I buy trip insurance if I have prepaid and non-refundable expenses in any great amount. I don't insure costs of my flights, because my understanding is that I will be able to use the tickets within a year if I pay an additional cost.

On my recent trip to Germany, I had about $1700 in prepaid, non-refundable hotels costs. I wasn't sure whether train tickets were in any way refundable, but I insured them any way.

As I get older, the possibility of illness and death while traveling increases, and I feel more secure if I have insurance.

<i>And when you think about it, medical insurance of any kind is ridiculously expensive in the US!</i>

Why would that affect the costs in another country, let alone repatriation, new tickets, hotel costs associated with a member of a group being in hospital

alan - while it may not affect the actual costs, it seems to affect what the insurance companies charge. Just compare the prices of UK travel policies to US travel policies. Ann is paying for comprehensive insurance for two people for a year about what I pay for just evacuation and repatriation (NOT including medical costs, never mind cancellation) for one person for 90 days.

ann - "most americans have medical insurance"

Err, actually, not so much. See my post above about the expense. More accurate to say that many employed Americans have medical insurance tied to their jobs. However, it often doesn't cover them abroad..

thursdaysd - nul points for my reading and comprehension skills this evening.

but running the risk of getting ill abroad is very scary, and i'm surprised that so few amaericans seem to worry about this, when they would be very worried about getting ill at home.

<<(I remember those currency controls - my passport from that era has a record of the currency I was taking abroad.)>>

British passports had a section at the back for the bankto record how much currency you were taking. it may have been as little as £50 per week per person the first time i went abroad. now you're required to declare any amounts of cash above £10K [or is it £15K?]. Whatever it is, it's a lot more than I've ever had to worry about.

I have purchased only for expensive trips or places where medical care might be difficult to get. A few years ago, I became so ill in Italy, I didn't think I would be able to fly home, but I still didn't worry - though I should have.

Recent experience finally taught me a lesson. I booked a trip so last minute and at such a great price, I figured no way I would need insurance. Well, two days before the trip a family emergency required total cancellation. We lost airfare and several nights of non-refundable hotel costs. $100.00 of insurance would have recouped a couple of thousand. You never know when something unpredictable will occur. How much will you spend to mitigate the risk?

I will never travel without insurance again.

"when they would be very worried about getting ill at home. "

They would undoubtedly be worried, but that doesn't mean they have (can afford) insurance to cover it. Which may be why they are less likely to take it out for travel. (The number one cause of bankruptcies in the US is medical bills.)

They would undoubtedly be worried, but that doesn't mean they have (can afford) insurance to cover it. Which may be why they are less likely to take it out for travel. (The number one cause of bankruptcies in the US is medical bills.)>>

well, if they can't afford the insurance, I'm not sure how they can afford to travel. Sassafrass gives a good example of what can happen. S/he refers to the premium having only been $100 - that doesn't sound too much for most people who would be spending a lot more than that on a holiday.

I wasn't saying that they couldn't afford travel insurance, but that they couldn't afford US medical insurance, which might lead to a mind set where you just don't think about needing it for travel. I was considering reasons for the different behaviour of US vs UK residents.

I wouldn't travel without medical and evacuation and repatriation, although I usually self-insure for the rest.

Thursdaysd, i do understand to a certain extent but it's just such of a mind-set when it comes to travel in the UK to have insurance.

I'd be very happy if I never had to use it and still think it was money well spend.

Many US insurance plans do cover you ex-US. Not medicare or if you have a very limited HMO - but our company has 3 alternate plans and all cover you anywhere in the world. Think most plans that are not super-restrictive HMOs do - just as they do in parts of the US where their plan doesn't have providers.

<i>(The number one cause of bankruptcies in the US is medical bills.)</i>

The majority had medical insurance - which would suggest that if you don't have insurance you don't get ill, don't get treated or just die and that the US healthcare system is the largest bait & switch in the world

http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/...064_666715.htm

Very interesting discussion. Thanks thursdaysd, every day I learn more. :-)

I have Blue Shield HMO and I am covered abroad.

As for trip cancellation insurance, the only time I would buy it is if I were spending an enormous amount on non-cancellable items, say a prepaid safari or the like. Otherwise, we decided long ago to "self-insure". The amount we would have paid toward insurance over the years is more than any non-cancellable items we've ever had on a single trip thus for (40 years of travel) so we've come out ahead.

We do buy MedEvac insurance if we're traveling somewhere without decent medical services. Repatriation - so far we've taken the risk, but as we get older, we might change our minds about that!

BTW, repatriation doesn't just get your corpse home.... Medevac gets you to the nearest hospital, you then need repatriation to get home, dead or alive. (That's why I don't use DAN, which is cheap and popular with some Fodorites, but when I asked them if they would have flown me home after I broke my wrist in Switzerland, they said no. tenweb.com did fly me home.)