Travel insurance

[wild_turkey 3187]

How many of you guys are using travel insurance for your personal trips? Not necessarily the add-on fee the airline or hotel offers, but an actual 3rd party travel insurance plan to cover the overall trip.

Mostly, I'm curious how helpful it is for things like an illness or death in the family, personal illness, health issues while abroad, hurricanes or other natural disasters affecting the destination, etc. Also, if flights are delayed and you miss out on vacation time as a result, would it make up for that? Has anyone had good or bad experiences when it comes to getting reimbursed in these situations?

[midtown 3348]

I get a lot of that through my AMEX Plat and CSR but before I had those I bought a trip insurance plan for like $30 that covered health care, major disruptions, or something like an evac from the middle of nowhere.

[Js1 85662]

I buy it, especially for July-September travel and anything in the winter.  Especially after getting stuck an extra 4 days in Mexico City during Harvey due to cancellations.

[Firemans4Horn 18227]

Used World Nomads during my trip around the world. Thankfully didn’t have to use it but they had good reviews and the price seemed cheap to protect me shit really went bad.  

[Chopper 17326]

Haven't had to get reimbursed but I buy it for foreign trips. 

[gecko 1104]

I don't buy it...but then again, I like to live life on the edge.  Danger is my middle name....

[52-80 19277]

Check your credit card policy, the better ones have  pretty robust coverage built in.

I also have global health care so I've never needed it.  However the wife didn't/doesn't so we've either tacked it onto the airfare or bought it separately.

There's a real good 3rd party consolidator website where you plug in your trip details and coverage requested and it'll spit back offer from 10-50 providers.  (If you Google around I'm sure you'll stumble onto it)

All the providers have excellent feedback (like 95%+ approvals) and I'm inclined to believe it.  From anecdotal stories here or there, I've never read a bad one about being denied claims or etc.  It seems like a slam dunk for the insurance providers - nobody is hassled abuse this kind of stuff, so the actuarial work is a slamdunk for them.

Whether they cover full travel, recovery flights, emergency transports, delays, lost luggage, etc on top of medical, is wholly dependant on the policy.  It's quite transparent.  Figure roughly something like 25-50-100$ for 3 tiers of coverage.  Obviously it depends on the coverage, limits, duration, drstination, personal stats, etc, but it's a decent ballpark in our experience.  We usually stick with a reputable insurer like Allianz or Generali but again I don't think there's much diff in rates or trustworthiness.

 

Edited June 12, 2018 by 52-80

[thunderlounge 8008]

6 hours ago, 52-80 said:

 

 Check your credit card policy, the better ones have  pretty robust coverage built in.

 

 

This. The more hefty travel cards all have some form of coverage. Whether it’s enough coverage is up to you. 

[Hollywood 342]

Bump...

Had planned a trip to Colorado for thanksgiving and after seeing the covid spikes, we have decided it is not in our best interest to go. Colorado is nearing threat level Red, plus my mom is elderly. Good news is I bought trip insurance, but bad news "fear of traveling" isn't covered. So curious if anyone has ever made a claim and what proof that ask for in the process. One or more us can easily visit a doctor and get advised against travel, etc. 

Any experiences with making a claim or advice is appreciated. 

[52-80 19277]

17 hours ago, Hollywood said:

Bump...

Had planned a trip to Colorado for thanksgiving and after seeing the covid spikes, we have decided it is not in our best interest to go. Colorado is nearing threat level Red, plus my mom is elderly. Good news is I bought trip insurance, but bad news "fear of traveling" isn't covered. So curious if anyone has ever made a claim and what proof that ask for in the process. One or more us can easily visit a doctor and get advised against travel, etc. 

