Do you buy travel insurance?

[MuirWannabe]

Thanks for everyone's input on this thread, it has been helpful. We've used single-trip insurance in the past, but this thread has lead me down the path of the annual (and higher-end credit card) options. With a trip to Greece in October and a major trip being planned for 2026 this was going to be relevant soon.

I agree. I’ve decided to apply for the Chase Sapphire Reserve card based upon comments here and brief reading about their travel protection. Should save me quite a bit of money versus traditional trip insurance. Thanks to y’all.

 

[FedRetired50]

I agree. I’ve decided to apply for the Chase Sapphire Reserve card based upon comments here and brief reading about their travel protection. Should save me quite a bit of money versus traditional trip insurance. Thanks to y’all.

I was going to do this for our Greece trip, but the tour operator won't accept credit cards, so I'll hold off on the card.

 

[tutan]

Allianz annual plans contain the following. Looks pretty reasonable to me:

Emergency Evacuation (Transport you to the nearest appropriate hospital)

If you become seriously ill or injured or develop a medical condition while on your trip and we determine that the local medical facilities are unable to provide appropriate medical treatment:

1. Our team will consult with the local doctor;
2. We will identify the closest hospital or other appropriate facility, make arrangements to transport you there, and pay for that transport; and
3. We will arrange and pay for a medical escort if we determine one is necessary.

 

[Romer]

Since I am a United Life Time Gold, I applied for the United Club Card. Looks to be the same Travel Protection benefits as the Sapphire (Both Chase products). The offer is 80K bonus miles, but when I logged into my account and looked at offers, there was a 95K mile bonus option. You can pay for the card with miles and get refunded the fee. The Bonus miles equal 3 years of annual fee. I likely will keep the miles, but it was a good deal.

That card will give me equivalent trip cancelation insurance and I can augment that with a Medical only policy iff I feel the need

 

[athena53]

1. Our team will consult with the local doctor;
2. We will identify the closest hospital or other appropriate facility, make arrangements to transport you there, and pay for that transport; and
3. We will arrange and pay for a medical escort if we determine one is necessary.

It all depends on how liberal they are. If you're in a place where good medical care is scarce, how far will they go? I can't remember if I mentioned it upthread, but a guy I met on one trip said his late wife broke her leg in Australia and the MedJetAssist crew who flew them home said that if someone develops a serious condition in Africa they get them out of Africa. Period. If they can't travel too far they get them to Israel. I'd also be concerned about how long they take to make a decision if you have to leave the immediate area- if you've had a stroke or another condition where early intervention is crucial, a delay can result in permanent issues.

 

[tutan]

It all depends on how liberal they are. If you're in a place where good medical care is scarce, how far will they go? I can't remember if I mentioned it upthread, but a guy I met on one trip said his late wife broke her leg in Australia and the MedJetAssist crew who flew them home said that if someone develops a serious condition in Africa they get them out of Africa. Period. If they can't travel too far they get them to Israel. I'd also be concerned about how long they take to make a decision if you have to leave the immediate area- if you've had a stroke or another condition where early intervention is crucial, a delay can result in permanent issues.

Most places we travel to have okay to good medical care I believe. Worst case is probably within 12 hours to get on a commercial flight. As to how long it takes to make a decision.. is there any way to tell in advance? Is there any guarantee from any insurance?

 

[SecondAttempt]

Allianz annual plans contain the following. Looks pretty reasonable to me:

Emergency Evacuation (Transport you to the nearest appropriate hospital)

If you become seriously ill or injured or develop a medical condition while on your trip and we determine that the local medical facilities are unable to provide appropriate medical treatment:

1. Our team will consult with the local doctor;
2. We will identify the closest hospital or other appropriate facility, make arrangements to transport you there, and pay for that transport; and
3. We will arrange and pay for a medical escort if we determine one is necessary.

This does not sound unreasonable but you are putting all of the decisions on the insurance company. Once they know they have a loss they have every incentive to cut costs. They could send you to the cheapest country for care.

We have Global Rescue. Like most of their competitors, they will evacuate you to the hospital of YOUR CHOICE. To me this is a huge difference, especially after consulting with travel medicine specialists.

 

[tutan]

This does not sound unreasonable but you are putting all of the decisions on the insurance company. Once they know they have a loss they have every incentive to cut costs. They could send you to the cheapest country for care.

