Travel/trip insurance, Yay or Nay, reviews

I think it depends on what you are looking to have covered. I generally want medical coverage and more importantly medical evacuation/repatriation if something catastrophic happens.

The last time I traveled I was going to get cancel for any reason but the agent ran some numbers for me and I decided it was not worth it. I was taking RS tours and they are pretty good about transferring your money to another tour the next year, my in between hotels were cancellable and airfare was covered by their insurance. Pre-paid train fares didn't add up to much.

I've purchased thru Travel Guard several times but have never had to make a claim.

The question that you really need to ask yourself is if you are prepared to self-insure for all the costs associated with the trip if an unexpected event occurs. If you feel that you could handle such a occurrence financially without it being too distressing, no insurance needed. On the other hand, if you would have a financial hardship covering the costs of a trip that is cancelled or you don't have a spare 100,000 to cover a medical evacuation, perhaps you do need insurance.

The other thing is to closely read the associated materials with the credit card that you purchased the trip with. See what is covered through your credit card and what is not.

I've seen this question asked many time on this forum and have seen people who filed claims report very positive experiences in getting their claims dealt with. Not everyone has a negative experience.

I only buy it if going on a tour, renting a house or apt , and then I add airline change fees to the total. Otherwise it all is canceable.
I use Travel Guard and have made two claims, both 100% refunded in a month from date claim was sent. Both were for unexpected medical emergencies, surgeries. We travel independently most of the time and then do not buy it.

If you go here https://www.insuremytrip.com you can shop for the different packages and compare reviews. Ignore reviews from those that did not have a claim. We buy it to cover medical expenses and evacuation. Important for us to buy coverage that waives pre-existing conditions as we both have them. We have used our insurance twice. Glad we had it and would not travel without it. I don’t think it matters if you are with a tour or traveling independently. The real potential financial damage is a medical emergency serious enough to land you in a hospital, or require evacuation.

I agree with all the wise folks above, and recommend buying travel insurance. With many companies, if you purchase the insurance within 30 days of booking the trip, pre-existing conditions are covered. I noticed that my credit card insurance did not cover pre-existing conditions.
You didn't mention your age, but especially if you're in your Golden Years, I think insurance is a must. I have just known too many friends who had to use it, so were very happy they had coverage.
Safe travels!

If you do buy a policy and something happens, read the policy carefully and follow it to the letter. I have seen complaints about claims not being paid, and often it is because the person did not follow the policies instructions. (There are exceptions of course) The most common one is something happens, the person carries on with their trip, and then files a claim when they get home. I know the one time I had to file a claim, it was clearly stated that I had to contact them immediately to start the claim process. There were other documentation requirements, etc. I followed it to the letter and received my full reimbursement with no problem.

Both my husband and I are in our mid-60’s, very active and healthy, but I would never go on a major trip without trip insurance. Six weeks before our first RS Tour several years ago, we both had injuries that turned out to be minor. Still, at that time I remember thinking how relieved I was to have trip insurance. I always compare companies on the squaremouth website and find good coverage with decent prices. I’m especially interested in medical evacuation. I work in the medical field and know how quickly a medical issue can arise and how expensive medical costs can be. I’ve known several people who became ill on a trip or had other emergencies. Trip insurance gives one peace of mind. Good luck with your decision!

In 30+ years of traveling to Europe, my wife and I have never gotten travel insurance of any kind. That's not to say I would recommend against getting it, but rather just stating a fact.

I've been getting so many mixed comments on travel insurance. I've
been reading some disheartening comments about filing claims, being
paid, and customer service failures. Any suggestions?

Yes.

If you are looking to buy insurance, pay attention only to the reviews in which people have had to file a claim. You need to know if these companies are paying out on claims or are rejecting them. You need to learn how quickly or slowly an insurance company is regarding paying out claims. This is the "customer service" to which you need to pay attention in order to discern from whom to buy an insurance policy.

Reviews that describe how easy it was to buy insurance but never filed a claim are useless to you in terms of determining if this is the right insurance company to buy a policy.

First and foremost, you can always skip the travel insurance if you don't mind losing money if something goes wrong with your trip. If this is an issue for you, then read over the coverage carefully before you purchase a policy. Decide what you can't afford to lose if something goes wrong, and then look at policies that offer the best coverage for that scenario.

I've only had to file one claim, and that was with Travelex for luggage that was delayed (airline issues) for a week while we were in a foreign country. I bought what I needed (clothes, toiletries) and kept the receipts. I filed my claim upon return to the US after my holiday. While it was easy enough to file the claim, they came back twice for more information, including things I'd already previously submitted.

Having said that, it took about two weeks of polite back/forth emails before I received the email telling me that my check was in the mail.

