Woyzeck

I am in the midst of booking a trip to Germany for early June. In light of the recent and ongoing volcanic activity, I am now, for the first time, contemplating purchasing travel insurance. I believe some insurance would cover acts of nature such as further volcanic eruptions which would cause flight cancellations or delays.

So far, I have booked only my flight and a pair of vacation rentals. I don't believe the accommodations would be a hassle to cancel, if my flight were delayed or cancelled, but I do have other arrangements to make, including car rentals, train tickets, and some hotels, not to mention the airfare (which I booked 3 weeks ago).

My questions are:

1) Given the uncertainty over the volcano in Iceland, would travel insurance be a good idea for a traveler like me?

2) If so, what are the more reputable insurance companies. I would even pay more in order to deal with a known reputable company.

I am travelling with my wife and small child and it would be a nightmare if we were stranded somewhere and had to cope with the type of delays that so many are dealing with now.

gladfon

Hello Woyzek,
I always buy travel insurance from Travel Guard and never had to make a claim until last October. My sister and I were going to Paris and she became suddenly ill the day before with what could have been a life-threatening illness. We thought she was having a stroke. I canceled the apartment we had rented, the flights, train tickets, shuttle, etc.

I called Travel Guard and they told me the documentation I needed to provide. Within three weeks they reimbursed me for all the expenses. They even reimbursed me for the difference in currency. I had bought EURO travelers' checks because I had to pay for the apartment as soon as we arrived in Paris. I will never do that again. I am now scheduled to go to Paris in three weeks and am renting from an American company so that I don't have to worry about the euro. I usually buy the insurance within 15 days of having given the first payment on the trip so that they cover half the expenses for any reason.

Travel Guard has proven to be a very reliable company.
Good luck with your trip. Gladys

dreamon

I always have insurance for international travel. The main reasons I take insurance is for cancellation and medical emergencies. Any other cover, for me, is nice to have but not essential.

What country do you live in? That might help with people with recommendations.

Mahya2

I always buy travel insurance and I use The Insurance Store which shows you 10 or more insurance policies and companies in a row for comparisons.

Although I think you only have 14 days after booking the trip
to buy the insurance,,,and in some cases it may be 30 days.

Good luck.

Woyzeck

I live in the USA. I have heard of Travel Guard.

Will I have any problems since I have already started making arrangements and have paid for a flight?

LoveItaly

I have no idea but I am wondering if any travel insurance company will be selling a policy that would cover the volcano ash problem and consequently the loss of travellers money. As I said I don't know as I haven't looked into it as I am not flying anywhere but I was in the insurance business for decades and insurance companies certainly wouldn't issue a policy for say a house that was within range of a wildfire or even increase the coverage at that time.

I believe travel insurance has to be purchased within 14 days of paying for travel plans, Woyzeck. But a good website to go to which will hopefully answer your questions is:

www.insuremytrip. Best wishes.

LoveItaly

Here is an article you will probably want to read Woyzeck, it was just posted on another thread regarding the same subject.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/...2vRWQD9F4E7E00

Woyzeck

Well, this passage answers my central question:

"But you can no longer get coverage for next week's planned trip to Europe.
The travel insurance industry has designated the eruption of the volcano beneath an Icelandic glacier as a "known event," explained Jill Rosenberg, manager of group and executive travel for AAA New York. That means you won't be able to buy coverage for trips that may be canceled or otherwise impacted by the volcano."

djkbooks

You can purchase travel insurance now for future unexpected covered reasons. And, you do have to carefully understand "covered reasons".

If your main concern is coverage if you're stranded, and reimbursement for certain prepaid expenses, you have to carefully read and understand the actual certificate/policy. It's critical to make no assumptions or presumptions or rely on the "overview". In many policies, "prepaid expenses" are excluded, depending on how they are defined. Some policies do cover nonrefundable payment toward vacation rentals, hotels, train tickets, car rentals, etc., but usually you must select some sort of more "comprehensive" coverage.

Know that travel insurance often "peace of mind" that's not so useful if you do get stuck. Again, coverage depends on covered reasons and also limits. For example, your limit for "trip delay" or "interruption" (all depending on how those are defined in your policy) could be something like $100/day per person. $500 maximum. When lots of flights are cancelled, hotels will be full (and/or rates increased), and that coverage will offset your expenses, but probably not cover them. You still have to "cope with the delays". Many insurers offer "free" travelers assistance - a number to call when you get stuck, but good luck with that...

