Do you purchase it before you travel abroad?

Yes.

We didn't.

I did, for $116 for four of us. Our grandson had his passport stolen in CDG on the way home ten days ago, and two of us had to stay an extra three days in Paris to get a new passport. (Read my trip report, put
hagan" in the search box). Today, I received a claim form in the mail, and they're going to reimburse me for EVERYTHING, down to the cost of the new passport. Our expenses for those extra 3 days ran over $1,000, so I'm thrilled to be getting it back. I'll never travel overseas without trip insurance again.

Yes, Yes.

I consider travel insurance as playing the odds. Generally coverage runs about 5% of the amount insured, or thereabouts. So, from my point of view, that makes it 20 to 1 against collecting, if the loss is the full amount. Since the insurance company has costs and makes a profit, I assume the risk is less than 5%, so the odds against collecting becomes much worse than 20 to 1. The experience of Hagan, collecting $1000 vs spending $116 means he paid 11.6% of the eventual benefit.

So, if you can tolerate a loss, the premium is not worth it, but, if not, then it is. Or, as Clint Eastwood would say, "Are you feeling lucky?"

YES, buy it. Check out www.insuremytrip.com. Menu of policies and prices.
We went to Italy and as soon as we arrived my husband received a call that his father had died. The insurance picked up the early transfer back and refunded the rest of the money for our trip. Well worth it.

I buy it, mostly for the medical coverage (evacuation, etc.). I guess it depends on a lot of things -- age, any existing problems. For me it's worth the peace of mind..

On the other hand, I don't usually buy warranties for basically the same reason AJPeabody states. If a store, dealer, whatever, is trying to sell you something, it's because they expect to make money on it, which means you will lose it!

With the money I've saved not buying insurance for any of the approximately 120 weeks I've spent in Europe in the past 12 years, I can afford to lose everything on a trip or two and still come out ahead. But meanwhile I generally have most things booked that can be cancelled or refunded anyway. And I have good medical insurance that covers me out of the country.

Some things to consider:

1. How risk averse are you, and how much a part of your discretionary spending is tied up in the trip? If you take a 10 week European vacation every year, it's one thing to play the odds, but if taking a two week European vacation is something that you have to scrimp and save for, then the consequences of having a trip cancelled, and losing non-refundable expenses, can be devastating.

2. How much of your trip is non-refundable? Are you renting an apartment from an owner that demands rental in advance and will not give refunds, or will you be staying at hotels that only require a credit card to secure reservations, and allow 24 hour cancellation? Are you flying with an airline which you fly frequently, and which serves most destinations you would want to travel to, or are you booking a fare through a consolidator with an airline that you may never fly again (and thus would have trouble taking advantage of any rebooking opportunities)?

I guess there are other aspects that you can consider, but to me, those are the two overriding considerations. Answer those, and you'll have a good idea of whether or not trip insurance is right for you on this particular trip (might be on some, but not others).

Hagan and others ... I am interested in knowing if you purchased your travel insurance on-line and who you purchased it from. There is a wide wide range of coverage available and I would like to hear of success stories and people who have been satisfied with their purchase. Don't need to know necessarily if you had to make a claim - but did you feel you had good value. We have purchased ours from Worldnomads out of Australia and felt we had good value - but we haven't had to submit a claim.

If you mean trip cancellation insurance
YES! Last month, one week before our trip tp Spain, I went to an orthopedist for a painful shoulder. I ended up with a 7 day hospital stay & surgery for an abcess & staph infection. Thank God we bought the cancellation insurance. Well worth the money 150$.

I wish I wish I wish that when people post queries on this topic they would specify TRIP CANCELLATION INSURANCE or TRAVEL MEDICAL INSURANCE. This first is for when you invest big bucks up front -- for a cruise, a tour, etc -- and you're insuring against losing that if you can't go.

TRAVEL MEDICAL is in case you get hit by a motorbike in Florence and are in a full body cast and can't get home or pay the hospital. This does not cover trip costs, which is not a concern for me/us because I don't put up any money in advance except our air ticket, It does NOT affect people like Neopatrick whose own med policy covers overseas travel. It DOES affect those of us retirees who are NOT covered by our medigap/Medicare policies when out of the country...

Starting with my first extensive GReek trip in 1999, because I would be alone for most of it, I took such a medical policy. Using Insure My trip (which shows you at least 2 dozen policies to choose from) I got coverage for 30 days for $35-- substantiall medical, evac. to home, 24/7 traveler assistance & misc. other coverage. The price has gone up as I've aged -- now I'm up to about $55 -- but it's peace of mind.

Last year I lost/was pilfered of my back-up stash of AE traveler checks, as was my travel companion. For some reason, the overseas # for AmEx didn't work - but my 24/7 aid number did, and all was taken care of.

Peabody's example (5% of amount insured) is only relevant for TRIP CANCELLATION policies. A policy for MEDICAL that costs $50 is minor -- if you had a serious injury, the cost to treat it and get you home would be far more than $1,000...

..an FYI re the medical insurance..There are 2 components- one for hospital, clinic and MD fees and another for evacuation..be sure you have evacuation insurance too- an air ambulance from Europe will run upwards of $50,000.

Hi

Yes, I always have travel insurance. It the last years I get it via buying tickets with my credit card. If I e.g. buy the plane tickets with the credit card I get the insurance for free Most of the time things work out OK...but there are lots of examples where insurance is good to have.

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

I have purchased coverage from travelguard.oom and I have used their coverage twice so far.

travelguard.com no ooms involved!

Yes, I also bought TravelGard and it gave us peace of mind. Not very expensive. Caution: You are asked to place the stickers in your luggages, I don't know if it is necessary. You may want to ask the insurance co. I affixed the stickers and forgot to remove it and when I used the luggage for another trip when I didn't have travel insurance, I lost my GPS in my suitcase that the airline would not reimburse and we are certain that it got lost in transit. Hope this helps.

Thanks all, lots of good points to consider...this is our first trip to Europe and it IS a big deal for us, having been saving for months for it so insurance is a must I'd say. Sign me up!
tbug

No. We have great medical insurance. We are in good health. A lot of our reservations (hotels, cars, etc.) can be cancelled with no penalty. There's always the possibility of some unusual thing happening (like losing a passport and having to spend a few extra days somewhere), but such events are pretty unlikely for any individual on any particular trip--and in 40 years of travel I've never had anything happen that would allow me to collect. So it's never been worth it for us.

If we lost our medical insurance for some reason, or if we ever signed up for some extremely expensive trip that could not be cancelled without a high cost, then we would consider it.

For some random event that might cost $1,000 or $2,000 dollars, it's just not worth it.

When looking at what travel insurance companies offer for evacuation insurance, keep in mind that many will NOT evacuate you to your home town/country--only to the nearest capable medical facility. That usually means a short ambulance ride in western Europe. Read the fine print.