Trip insurance

[Oldbabe]

I'm going on a trip and want to buy trip insurance. The tour company's price was way too high, IMO. Does anyone have a recommendation for a reputable company that sells trip insurance? Has anyone used AAA for this purpose?

[OAG]

Why do you want this insurance? Is the trip that subject to problems? If it is whose fault will it be -- who will be responsible to pay? If it is a trip that you are worried about never starting out -- consider using a credit card to charge the purchase to. That way if the vendor fails to perform you will have some protection. Just be sure you are within the usual 60 day limit for canceling the charges. Read the fine print on the CC disclosures, as you may already be somewhat covered. I have never purchased this type of insurance and IMO it is a totally unnecessary expense.

[Sandy]

With the way that the airlines overbook and bump, the risk of missing connections and tour connections is high, and travel insurance can be useful.

I had travel insurance for our family trip to Ecuador this past summer and are glad we did. The airline messed up our initial flight and we lost 1 day of our tour. (long story). The airline reimbursed us for bumping us, but I still put in a claim for the missed day of the tour and extra incurred expenses (hotel, clothes since the bags didn't get there when we did, and other misc.) I can't say about how promptly they will pay, since I delayed sending in the paperwork, but the claim is for $1,800. I also can't say how much it cost, since a portion of this trip was a gift and that part was included), but again, the risk is not always about the tour company, but rather sudden illness, weather conditions that can interrupt or just the sorry state of today's air travel.

[dessert]

We just went to Alaska and purchased trip insurance. My DW simply googled trip insurance up and shopped around and compared price with protection etc., and chose one that met our needs.
I can understand not thinking it is necessary, but we booked early and paid all the necessary up front costs and finally, the entire cost months in advance.
We have parents that are up in age and other family members that could have problems that would not allow us to cruise while the rest of the family is dealing with whatever is going on. (suppose it is a funeral)
Anyway, just my $.02.

[Goonie]

We've purchased it a couple of times, and fortunately never had to collect on it. However, we have had friends who have had to collect due to sudden, last minute illness. We and our friends have always just purchased it through the travel company that we were dealing with. It's well worth the cost, if you have to cancel out at the last minute due to illness.

But as far as AAA or others, I don't know. Sorry.

[Moemg]

Travel Insurance - InsureMyTrip.com
I have purchased it for several expensive trips .I usually end up going with Travel Guard .I've had three claims .Two due to funerals and one a ring I lost while snorkeling .The cost is minimal and while your credit card will cover somethings they will not pay for transport if you get sick or need to cancel due to a sudden illness or death.

[CyclingInvestor]

Trip insurance, like all insurance products, is priced to make money for the issuers. If
you can afford to cover the loss yourself, you should come out ahead in the long run
by doing so.

[Achiever51]

I too have used Travel Guard for insurance on several cruises. We had one experience where DH had a severe allergic reaction on the ship that required several visits to the ship's hospital and caused us to miss two shore excursions. Travel Guard reimbursed us for every penny.

But our experience was minimal compared to that of one of our friends. Also on a cruise, she fell in her cabin, breaking her thigh bone. She ended up in the ship's hospital for one day, then was taken off the ship in Mexico, transferred to a hospital for two days and finally she and her husband were air-lifted by air ambulance back home where she had surgery to implant a rod from her hip to her knee. Travel Guard paid the entire bill, retrieved their luggage, and even paid for all the shore excursions they missed. The total was nearly $100,000. Well worth the $200 or so they paid for the insurance.

[Oldbabe]

Thanks, Moemeg, and Achiever51! I forgot about Travel Insurance - InsureMyTrip.com

FYI< I'm concerned because it is a package tour that I've already paid for, also a serious accident in S.America with medical evacuation could be very pricey$$$. I prefer to take the conservative safe route.

[RetireeRobert]

Originally Posted by Oldbabe

I'm going on a trip and want to buy trip insurance. The tour company's price was way too high, IMO. Does anyone have a recommendation for a reputable company that sells trip insurance? Has anyone used AAA for this purpose?

We too used TravelGuard for a cruise.

If you have to cancel the trip due to illness or other such circumstances after having paid for it, trip insurance is well worth it. Not to mention if you need to be medically evacuated during the trip.

One thing I remember is, if you buy the travel insurance (at least TravelGuard worked this way) within so many days (maybe a week?) of booking the trip, you get some additional coverages for same price, or maybe it was waivers on pre-existing conditions clause, which clause the policy normally has.

If you are spending $7500, $10,000, $15,000 or maybe more on a trip, the cost of the insurance to protect that investment is well worth it.

Coverage from independant insurer is also advantageous over buying coverage from the tour operator/carrier/cruise line. If such operator or carrier goes belly up---what good do you think their insurance is?

[Oldbabe]

I ended up buying the Travel Guard insurance for $170 versus the insurance through my tour company for around $500, way overpriced! Thanks to all for the advice.

[Sarah in SC]

This is good info, we want to purchase it for our trip next summer to Mongolia. I'm usually a big fan of self-insuring for losses, but this as a percentage of the cost is probably worth the peace of mind.

Thanks Oldbabe, we'll probably go the same route.

I'm still wondering if I need to get the MedJet in addition to this in order to get evaucation back to the US. Any opinions on if this is warranted?

[Achiever51]

Originally Posted by Sarah in SC

This is good info, we want to purchase it for our trip next summer to Mongolia. I'm usually a big fan of self-insuring for losses, but this as a percentage of the cost is probably worth the peace of mind.

Thanks Oldbabe, we'll probably go the same route.

I'm still wondering if I need to get the MedJet in addition to this in order to get evaucation back to the US. Any opinions on if this is warranted?

Suggest you call the folks at Travel Guard (or whatever firm you go with) and ask them the specific question for the area you're planning to visit. FWIW, I found the Travel Guard staff very easy to work with.

[Oldbabe]

Originally Posted by Sarah in SC

I'm still wondering if I need to get the MedJet in addition to this in order to get evaucation back to the US. Any opinions on if this is warranted?

Mongolia, wowsers!!

The policy that I purchased includes medical evacuation to the nearest "adequate medical facility" or back to the USA if my doctor recommends that. If you go to the Travel Insurance - InsureMyTrip.com site you can read the policies.

[prubin]

Originally Posted by Oldbabe

Mongolia, wowsers!!

If you go to the Travel Insurance - InsureMyTrip.com site you can read the policies.

We always purchase travel insurance when we go on a package trip and InsureMyTrip.comm has always presented better deals than the tour company. A friend had to cancel an OAT trip to Vietnam when he broke his ankle 2 weeks before departure. The trip was fully paid for and without insurance he would have lost more than 1/2 the cost of the trip.

[ziggy29]

Originally Posted by RetireeRobert

We too used TravelGuard for a cruise.

If you have to cancel the trip due to illness or other such circumstances after having paid for it, trip insurance is well worth it. Not to mention if you need to be medically evacuated during the trip.

My wife is a travel agent and she usually recommends Travel Guard as well. We usually purchase insurance through them. A couple years ago we were scheduled to go on a cruise, but my dad passed away five days before our scheduled departure. Once we had a copy of the death certificate, we sent it to them and had our check within a week.