Hi Everyone - I have read a lot of previous threads on travel insurance and have started to do some research on my own as well, but I am still totally confused. Can anyone give me some advice on this? My husband & I are both 32 and in fine shape so we don't expect to have any health issues while in Africa unless we are in an accident or get bit in the but by a lion!!

We do want to ensure that we have full trip cancellation coverage in all of the usual circumstances, including terrorist attacks (I believe terrorism is excluded in some policies).

As far as medical treatment, we obviously want the best possible care and we definitely want to ensure that our medical evacuation coverage is sufficient. Not sure if we should sign up for MedJet to supplement any travel insurance policy we get?? I haven't read the fine print on this, but it sounds like the only difference is that MedJet allows you a bit more control over where you are evacuated to and when you want to go home??

I was looking at a couple of policies - STA would cost us $250 total!! American Express Global Travel Shield Delux is pricing out at around $1200 total. SUCH a big difference! The reimbursement limits in general seem lower with STA, but they may still be sufficient??

HELP!! Does anyone have any recent experience on this matter? I really want to sign up for this soon...Thanks!

If you searched this forum, you know that most people will tell you about insuremytrip.com, which is where I began my research. Then I found what I think is a much better site (they all charge the same for insurance),tripinsurancestore.com. I exchanged many e-mails with their president, somebody named Steve, to find out exactly what I needed to know on an individualized basis. You may want to try doing that too. As far as medical evacuation insurance, some companies have very recently expanded coverage to evacuate you to a hospital of your choice, and other companies say they are about to do so. The policy I ended up buying was very expensive because I wanted a "cancel for any reason" benefit.
Jess

Thanks Jess. I did check out insuremytrip.com, but will also look at the other site you mentioned...What is the "cancel for any reason" benefit? Does it mean that you can literally cancel for any reason if you don't feel like going?? Just out of curiosity, which policy did you end up choosing? Thanks!

Yes, absolutely. I think you have up to 2 days before your trip to cancel and then you receive either 75% or 90% of the otherwise nonrefundable expense, depending on the deductible (and corresponding premium)you have chosen. The trick is you have to purchase the insurance within 14 days of your initial deposit.(The 14 day deadline also gets you other benefits -- I don't remember them all but I think one of them is a waiver of any pre-existing condition) Also, you have to insure (AND, obviously pay the premium on) ALL of your nonrefundable expenses or you will lose the "cancel for any reason" benefit. For example, if you just want to insure your safari payments and not your nonrefundable airfare, that will void the benefit. If I had not traded all those e-mails with a knowledgeable person I would not have believed that, although you can read it in the policy. However, you don't have to do this at the same time; in my case, I put a deposit down on the safari, paid the premium with respect to the anticipated full cost of the safari. A while later, I bought airline tickets, and had 7 days to insure the nonrefundable airfare. I bought TravelGuard. I think Global has something similar. There are other policies that have a limited "any reason" benefit, where such reason is defined more narrowly -- it has to do with having to work instead of taking your trip. By the way, I had a "live chat" with someone at insuremytrip.com, mainly about evacuation to one's chosen hospital, and they knew nothing about anything other than Medjet. I priced TravelGuard out against Medjet and Travelguard worked better for me, but of course YMMMV.
Jess

We had always used insuremytrip until I heard about STA. We have purchased insurance through them for our past 2 trips. Their rate is much cheaper, especially since we are senior citizens. The other companies take age into consideration and STA bases their rate on the trip length regardless of age. I spent a considerable amount of time on the phone with STA and feel confident using them. It is true that we haven't had to file a claim, so can't really attest to their handling of a claim. But have not heard or read any negative reviews.
Their coverage for trip cancellation and interuption and medical evacuation seem sufficient and equal to many of the companies on insuremytrip.
You can call them if you have questions.

have only used Travelex bought from insuremytrip, and had to file a claim once and they paid right away once I sent them the police report and receipts.

Like Dennis, I have used Travelex. Unlike Dennis, I have not had to file a claim. It was about $350pp for a 17 day trip or thereabouts. We also joined Flying Doctors (if you're going to East Africa, this is an excellent organization to support).

Thanks everyone!! Great feedback...It is already 14 days past my initial deposit (it's been about 22 days if I'm not mistaken) - would there be any way to get the "cancel for any reason" benefit with this in mind?

I will definitely look into TravelEx...My Africa itinerary already includes Flying Doctors - I think it's only $15/pp.

Does anyone know what the difference between STA and other major insurance policies are? It seems many of there T's & C's are similar, but reimbursement amounts are lower. But, even still, Emergency Evacuation limit is $250k, Medical Expenses are $100k, Baggage Coverage is $1500...Not sure, maybe this is sufficient?

Thanks for helping me sort through this! I am very eager to put this one behind me...

Like you, we didn't buy trip insurance until it was past our initial deposit. So, none of the policies I found would cover pre existing conditions (HTH Worldwide was the exception) so there was no hurry to buy the insurance. We are healthy, but my in-laws are not, hence the interest in pre existing.

I used FF miles for my tickets so I wouldn't lose any money there and I only put down $600 for the trip as a deposit. So I only had $600 out there as a possible loss, everything else was refundable. In our case there was no reason to buy insurance until we paid our final payment. I had nothing to lose except the deposit and most of the insurances cost as much if not more than the deposit.

So, we ended up going with STA and purchasing Flying Doctors. Our medical insurance will cover us out of the country although it is out of plan. Funny they don't have our insurance network in Nairobi Total cost was $280.00 total for 2 people. I feel very comfortable with our coverage.

I need to mention though that your views on insurance are possibly not my views. I am usually in the minority. I know many people out there buy insurance for most if not all of their trips. This is the first time I have ever bought trip insurance. I have been to China and India a couple of times. We've been on countless cruises and all around the states. I just don't buy trip insurance. The only reason I bought it this time as for the additional medical coverage, otherwise I wouldn't have purchased it. I only mention this so you know my thought process behind insurance.

Whatever you decide, enjoy your trip.

Duane

Hi! I'm sorry, I don't know STA for insurance...I thought they were a student travel agency. Or is this a different STA?

Moira

Thanks Duane! Like you, I have never purchased trip insurance before. My biggest reasons for doing so now are medical coverage, medical evacuation and this is the most expensive trip I've ever purchased, so just in case anything unexpected comes up, I'd like to be covered...Maybe STA would work?? I will research a bit more...

Moira - STA is the same travel agent company that specializes in student travel. They also offer trip insurance - I believe through Stonebridge.

STA
Flying Doctors
MedJet

Covers all the bases.

My main concern with baggage and travel delay was timing. How much time did the policy say had to elapse before coverage kicked in. I also looked at the next arriving flight times. I decided on a Travelex policy which I believe had a bit longer "wait time" for baggage delay, but the next flight isn't until the next day anyway, so it really didn't matter if it was 3 hrs or 12 hrs, it would be covered.

As far as amount of baggage coverage, of course, that just depends on what's in your baggage. If you're packing Manolo Blahnik safari collection you might need more coverage. ;-)

Also for travel delay, since I'm traveling in January (starting in MKE, connecting in DTW), I didn't want a long wait time for travel delay coverage to kick in. And I have a buffer day in CDG, just in case of weather delay in DTW.

Shane

AAA offered greatly discounted rates for Access America's policies.

Also add Medjet for an "annual" policy if you travel a lot. Call Medjet directly.