trip cancellation/delay insurance??

[2017ish]

We've never bought this before, but have a long trip planned that has a three-week Antarctic cruise in the middle of it. Given the awful cost of the cruise and the possibility that mandatory covid testing might occur both before and after that jaunt, we are looking into policies.

Yikes. The price spread is amazing, and the policies all seem to cover what we need (and much more, of course). If you've bought this type of policy, how did you make the decision as to which company and policy terms? AIG has a "travel guard preferred" policy that looks good, but how can one really tell.

All we need is protection if we aren't allowed on the boat, or are prevented from jumping right into our extensive drive/hike itinerary immediately following it.... (well, if the cruise were to fall through for some other economic or political reason, we'd like to be protected!)

FWIW, we've had annual travel health insurance since we retired, so that isn't a concern.

 

[OldShooter]

I've recommend this here several times: Go to https://www.intltravelnews.com and search for "Wirtanen." You will find several years of columns written by a guy who is not trying to sell anything. He also identifies at least one insurance agency that specializes in travel insurance and can help you select.

IIRC ITN also ran some reader reports on claim experience with various companies. You might try searching by the company name and see if you find anything.

One thing to watch: Not every company advertising evacuation assistance is actually a licensed insurance company with state regulation and the backing of a state guaranty fund. I think most companies that actually insure trips are legally insurance companies, but caveat emptor still applies.

We have bought Travelex evacuation (only) insurance for recent trips to some more dicey countries. At least once we used https://travelinsurancecenter.com/. We have never had a claim, however, so it's hard to know for sure how that would have come out.

 

[Scuba]

We just did an online search and had a good experience with Allianz. We had to cancel a Galapagos trip that involved a bit of land travel, air, and two boats. It was expensive and we got everything back except of course the cost of the insurance.

 

[2017ish]

We just did an online search and had a good experience with Allianz. We had to cancel a Galapagos trip that involved a bit of land travel, air, and two boats. It was expensive and we got everything back except of course the cost of the insurance.

Oh, bummer. Hopefully you'll get back to the Galapagos. We did back to back boat weeks in 2019, just snorkeling and land, and loved it. (DW has a history of well-within-limits skin bends; so unfortunately, no diving for us there--cold, deep, currents....) Of course, "just snorkeling" encompassed all the endemic critters, mola mola encounter, 2 meters from hammerheads, and large dolphin pods.

 

[ERD50]

IIRC, DD said her recent cruise automatically included some waiver for a COVID related trip cancellation. So check on that.

-ERD50

 

[donheff]

I too have used Allianz. For my upcoming Antarctica trip I am using Travel Guard. I have Federal employees health insurance which covers international travel so that part of the commercial coverage is redundant. I have only insured for costly international trips, particularly ones where emergency evacuation might be important (African safari, Antarctica).

 

[Gotadimple]

I've recommend this here several times: Go to https://www.intltravelnews.com and search for "Wirtanen." You will find several years of columns written by a guy who is not trying to sell anything. He also identifies at least one insurance agency that specializes in travel insurance and can help you select.

IIRC ITN also ran some reader reports on claim experience with various companies. You might try searching by the company name and see if you find anything.

One thing to watch: Not every company advertising evacuation assistance is actually a licensed insurance company with state regulation and the backing of a state guaranty fund. I think most companies that actually insure trips are legally insurance companies, but caveat emptor still applies.

We have bought Travelex evacuation (only) insurance for recent trips to some more dicey countries. At least once we used https://travelinsurancecenter.com/. We have never had a claim, however, so it's hard to know for sure how that would have come out.

All good points. International Travel News ceased publication in April, although all their back issues are there.

To the OP, your choice depends on what you need. Medical? Evacuation? Trip Interruption?

An aggregator (who is a licensed insurance agent) can help with comparisons. I have used Squaremouth and found reasonably priced coverage from smaller but A+ rated companies.
https://www.squaremouth.com/

 

[OldShooter]

... I have used Squaremouth and found reasonably priced coverage from smaller but A+ rated companies.
https://www.squaremouth.com/

IIRC Squaremouth is one of the agencies that Wirtanen has recommended.

 

[2017ish]

Thanks to all. I HATE the thought of buying insurance for trip interruption or cancellation or denial of boarding by vendor. I agree with Wirtanen that you shouldn't insure something that would be even a large-ish hiccup, but DW sees the cost of a decent car at risk here. Given the always evolving covid reactions, I am deferring to her. None of our international trips so far since March 2020 have been of the financial magnitude of this one, so I guess we'll spend a few thousand to insure it.

Squaremouth was indeed one of the aggregator sites I've used.

