I know there are a ton of posts on this topic, but I'm not even sure where and what exactly I need to be looking at when making this decision. I will be in the UK and Europe for three months by myself this summer, and for some reason it has just occurred to me to look into travel insurance. I am assuming there is travel health insurance as well as travel cancellation insurance and I guess travel theft insurance too? What do I need to be looking into for this type of trip? And who is a reliable travel insurance company?

Look online at www.travelguard.com and www.accessamerica.com

I've used both, had a cancellation claim on one, both are reliable companies.

Trip cancellation coverage includes all your trip prepaids(that means things you've paid for before you actually begin the trip) such as air tickets, train tickets, hotels prepaid, etc. They will reimburse due to covered issues such as death in the family, serious illness, and others. You must read all these details carefully.

As for health insurance, are you covered on a policy at home? If so, they may cover you overseas. Call and ask. Travel insurance offers medical evacuation which means your transportation back home (or to the nearest hospital overseas) due to accident or serious illness. This would include expensive air ambulance fees.

Travel insurance usually includes lost luggage, flight delays and other options. All the information you need to make an informed decision is available on their websites. I urge you to read everything carefully before determining exactly what you need.

How wonderful to be traveling Europe for 3 months! Enjoy!

www.insuremytrip.com is a good website for comparing plans...

definitely check out the link Travelnut gave you. Insuremytrip is a great way to compare features and prices -- you can look for exactly the type of coverage you want.

You can also look at www.squaremouth.com for policy comparisons.

Be sure to read the fine print on any travel insurance you consider. The fine print in the back will often take away what the bold print in the front promises.

The insuremytrip site is a good one because you can compare many, ask questions and select only those coverages that you want.

I did just buy some tickets to Paris for 6 weeks for next fall from www.1800flyeurope and they also had insurance for $45..was surprised at the coverage.

I would not go without medical/medical evacuation insurance. It has nothing to do with age. Something can happen to anyone. There are some real nightmares to read online!

Joan

to gracejoan3 and others. I recently discovered squaremouth.com (recommended by Frommers) and it provides information and also allows you to compare many different policies chosen from the parameters you input.

They also show you the AM Best ratings/financial strength for the companies they use. And they have a compaint resolution policy.

I know insuremytrip.com is a popular website, but I think squaremouth provides an additional source of vital information.

Thanks bettyk..had not heard of squaremouth..will have to give it a look!

Joan

I've used Travel Guard for ages and had to file a claim once for a hotel room. They paid. I always get the health insurance through them. Luckily, I haven't had to use it though. Happy Travels!