Trip Insurance recommendations
 

Re. my upcoming trip to Turkey and Greece in less than a month, I'd like some recommendations for trip insurance. I've got very little money invested to date; my flights (Denver to Istanbul and return from Athens) were booked using mileage, so only taxes and fees have been paid, my hotel in Istanbul and car rental in Izmir are reserved with a credit card, so no financial outlay yet, and my flight from Istanbul to Izmir is already paid, but not very expensive. From Izmir, the rest of the trip (total 7 weeks) is free-lance (no reservations anywhere), so obviously no money up front. Therefore, I basically need insurance for medical emergencies only (besides, it's been too long since I made my other reservations for them to be covered by any insurance I purchase now).
I'd appreciate any recommendations for trustworthy companies with reasonable rates.

If you have an American Express card their medical evacuation policy is very inexpensive and a load off your mind.

Besides medical insurance you also need evacuation/repatriation insurance (NOT just evacuation, you want to be able to get home, not just to the nearest medical facility). I use either tenweb.com (for trips up to 60 days) or another outfit run by Seven Corners.

spaarne, thanks for the response. Unfortunately, I don't have an American Express card.

thursdaysd, good point about the medical evacuation. I considered that part of "medical emergencies" in my original post, but I should have been more specific. TEN looks pretty good. I'll give them a call in the morning. Thanks.

thursdaysd, tried to contact TEN, but they appear to be pretty flaky to me. A call to their assistance center produced a recording and then on hold, nobody ever answered. If this is the number for emergency contact, it's useless. Then I called the corporate headquarters (phone number on their Program Summary), and got a recording to answer some questions and enter a sweepstakes. I guess I wouldn't feel comfortable signing up with that company. Just thought I'd put that out here for info.

Any other recommendations would still be appreciated.

Les - sorry you had a problem with TEN. Since they got me home from Switzerland when I broke my wrist, I have a lot of confidence in them.

I go to Insuremytrip.com and read the reviews and see who has been giving the best service lately.

We use Squaremouth all the time. Our policy depends on trip and $$$ outlay. Actually was ready to buy ad called my credit card for their EXACT coverage (not the brief description) and found they covered most of what we wanted covered except medical. So just saved $200+.

LSky, thanks for the link. I'll take a look tomorrow.

jan,I'll check with my credit card company, but medical (including medevac, if necessary) is my primary concern. I don't expect much help from my credit card company for that.

I think both insuremytrip and squaremouth are travel insurance comparison sites. I've found it useful to check both.

there are interesting cultural differences [IMO] between americans and brits when it comes to travel insurance. I would be very surprised if any brit were to contemplate booking a trip to Europe, let alone to the US or further afield, without having insurance in place from the start. apart from anything else, we want to be covered against cancellation charges if we or our travelling companions become ill, which as the OP points out, may not be available to him as he booked quite a long time ago.

Americans regularly commit themselves to substantial expenditure and risk with no insurance at all, save what their credit card may happen to offer.

anyone know why?

<i>annhig on Mar 24, 13 at 5:15am
Americans regularly commit themselves to substantial expenditure and risk with no insurance at all, save what their credit card may happen to offer.
anyone know why?</i>

Interesting question. My experience is that Germans also cover themselves with insurance. I never have anything other than plane crash insurance, through my credit card. I got the med evac insurance for my daughter when she went over for two months on her own. I guess that the American mentality is not so focused on security as the European mindset. We have more confidence in ourselves and less fear of the bad stuff, which rarely happens.

We have more confidence in ourselves and less fear of the bad stuff, which rarely happens.>>

but when it does happen, the cost can be huge, whereas the cost of insurance is relatively cheap. our annual world-wide policy for 2 of us costs £167. the peace of mind that brings is well worth it, even if I never have to claim.

annhig - as a Brit who has lived in the US for decades, I would say that Americans are, on average, more optimistic, just as they are more extrovert. There is no other explanation for the fact that people continue to vote for the Republicans on the theory that one day they will be rich, even though the chance of that happening is vanishingly small.

However, although I make sure I have medical and evacuation/repatriation insurance, I do not insure for cancellation, but there is only my health to worry about. If I ever start booking cruises or expensive tours I may change. Also, I believe that travel insurance is more expensive in the US than the UK, given that a smaller percentage of the population travel abroad (aside for medical for people traveling TO the US).

that's a good point thursdaysd about travel insurance being more expensive in the US, but does adding cancellation insurance add a lot to the premium?

it can be expensive cancelling air tickets, hotels, etc.

annhig - I think cancellation is usually a percentage of the cost of the trip, while evacuation on its own is a flat fee. I almost always have hotel reservations I can cancel without penalty, if I have reservations at all, and usually travel overland rather than by plane, so I would only be out the long haul flights.

annhig - I think cancellation is usually a percentage of the cost of the trip, while evacuation on its own is a flat fee.>>

strange - not so in the UK. there are usually only two levels [unless you answer "yes" to any of the health questions] - europe and the world. when we were going to Sri Lanka last year, to add the world to our european cover cost [wait for it] another £50 or so. it's amazingly good value here, but I'm beginning to see why it's not so popular in the US.

annhig - there are also plenty of stories around about difficulties with the fine print and with getting the companies to pay up. Plus, if you want pre-existing conditions covered you have to take out the policy within 14 days of the first deposit/payment. Note that most travel by Americans is by car/plane within the US, cruises, or Disney. I think we're now up to 25% of the population having passports, but that's because you now need one to get to Canada or the Caribbean.

thursdaysd - I'm not aware of many horror stories about UK firms failing to pay up for a valid holiday insurance claim. we had to answer a fairly straightforward questionnaire about health, and then we were offered standard cover. a friend of mine has some anxiety problems, and even she was offered cover, albeit with a weighting.

i suspect that there is a very high volume of policies and few large claims.

This is an interesting discussion.

annhig, I usually purchase travel insurance for a big trip when I have advanced significant funds, but in this case, my outlay so far has been less than $500 (which is probably less than I would pay for full trip insurance coverage had I prepaid anything ,like flights and hotels). However, I will get insurance to cover medical expenses, if any (whether it's doctor, emergency room, or medevac), because that's where the costs add up rapidly.

As for Americans committing to substantial expenditures without insurance, I think that's probably a function of the age, rather than the nationality, of the traveler. I'm 71 years old, and the possibility of encountering some medical issue is not quite as hypothetical as it was when I was 20.