 

[mystang52]

OP, 3 suggestions:
1) Make sure any policy you buy has some review period (typically 2 weeks, I believe) allowing you to cancel for full refund of the premium.
2) All of the websites permit you to review a sample policy. If nothing else, read the Exclusions....and the Definitions. Policies are in readable albeit lengthy English. Still, the Definitions may define something that is different from what you'd expect, and could impact the coverage you are seeking.
3) Once you've made a decision and purchase, take a second look at the actual policy to make sure it is the same as the sample policy you reviewed.

ETA: Save all documentation, in the event you have to file a claim. This includes your trip details and costs, and all credit card receipts for purchase of the trip.

 

[Scuba]

Oh, bummer. Hopefully you'll get back to the Galapagos. We did back to back boat weeks in 2019, just snorkeling and land, and loved it. (DW has a history of well-within-limits skin bends; so unfortunately, no diving for us there--cold, deep, currents....) Of course, "just snorkeling" encompassed all the endemic critters, mola mola encounter, 2 meters from hammerheads, and large dolphin pods.

That’s great to hear. My problem is that my ears need to go down slowly, and the quick descents required due to the currents concerned my doctor. He advised me not to go. Good to hear you saw so much snorkeling. I had given up on that destination but sounds like we should reconsider. Did you take a boat to the various islands?

 

[2017ish]

That’s great to hear. My problem is that my ears need to go down slowly, and the quick descents required due to the currents concerned my doctor. He advised me not to go. Good to hear you saw so much snorkeling. I had given up on that destination but sounds like we should reconsider. Did you take a boat to the various islands?

Yes. It was a small boat, 14 passengers, I believe. Very reminiscent of a liveaboard dive boat. Booked via an Ontario (Toronto?) travel agent who was affiliated with it. We got the one queen sized bed--all else were, I think, twin/standard with mostly bunks? First week it did the eastern islands, second week were the western. We were the only ones to double dip.

 

[OldShooter]

Yes. It was a small boat, 14 passengers, I believe. Very reminiscent of a liveaboard dive boat. Booked via an Ontario (Toronto?) travel agent who was affiliated with it. We got the one queen sized bed--all else were, I think, twin/standard with mostly bunks? First week it did the eastern islands, second week were the western. We were the only ones to double dip.

As a practical matter you have to see the Galapagos by boat. The islands are too far apart to stay on land and travel to see them. Ecuador strictly limits the number and size of boats, too. Almost all are roughly 16 pax + a naturalist, resulting in small groups moving around on the islands and more likely to stay on the paths. Stops are scheduled and coordinated with the government a year in advance or at least that was the case when we went.

All travel agents are selling the same boats. My tactic was to hunt down the boat operators and negotiate directly, cutting out the middleman with no value added. This was 2010 when tourism was still depressed and we ended up with a 40% discount. Boats vary widely in features, so be sure you understand what you are getting.

Be careful when comparing prices. Park fees and the flight from Guayaquil are not always quoted but are not optional. What looks like a deal may not be a deal at all.

Edit: We traveled on Grace, which has a great backstory but is a fairly old boat and not optimized for its current mission. https://www.quasarex.com/galapagos/my-grace Embark/debark was via a ladder on the side of the boat where some of the boats we saw had much more convenient Zodiac boarding. There was another boat we saw the seemed to be 100% air conditioned with no outside bar/lounge. Really looked like a bubble.

 

[SecondAttempt]

Not to hijack the thread but... We think we are well covered for trip insurance by credit cards aand flexibility. But I wanted to see how much it would cost. All the sites require you to enter a deposit and date plus a final payment and date. We usually book our own travel and can basically never answer that question simply. Airfares are paid immediately. Hotels are usually cancelable up to 24 hours before arrival so I rarely book at the same time as airfare. Rental cars I never prepay for after being burned on this when Hertz was ridiculously inflexible one time recently.

It seems like this insurance is set up for packaged tours. Am I missing something?

 

[mystang52]

Not to hijack the thread but... We think we are well covered for trip insurance by credit cards aand flexibility. But I wanted to see how much it would cost. All the sites require you to enter a deposit and date plus a final payment and date. We usually book our own travel and can basically never answer that question simply. Airfares are paid immediately. Hotels are usually cancelable up to 24 hours before arrival so I rarely book at the same time as airfare. Rental cars I never prepay for after being burned on this when Hertz was ridiculously inflexible one time recently.

It seems like this insurance is set up for packaged tours. Am I missing something?

From my experience, you only need to insure non-refundable costs such as prepaid airfare. I, too, book fully refundable hotel and car rental (although, I will prepay the latter within a week of departure if I can get a good rate). The deposit date for your trip triggers the pre-existing waiver timeline - to have preexisting conditions covered, you need to buy the insurance within a certain period after that deposit (typically 2 weeks).

