Dear All -

I was going to purchase trip insurance (cancellation, interruption, medical) from American Express as I normally do, except Amex's agent just advised me that they are not selling trip insurance at this time. I can check insuremytrip.com but I think I would rather hear some personal opinions of what product is good.

Thank you,
Anna

Fortunately, I have never had to collect on trip insurance that I have bought, but I have had good experiences finding and purchasing trip insurance on InsureMyTrip.com.

The various policies are easy to compare; there are good descriptions of each section of coverage; there is a live chat feature or a phone number where you can talk to someone if you have any questions. I have used both the live chat and the telephone to talk to a representative and everyone I conversed with was friendly and knowledgeable.

I purchased a policy one time which, I later discovered, did not have the exact coverage I was seeking. (No fault of InsureMyTrip) Per the stated conditions of the policy, I was able to cancel it and get a refund of the premium with absolutely no problem.

Hi AR,

Also consider http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/insurance/

They will pay for "repatriation of remains" at no extra cost.

Good for us seniors.

Are you sure that you need insurance?

We only get it for cruises where everything has to be paid for up front.

I've been using Liaison for travel medical insurance for some years now:

http://www.liaisontravelinsurance.co...nal-insurance/

Mostly I buy the insurance for trips to the US, but my daughters, who live in the US, have bought it for trips to Europe, Africa, and Asia.

I usually buy insurance only for medical costs, self-insuring, so to speak, for trip cancellation and theft.

I've never needed to use the medical insurance I've bought through Liaison; the one time we needed medical care abroad, I had bought the cheap Expedia travel insurance, and they paid up with no problem.

I think all travel medical insurance includes repatriation of remains. It's not something that worries me, though. They can plant me where I fall.

We have used Access America which paid a small claim quickly and currently use TravelGuard which offers our preferred coverage.

You should use squaremouth.com to filter and compare insurance. They have ratings for the insurance too!

Thank you all for your input and suggestions!! I spent some time with an agent of insuremytrip.com this afternoon comparing policies and coverages. Potential issues are husband's and my doctor visits in the last 30 days or so, which resulted in some testing and which testing now translates into "pre-existing conditions," despite all negative results. Leave it to insurance companies and they will find a way to deny coverage by contending that a hangnail is somehow resulting from bronchitis which occured months ago. Frustrating!!

Tomorrow I will contact other outfits recommended here directly to hear what they have to say.

Hello Ira, to answer your question as to whether I am sure I need insurance.. no, I am not sure. However, I always buy one and hope that this money ends up being totally wasted.

Husband did develop bronchitis in London a few years back; we had to call the doc to the hotel room to check husband out and to give him some meds so that he would survive the flight home. I submitted the claim to Amex and was refunded every last dime in a few weeks. And, so, I think insurance may be a good thing.

p.s. I think husband did not have bronchitis but developed an allergy to fancy flannel walls in the uber chick hotel room in London.

<< Potential issues are husband's and my doctor visits in the last 30 days or so, which resulted in some testing and which testing now translates into "pre-existing conditions," despite all negative results. Leave it to insurance companies and they will find a way to deny coverage by contending that a hangnail is somehow resulting from bronchitis which occured months ago. Frustrating!! >>

Not necessarily. If you truly have pre-existing conditions, as defined by the insurance company policy (which may not be what you presume or are told by an agent of insuremytrip), you can find policies which waive those if purchased within a certain period of time after first payment toward your trip. Or, you can just purchase a policy after the "lookback period". So, if the lookback period is 60 days (typical), you simply purchase your plan once 60 days have passed, if your trip is more than 60 days from now.

It seems to me that people differ so tremendously in the things that matter to them when weighing insurance options that you might do well to give serious thought to the comparisons provided by sites such as insuremytip.com or square mouth.com . Then, as you have already discovered, contact competent insurance representatives to learn more about the options that you have given your specific issues.

Good luck!

<<So, if the lookback period is 60 days (typical), you simply purchase your plan once 60 days have passed, if your trip is more than 60 days from now.>>

djk, I am seriously considering this option. I did not seek insurance within the requisite 30 days of putting the first payment down, i.e., purchasing air. I never really do. I get my ducks in a row first: air, hotels, car rental and then call Amex to buy insurance when I know what I would theoretically lose. Alas, no Amex insurance this year.

kja, I am thinking medical is important, since it could rise into big Euro should something happen. I am not too consumed with the rest.

However, a bit of good news here and an FYI for anyone who may need the info. Husband is on Medicare and Kaiser supplement. Kaiser provides pretty good vacation coverage. I would say totally decent. I called my insurance through work and it would cover "emergency" services, although I am sure it will re-define the meaning of emergency if need be.

Stay tuned..