Travel insurance

Depends. Does it fully cover anything besides your flights? Hotels? Other pre booked expenses? Medical? Preexisting medical conditions? Evacuation? Trip interruption? The details are the most important part of any insurance policy.

We now have an annual travel policy, but before that we purchased the full coverage we needed for each trip from a travel insurance broker. Have a look a insuremytrip or squaremouth to see policies with the coverage you need.

We always use Travel Insured and get the worldwide trip protector policy that covers everything we need. They are great to work with, and we have never had an issue when a claim was made.

https://www.travelinsured.com/agency/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIioLKtPG2_AIVPxPUAR3kCwJwEAAYAiAAEgLANPD_BwE

JR Texas, when you say you've used Travel Insured, I think that's the same we use (with available discounts through USAA.( I'm just curious because that's the one we've been using for a few years. Last year we got the annual multi trip protector plan (with USAA discount it was about $85/person?) and we added optional trip plans for our 2 international trips. You mentioned having made claims through it, I'm curious about that experience. Our current multi trip plan expires 3 days before the end of our upcoming trip to Italy and I want to add optional coverage for that trip plus renew our annual membership. I haven't figured out how to do that yet but I'm assuming it's pretty straight forward.

We've used trip insurance through USAA--can't remember the name, I think it changed once over the 3 trips we took between 2010 & 2017. And, without looking it up, I believe for $5000 in coverage, which at the time included air, hotel, medical, cost around $150 per trip. Never used it, more a piece of mind than anything else. Will probably book it again this coming October.

But...listening to a radio show last night and some travel expert said that since Covid, it's a different ballgame, coverages have changed, not for the better, and it's best to talk to an agent on the phone than book it online, unless you can get all the coverages totally itemized.

American Airlines doesn’t cover medical evacuation, so I didn’t purchase it. I have never had travel insurance before, so I’m a little lost. From what I’m reading, it seems like I need trip cancellation and interruption ( to especially cover cancellations of Air BnB) medical and medical evacuation. Medicare is my primary, so that’s not going to cover anything and my secondary may not as a secondary out of the country. I’ll call them and ask. I don’t need theft. Am I thinking correctly?

If you do a search for travel insurance on the RS, there have been many posts about it. What may be good for one person may not be right for another. I would do a search then look at the sites that compare the different insurances and read the fine print.

Kathyw, you're right Medicare doesn't cover you outside of the US. Your Medicare supplement may cover you. You will need to verify if it does. My Part F provides $50,000 Lifetime benefit.

Here are a few websites to research travel insurance. You will need to read the policies' fine details before deciding.
https://www.insuremytrip.com/
Squaremouth
https://medjetassist.com/ (evacuation only)
https://www.geobluetravelinsurance.com/ (medical only)
https://www.allianztravelinsurance.com/find-a-plan (This is what I bought because of their Covid coverage. Plus I bought Medjet because it will get me home instead of to the nearest facility.)

Hope this helps. Enjoy your trip!

EDIT: I forgot to add that I bought an annual policy since I have two trips within a year. Some coverage amounts are for the life of the policy and others are per trip.

Here is our host's take on this topic. Insuremy trip and Squaremouth (links provided above) are good way to explore travel insurance options. It can be complicated, but doesn't have to be if you're not overly concerned about pre-existing conditions or a tour company going belly-up. I expect the coverage the airline offers is just related to your flights. I'd suggest additional coverage for risks like an illness or injury just before the trip, delays that make you miss flights or connections, and big medical costs that your regular insurance won't cover. Premiums are usually based on length of trip and your age. Policies covering pre-existing conditions cost more. Insurance is good to have but not worth obsessing over too much.

That said, I'll point out that several of us in this forum have experienced ridiculous delays in claim processing by AIG Travel Guard. Only intervention by state insurance commissioners' offices has gotten this company's attention.

EDIT -- Also, keep in mind that you may not need insurance to cover the entire value of your trip. You can save premium cost by limiting your coverage to something less than the entire cost of the trip. Ask yourself, "If I broke my leg at home the day before this trip, how much would I lose in non-refundable costs I've already paid?" Then subtract an amount you'd be willing to lose, in that unlikely event, if you want to pay a lower premium.

Also, keep in mind that you may not need insurance to cover the entire value of your trip.

Dick, as always, the exact language of the policy is important. The company I use the most, Travelex, specifically requires that if you are buying cancellation insurance, you must cover the full cost of the trip. That means that they can deny the claim if they find out that you lost more than they are paying you.

Okay, you're going to hide that from them, because rules are for losers. But: they will require a denied request for reimbursement from the resort or tour company (which is not an unreasonable requirement), and that is going to reveal ... your little secret.