Insuremytrip does provide ratings - very useful.

But, I personally would avoid TravelGuard (if they're still owned by AIG).

You can get a good idea of "reputable" and those with good customer service, and whether those who purchased a policy prior to the volcano event, will be covered by going to the home page of any insurer and see what's there and how helpful.

No one can purchase a policy that will cover the current volcano situation, as it's no longer an "unexpected" event. Likewise, things like train strikes may be covered, but not once the possibility is announced or it's underway.

jubilada

Rent your car through Auto Europe to avoid cancellation fees.

cruiseluv

I doubt insurance companies will be selling , going forward, coverage for the effects of this particular volcano. Make sure before you buy the insurance to ask this question and read the fine print. Dont' assume that a future cancelation would be covered.

Fodorite018

We bought travel insurance for 2 trips. On each of those, we there was no rule that you had to purchase insurance within 2 weeks of booking. I do remember them saying that prexisting conditions would be covered if we purchased within 2 weeks of booking, but that did not pertain to us.

Regardless of the volcano, I would opt for trip insurance for overseas trips. Our medical insurance does cover us overseas, but we would have to pay first and then get reimbursed. So we bought the insurance and opted to have their medical be primary. I had a bad fall last summer in France and knew that I could have been taken care of without any of the insurance worry. Knowing I had that peace of mind really helped. I sucked it up and waited til we got home, but I knew that if I couldn't tolerate the pain any longer while there, that I could go to a hospital and not stress over the red tape. For me, that alone was worth it! Of course each person has to decide for themselves.

kybourbon

The purchasing within two weeks of the first downpayment on a trip is only for covering any pre-existing health conditions.

After 9/11, many people found their trip insurance wouldn't cover. A few companies then started offering cancel for any reason policies. You might check the coverage on those types of policies.

Betty1

From the Travel Guard website:

Stevens Point, WI – April 16, 2010– National Air Traffic Services (NATS) says volcanic ash emitting from the volcano under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in Iceland has caused a significant number of flight cancellations and travel delays across Europe. More than one-quarter of all air space in the area is closed. Travel Guard North America (www.travelguard.com), a leader in travel insurance plans and assistance services has travel insurance plans that provide coverage through this unforeseen event, if the plan was purchased before Tuesday, April 13, 2010.

Note that last phrase. I don't know whether that will apply for departures scheduled for June or later or whether other companies would have the same policy.

Woyzeck

I wonder the same thing too, Betty. What if, for instance, the volcanic activity dies down and travel begins to return to normal for the next 4 - 5 weeks, but then another eruption causes a new delay? Are all eruptions from this volcano now not covered? Forever?

Betty1

I don't know, Woyzeck. I have a group of 9 people who are supposed to leave for Paris May 13-17. I encouraged them all to buy insurance months ago but, unfortunately, did not take my own advice! So I may be out of luck as far as being covered for this event is concerned.

I'd be willing to bet that insurance companies will lose a bunch of money on this and will then set tougher restrictions to collect on similar events.

I've sent an email to TG asking about this but I'll be surprised if I get an answer to that anytime soon. If/when I do I'll let you all know.

Betty1

Surprisingly, I did just get this response from TG. My specific question was whether anyone purchasing insurance now might be covered for a mid-May departure.

Thank you for your inquiry. The statement regarding April 13th applies to the current volcanic eruption in Iceland. If the eruption has not ceased and prevents you from traveling to Paris, it generally will not be covered as it is not an unforeseen circumstance. However, if the eruption stops and a new one occurs and prevents you from travel, depending on the insurance policy it may be covered. Our Platinum, Gold, Silver, Basic, and My Travel Guard would all generally cover this. The Silver, Basic, and My Travel Guard would all require that your flights are cancelled due to this for at least 24 consecutive hours, though. Thank you again for your inquiry, if you have further questions please do not hesitate to contact us. 1.800.826.4919

Mike
World Service Center

Sounds pretty reasonable to me.

Woyzeck

Excellent and interesting response from TG, then.