We have Global Rescue. Like most of their competitors, they will evacuate you to the hospital of YOUR CHOICE. To me this is a huge difference, especially after consulting with travel medicine specialists.

I see on their website:

Transport to home hospital of choice

Home can be too far depending on where you are. Not sure why they have that. Probably it’s the final destination after one is treated and stabilized locally first. But do you have a choice on that initial place of treatment too?

 

[SecondAttempt]

I see on their website:

Transport to home hospital of choice

Home can be too far depending on where you are. Not sure why they have that. Probably it’s the final destination after one is treated and stabilized locally first. But do you have a choice on that initial place of treatment too?

Yes, that's an important difference. Elsewhere they say they will take you to the nearest suitable hospital for treatment first. I would assume (always a bad thing to do regarding insurance) that most of the similar services do the same thing - get you stabilized first then transport.

I've known at least 3 people that got sick or injured while traveling. None were serious enough to require evacuation but all went to the hospital. I am not aware of any of them having any kind of insurance beyond their regular health insurance. But two of them were European so they had good comprehensive health insurance.

With Global Rescue I had to list the hospital I want to be evacuated to in my profile. They let me pick a hospital on Oahu, over 200 miles away from my home. That's because here in Hawaii they send you to Oahu for anything more serious than a hangnail.

In any case, I did not mean to suggest GR is better and I actually hope to never need their services to find out how good or bad they are.

 

[bfrank12]

Hello after retiring for 1 year I am planning a trip to Europe . The question I have is deciding if I need to buy travel insurance when I already have trip insurance through Chase Sapphire credit card & Blue Cross Blue Shield oversea medical benefit.
I have Chase Sapphire credit card (not Prefer and Reserve) with trip interruption/cancel/baggage delay .
The difference is baggage delay benefit start after 12 hours versus 6 hours when you purchase travel insurance. I have Blue Cross Blue Shield federal basic plan that has oversea benefit with maximum out of pocket $6500.
It does have a medical evacuation benefit but not "repatriation."

Other than cancel for no reason, I do not see any additional benefit in purchasing a separate insurance for the trip. Your comments and inputs above are appreciated. thank you

 

[jayanu]

Chase Sapphire Reserve for the win! $100k in emergency evacuation, $3k in lost luggage reimbursement, $100/day for delayed luggage, $20k in trip interruption/cancellation reimbursement, $500/day trip delay reimbursement, $1M death/dismemberment insurance, $2500 for ER visit while traveling....
Used this in 2023. Wife broke foot in Mexico. Got reimbursed for ER visit, paid for new flights home, reimbursed for unused accommodations.

Agreed. We have had it for 3 years, We have not had a need to use the benefits, yet. But the medical evacuation is important to us being 80 years old and still traveling a lot. It costs $550/year, but we get $300 travel credit so the rest $250 is the real insurance cost - year around, multiple trips, Passport Airport lounges,, $100 (every three years) for the TSA, Concierge service (very useful in planning overseas trip), etc. make it worthwhile. The points earned can be transferred to various airlines and hotels, etc.

Not just Sapphire - it has be Sapphire Reserve.

 

[Sunset]

We use an annual plan often geoblue.

Also we use a Chase Sapphire card, the $95/yr fee one to book the trips. It only has 1% reward, but the main reason is it has trip cancellation & delay, etc which would cover most or all of our trip costs.

Almost every cruise we've gone on, we have seen one or more people getting airlifted/boat evacuation.
We also carry a few credit cards as some places will want payment for the hospital/ambulance in advance and don't take insurance. (hasn't happened to us).

 

[SecondAttempt]

Hello after retiring for 1 year I am planning a trip to Europe . The question I have is deciding if I need to buy travel insurance when I already have trip insurance through Chase Sapphire credit card & Blue Cross Blue Shield oversea medical benefit.
I have Chase Sapphire credit card (not Prefer and Reserve) with trip interruption/cancel/baggage delay .
The difference is baggage delay benefit start after 12 hours versus 6 hours when you purchase travel insurance. I have Blue Cross Blue Shield federal basic plan that has oversea benefit with maximum out of pocket $6500.
It does have a medical evacuation benefit but not "repatriation."

