travel insurance

Chris Elliott's website (consumer advocate) promotes squaremouth.com as worthwhile cost comparison tool for travel insurance.
I have used and found it helpful. It has a nice filtering menu to help sort out the tradeoffs for features you don't need or are duplicate for credit card coverages
 
We used squaremouth for our last trip. Was very satisfied with the service. We did not have a claim.
 
I'm looking for medical and evacuation insurance only. To do that on say, insuremytrip.com would I enter $0 for cost of the trip?

Is there a way to get medical/evacuation only for World Nomads?

TIA!


+++++++++++++++


Edit to add: I found the chat button and the person said to enter $0 if I didn't want cancellation insurance. I can get a John Hancock Gold plan for two months for two people with $200,000 medical and $1,000,000 evacuation plus accidental death for $140.00


I believe I have medical coverage through Kaiser, but I don't feel totally comfortable with that. I think for the $140.00 for primary coverage it is worth it for the added peace of mind.
 
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Another option is the one I have used for many years:

MASA Assist is the premier provider of pre-paid medical transportation assistance. ... all transportation decisions are made by doctors, not insurance adjusters.
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They cover us wherever we go, and the cost is very reasonable. Rates vary, but my AFA membership gets me their Platinum (worldwide coverage) membership for just $390 per year for two of us. Normal price would be $720 but look at their website to see all the discounts available for various partner associations.

I have never made a claim [knock on wood], but I have also never seen any complaints about them.

  • Emergency Air Transportation / Medical Evacuation
  • Helicopter Transportation
  • Ground Ambulance Transportation
  • Organ Retrieval
  • Organ Recipient Transportation
  • Recuperation/Repatriation
  • Escort Transportation
  • Non-Injury Transportation
  • Minor Children/Grandchildren Return
  • Vehicle Return
  • Mortal Remains Transport
 
If you're hurt seriously enough, maybe you have to be hospitalized at a nearby hospital before you can even think about being transported back home, across continents on a 10 hour or more flight?

So wouldn't health care reimbursement for treatments and hospital stays in another country be more likely than a medical evacuation?
 
We have a separate medical evac--they will transport you to your home town from anywhere But you must be hospitalized. Wife broke her knee coming down stairs inVienna. We made the mistake getting her release to travel home for the surgery But had already left hospital (in a toe-to-hip cast). Had she been admitted policy would have paid, instead we ate day of travel business class fares (ouch).
We use AirAmbulance since they will transport at your request once hospitalizes. Many of the other evac policies we looked at only evac to home if THEIR doc says it is necessary. Lot of them only evac to location with sufficient ability to provide car required. Forget if speaking English is desired.
You really really goy to read the fine print!
 
So you didn't get reimbursed for those business class fares?
 
Nope--policy is clear that the insurer must arrange flights After admission to local hospital. My error, but that is why you must read AND remember the fine print on any med evac policy you buy so you understand who is calling the shots at each step of any claim.
 
We do not bother with trip cancellation insurance other than what our credit card covers. We self insure. After years of travel we are well ahead of the curve.

We do buy out of country medical and evac insurance. We have 60 days from my former employer however we are often gone for longer. We buy a top up policy from an insurance broker. We have priced insurance on the web, from travel agents etc. and found that the easier it is to buy it the more expensive and the less comprehensive it is. One year we extended a vacation by stopping in Hawaii on the way home from Oz. We contacted the insurer and added several days to the coverage. We need this sort of flexibility because our travel plans are seldom set in concrete. At one point we traveled out of country for six months. We purchased a policy that had a $3K deductable. This reduced the premium. Our concern is for the higher exposure.

We are in good health but accidents happen. My spouse cracked several vertibrae in her back a few years ago while we were in Kuala Lumpur. The insurance paid the entire claim immediately. It was only$750CAD for a half day in hospital, Xrays, MRI, specialist consult, and prescription medication. It could have been much worse.
 
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Is there any advantage to buying trip insurance via a website like insuremytrip.com vs. going directly to the insurance provider?

I've found good primary medical and evacuation insurance through John Hancock but I'm not sure whether to buy direct or go through insuremytrip.
 
Helen said:
Is there any advantage to buying trip insurance via a website like insuremytrip.com vs. going directly to the insurance provider?

I've found good primary medical and evacuation insurance through John Hancock but I'm not sure whether to buy direct or go through insuremytrip.
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I imagine the rates are exactly the same, you'd have to go to the provider's site to check - if they sell directly to the public. Insuremytrip is a licensed agent and earns a commission when you buy through them.
 
Gotadimple said:
I imagine the rates are exactly the same, you'd have to go to the provider's site to check - if they sell directly to the public. Insuremytrip is a licensed agent and earns a commission when you buy through them.
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Thanks Gotadimple. I can buy direct from John Hancock for the same cost as Insuremytrip sells it for. I did find one advantage of going through Insuremytrip (from their homepage)

Unparalleled Customer Service

We are open and honest with every traveler, because our non-commissioned representatives work to find the best plan for you. Our “Anytime Advocates” will support you with the travel insurance company if you feel a claim has been unfairly denied


So, it might be an extra layer of protection if there is a problem with the insurance company.
 
