MaryCAnderson

I've been advised to secure travel insurance in the event of trip cancellation and/ or medical emergencies. Does anyone have any trip insurance cautions? (Scams) Recommendations? Credit card companies offer packages but is this the best route? Basic coverage for non- reimbursed expenses only? Thank you in advance.

Christina

I don't know how you could get a "scam" if you are buying from a national company that has been in the insurance business for years. I can't imagine what else you would get on websites like www.insuremytrip.com, they don't have "scams" on there.

I just buy the cheapest that covers my needs by comparing quotes, that's all. I was not aware that credit cards offered insurance packages, but never looked into it, I'm not sure I understand what you mean by that. They have some coverage implied if you use your card for purchases. Again, I'd just compare their coverage, I presume they are working with the same companies that you'd get on insurance websites.

I just read Visa Signature cards coverage, and they don't provide any insurance automatically except for car rentals. They do have some lost luggage coverage but that's only if an airline loses/steals it, no one else. They have no medical or cancellation coverage.

Of course I would not buy coverage for reimbursable expenses as you won't get them. I buy it mainly for the medical as my insurance doesn't cover me abroad. Odds of me canceling a trip are so slim that I don't buy it for that reason, but if you do have reasons to believe you'll cancel your trip, if it is for medical reasons, be sure you buy the insurance within the time frame possible to get that (usually about 2 weeks from first trip payment, I think).

Since you headed your post as "safety" concerns, I'm not clear on what you are thinking insurance will cover in that regard, but if you think it will cover you just changing your mind because you get nervous or there is some terrorist event in some city somewhere in Europe or even near where you are going, it won't. If you just think it is safe to have some insurance coverage, okay.

Insurance isn't too terribly expensive if you don't have a lot of prepaid, nonreimbursable expenses, which I don't. The medical coverage bundled in is a very cheap part of the total price.

Macross

I buy direct from allianz.

thursdaysd

I don't buy cancelation insurance, I do buy medical and evacuation/repatriation. I buy from Seven Corners, but for a short trip any of the companies on insuremytrip are probably fine.

MaryCAnderson

Thank you all for these replies. I am traveling with a child, hence concerns( beyond the ordinary) for safety and medical coverage.

Very helpful, I appreciate it.

Kathie

Think about what you want to insure. I always cary medical evacuation insurance - but even that there are different varieties. Do you want a policy that will fly you (and your travel companion) home in case of an emergency, or do you want a policy that will take you to the closest appropriate medical facility? Do you need medical insurance or will your regular medical insurance cover you? If you choose to use your regular medical insurance, you will have to pay upfront, then you will be reimbursed by your insurance. Do you want trip cancellation/interruption? What would be your financial losses if you had to cancel?

The quotes you get are usually for full coverage - your baggage, cancellation/interruption, medical, evacuation, etc. Do you need all of that?

Take a look at what your credit card policy covers. Read it all carefully and decide what you want/need.

Pegontheroad

I always buy trip insurance for non-refundable expenses. My cousin's husband, from Seattle, went to New Zealand, where he caught the flu and then pneumonia. He was in a hospital for quite a long time, and then had a medical evacuation flight back to the U.S. All his expenses were covered by Travel Guard.

Since I'm 80 years old (though in good health), I am aware that I could die on a trip and I want to make sure my remains are returned to my family without my family having to pay the cost of my repatriation.

I mean...it could happen. Many years ago a friend was on a trip to Hawaii and passed away. I never discussed the particulars with his wife, so I don't know how it was handled.

I don't know if it is necessary for anyone from my family to go to Europe or wherever to take care of arrangements, but just for the heck of it, I did write a letter appointing my nephew to take care of things and suggesting that, if I am, dead, he should fly first class to do whatever needs to be done---since I won't be using my card again and my estate can pay any expenses.

indyhiker

Some companies (Travel Guard for one) offer "cancel for any reason" policies, but you have to buy the policy within 2 weeks of your first payment toward the trip. But even with that policy, read the fine print to understand its terms. And they don't typically cover 100% of what you've paid to date.

But look honestly at what exposure you really have if you had to cancel a trip and do what you can to limit that exposure. For instance, reserve hotels/apartments that have generous cancellation policies. You should be able to change your flights for a fee, so not all is lost there either. So, unless you're going on a cruise or some other expensive tour, you may be out less than you think if you had to cancel a trip at the last minute. For that reason, my husband and I generally just get a basic policy that covers things like lost baggage, travel delays, and medical coverage.

As others have noted, medical and evacuation insurance is perhaps a better investment. That's all my husband and I typically get.

bvlenci

I have bought medical travel insurance for trips to the US, including from Seven Corners and Allianz. I can't tell you how good they are, because I never had to file a claim.

The one time we ever needed medical attention on a trip was the only time I ever just bought the add-on insurance that's offered when you buy a flight on Expedia. It cost very little and hadn't even read exactly what was covered, so I was worried that it wouldn't cover our expenses, but it covered everything. However, I still feel better buying a travel medical insurance from a reliable company.

If you're over 65, you need to read very carefully the conditions for your coverage, especially pre-existing conditions. I switched last year to ERV (a German company) because they were the only one I could find that had a reasonable definition of pre-existing conditions. The Seven Corners policy I had been getting for years defined "pre-existing condition" as any condition for which you take a prescribed medication. I asked the agent if taking a prescribed cardio-aspirin would mean that a heart attack would be considered a pre-existing condition. The agent hemmed and hawed, and I told him I was sorry to have to find a new insurance company.

