oopsy

Hi all,

I have two trip insurance questions for you. The first is related to whether or not I should get separate policies for my husband and I. We are departing for our trip to Spain together, but I will stay in Spain for two weeks after he leaves. Does it make sense, then, for me to get two separate policies with the different completion dates? I'm trying to predict possible complications with that but having a tough time thinking it through.

Second question is related to the apartment rental. Do most of you cover the deposit only or the full rental price? It seems to me that if we have get to Spain but have to end our trip early (for death in family or illness), we would want the entire cost since it will already be paid. Does that make sense?

Thanks for your advice!

Sher

My husband and I are traveling to Italy together but departing at different times.

I consulted Square Mouth and they told me to get two different policies. But also because he will be on Medicare and needs the policy to be primary and I do not. But I still think you would need two policies because the coverage period is different.

It is my understanding that if you want reimbursed for your trip you must cover those things which are non refundable.
For instance. We prepaid for a car. It was $900. Early returns do not give us credit. So if we take possession of the car on the first day of vacation and we must depart on the sixth day all of the rental cost will be forfiet.

In this case, I included the cost of the rental car as you would need to include the portion of the rental which is non refundable. So if you paid for the whole apartment by the time you leave and you cannot get any portion of your money back you would have to insure the total rental. That is if you want to make a claim.

But I would check with an agent at Square Mouth or Insure My Trip. They are usually very helpful.

fmpden

Careful with Sher's advice. First off there is the fine print and it varies greatly from policy to policy. Read it three times. Second, as general rule of insurance is that you can only insure loss or recover actual damages. In the car rental or apartment example if you paid a $100/day or $700 a week and were forced to leave after five days. Your lost is $200, not $700.

Third, don't confuse medical insurance with trip interruption or cancellation insurance. Should be different polices entirely.

And you need to understand the cancellation/interruption terms. Some polices will not cover interruption caused by nature disasters - volcano, snow storms, etc. Finally, be very clear about documentation you will need to support your claim. Remember most insurance company are far more interest in collecting the insurance premium than in paying out.

djkbooks

It is essential to understand the actual Certificate for the plan you purchase (and not rely on general descriptions) including limitations, exclusions, definitions.

I prefer Travelex because everything is more straightforward.

Get quotes both ways. There may not be a difference in premium due to different lengths of stay, as premiums are based on age and trip cost. If you have to file a claim, both of you on one policy is much easier, especially for joint expenses, such as an apartment rental.

Of course you should be insured for the entire prepaid cost. Note that covered reasons, such as a death in the family, must be unexpected.

oopsy

Thanks all for your thoughts. I am generally familiar with trip insurance and reading the fine print; these are just new situations for us.

djkbooks, one of my concerns with a joint policy is that, technically, we would purchase it with false information on my husband's trip completion date. I'm not seeing a place on insuremytrip to put in different completion dates for a single policy. I've tried the live chat to ask about that, but wasn't connected to anyone. I'll try again later today.

jubilada

any false info becomes an excuse for them not to pay, even if it is minor.

oopsy

Jubilada, yup. That's my concern. Better to have the hassle of two claims than the hassle of no coverage due to fraud. I'll still try to connect with insuremytrip to see if there's a way to do this on one policy.

greg

As fmpden indicated, they usually define the meaning of "loss" very narrowly. For example, if you have to return home earlier and need to change your flight, what would they cover? They usually cover the ticket change fee but not the price difference between your ticket and the last minutes ticket. Also my experience actually getting a canceled trip reimbursement was a pain. For months, they claimed either they didn't have the right documentation or no response. And one day a check for a fraction of the amount of claim showed up with a short expiration date with no explanation. Any attempt to contact the insurance company was met with no response or "leave a message" with no reply.

fmpden

Maybe the solution would be a joint policy till husband leaves and a single policy for the last two weeks. That way it is clear as to joint and single expenses.

djkbooks

The dates determine when coverage begins and ends.

Your best resource, of course, is the insurer.

One thing I like about Travelex is that e-mail inquiries are answered promptly and you have documentation of the question and answer.

travelhorizons

You can get one policy and designate the amount of coverage for each traveler.

Amount of insurance is the total amount of non-refundable deposits that you want to cover.

I always use Travelex: http://tinyurl.com/26nrckf If you purchase within 21 days of your initial deposit, it will even cover your pre-existing conditions. Otherwise, there is a look-back period. You can also cancel if a member of your immediate family (liberally interpreted) gets sick.

bettyk

We recently insured with TravelSafe through squaremouth.com for a trip in Sept 2010. My husband came down with pancreatitis in July and would not able to travel by our mid September departure date. I filed a claim providing the Attending Physician's Statement as requested by TravelSafe as well as documentation showing his hospital stay and prescriptions for the pain meds he was still on showing he was not able to drive as we had planned.

Originally, all I was claiming was the ticket change fees of $250 pp. TravelSafe paid this promptly with no further requirements.

I had also paid a non refundable $350 pp plus miles to upgrade us to Biz Class on our American Airlines flights. We were told this could be transferred to our new flights but we were still unable to get upgraded due to overbooking in Biz Class.

Once we returned from our trip, I filed another claim with TravelSafe for the $700 non refundable upgrade copayment. I submitted the note from American saying the payment was non refundable and within a couple of weeks, I received a check from TravelSafe with no further documentation requested.

I was very pleased and have already purchased another TravelSafe policy for our trip in September 2011.

Sher

fmpden. Of course, I would think it was a given that you would only be able to claim the unused portion of the apartment or car rental. BUT you would have to include the total amount when purchasing the policy.

And as I stated before. It is always better to speak with a travel professional first.