Do buy insurance for your RS Tour?

We always buy trip insurance for any tours or cruises. For independent travel we only buy medical evacuation insurance and add the airline change fees too. We have had to cancel and make a claim twice, fully refunded by the trip insurance..

There are many threads on this topic. My perspective...medical expenses and related evacuation are the biggest potential expenses. Further, I read the fine print as to trip interruption and cancellation coverage via one of my credit cards, which was much more extensive and generous than I imagined and any shortfalls are manageable and a tiny magnitude compared to medical/evacuation. Comparing possible insurance policies, via websites such as squaremouth (my preferred site) and insuremytrip, is easy. Short answer...you must do some research.

I have taken 14 RS tours (soon to be 16) and I have always purchased travel insurance ever since I went on Medicare which does not cover me in Europe. RS tours provides insurance for the cost of its tours for a variety of events. I have purchased Travel Guard insurance after investigating "insuremytrip" web site and at the recommendation of a RS employee. I have never made a claim, thank goodness, so I can not testify as to TG's settlements. I make sure to include medical evacuation in my policy as well as taking out an umbrella coverage add-on which is inexpensive to what it provides. Now if I was the one to have hit that huge lottery prize down in Florida, I might have second thoughts.

The RS tour itself does not really need insurance, in my opinion. If you have to cancel before the final payment is due, all funds can be moved to a new tour including all discounts so you don't really lose anything as long as you can take a different tour in the same year. A couple years ago I had to do that and they worked with me to save my deposit and even refunded the single supplement.

But your plane tickets should be insured unless you buy fully refundable tickets. Check your credit card benefits. Many have tour cancellation coverage and travel interruption benefits to cover this.

Medical is a whole different thing. Yes, you need medical coverage when you travel as most plans you have here in the US do not cover you outside the country. I also have repatriation coverage which covers flying you back home in case you have a major injury or other medical situation that would not allow you to fly on a regular commercial plane. I have never used any of the medical coverage I bought, but the knowledge that I am covered helps me sleep better at night. Could you afford $50,000 out of pocket to get treated and then moved home?

I do not buy trip cancellation insurance. Mostly, I could change dates or have my money refunded should I need to cancel. Regardless, the loss of the cost of a trip is self insurable for me. What I don't want to self-insure are large medical expenses and evacuation costs. I do buy medical insurance, and I buy evacuation insurance to the hospital of my choice.

We’ve never insured any of our RS tours. One time we did have to cancel (two days before the tour began) and they rolled over our payment to another tour later in the year. It’s been several years, so I’m not sure, but I assume we lost our tour deposit. They even honored our tour discount for the new tour. The airline gave us a voucher for our fare, although we did have to pay a change fee. If we had paid $300 each in insurance for our tours, we would have paid $13,800. Our Medicare policy does cover us out of the country (and has paid a number of times) and we do carry an annual medical evacuation policy.

I think that purchasing insurance needs to be a very individual decision. Your financial situation and your tolerance for loss need to be considered. If it’s a trip of a lifetime, I’d definitely insure. If you’re traveling two times every year, maybe it’s not so necessary. There’s really no right answer for everyone.

It's a good question. And my answer has changed a lot over the years.

The first time I booked an overseas tour (not RS), I bought trip insurance, mainly thinking about the cancellation part. What if something happened and I couldn't make the trip?

Since then, I have started looking at trip insurance a little differently. What can you afford (or not afford) to lose if something major happens?

Trip cancellation - does your tour cover this already? Then there's no need to purchase it.
Health insurance - does your current policy cover you worldwide? Ours can't seem to answer the question, which always prompts me to buy something for the trip.
Repatriation - THIS is the single most expensive item you may face if you are injured or become seriously ill while abroad. Many airlines won't take ill patients if you want to go home, and a private flight has to be arranged for you and yours. Insurance to cover this cost is the best use of your money, IMO.
Flight delay/interruption/cancellation - this one varies. It depends on how much status you have with an airline and how flexible you are willing to be. My best hedge for this one is to book my arrival 1-2 days before my tour starts. That way, I can adjust to any jet lag, BUT if the flights are delayed/late, I have a built in cushion before my tour starts.

Many credit cards offer some travel insurance. You'll have to check your cards to see what's available. I know that my Citi card covers a heck of a lot that I didn't realize it covered. That alone is a significant savings for me.

Bottom line - insurance is always a gamble between what is and what could be. It comes down to your risk tolerance and how much money you have to spend/lose if something goes wrong.

We have the GAS tour in May this year and I did not insure it but did insure our plane tickets. And our credit card gives surprisingly good insurance for trips.

Funny story. I always, always buy the insurance. Except last year, when I decided to skip it and save the money. I was midway through my RS Spain tour and found out that my flight home was cancelled and all of the airports in my state were closed due to hurricane Irma. So I flew to Newark and toured New York City for 3 days before going back home to Florida. I didn't end up spending a whole lot more than the cost of the insurance. It was just kind of ironic.

The insurance can easily run $300 + to cover a trip.

As others have said, it all depends what risks you are trying to insure against. RS is going to be pretty good about moving your payment to another tour or maybe you just lose the deposit (depending on when you have to cancel). Even with the relatively steep ticket change prices airlines charge you can still save most of that expense. So I'm not really worried about the trip expense.

What I am worried about is running up a 25K medical bill if I get hit by a Vespa or it turns out those Lipitor pills aren't as effective as I hoped. So we buy trip insurance and set the trip value to 0, just to get the medical coverage. Usually around $75 apiece for a lot of coverage ($500K or better).

We always buy at least medical evacuation insurance. The past few years we have flown American on miles and they have always offered insurance for a very reasonable price. Last year it was $28 to cover our entire trip: flights, RS tour, medical, medical evacuation, etc.

I have flown Air France the past few trips. They offer very reasonably priced travel insurance with their airline tickets. It is much cheaper than buying the insurance separately. My main concern is having medical evacuation included. However, I noticed that the insurance isn't for flying me back home but to the nearest appropriate medical care, or wording to that effect. So, it seems if I had a heart attack I would have to do some recovering in Europe before I could fly home. Better stay healthy!

Swan, Look at Medjet Assist. They fly you to the hospital of your choice, in other words, home, as soon as you are stable...not to the nearest hospital of their choice.

Last year I went on my first RS Tour and did buy comprehensive travel insurance through Allianz. So glad I did. We were flying out of Houston at the time of Hurricane Harvey. Allianz reimbursed the entire amount we paid to change our flight. While in Haarlem, The Netherlands, I ended up at the medical center and in ICU overnight due to an allergic reaction and high fever. Because I was out of the country, my healthcare provider expected me to pay the hospital and ambulance in Europe for the care I received, and only then would they review my claim and possibly reimburse me. The insurance company was so easy to work with and paid the bill in full directly to the hospital and ambulance company. I may never have to file a claim again, but in my opinion, the insurance cost was a small price to pay for peace of mind. As far as insurances go, I have heard great things about Travel Guard and will use them for our next RS Tour. Do compare companies and know what you are paying for. Everyone has different needs.