Hi Folks, My wife and I used to pay for our fights with our Gold Visa card which gave us comprehensive travel insurance cover. HOWEVER, things have changed, the maximum travel time is now 35 days and the extent of the cover has changed dramatically. So for our forthcoming 90 day trip to Singapore we purchased travel insurance for NZ$310 each for approx.$8k travel cost.
We recently saw a case on NZ television where a person had a spill off a motor cycle and it has cost her over $10,000 for overseas medical costs, special transport home etc. NOT WORTH THE RISK.

this is very timely for me. i'm in the process of trying to find out if my health insurance (UHC) covers my son in Prague for 3 months. the company he is going with needs to know if he has medical evacuation, illness and injury expense and repatriation of remains coverage. so, i called my employee benefits department... no answers there. called UHC and they said we are covered by BUPA internationally but dont know what that is, or what it covers. They only have an overseas phone number to call if there is a need. its crazy trying to find out what is or is not covered by my existing insurance.
oh, and for me.. i just say NO to trip cancellation insurance.

Consumer Report just came out with a short article re travel insurance in their current issue (or maybe last month's). Basically, it states that most travel insurance is redundant and MAY be covered by insurance you already have. They advise to check the kind of insurance/coverage you have, and to check with your credit card company.

With that said, I do NOT buy cancellation insurance since most hotels can be cancelled without a fee, and my credit card covers trip cancellation BUT I do buy medical travel insurance. We're perfectly healthy but healthy or not, things can happen.

In the end, its up to you and your level of tolerance when it comes to risk. Just because nothing happened before does not mean nothing will. My house has not burned down, should I stop buying home insurace? For some, the same logic applies to travel insurance. For others, their risk tolerance is higher. Which side are you on?

To sum up--it really depends on your individual situation.

It's never been worth it for us--we have health insurance thru our jobs that covers us worldwide; hotels and car rentals can be cancelled with no or only a small penalty; credit card covers several travel related issues (flight problems, car rental insurance).

For someone else, the insurance might well be worthwhile. But be sure to read the fine print on what exactly is and is not covered.

Yes!!! I broke my shoulder going down the Metro steps in Paris in Feb 2006. We had insurance which took care of me there and we flew home the next day. Now I would never leave the country without it ... and I have traveled for many years not using insurance.

I question how many people really know what will be covered. I had a pair of rather elderly friends who did a package tour of the US west -- including airfare. They took what they thought was "full coverage" insurance and thought they read and understood it, but they found a lot of loopholes when it came time to collect.
One became sick the last day of the trip. They did get that day's percentage of the total cost of the tour refunded. But the medical part only covered hospital and medical costs for that day -- as the coverage only included the actual dates of the tour. Since he remained in the hospital in Wyoming for a week, the other 6 days were not covered at all. Nor was there any coverage to get them home when he was released, not even with regular plane tickets -- the "evacuation" insurance only covered them during the actual tour dates, again. Since the tour was then over, the policy was no longer in effect. There was no coverage for the partner who had to rent a motel room during that week.

Incidentally this was the full insurance package with Tauk tours, often considered one of the best. It has been about 10 years ago, so I'm not sure how such things work now.

Insurance is a gamble. You buy it hoping you won't need it, but if you do, you're covered. And, the insurance companies of course hope you'll buy it and not need it. After my grandfather had a heart attack and was hospitalized in a rather "rustic" hospital ( the mattress was a sand filled bag ) for about a month in Jerusalem before he was stable enough to make it back to the states ( his insurance paid to fly over a Canadian cardiologist who flew back to the US with him ) and after my Mom fell down the Metro in Paris and sprained her ankle and after my hubby's gotten sick twice ( flu ) in Europe.....I always play it safe and spend the money for insurance. I also travel with my own little pharmacy of over-the-counter and prescription meds "just in case" of an illness.

Difficult as it might be to be laid up in a foreign hospital - even if it were better than the one in your own home town, you are without the support of friends, possibly without language skills - we also have to adjust our expectations a bit. It's often not a great idea to jump on a plane when unwell or recently injured, so a bit of calm may be what's really most needed.
If you have need in Paris, the hospital will certainly have some people around who speak English well, even medical English. Smaller cities might be a different matter. Then again, how many hospitals in Omaha have french-speaking staff in case Pierre or Jeannine take ill driving across the US?! And how will that US hospital handle an admission with no US insurance?
This whole discussion is giving me a headache, a rash and carpal tunnel syndrome ...

ljc4kreb: the quote came from insuremytrip.com and I went with AIG, ended up it cost me $131 for the two of us for a $4000 trip. Well worth the extra peace of mind for 131 bucks! :)

*sorry I meant to write ljc4creb!

Never, and we travel internationally lots: our CCs provide basic trip coverage and we have international health and evac insurance.
M (SMdA, Gto., MX)

What about travelers with cancer (pre-existing health conditions)? Will any of the travel insurance companies cover?
Has anyone ever been disappointed with their travel insurance because the fine print was deceiving?

We buy Travel Guard insurance. I believe they have a pre-existing option which is free if you buy the insurance within 1-2 weeks after buying your travel (airline or cruise, etc.) tickets. Check them out.

Most policies waive restrictions on pre-existing conditions if you buy the insurance within 14 days of your first deposit for the trip (such as buying your airfare). There are some other requirements so read the fine print.

after reading these posts i'm wondering whether i spent too much on travel insurance. i'm 67, have foreign travel insurance under my health insurance. i have an elderly mother who has had a heart condition for years. in case anything should happen to her before i leave or while i'm gone, i need a "pre-existing condition waiver" that will cover her. i also have to pay about $3200 up front for my tour, which includes the flight. i got quotes from insuremytrip.com ranging from $150 to $300. i chose AIG travelguard at $186. does that sound reasonable? and do i need travel insurance at all if i purchase my tour with a credit card?
thanks,
bobbye

p.s. i should've noted that my mother is not going with me!

I have also started to buy travel insurance because I have an elderly mother. I never saw anything in my policies about a pre-existing condition waiver being applicable to anyone except me, the traveler (or travel companions)....

YES YES a thousand times yes!! I use Travel Guard and they cover everything--to the point of shipping my body home should I die while away from home.

A friend of mine just got back from Poland where she and her husband spent Christmas (she is Polish). United Airlines lost their luggage on the return trip home containing their Christmas gifts received from her family. They did not buy travel insurance and unless the luggage is recovered..they are out of luck. United only pays a per pound amount. They are learning the hard way.

As for me, I travel the world and I do not go without travel insurance.

Jen

sxc--certainly thousands of people have been disappointed because they did not read the fine print. But that's easily remedied--read the fine print before you buy, and ask questions (and get the answers in writing) if you find something to be unclear.

Is it okay to jump in on this thread? My daughter is going to France to study for a month. I'm considering buying the travel insurance. It seems that it will cost over $200 to cover a $6000. trip. Is this reasonable? I've no idea since I've never purchased travel insurance before.