Other than cancel for no reason, I do not see any additional benefit in purchasing a separate insurance for the trip. Your comments and inputs above are appreciated. thank you

I can't really advise you except to relate and experience. Last summer we went to Europe and because of airline stupidity (I won't go into details because I posted in another thread you can find if interested) we arrived about 14 hour last and without bags for about 4 days. We bought essentials like underwear, t-shirts, shorts, and toiletries, plus some nice outfits for a party we were going to. Total cost was around $100.

We could have claimed under insurance I suppose but it did not seem worth the effort.

I guess my only point is that people get freaked out about things covered by travel insurance but actual losses are usually minimal. If you want to be compensated for aggravation you should probably get it. But the cost of a 3-pack of underwear, toiletries, and some laundry detergent to wash what you traveled in is hardly worth my time to file a claim.

Obviously if you miss a cruise or something that is much more costly so you really have to judge for yourself based on your itinerary and realistic assessment of how things like trip or baggage delays would impact you financially. Sure, we all get ticked off but that's not covered by insurance.

 

[SecondAttempt]

We also carry a few credit cards as some places will want payment for the hospital/ambulance in advance and don't take insurance.

I think this is the norm in most of the world.

A friend of mine had to be airlifted out of the Grand Canyon many years ago. USGS hired the helicopter. The pilot told him he would get a huge bill from the US government but he should not pay it because they are not authorized to carry out or arrange medical evacuations. This was over 30 years ago and after several menacing letters, nothing every came of it.

 

[Lorenzo]

I can't really advise you except to relate and experience. Last summer we went to Europe and because of airline stupidity (I won't go into details because I posted in another thread you can find if interested) we arrived about 14 hour last and without bags for about 4 days. We bought essentials like underwear, t-shirts, shorts, and toiletries, plus some nice outfits for a party we were going to. Total cost was around $100.

We could have claimed under insurance I suppose but it did not seem worth the effort.

I guess my only point is that people get freaked out about things covered by travel insurance but actual losses are usually minimal. If you want to be compensated for aggravation you should probably get it. But the cost of a 3-pack of underwear, toiletries, and some laundry detergent to wash what you traveled in is hardly worth my time to file a claim.

Obviously if you miss a cruise or something that is much more costly so you really have to judge for yourself based on your itinerary and realistic assessment of how things like trip or baggage delays would impact you financially. Sure, we all get ticked off but that's not covered by insurance.

I agree with this sentiment. For a cruise, just plan to arrive at the port a day early. For air travel, if the airline screws up, they generally make good on it. Things you'd like to see covered, such as an operator going bankrupt or simply deciding not to offer whatever tour because they didn't get enough people to sign up, are often not covered, so you have to check the policy carefully. As I see it, medical is the most likely coverage I would need in order to avoid an out-of-pocket loss big enough to hurt. The rest of the stuff I can bear.

 

[FIYes]

I buy an annual medical and evacuation insurance. I have Chase Sapphire Preferred for trip cancellation and car rental.

I’m not worried about trip cancellation and lost luggage so much. If I had to cancel a trip that I paid for, I’d hate to lose that money, but it wouldn’t affect my financial status….that money was gone anyway, it’s the trip I’m losing. However, a medical evacuation could be devastating financially.

Fortunately, I haven’t had to use the insurance that I buy, so I can’t comment on how easy/hard it is to get reimbursement. I hope never to need the travel insurance that I buy. I’ve had two friends who had medical emergencies while traveling internationally so it does happen.

 

[JoeWras]

The trip we have upcoming has a requirement to show proof of insurance. It is a self guided tour, but they still want it. There's some strenuous activity involved. They also shook us down for health issues. It is all good, I don't mind that they require it.

I need to go to the start of this thread and read everything.

 

[brett]

Read and understand any travel policy that you buy. Some insurers are slipping exclusion clauses to exclude specific 'high risk' activities.

The insurer's definition of high risk activities that you many not consider high risk.

 

[Romer]

Received the United Club card and read the fine print. Has all the things I am looking for. $10K Travel Cancelation per person up to $40K a year, evacuation coverage all included with the higher fee, which is half I was less I was paying for insurance on one trip. We didn't use to get travel insurance. My in-laws now are in their late 80's and you never know when something could happen that we need to be home to care for them. We have been booking more expensive trips now that we are retired. Plus I like the Club access, will use 3-4 times a year and the many other benefits that come with the card. Canceling the United Explorer card so the fee delta is $425 a year. Since I am a lifetime Unite Gold member, this card made better sense for us as we only fly United with the free perks that comes with being Gold which are better than the card comes with.

