Travel Insurance
 

Do you feel that getting travel insurance is worth it? Shouldnt paying for your trip by credit card be enough?

When things go wrong then it is very worth it!

Can you afford to loose ALL your money if one of your children or a parent gets sick and you are not able to travel? Are you leaving the country and does your health insurance cover you outside the U.S.? Probably not, take the insurance, it is WELL worth the peace of mind. Don't become one of the horror stories in the Conde Naste Traveler Ombusman section. Pick up the magazine and read this month's Ombusman.

Absolutely! Don't leave home without it. I have the same opionions as the folks that have already posted. It is a small price to pay for all that you could lose. You never know what might happen to prevent you from taking a very expensive vacation.

I've posted this reply on several travel boards. I work for a managed care company and have seen first hand the kind of emotional and financial horrors travelers can have. Never assume your existing medical insurance will cover you outside the US. Always contact your health insurance provider to learn if you have coverage out side the country and what if any coverage exists for transport back to the US should you need it. Air ambulances can cost over $40,000!!! Some insurances will cover you for true emergent care outside the country, but will not cover the cost of transport back to the states. If they do cover the cost, often it is to the nearest US facility which can manage your care. An example: you live in Maine, but you're traveling to Cook Islands in the South Pacific. Once your stablized, you may be flown to the nearest US facility. This could mean Hawaii or even L.A. But not all the way back to Maine. Some require you incur all costs for emergent care while you're out of the country, and then submit your receipts (in English) to the insurance company for reimbursement. In this case, you might have to pay $100 or $10,000 and then hope your insurance company will reimburse you. I always purchase the travel insurance, even though I have reasonable emergent coverage out of the country. Ask your carrier about "portability".

Your credit card would not be enough for a good reason; they pay you if there may be say a default on the tour operator or a faulty product. If you take your vacation and something goes wrong on YOUR part, why should your credit card company pay you? Even if it were possible, you'd be just asking for the tour operator to come back and sue you for services rendered but not paid on. They held up their part of the deal, it's not their fault you'd have to cancel because of sickness/death.