 

[subwayhamster]

Depending on the cancellation policies of the hotels, I may get enough insurance to cover hotels that say they are fully refundable...but up to a point in time. I factor in scenarios where if I have a medical emergency during the trip and I can no longer continue it, I can be out the cost of the remaining hotel stays because of their cancellation policies. The insurance might cover any prepaid deposits made for the first night or some really strict hotel policy that says they will bill you for the entire stay if you cancel within 3 days of the stay, etc.

 

[OldShooter]

Not to hijack the thread but... We think we are well covered for trip insurance by credit cards and flexibility. ...

I have no idea what, if any, protection our credit cards provide. Our view on trip insurance is quite different:

First, we can afford the loss. After all, we have already spent and committed the money, so the amount is prima facie affordable. What we would be insuring against, I guess, is the loss of the travel experience. We'd be sad or disappointed, but it would not be a body blow. So we never insure our trip expenses.

What we do buy, though, is evacuation insurance in countries where English is not widely spoken and medical infrastructure may be dicey. The main reason for this is logistics support from the insuror. Neither of us wants to be trying to make things happen when we can't speak the language and we don't know what our options are. A secondary reason, of course, is financial protection as we have read horror stories of what evacuations can cost. So for recent trips we have bought evacuation insurance in Southeast Asia and Ethiopia. We did not buy for a Norway trip and we did not buy for an African trip where we were traveling for the fifth time with a guide who has become a friend and who would competently handle all logistics without hesitation. For group travel (which we rarely do) we would apply the same criteria; a group leader cannot be expected to abandon the group to deal with evacuation logistics. For cruises (which we never do) I would read the fine print and decide if support would be adequate or not.

 

[DrRoy]

We essentially self insure on this. Over time, we think that the foregone premiums have added up to a trip worth.

 

[Mark1]

We essentially self insure on this. Over time, we think that the foregone premiums have added up to a trip worth.

+1. The lack of the hassle of dealing with an insurance company is worth a lot to me, as well.

 

[single2019]

My United Explorer Mileageplus card provides a trip delay insurance of up to $500. I recently collected $479. That program is managed by Allianz. They tried every trick in the book to deny my claim. But as a retired person I had the time to deal with them

 

[SecondAttempt]

I have no idea what, if any, protection our credit cards provide. Our view on trip insurance is quite different:

First, we can afford the loss. After all, we have already spent and committed the money, so the amount is prima facie affordable. What we would be insuring against, I guess, is the loss of the travel experience. We'd be sad or disappointed, but it would not be a body blow. So we never insure our trip expenses.

What we do buy, though, is evacuation insurance in countries where English is not widely spoken and medical infrastructure may be dicey. The main reason for this is logistics support from the insuror. Neither of us wants to be trying to make things happen when we can't speak the language and we don't know what our options are. A secondary reason, of course, is financial protection as we have read horror stories of what evacuations can cost. So for recent trips we have bought evacuation insurance in Southeast Asia and Ethiopia. We did not buy for a Norway trip and we did not buy for an African trip where we were traveling for the fifth time with a guide who has become a friend and who would competently handle all logistics without hesitation. For group travel (which we rarely do) we would apply the same criteria; a group leader cannot be expected to abandon the group to deal with evacuation logistics. For cruises (which we never do) I would read the fine print and decide if support would be adequate or not.

We have very similar thoughts. As mentioned in another thread we signed up for evacuation insurance recently for the year, not because we are worried or expect problems but for peace of mind. I can see paying for trip insurance if a delay would be costly but we rarely travel that way. We don't do cruises for example. But Galapagos, Antarctica, and a safari are on the bucket list and I would certainly lean toward protecting them.

 

[explanade]

Has anyone successfully filed a claim on any type of travel insurance?

My fear is that they will find a reason to deny claims.

 

[MichaelB]

Has anyone successfully filed a claim on any type of travel insurance?

My fear is that they will find a reason to deny claims.

I have. The year before the pandemic we went to Sacramento and planned a side trip to Napa. Fires and electrical shutdowns made that impossible and we had to change plans, but that didn’t stop our hotel from charging us for 2 nights, even though there was no electricity in that area and the area roads were not drivable.

We had a Chase Sapphire card with travel insurance and made a claim. They paid after rejecting it twice and requesting lots of documentation. Took about 3 months.

 

[travelover]

Has anyone successfully filed a claim on any type of travel insurance?

My fear is that they will find a reason to deny claims.

I've traveled a lot but only bought travel insurance twice. Ironically, I collected both times. Once for a trip delay caused by the airline from London to Nairobi and a second time when I had a retinal tear in Scotland. Both times I submitted the requested paperwork and was paid promptly.

 

[bltkmt]

Has anyone successfully filed a claim on any type of travel insurance?



My fear is that they will find a reason to deny claims.

I have recently - filed the claim on June 14th. No payment yet, two months later. [emoji35]