Yes, it can be amazing. We were on a trip a few years ago where one guy in our party was evacuated by helicopter from way out in the middle of Denali NP to a hospital in Anchorage. He was lucky because another guy in the group was a physician who could vouch for the need, so the helicopter came right out. Didn't cost anything because he had good insurance.
 
We were just on a Carnival Cruise, and a 41 yr old had to be airlifted from between the FL keys and Cuba by the Coast Guard and taken to the hospital in Jacksonville FL (heart issue).

So you never know when it might happen....
 
Yeah but the key thing in this story is that he didn't get separate travel insurance. It's a benefit that kicked in because he charged fees on the Amex Platinum.

OK, he didn't pay separately for travel insurance but he did pay a $450 annual fee.
 
Thanks to this thread I am investigating the options on insuremytrip.com. My confusion is still with primary versus secondary coverage. Their agent made a point that you are covered equally with either, even if you have something like Regence Gold plan that covers out of network with a high deductible and max OOP. My experience is the insurers do not "coordinate" benefits, they do a non-duplication of benefits. This means we get stuck eating the deductible and max out of pocket on the primary, the secondary would only pick up the 20% copay portion. Does anyone have experience with any of the carriers using a secondary coverage instead of primary? The other gotcha seems to be the pre-existing condition exclusion or waiver if offered. They look back a defined number of days prior to the trip and if you had any nosebleed, UTI, knee pain etc, they would refuse to cover. Anyone out there have a good or bad experience with this clause?

Sorry to steal/augment the thread, but I too am looking for which carrier and plan to buy. It seems OK to accept the evacuation to the nearest hospital instead of paying a premium to go home for care.
 
Happyras said:
The other gotcha seems to be the pre-existing condition exclusion or waiver if offered. They look back a defined number of days prior to the trip and if you had any nosebleed, UTI, knee pain etc, they would refuse to cover. Anyone out there have a good or bad experience with this clause?
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.
I have a pre-existing condition so I always buy travel insurance. Depending on the policy, if you buy the travel insurance within 14 to 21 days of your initial travel deposit (i.e., of any non-refundable travel costs), the pre-existing exclusion is waived. The look-back provision only applies to treatment for a condition that results in trip cancellation, AND IF YOU DID NOT BUY THE TRAVEL INSURANCE WITHIN THE REQUISITE 14-21 DAYS.
I am not a lawyer, but do have considerable knowledge and experience in insurance coverage issues. So, give my analysis whatever weight you deem appropriate
 
mystang52 said:
.
I have a pre-existing condition so I always buy travel insurance. Depending on the policy, if you buy the travel insurance within 14 to 21 days of your initial travel deposit (i.e., of any non-refundable travel costs), the pre-existing exclusion is waived. The look-back provision only applies to treatment for a condition that results in trip cancellation, AND IF YOU DID NOT BUY THE TRAVEL INSURANCE WITHIN THE REQUISITE 14-21 DAYS.
I am not a lawyer, but do have considerable knowledge and experience in insurance coverage issues. So, give my analysis whatever weight you deem appropriate
Click to expand...

Actually, I understand the waiver condition, but in our case we paid $200 down months ago. I am not trying to get trip cancellation, my Costco Citi Visa covers that pretty well. However, I was told by the agent that if you have a condition treated within the look back period, they would not cover the evacuation or any medical costs due to that condition. I will re-verify this important point!
 
I bought on insuremytrip.com for evacuation mainly, but it does have secondary medical coverage, it was $200 for 2 people for a year, when trips are less than 70 days.

My understanding (tell me if I'm wrong), is that the secondary coverage means they will pay only what the primary one does not pay, so that would be co-pays (beyond their own $50 copay) and stuff not paid. So if evacuation was needed and my IL plan does not pay it, then they would pay it to the max of $250K.

I'm relying on my CC for lost baggage, trip delay, or canceled trip due to death/serious illness (which is covered with my CC).
 
I always buy trip insurance through insure my trip . Last year I bought insurance for a transatlantic cruise and a land trip that I had to cancel . They transferred my insurance to my next trip at no extra cost .
 
Just to mention this Medicare does not pay for foreign medical costs except when driving directly from Alaska to the lower 48 and vice versa. Some medigap policies provide a little coverage but not enough for evacuation etc. So if on Medicare you should buy foreign trip insurance.
 
We generally do not buy travel insurance, except for cruises. Given the cruise lines' very restrictive cancellation penalties, we feel it's worth it. Learned this the hard way when my dog got diagnosed with cancer and needed daily radiation treatments. This happened less than 60 days before sailing date, and we lost 75% on 3 cruise passenger fares. Since that happened, we buy insurance if cruising. For other types of travel, we risk it. Still in our 50's and in good health so not too concerned about medical events. If we got delayed, worst case is maybe one night's hotel so we risk that.
 
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