We have never purchased travel insurance. If we did, we would probably only purchase insurance for medical evacuation.

When I had problems with Travel Guard (there's a thread from about 9 months ago so I won't go into it), I went to the BBB's website to search other problems. I'd suggest comparing companies on BBB to see if there is a pattern of non-payment, no one ever compliments a company on BBB.

I had been traveling out of the country for thirty years without trip insurance. That changed three years ago when I watched two different friends deal with the aftermath of a hospitalization and a death in another country. It was a real eye opener. We decided to self insure our trip costs but buy medical and evacuation/repatriation coverage. We have an annual policy with GeoBlue for a very reasonable cost. It has good reviews and I actually learned about it from someone on this forum.

The decision to buy or forego travel insurance, and, if buying, what coverage to get, is a frequent question on this board. Many, and some have posted above, never buy travel insurance and I am assuming have never had an issue traveling. The vast majority of trips happen without incidence, so that is not surprising. The decision to insure or not insure should be made on the basis of willingness to assume financial risk if something bad happens. Many folks forego other insurances throughout life such as disability insurance and never have a problem. But, the few that become disabled and are unable to work are glad if they have this coverage. It’s a choice. Often posters cite coverage through a credit card. That has all sorts of loopholes and much depends on what you’ve charged on the card, or is “pay and chase”- you pay then chase the credit card company for reimbursement. Personally, I would not depend on it. Others cite Medigap policies. These do provide some coverage, but usually not evacuation or transportation-check with your carrier. Travel insurance is an important part of our travel. We want primary coverage, someone we can talk to 24/7, evacuation coverage-all the bells and whistles. Yesterday we booked our RS Sicily tour for 2019. My next call was to insuremytrip.com (we use them as all their customer service representatives are licensed insurance agents so very knowledgable) and we purchased our insurance. But, everyone has different financial priorities and willingness to assume personal risk in case of a catastrophe. Safe travels!

Thank you everyone for your responses. I will look into Squaremouth, GeoBlue, and insuremytrip.com.
I better understand and appreciate the value of medical and repatriation insurance.

Last year I went on my first RS Europe Tour. The company highly recommends that you have a comprehensive travel insurance before traveling. Even though RS Europe works with Travel Guard, there is no pressure to go with that insurance company. Just do your research and consider one. I went with Allianz. Though I purchased it, I didn't think I would actually use it. I ended up submitting a claim for trip interruption due to Hurricane Harvey, then I found myself in ICU (overnight) while in the Netherlands. Allianz paid all my expenses and was very easy to work with using their online website. Yes. You do have to jump through hoops when submitting claims, but it was so worth it in the end - $12,000 BIG ONES!

Thank you Vickie for letting us know about your experience with Allianz.

When I filed a claim with Travel Guard last year, they sited a disclaimer clause. My friend's rejection sited a different clause although it was the same claim reason. When we both disputed the rejections, Travel Guard sited difference clauses to reject the claim. Bottom line was the contract had 4 disclaimers each worded slightly different for the same issue in different parts of the contract. Never again will I use or trust them.

I went with Allianz. Though I purchased it, I didn't think I would
actually use it. I ended up submitting a claim for trip interruption
due to Hurricane Harvey, then I found myself in ICU (overnight) while
in the Netherlands. Allianz paid all my expenses and was very easy to
work with using their online website. Yes. You do have to jump through
hoops when submitting claims, but it was so worth it in the end -
$12,000 BIG ONES!

This is exactly the kind of review Doc needs to read. Doc, it is a waste of time reading reviews from those who never had to file claims.

Vickie, how awful what you went through in the Netherlands. ICU -- I'm so sorry.

I posted the a response above that indicated I had filed a claim and received 100% reimbursement. The company was CSA travel insurance. They have changed their name, and I don't know whether that means they were bought out or what. I did notice prices had increased by quite a bit, and the car rental insurance was reduced to $25,000 (from $50,000). Since car rental insurance was one of the reasons I used them, I did not purchase from them for my upcoming trip. Disappointed as I had used them for many trips and they did come through the one time I had to file a claim (For about $3,000). On the up side, Hertz offered us very reasonable, zero deductible insurance when we rented through AutoEuorpe for this trip. We took advantage of that for the car and are covering our other needs through a different policy. I agree with the above poster that reviews that filed claims are the best. However, I also refer you back to my original post since so I have seen so many complaints by people who didn't follow the instructions you are given in your policy. Hope you have a great trip and don't need you insurance!

Thank you all. Very helpful.

I was taught a very long time ago: "You buy insurance to cover low probability, high potential cost/losses. You do not buy insurance to cover high probability, low potential cost/losses."