ERV defines a pre-existing condition as "a chronic pathology that alters your state of health and of which you're aware before the time you travel." They also have a somewhat more expensive policy that covers even these conditions, provided your doctor has not advised you not to travel. And they offer this policy even to people over age 70.

If we're traveling in the EU, we just rely on our EU national health insurance cards, which are supposed to cover us everywhere in the EU. I suppose that soon we'll need health insurance to visit the UK.

greg

I am also in medical and evacuation insurance camp. There is little other alternatives in this area. Accommodations and flights have other ways to deal with.

One flight back from Rome, I saw a woman on a leg cast and an accompanying nurse sitting in the business section. I heard she fell visiting a castle. I am loathed to imagine what would be the cost of perhaps two last minutes business class seats with an accompanying nurse.

Ackislander

1. If you have a serious medical issue, do you want to be evacuated to the US or to the nearest place where quality medical care us available? Make sure the policy offers what you want, though you may not be able to afford it. I would be perfectly happy to be evacuated to Switzerland.

2. What does the policy say about Acts of God and Acts of War? If you are in a charming Italian hill town and you are injured when the hotel collapses in an earthquake, do they pay? If you are injured by a terrorist bomb in the 10th Arrondisement, what does the insurance cover?

3. Ask, don't assume.

4. Greg's business-class-passenger-and-nurse may or may not have been covered by insurance. Some people are just rich. We were on a BA 747 flying LHR-BOS. On the opposite side of the plane was a patient on a litter set atop three seats. The attendant and the patient were occupying nine seats. I hope they had insurance. But a relative paid $70,000 in cash in advance for a jet Medevac from Zurich to IAD. It adds up if you haven't got [good] insurance.

kerouac

I don't understand why this thread is titled "safety concerns" when the subject is trip cancellation or medical emergencies, neither of which is a safety concern.

For medical emergencies, France is classified by the WHO as #1 in the world for health care and Switzerland is #20. (The United States is #37.) So normally you would want to get primary trreatment in either of those countries before being repatriated, whether or not insurance is paying for everything.

thursdaysd

Yes, but you may still want to get home! After I broke my wrist in Switzerland I got myself to the hospital for treatment, but then my insurance got me home.

MaryCAnderson

Again, I appreciate the insight offered in all your replies. Your information is very helpful.

As to "safety" in the subject line of the thread, I am new to these forums and promise better clarity-- as stated,I'll have a child with me and simply want to insure best options in the case of illness, accident or catastrophic unforeseen events such as happened in Brussels or the earthquake in Italy. And, of course, as @thursdaysd noted, we would want to be able to return home as quickly as possible, for the sake of family comfort, not excellence of care, which I'm sure is quite reliable in both Switzerland and France.

Based on all your promptings above, I've checked to determine scope of our standing medical benefits and will add to that via a reputable travel insurance group.
(Cancellation is less of a concern now, as I learned the fee to change reservations isn't prohibitive. The card company covers baggage delays or loss. )

Many kind thanks for your comments above.

justineparis

I have travelled alone with a child also.
In all cases I just get us good medical insurance ( with repatrician included and medical evacuation)

I never get cancelation insurance. I only book hotels with decent canceallation policies .. worst case I lose a nights deposit .. and the small flights and trains we take would not bankrupt me to lose, I always figure if there was an emergence important enough for me to cancel last minute or mid trip, I would hardly care about losing a few hundred bucks.

I don't know how old your child is.. but some things I did.. I always made sure child had hotel card or address on THEIR person.. if child was over age 11 or so then I made sure they had money to get a taxi back to hotel. I taught them how to deal with situation if we get separated in various places, on metro or tube.. or at a busy tourist site() we always picked a large landmark, like in a museum a statue near the entrance etc)to meet at if separated. I also discussed the STAY put rule, when first realizing you are separated, stay put.. usually its easy to back track a few steps and find you.. only go to meeting point if I don't reconnect in a few minutes. This obviously is better for a child over 11 or 12 , a small child is told to go to a staff member ( I point them out as we enter ) and ask for help.

I never had a disaster.. but my hubby took one of our sons to Europe and son got on metro and hubby didn't make it.. son was 13 and smiled and waved as train left( he was not a fearful child, lol ) .. luckily he knew to get off at next stop and wait for his dad.

I travelled with hubby when kids were very young .. but we both started doing solo trips with individual kids by time they were 11 ( we had three and found Europe was not family of five friendly) , when kids were very young we kept eagle eyes on them, its all you can do.

Only other safety issue all my kids had to learn.. and boy they learned fast, is in Europe.. the pedestrian does NOT have the right of way.. lol

kja

Please consult your OTHER thread:
http://www.fodors.com/community/trav...e-coverage.cfm

kja

And BTW, please note that there are two very different ways in which the term "repatriation" is used and you REALLY need to know the difference when you consider your options!
(1) return of one's bodily remains (as in, after you die) or
(2) returning you to a hospital of your choice before your demise.
Discussed in the thread to which I directed you on your other thread....

bvlenci

Justine, you reminded me of an incident that happened in Italy 8 years ago. A little American boy got separated from his parents in the Vatican Museums. They had told him to wait at the exit if this happened, but it seems that he and his parents had different ideas about which was the exit. They waited a while, then reported him missing, launching a city-wide search for him. He waited for his parents for a while, then remembered that they had mentioned the American embassy as a place to go for some other problem. So he decided to head off to the American embassy. He asked people along the way how to get there, and actually arrived there on his own.

http://www.repubblica.it/2008/04/sez...-vaticani.html

MaryCAnderson

Thank you for these additional replies. Very good suggestion about an preplanned place to reconnect, @justinparis. @kja, thanks for tip on repatriation-- sobering thought.