How do I know this? When I paid $75 for a cruise ship doctor consultation, I was told that they would not pay it unless I submitted a (denied) Medicare claim. (Because Medicare doesn't usually cover out-of-the-country care.) Of course, they were hoping I would give up and save them $75. I'd never prepared a Medicare claim (I mean, in my hand, on my desk) in my life!

Dick, as always, the exact language of the policy is important. The
company I use the most, Travelex, specifically requires that if you
are buying cancellation insurance, you must cover the full cost of the
trip. That means that they can deny the claim if they find out that
you lost more than they are paying you.

Okay, you're going to hide that from them, because rules are for
losers. But: they will require a denied request for reimbursement from
the resort or tour company (which is not an unreasonable requirement),
and that is going to reveal ... your little secret.

How do I know this? When I paid $75 for a cruise ship doctor
consultation, I was told that they would not pay it unless I submitted
a (denied) Medicare claim. (Because Medicare doesn't usually cover
out-of-the-country care.) Of course, they were hoping I would give up
and save them $75. I'd never prepared a Medicare claim (I mean, in my
hand, on my desk) in my life!

Tim--

Great answer, and you being persnickety (or anal-retentive, depending on your purview--consider it a compliment!) will definitely make me investigate Travelex for our upcoming trip this fall.

As I've said upthread, in 3 previous trips I've used whatever trip insurance USAA--who I have all my policies with--offered out. Do you think USAA gives me an extra level of coverage just because I do so much business with them? Bottom line is all about getting claims settled with a minimum of BS, right? And yes, I'm Medicare-worthy as well...

Pre-covid, I bought trip insurance and it didn't pay me for the loss due to lockdowns. Maybe "acts of God", or of man, aren't covered

Ask!
I will, this next trip.

Sanomh
Yes we had great coverage with Travel Insured and got our policy through USAA. We got coverage for COVID in case anyone had to quarantine and I believe it payed a specific amount per day per person which was more than we would have spent. We also had to make a claim in October because of an air traffic controllers strike in Italy. Our flight out of Rome to Paris was cancelled, and getting another flight the next day was impossible. We decided to train to Milan that evening, get a hotel, then train to Paris the next morning to make our reservations for Paris. Travel Insured covered the cost of the train tickets, the hotel in Milan and the loss of a night in Rome. They were easy to work with and the process easy as well. When choosing our plan, we made sure COVID coverage was included as well as medical insurance since ours would not work overseas. Used them twice this past year, and every trip before for the last 12-15 years.

Do you think USAA gives me an extra level of coverage just because I do so much business with them?

Jay, when I called Travelex (about the definition of "Pre-Existing Condition"), the phone bank person clearly could see that I was a "regular customer." But I think it is naive to believe that the average insurance company actually WANTS to pay out a nickel in claims. They did not proactively offer to waive the demand for a denied Medicare claim just because I've spent thousands of dollars with them. That would have been my only, about $100, loss on a trip that I spent over $1000 in premiums for. And they knew that Medicare would never pay for services in Asia.

Now that I'm over 70, the premiums are steeper. No discount for frequent customers!

That would have been my only, about $100, loss on a trip that I spent
over $1000 in premiums for.

Ay Caramba! (or 'MARRONE!!!' in the correct vernacular) A grand in premiums?!

I can see I'd better do some current research. Trip's 9 months off but never too soon to get on it. Pre-existing? Other than being & feeling old (65, wife's 67) and somewhat less ambulatory because of a bum hip, I guess not. Would (treated with meds) high BP and (treated with Bi-Pap) sleep apnea qualify as pre-existing?

SOME plans include language that a treated condition that has been stable for x years won't affect a claim. Of course, a plan with lax-er rules like that will have higher premiums. That's what insurance underwriting consists of! You don't get better coverage for free.

Note that most policies, like most retirement investment plans, have a page of Defined Terms and Definitions. Sometimes, these can answer your questions about words (often, with initial capital letters) in the policy.

As you know, the Pandemic produced a lot of disappointed customers. Now that some plans do cover Covid cancellations, they have to cost more. (See last sentence in first paragraph.)

No one seems to have mentioned that many of our credit cards provide trip insurance of various levels. And I think the high end travel cards such as Chase Sapphire Reserve cover pretty much everything I've ever seen on travel insurance including evacuation. Correct?

Sorry, I haven’t responded since my original post. My elderly mom fell, she’s fine, and then I got sick.
I called my health insurance and I am covered internationally with medical evacuation to the nearest ER. They will cover 80% of my medical expenses and then if my out of pocket exceeds $3000, they will pay 100%. So, I don’t think I need medical insurance, do you agree? It seems that most policies and comprehensive. Can I get one with trip cancellation, and trip interruption only? FYI: I did read Rick Steves article on health insurance.