Do you buy travel insurance?

[SecondAttempt]

If you already pay for Geoblue your best bet may be to get a premium credit card like the Chase Sapphire Reserve or AMEX Platinum that includes good travel insurance.

You are insuring for:

- You get sick while traveling - Geoblue has you covered and a premium card will cover you for any related travel changes.

- Common carrier errors or other events cause a delay that results in a loss. Your premium card has you covered

- You die while traveling. Geoblue will get you home to be buried.

I can't tell you what to do beyond suggesting you do your own risk analysis. Ask yourself what could go wrong and how you would cover any losses.

 

[Act2]

Yes, I buy travel insurance for international travel and cruises.

 

[Luvtoride]

It's a challenge for me to buy travel insurance because it's complicated to know what you're actually buying and how likely it is that you can get through all of the exclusions and actually get the insurance to pay.

If the trip is way off in the future, and you have a medical condition that might prevent the trip, that seems like a good bet. But if your reservations can be refundable, you might not get any benefit from the cancellation protection.

I have received large amounts of compensation for non- refundable deposits/ payments from travel insurance. Yes, you have to provide medical support (in our case) for the reason for cancellation but they do pay.
Being in the insurance business for many years, it is still a very profitable line of business for insurance companies as there is low frequency of claims.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

"Do you buy travel insurance?"

Yes, mainly for medical evacuation though.

 

[grasshopper]

"Do you buy travel insurance?"

Yes, mainly for medical evacuation though.

Same here and only once for a Zambia walking safari.

 

[Lorenzo]

GeoBlue for medical-only here. We don't worry about the other things travel insurance typically covers, such as Trip Cancellation/Interruption, Lost Baggage, etc. Airlines and resorts tend to cover their own mistakes, more or less. We don't do cruises or otherwise have a lot that we pay in advance for on a trip; if we were to pay a lot upfront to a single operator we might reconsider.

 

[SecondAttempt]

I am really not in a position or of the attitude that I am qualified to tell anyone else what to do. But "travel insurance" spans a wide range of products so I think it is important for people to understand their risks.

Until recently I have never bought any kind of travel insurance. I've had trip delays, delayed baggage, and similar incidents but it has always been covered or dealt with quickly by the airlines. I could name some details but they are really trivial.

In my late 50s I now buy insurance for what I consider potentially costly risks. I have health insurance that SHOULD cover me for urgent or emergency care anywhere in the world. But if I were to have, say, a heart attack outside the US, I want to make sure I'm covered so, Geoblue....

I also pay from Global Rescue which provides medical evacuation from almost anywhere in the world. I have personally known a few people who needed this due to unexpected medical issues, all of which did not end up being serious but that was not known at the time nor did they have warning signs. At my age and financial situation, the price of these services gives me peace of mind. I respect the opinion of those who think I am throwing my money away.

But travel insurance to pay for your cancellations etc. is not something I would ever buy. That's partly because I can be flexible (which I think applies to most retirees) and I understand that most "nonrefundable" tickets are changeable and hence refundable for about a year. So there is really very little risk. Sure you might pay change fees but they will likely be less than insurance.

Last summer I had an experience that would have been covered by insurance that I actually had on my credit card. Trip was delayed 12+ hours and luggage was delayed several days. We spent about $100 or so on clothes and toiletries to get us by. We could have claimed this from travel insurance or the airline but it was hardly worth it. Yes, it was annoying. But you don't get paid for annoyance. If we had filed a claim the airline would have been much more straightforward. Filing through the trip insurance would have been a hassle when I looked at the process.

 

[Koolau]

Filing through the trip insurance would have been a hassle when I looked at the process.

I wonder if the insurance companies don't count on that to eliminate "trivial" amounts (like $100.) It's something to consider when buying trip/travel insurance. Will you use it if it's not a big amount? If not, that lowers the value to you. If I were to insure, it would only be for the catastrophic situation (like extraction from a healthcare-challenged area following an "event.") YMMV

 

[LiveBelowMeans]

We travel extensively. Never buy travel insurance. Always charge our travel to the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. Covers cancellation, medical, evacuation, primary car insurance, etc. Read the fine print. Seems expensive but you get a $300 travel credit, free global entry, 3 points for all travel., etc. etc.

 

[erkevin]

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.

 

[marko]

Allianz.

+1. We were overseas when my brother had his stroke. A pleasure to work with, no hassles or quibbling. Even covered our extra airfare. And not expensive either...maybe $45 each IIRC.

 

[OldShooter]

We buy evacuation insurance mostly for third world countries and countries where English is not widely spoken. Those are the places where we will need logistics and transportation support and expertise. There's no way to really know, but I would not look to a credit card company for much beyond cost coverage, leaving us unsupported for the stuff we really buy the insurance to have.

