Hello Fodorites, researching trip insurance and would appreciate any help. We typically do not purchase trip insurance. However, we're planning 10 days in France at the end of August and, due to health situation with aging parents, think it might be prudent to do so for this trip. Have started research and are finding many policies that address whether something happens to DH or myself that forces us to cancel trip. I'm more interested in protection were something to happen to either of our parents (such as illness with documented hospitalization) that would necessitate our having to cancel. Does anyone have any experience/recommendation for that type of policy.

Thank you

What you want is a 'cancel for any reason' policy.

Insure My Trip is a site where you ca compare different companies/policies. https://www.insuremytrip.com/?linkId...YaAvNLEALw_wcB

ElleD9, I discovered last fall that my American Advantage Gold MasterCard covered trip cancellation/interruption for health reasons for myself and other close relatives provided the trip was booked using that card.

Cancel for any reason policies are very expensive and, even those policies aren’t foolproof. They may require cancellation 2 or 3 days BEFORE the trip, and they often only pay 50-75% of the loss, to make sure you have some skin in the game. As I understand them, once you travel, these policies typically act like other travel policies.

Most travel insurance policies, even the basic ones, will provide SOME cancellation coverage (even while in the midst of travel) for you and any family member; and family members include parents. This coverage usually includes life threatening conditions or death. We once even had a policy from a cruise line that included my wife’s uncle. He unexpectedly passed away, while we were readying for a transatlantic cruise in Barcelona, and they helped us get return flights and paid us in full.

You really need to read the small print, not just the summaries of coverage. Most basic policies exempt pre-existing conditions, but you can buy optional coverage to remove that. You will want to read their definition of a pre-existing condition. Also, some coverage is excluded unless you purchase the policy within a short period after you make your first trip payment.