

I have used insuremytrip.com several times. The coverage was great when I had to make a claim. Since I had primary coverage and pre-existing condition waiver, they paid for my business class flight home at last minute due to a hiking injury - $7000 ticket. I also didn’t have to provide medical records release for the rest of my claim.

For my latest trip, I used tripinsurance.com as it was less expensive. I had to use trip interruption insurance and with minimal info they provided my $2k+ ticket home. I had the EZ gold plan thru US Fire - once again primary coverage with pre-existing condition waiver made the claim very easy.