 

[Ian S]

Being on regular Medicare with a supplement plan, there is a $50,000 lifetime limit on coverage when outside the country. I'd rather not dip into that if I can avoid it so, when traveling internationally, I look for medical coverage that is primary not secondary. Insuremytrip gives that info. I've found that there isn't much difference in pricing so I opt for primary. Is there something I'm missing?

 

[matjung]

Most of the time I don't. Only when the target country insists of travellers having one.
Up to now, I also never required insurance abroad.

 

[OldConch]

We buy evacuation insurance mostly for third world countries and countries where English is not widely spoken. Those are the places where we will need logistics and transportation support and expertise. There's no way to really know, but I would not look to a credit card company for much beyond cost coverage, leaving us unsupported for the stuff we really buy the insurance to have.

Actually there is a way to know. Google "Chase Sapphire Reserve - Guide to Benefits". Their Travel and Emergency Assistance Service" is available 24/7/365. ERKevin described the benefits and how well they worked just a couple of posts up.

We pay for all of our flights with this card and are even covered for tickets booked with miles/points as long as a portion (taxes & fees) is paid with the card.

It's great coverage and one of the reasons that we pay for card.

We supplement with an annual policy because we prefer a higher level of medical and evacuation ($50,000/$500,000) coverage. The annual policy also has a low $2000 interuption/cancellation limit as compared to the $20k limit with the Chase card.

 

[OldConch]

I buy travel insurance for the trips I take to Europe which are tours. They are expensive so I feel that paying 500 a trip instead of losing all my money is worth it.

Have you considered the Chase Sapphire Reserve? It's $550/year but includes $300 in annual travel credits, TSA/Global Entry credit, airport lounge access, travel protections and a bunch of other benefits.

It currently has a 75,000 point sign up bonus that will get you r/t across the Atlantic in economy or one way in business.

Pay for your flights and tour with the card and you're covered.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Old Conch, thanks for the information. I’m only going one more time and may not even do that trip. It depends on my travel partner.

 

[brett]

I wonder if the insurance companies don't count on that to eliminate "trivial" amounts (like $100.) It's something to consider when buying trip/travel insurance. Will you use it if it's not a big amount? If not, that lowers the value to you. If I were to insure, it would only be for the catastrophic situation (like extraction from a healthcare-challenged area following an "event.") YMMV

When we first retired 12 years ago we planned to travel internationally of 7 months. We wanted out of country medical and evac insurance. We never travel without it.

Our issue at the time was that we were covered for two months by my pension plan. I did a lot of shopping and finanally found an insurer that would issue a premium that started on day 61.

The other great option, IMHO, is that they offered a premium discount of 30 percent if we went with a 3K Cad deductable. I jumped at this. On our trip home we were passing though the US for the last three days. Our insurance was expiring. Emailed the insurer to add three more days. They were kind enough to waive the admin fee and charge us a very minimal amount for the 3 day policy extension. Since then we only travel for two months duration at a time. My pension plan benefits cover provide this.

13 years of international travel, we have only made one claim. Hospital visit, consult, for cracked vertabrae in Kuala Lumpur.

For cancellation insurance we use our premium credit card coverage. Their coverage for medical is useless for us. It does not cover those over 70 and the longest trip can only be a few months. We always travel of a month, more often two months at a time.
Only one cancellation claim in our life...a trip to China because of medical reasons. Credit card insurance paid out withing 3 weeks of our claim.

 

[brett]

When we first retired 12 years ago we planned to travel internationally of 7 months. We wanted out of country medical and evac insurance. We never travel without it.

Our issue at the time was that we were covered for two months by my pension plan. I did a lot of shopping and finanally found an insurer that would issue a premium that started on day 61 of our travel. Continent of course on no medical issues during the preceeding 60 days.

The other great option, IMHO, is that they offered a premium discount of 30 percent if we went with a 3K CAD deductable. I jumped at this. On our trip home we were passing though the US for the last three days. Our insurance was expiring. Emailed the insurer to add three more days. They were kind enough to waive the admin fee and charge us a very minimal amount for the 3 day policy extension. Since then we only travel for two months duration at a time. My pension plan benefits cover provide this.

13 years of international travel, we have only made one claim. Hospital visit, consult, for cracked vertabrae in Kuala Lumpur.

For cancellation insurance we use our premium credit card coverage. Their coverage for medical is useless for us. It does not cover those over 70 and the longest trip can only be a few months. We always travel of a month, more often two months at a time.
Only one cancellation claim in our life...a trip to China because of medical reasons. Credit card insurance paid out withing 3 weeks of our claim.

