Gary

I'm driving alone in Italy for a month this summer. I've never bought insurance before but as a senior, I think I should now. (Health: pretty good--the usual senior aches and pains.) I've read and compared all the suggested companies and, frankly, it's rather overwhelming. I'd like the opinion of some of you Fodor experts on which plan is good to cover flight cancellation, medevac, and whatever else is sensible. What do you use? Thanks. Gary

elaine

Gary<BR>Insurance is a complex subject--here is some brief information I've gleaned from various sources (New York Times, Expedia, etc).<BR>"Travel Insurance" can be trip cancellation/interruption insurance and/or emergency medical coverage. <BR>Trip cancellation/trip interruption provision refunds money if your trip is cancelled or cut short for a reason allowed under the policy. Examples include a death in your immediate family, your own health problem, or the tour operator going out of business. <BR>If the plane tickets, rental car, and hotel can be cancelled without incurring a large, or any penalty, for example, if your losses would be less than $500, you might not want the insurance, which is relatively expensive. Larger losses often apply to cruises and packaged vacations.<BR> Many companies will waive exclusions for pre-existing medical conditions (in other words, you would be covered even if you have a pre-existing medical problem) if you buy the policy within two weeks of putting down the deposit for your trip. There are sometimes issues regarding seniors; you'll have to inquire. Read the fine print concerning exclusions. The New York Times reported that a policy called Insure-a-Flight was put on the market to cover purchases of non-refundable airline tickets. That policy also includes accidental death coverage. This coverage is available from travel agents. The contact phone number for Insure-a-Flight is 866 467 2358.<BR><BR>Note that the death or illnesses of stepchildren, stepparents, siblings-in-law, fiance(e)s, aunts, uncles, friends, etc are usually not covered if you have to interrupt or cancel your trip.<BR>Emergency Medical pays the cost of treatment if you get sick while you are on your trip. If emergency medical transportation is included, you may also be covered for an emergency evacuation by airplane or other means, and sometimes your companion’s costs may also be covered if he/she has to accompany you home. You need to find out what your regular health insurance coverage will cover you for, and what it won't.<BR>www.insuremytrip.com allows you to compare policies and quotes from up to five companies simultaneously. (Site also has currency conversion and packing tips.)<BR><BR>World Travel Center is a broker handling a variety of travel insurance policies. They can provide policies for "special needs" or circumstances. Call 800 786 5566 or www.worldtravelcenter.com<BR>Of course you can inquire with your own broker as well.<BR>good luck<BR><BR>Divers Alert Network primarily insures scuba divers, but I had read that anyone can join and be supplied with emergency medical evacuation insurance; a year's coverage for one person is $29 (Dec 01). There are family plans.<BR>800 446 2671, www.diversalertnetwork.com<BR><BR><BR>

elaine

Gary<BR>Insurance is a complex subject--here is some brief information I've gleaned from various sources (New York Times, Expedia, etc).<BR>"Travel Insurance" can be trip cancellation/interruption insurance and/or emergency medical coverage. <BR>Trip cancellation/trip interruption provision refunds money if your trip is cancelled or cut short for a reason allowed under the policy. Examples include a death in your immediate family, your own health problem, or the tour operator going out of business. <BR>If the plane tickets, rental car, and hotel can be cancelled without incurring a large, or any penalty, for example, if your losses would be less than $500, you might not want the insurance, which is relatively expensive. Larger losses often apply to cruises and packaged vacations.<BR> Many companies will waive exclusions for pre-existing medical conditions (in other words, you would be covered even if you have a pre-existing medical problem) if you buy the policy within two weeks of putting down the deposit for your trip. There are sometimes issues regarding seniors; you'll have to inquire. Read the fine print concerning exclusions. The New York Times reported that a policy called Insure-a-Flight was put on the market to cover purchases of non-refundable airline tickets. That policy also includes accidental death coverage. This coverage is available from travel agents. The contact phone number for Insure-a-Flight is 866 467 2358.<BR><BR>Note that the death or illnesses of stepchildren, stepparents, siblings-in-law, fiance(e)s, aunts, uncles, friends, etc are usually not covered if you have to interrupt or cancel your trip.<BR>Emergency Medical pays the cost of treatment if you get sick while you are on your trip. If emergency medical transportation is included, you may also be covered for an emergency evacuation by airplane or other means, and sometimes your companion’s costs may also be covered if he/she has to accompany you home. You need to find out what your regular health insurance coverage will cover you for, and what it won't.<BR>www.insuremytrip.com allows you to compare policies and quotes from up to five companies simultaneously. (Site also has currency conversion and packing tips.)<BR><BR>World Travel Center is a broker handling a variety of travel insurance policies. They can provide policies for "special needs" or circumstances. Call 800 786 5566 or www.worldtravelcenter.com<BR>Of course you can inquire with your own broker as well.<BR><BR><BR>Divers Alert Network primarily insures scuba divers, but I had read that anyone can join and be supplied with emergency medical evacuation insurance; a year's coverage for one person is $29 (Dec 01). There are family plans.<BR>800 446 2671, www.diversalertnetwork.com<BR><BR>Also, I don't know how senior you are, but make sure there will be no problem with renting a car.

reply

Gary,<BR><BR>I would probably purchase the insurance offered by the car rental company. Full coverage. And I would also check into cancellation/trip interuption insurance as well. Try www.travelsafe.com. Or call a professional travel agent.

kdr

I recently bought travel insurance and did a fair amount of research before purchasing. I ended up using Travel Guard--I thought the price was good, and I was happy with the benefits offered. Just importantly, I learned that many consider Travel Guard to have been the best at dealing with those whose travel plans were affected by 9/11. A good website is insuremytrip.com--you can get quotes and compare different insurance policies.

toppers

to the top fot anyone interested.

Gary

Thanks to all for the helpful information. Yes, Elaine, it is a complex subject. All of the major ones sound excellent. I guess I can't go wrong with any of them. I just hat to think of paying for unnecessary/duplicate coverage. Gary

Sherry

Hi Gary. I never purchased travel insurance before this trip. I did get a small policy with Travel Guard because of the ones I looked at, they were the only ones that offered a "change of mind clause". So if we just change our minds about going we can get $250 each back from them. But we planned our own trip so the intitial depostits for rooms were not more than $500 because we had to prepay at one hotel. <BR>But of course if we change our minds, this policy will not cover all of the prepaid hotel and the loss for the change fee of the tickets. It will cover them, however for any of the other reasons stated in the policy.

Gary

One other thing-- is there a ballpark range of what insurance should cost- say for a $4-5000 trip? The figures seem to run the gamut with the various companies. Any suggestions? Thanks. Gary

Debby

Gary,<BR><BR>I just got off the phone from <BR>diversalert.org<BR>The website suggested was in error.<BR><BR>They cover a family for $44 /year for emergency medical transportation anywhere in the world. They want to promote diving safety, but they will cover you for medical emergency evacuations that happen on ships, planes, etc. They do not cover avalanches, earthquakes, etc. Thsoe are covered by rescue operations.<BR><BR>I thought this was a great place to start.<BR><BR>Hope this helps.<BR><BR>Debby

Debby

Sorry:<BR><BR>diversalertnetwork.org<BR><BR>Debby

flo

For the past several years, my husband and I had bought travel insurance due to the fact his mother was quite old. Last May we had to cut our Italy trip short to return home due to her failing health and subsequent death. We had Travel Guard, and I could not have been more pleased with the company. They were polite, efficient, and more than covered our expenses of an early return. I highly recommend them.

topper

topping.

Gary

Appreciate all the ideas. Thanks. Gary