 

pretty much nothing.  all the major insurance products are really good.  claims are super easy.  figure its a very profitable business for them

[midtown 3348]

Bump.  I am shopping for travel insurance on top of my credit card.   And you really need to understand the policies coverages.   My biggest concern is that I contract the covid while in Belize and I am then required to quarantine in Belize at my hotel for 14 days and have to pay $150/night for that time period.   I've talked to both AMEX and Travelguard (AIG) and that scenario is 100% not covered.    Will look around at some more insurance companies but I'm assuming at this point thats going to be a sunk cost should it occur

[52-80 19277]

On 11/11/2020 at 4:57 PM, midtown said:

Bump.  I am shopping for travel insurance on top of my credit card.   And you really need to understand the policies coverages.   My biggest concern is that I contract the covid while in Belize and I am then required to quarantine in Belize at my hotel for 14 days and have to pay $150/night for that time period.   I've talked to both AMEX and Travelguard (AIG) and that scenario is 100% not covered.    Will look around at some more insurance companies but I'm assuming at this point thats going to be a sunk cost should it occur

If that happens, just snap your ankle in half, on purpose.  You'll get a same-day first-class repatriation flight, and then get to quarantine at home for free

[Mo Horn 8876]

Reviving this thread to get latest opinions about travel insurance in times of Covid-19. As I've stated on several threads, we're heading to Italy in September. Not worried about anything during the trip, but what if we test positive the day before we're supposed to fly back. Not gonna complain about another 10 days in Italy, but the finances would take a huge unplanned-for hit. From what I can tell I think insurance would cover the cost of the extra days. We just had someone in the office get stuck in Florida and couldn't fly home. In that case I'd just rent a car, but getting back from Europe is a different thing. We're both fully vaccinated, so not worried about getting sick, but doesn't mean we won't test positive. Thoughts? 

[midtown 3348]

Squaremouth

www.squaremouth.com

Edited August 17, 2021 by midtown

[Mo Horn 8876]

18 minutes ago, midtown said:

Squaremouth

www.squaremouth.com

I get a bunch of different quotes from different brokers. Anybody have a preferred one? I want to make sure it covers having to stay in country extra days due to a positive test. 

[midtown 3348]

I think they are all pretty similar just make sure the coverage is what you need or want.    I used it for Belize that had very specific policy limits.  I ended up with a policy from April

[Mo Horn 8876]

Reading through all the options on squaremouth was somewhat confusing so I called their 800 number. Lady I talked with was fantastic. I explained what I wanted and she walked me through several options at several price points and explained the pros and cons of all of them. Then she sent me some additional stuff via e-mail. Found exactly what I want for $100. Nothing pushy or heavy handed, and no pressure to buy anything. Really refreshing. Would highly recommend. 

[pch 1261]

48 minutes ago, Mo Horn said:

Reading through all the options on squaremouth was somewhat confusing so I called their 800 number. Lady I talked with was fantastic. I explained what I wanted and she walked me through several options at several price points and explained the pros and cons of all of them. Then she sent me some additional stuff via e-mail. Found exactly what I want for $100. Nothing pushy or heavy handed, and no pressure to buy anything. Really refreshing. Would highly recommend. 

Thanks for this helpful review. We are scheduled to travel by train from Montreal to Halifax in July next year and will be looking into this insurance company.

[Mo Horn 8876]

33 minutes ago, pch said:

Thanks for this helpful review. We are scheduled to travel by train from Montreal to Halifax in July next year and will be looking into this insurance company.

Fyi, I think they are just a broker or clearinghouse. Their site has coverage from a lot of different insurance companies. I'm hoping, since my experience was so positive, that they only list companies that are just as good. But they were great about going through all the different ones. 

[pch 1261]

2 minutes ago, Mo Horn said:

Fyi, I think they are just a broker or clearinghouse. Their site has coverage from a lot of different insurance companies. I'm hoping, since my experience was so positive, that they only list companies that are just as good. But they were great about going through all the different ones. 

Nice to know I won't necessarily have to wade through a group of information seeking operations who don't have what I want in the first place.

[Gil Bang 26076]

Appreciate the squaremouth rec.  We're heading to  the DR in November, and we are concerned about COVID shutdowns.    I'm seeing lower rates than I expected. 

[Chopper 17326]

Don't dine inside of a restaurant. That's the most poignant and alarming insurance rec. I've heard.

Edited August 21, 2021 by Chopper