Travel Insurance: What's all the hub-bub about?
 

Please don't flay me for posting on a topic all-too-discussed on these boards.

But I must ask...as we're about to embark in a few months on our next great adventure and I find myself at that pivotal crossroads of purchasing trip insurance, I start stepping back a bit and questioning (for the first time) the necessity/need for insurance vs. the cost of it.

In the past, we haven't hesitated to dole out about $120-$150/each to purchase basic medical/med evac and cancellation trip insurance from STA Travel (I believe the carrier is AIG)...and of course never used any of it. But this is the first time I've really paid attention to the fine details and it seems that really not very much is covered should anything go wrong.

I guess my question is: should I check with my own insurance company first to see how much of my medical expenses would be covered by them (if out-of-country) and then determine if I need only med evac (vs having full overseas medical coverage?) Seems like a lot of unnecessary coverage and then non-coverage for the things I'd really need/want.

For us, if this helps, the only real coverage concerns would be med evac and if we had to cancel our trip due to either sickness or an airline cancellation of our flights (we're on FF tix, so after the whole Bangkok airport drama of last year, I've learned how completely out-of-your-own you can be with FF tickets if your flight potentially gets cancelled--stuck with hotel reservations that may incur a penalty for not showing up, etc.) But I'm not sure travel insurance even covers these types of situations to begin with.

Sorry for the long-winded rant. I always find these things a bit confusing. If any of this is making sense, can someone please give me some advice on how to best approach travel insurance from a sensible and cost-effective approach. When I go on those comparison sites, my head just about explodes--they make no sense! :)

Hey, Will - you should check with your own insurance company - they may likely cover you for travel related medical expenses. If you need med-evac however, many of us on this board including me, have memberships with DAN whose $50? annual membership fee includes med-evac ins.

If you want coverage for trip/flight delay/cancellation, the rates are probably a little higher. I usually use insuremytrip.com( http://www.insuremytrip.com/ ) to compare rates and plans.

I think the biggest value is peace of mind. I didn't buy insurance for a short, inexpensive trip to Mexico, but I stayed pretty anxious about not being covered. Luckily nothing untoward happened.

For the first time in several years of buying policies, I filed a claim (missed a flight connection), and I got a refund for the unused hotel night in less than a week.

In retrospect I would have come out ahead financially if I hadn't spent all that money on policies, but I think I will probably continue to purchase coverage for future trips so I don't worry so much. I guess it's the same chance you take with any other kind of insurance where one must weigh the risks against the benefits.

K & I have med evac insurance as part of our DAN membership (we are not divers)---$45 yr for the 2 of us..

i self insure for everything else

see you in bali

btw, its not hot in thailand

Ditto to what rhkkmk said.

My regular medical covers me for emergencies abroad, and I use tenweb.com for evacuation - more expensive than DAN, but they got me home from Switzerland when I broke my wrist. I don't generally book expensive hotels/cruises/tours, so don't see the need for cancellation insurance. If I did, I might consider insuring just that part of a trip.

I assume that when y'all mention "med evac" insurance that you mean "med evac and repatriation" insurance. They seem to go together. Repatriation = repatriation of mortal remains.

Yes, check with your medical insurance first. Mine pays for any urgent care outside the US. Cheryl and I have the same insurance and they paid every penny of her bill at Bumrungrad when she had food poisoning a couple of years ago.

We carry med evac through DAN membership. Note that domestic partners are considered a family so coverage for the two of you will be less than $50 per year.

By the way, check your medical insurance about med evac. I have a friend whose Kaiser policy covers med evac!

Do you have any Amex cards? Some of them include automatic med-evac and other trip insurance, but I think only for travel arranged through their agency (and I don't think Eddy at Seatours counts). I also have DAN, but of course it costs me a bit more than $50 since I also need to have hyperbaric chamber coverage.

mrwunrfl - with travel insurance there is medical 'repatriation' as well...it's different from medical evacuation...
Repatriation returns you home if you are unable to continue your journey but don't need evacuation to another medical facility.

I reralize TravelGuard is expensive but their high-end plan allows you to self-direct the city you want a med-jet equipped aircraft to transfer you to with insurred partner and then final return to your original departure city. A fried of mine needed in on the Malaysian Peninsula and was Med-Jet'ed to Bangkok and all transport costs and medical costs at the major medical facility in BK. They covered partner for up to $500 I believe of hotel/meal allowance while in the hospital and because of condition after a surgical procedure and a 4 day stay he was flown business class home and his partner was flown home in Coach. After arrival in LA ambulance-type vehicle picked them up and returned them home 45 miles from airport. Out-of-pocket costs were about $700USD because of additional costs of partner in BK and a few hundred that was not overed. Med-Jet alone would have been $23,000.

Just make sure you do get medical evacuation and repatriation insurance. My mother had to be medivac'd back from Beijing to Canada. The cost was $101,000. She spent 45 days in ICU first at about $2,500 per day. Insurance covered it all.

As much as you buy insurance for yourself, you also buy it for your loved ones at home.

our health insurance will reimburse us for select medical procedures (most) especially in an emergency

Spoke to my insurance and they cover 70% of out-of-country/out-of-network medical expenses/emergencies.

Would this change any of your advice? Sounds like 70% is decent (although I'd prefer 100%) ... the catch being that we'd have to pony up the full amount out-of-pocket (or on a credit card, I assume) should anything go south during our travels.

Wondering if you guys still think self-insuring (vs another option) is the best way to go, given this info.

Will they pay to evacuate you? Are any countries excluded?

Well, it sounds like you don't really need medical coverage. Medical costs in most of the rest of the world are much lower than the US. But med evac is still important - and available very inexpensively.

Nope, they don't cover med evac(but there are no exclusions on their out-of-network medical coverage...doesn't matter what country you're in)

But that said, we'd have to get supplemental med evac insurance from DAN (for $50) -- OR...and I'm thinking this is the best option we have...we get a $60 policy from Travel Guard that covers med evac and about $100k of medical expenses.

Between that and our current insurance, I think we should be more than covered.

UPDATE: did just that. For a nominal cost, got a TravelGuard policy that includes med evac and supplementary medical coverage.

Plus I now have peace-of-mind with the additional trip coverage it includes which covers any prepaid items due to cancellations, etc.

God willing, after last December's fiasco, we won't have to deal with that for awhile again...but still nice to know that I won't have to think about it this time.

Have to say: dealing with TravelGuard was a delight. Very nice and very straightforward folks. Amazing considering they're in the insurance biz (no offense to those in the biz) :)

Thanks everyone for your suggestions!