 

[DrRoy]

We travel extensively, including cruises and international. Up to now we have passed on trip insurance, but starting this year we are getting Allianz coverage similar to what you described, mainly for the medical evacuation if needed.

 

[athena53]

We buy evacuation insurance mostly for third world countries and countries where English is not widely spoken. Those are the places where we will need logistics and transportation support and expertise. There's no way to really know, but I would not look to a credit card company for much beyond cost coverage, leaving us unsupported for the stuff we really buy the insurance to have.

It's not just a function of English being spoken or whether or not it's a developing country. A friend, an older lady, fell in a hotel room in Istanbul (trying to find her way to the bathroom at night and tripped over furniture). She spent a few days in the hospital there but said that flying home in Coach with a broken hip was "the seventh circle of hell". A good evacuation plan would have brought her home in a private plane or maybe even paid extra for Business Class if medically necessary. What I also learned from that: ALWAYS make sure the path to the bathroom is unobstructed!

Separate question from IanS:

"Being on regular Medicare with a supplement plan, there is a $50,000 lifetime limit on coverage when outside the country. I'd rather not dip into that if I can avoid it so, when traveling internationally, I look for medical coverage that is primary not secondary. Insuremytrip gives that info. I've found that there isn't much difference in pricing so I opt for primary. Is there something I'm missing?"

I do that, too. Far easier for Primary coverage since you don't have to file a claim with your Medigap and wait for reimbursement.

And SecondAttempt has it right: read the policy provisions and make sure it covers what YOU need. They're not all the same. You may not care about $100 for toiletries to get you through a few days of lost luggage but want to be able to cancel if your pet becomes seriously ill before you leave.

 

[OldShooter]

... What I also learned from that: ALWAYS make sure the path to the bathroom is unobstructed! ...

Sorry slightly OT but for years we have carried a couple of small battery-powered motion detector lights, currently these: Amazon.com. I put one on the floor near the bed so it illuminates when either of us gets up, then the second near the doorway to the bathroom. With these we can see our paths easily. We like this especially where getting into the bathroom requires a step up or down.

 

[OldShooter]

Actually there is a way to know. [re credit card evacuation insurance] Google "Chase Sapphire Reserve - Guide to Benefits". Their Travel and Emergency Assistance Service" is available 24/7/365. ERKevin described the benefits and how well they worked just a couple of posts up.

Sorry my point was not clear. A credit card company is not an evacuation company and has no significant expertise to help with or arrange logistics, transportation, flights home, etc. I don't doubt that they will pay, as they did for ERKevin, but he doesn't mention receiving any support. Best case would be if the credit card company subcontracted the evacuation support and logistics to experts in-country but as a customer I have no way of knowing if they have done that nor who the subcontractor might be. Worst case might be if they just provide an 800 number a dozen time zones away which, from reading the pamphlet may be the case.

Note that the reference you provided is all about what Chase will pay for, not what they will do for a client. Frankly, I don't care very much about what will be paid for. We can take a $100K hit if necessary, but I do not want to be trying to organize medical support in-country or for a trip home nor, if the victim is me, does DW. So we don't know or care what our credit cards will do. We'll catch up with available cost coverages there when we're back home and the dust has settled.

 

[athena53]

Sorry slightly OT but for years we have carried a couple of small battery-powered motion detector lights, currently these: Amazon.com. I put one on the floor near the bed so it illuminates when either of us gets up, then the second near the doorway to the bathroom. With these we can see our paths easily. We like this especially where getting into the bathroom requires a step up or down.

Ooh, I may get a couple for my next trip! The last one was in Central America, changing hotels every 2 days (only one 3-night stay) and one bathroom did have a step up. I put a white towel across the doorway to remind myself. I like the idea of motion-activated lights better.

 

[OldConch]

Sorry my point was not clear. A credit card company is not an evacuation company and has no significant expertise to help with or arrange logistics, transportation, flights home, etc. I don't doubt that they will pay, as they did for ERKevin, but he doesn't mention receiving any support. Best case would be if the credit card company subcontracted the evacuation support and logistics to experts in-country but as a customer I have no way of knowing if they have done that nor who the subcontractor might be. Worst case might be if they just provide an 800 number a dozen time zones away which, from reading the pamphlet may be the case.

Note that the reference you provided is all about what Chase will pay for, not what they will do for a client. Frankly, I don't care very much about what will be paid for. We can take a $100K hit if necessary, but I do not want to be trying to organize medical support in-country or for a trip home nor, if the victim is me, does DW. So we don't know or care what our credit cards will do. We'll catch up with available cost coverages there when we're back home and the dust has settled.

Understood. Are MedJetAssist and Global Rescue the types of programs you're referring to?