 

[JoeWras]

Read and understand any travel policy that you buy. Some insurers are slipping exclusion clauses to exclude specific 'high risk' activities.

The insurer's definition of high risk activities that you many not consider high risk.

Yes they are! We noticed this.

 

[SecondAttempt]

I was going to do this for our Greece trip, but the tour operator won't accept credit cards, so I'll hold off on the card.

I used to operate a vacation rental and was part of a yahoo group of owners. I was appalled by how my owners insisted on travel insurance and refused to take credit cards. For the most part they were trying to prevent chargebacks or other cancelations when people arrived at their inhabitable dump. It seems credit card chargebacks are far harder to fight than travel insurance claims. I took that as a red flag against any firm that requires travel insurance. Travel insurance I pay for should be to cover losses I control, not their losses.

 

[SecondAttempt]

Received the United Club card and read the fine print. Has all the things I am looking for. $10K Travel Cancelation per person up to $40K a year, evacuation coverage all included with the higher fee, which is half I was less I was paying for insurance on one trip. We didn't use to get travel insurance. My in-laws now are in their late 80's and you never know when something could happen that we need to be home to care for them. We have been booking more expensive trips now that we are retired. Plus I like the Club access, will use 3-4 times a year and the many other benefits that come with the card. Canceling the United Explorer card so the fee delta is $425 a year. Since I am a lifetime Unite Gold member, this card made better sense for us as we only fly United with the free perks that comes with being Gold which are better than the card comes with.

I have 3 premium travel cards including the United Club. I have been a United Club member for over 20 years before they had a card since my company paid for it.

I keep records on the net cost of each card. I think 3 is too many but all are net zero cost. For example with the United club membership I value it at $250 per year based our usage. There is another $150 in bag fee value. $75 is IHG credits...etc. For me my cards net out to very low cost even after not counting things like early boarding etc. I also do not count the travel insurance.

 

[Chuckanut]

As I age I find that travel insurance is getting more expensive, but also more necessary.

 

[brett]

We have 60 days out of country medical as an employer DB pension plan benefit. As many times in the year as we wish. Now in our 70's this has turned out to be a significant benefit.

It is a benefit and as such it can be changed, deleted, whatever by my former employer any time.

So...each year I log into the insurers plan and carefully read the the document to ensure that there are no changes. Not only the number of days or the coverage amount. I look carefully for any wording around existing health issues etc, age limitations etc.

The premium credit cards that we have all have poor out of country medical coverage. Most have one, or two limitations on age, time out of country, etc. One does however have excellent cancelation insurance for a health reason etc. We had a claim a few years ago. It was processed and paid promptly.

Another one of our cards that we used when traveling dropped rental car collision coverage benefit. I would not even had know if someone on another forum told us. So now, I check our credit card T's and C's each year to ensure that this coverage still exists.

 

[viking111]

I'm considering if we should start buying an annual travel insurance plan. Cost is about $750 each for $10,000 annual trip cancellation and interruption (annually), $50,000 for medical insurance and $250,000 emergency evacuation per trip.

We do quite a few cruises each year, and will likely be doing 1 international trip a year.

We currently have GeoBlue emergency medical insurance (I made sure it covered cruise ship medical!) That runs us about $260 a year for both of us. It "only" pays $50,000 for medical expenses, but I'm conformable with that amount.

My husband is inclined to have us not get trip insurance. Our travel budget (per year) is about $40,000 per year. If the worst happened and we lost some of what we paid for an individual trip, I'd be bummed, be it wouldn't be catastrophic to us. Equally, if I had to make emergency arrangements and pay a lot to get home, I could do it. We have a pretty large amount of credit card limits, so we'd have money available if needed.

I was actually thinking we should get the insurance, although I do understand his reasoning. I am 62 and he will be 66 in the fall, so we are also hitting those ages where medical issues are more common.

So, just curious what other people do in terms of insurance. I'd appreciate any in

We use Geoblue. I believe they have a emergency evacuation benefit if it's for medical reasons. There are insurance plans that have emergency evacuation for any reason. They can get pricy.