I'm new to this board, so this question may have been answered many times. However, I'm not finding it when I search...Is it worth it to buy trip insurance for my flight and hotel stay in Scotland?

It depends! Do you have health insurance that will cover you in Scotland? The UK NHS is free at the point of care for all UK citizens but not for overseas (unless you are from the EU and are in possession of an E111 form). You will have to pay for any medical treatment without adequate insurance. Is your luggage and personal possessions adequately insured? Are you already insured for any airline cancellations? The choice is yours.

Sallyjane3:

I just bought my first trip insurance. I probably overpaid, but here is the deal: I have never had this amount of peace of mind before a trip. Why we decided to purchase:

1. We were flying on an airline that was in bankruptcy when we bought our tickets. We bought a policy that had bankruptcy coverage.

2. Too many elderly parents to count.

3. I've been unwell and it seemed like a safer option.

But the bankruptcy threat of the airline was the number one reason for our purchase.

I really think it is only worth it on an individual basis. If you are young, in good health, flying on a solvent carrier, have time to spare if things happen to delay you, and have great health and a family in great health, well, you might want to pass.

I did for years, but now I think I will use trip insurance. Included were rental coverage on a car, evacuation coverage, coverage on lost luggage and flight delays.

Insurance is never "worth it" until you need it.
Compare policies at www.insuremytrip.com

For a trip costing $3000, an extra $100 will not break the bank.

One thing to add is that most people travel on the cheapest airline tickets that they can afford. Most of these are non-transferable. Should you be delayed for any reason on your homeward journey (hospitalisation - just because you are fit and young, it doesn't mean that you can't have an accident) then you'll have to pay for a new ticket. Insurance is just that............insurance. If you can afford to be without it then don't bother.

Travelnut puts it precisely right and sums up my reasoning for spending the hundred bucks for each of our trips!

Thank you.

I could handle most of the things covered by trip insurance, but two features seem valuable to me:

Missed flight coverage. If you miss your return flight, the cost of a last minute replacement is shocking, possibly 8 or 9 times the cost of your original round trip ticket.

Medical repatriation expenses. None of us can know if or when we will become incapacitated, but if it happens during your trip, it may cost scores of thousands of dollars to get you back home. Most of us can't afford that, so the travel insurance seems worth it.

it seems to me that there are two aspects of travel insurance

one covers the emergency medical aspects--flying home, ambulances, health care or hospitalization, etc
you have to find out what your own policy covers and what it does not
some of this specialized insurance also covers your travel companion (e.g, you have to fly home because your companion becomes very ill) or the health of a loved one at home.
There are a lot of exclusions, the 'loved one' must be an immediate family member (fiances, in laws, aunts, dear friends, etc don't count) and most of the time you have to pay for this insurance within X amount of time of booking your trip or it won't cover some of these things
you have to look into prexisting conditions' as well

the healt coverage mentioned above may or may not be part of a broader trip insurance package which includes delays, lost luggage, cancelled flights, your having to cancel your flight due to an emergency,etc.

travelinsurance.com and
insuremytrip.com
allow you to compare various policies, coverage and costs

I guess it is the general consensus that the answer to you question is yes, especially when it comes to any kind of medical coverage when traveling abroad. Medical evacuation cost is one item that could run into the 10's of thousands of dollars. There is one service we’ve used and highly recommend. SRI - Specialty Risk International, Inc. (http://www.specialtyrisk.com) which offers travel and medical insurance when traveling abroad. They are located in Indianapolis, IN. Tel: (317) 575-2652 or 1-800-335-0611 - Email Address: [email protected]

A little insurance goes a long way in today’s world.

I bought trip insurance last December for a trip to Washington, D.C. next month. In January I fell on ice and broke my shoulder. If it isn't adequately healed by the end of another 4 weeks I will be very happy to have the insurance for our plane tickets.

Hi sally,

You might find this useful:

http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/me...p/benefits.asp
Basic membership gives you 100k worth of evacuation insurance (not medical coverage- but just to get you home) for diving or non-diving accidents or injuries from anywhere 50 miles from your home or farther. The family membership is $44.

Yes! Yes! Yes! I have always bought trip insurance for my european vacations.

I had a trip planned to France in 2003 with my elderly mother. Once the war started she got scared and did not want to go. She got her money back for her tickets. (We went and had a great time)

Last year my fiance's mother passed while we were in Italy and we came home early. They reimbursed us for a private car to the airport, the remaining part of our tour costs, the charge for changing our tickets and other expenses.

The Tsuami incident highlights the importance of medical evacuation and other expenses you could have due to a disaster like this.

Buy it, you won't regret having this peace of mind.

Gail

I was set to leave for Europe on 09/15/2001....well 09/11/2001 did a lot to change my plans. I got refunded every dime that I had spent because I had trip insurance. I don't remember all the stipulations in the policy but I had no trouble getting a refund and there were posters on some of boards that also had trips cancelled that some of them were having a heck of a time getting their money back. My brother had a friend who had to be brought home from England because of illness and the bill was 50,000 dollars. So, you have to set your own level of risk and do what ever you're comfortable with.

I will just add my 2 cents. I have only bought trip insurance once in the past, but on my last trip I was home 1 1/2 days before an out of the blue illness had me in the hospital. It really hit home. I will never travel without insurance again.

It Depends. I've decided that the medical portion is worth it, but we already have that from work. This work insurance already covers the flights necessary in the event a medical evacuation is necessary.

Regarding 'trip cancellation' insurance, read the fine print, and be sure you understand you're getting the coverage that you think you are. example: If an airline is already in bankruptcy proceedings (as defined by the insurance company in question) at the time one buys a ticket, some insurance policies won't cover any subsequent bankruptcy. If in doubt, call the company. ASK QUESTIONS. ASSUME NOTHING.

Regarding luggage, it may already be covered under home insurance.

Regarding illness of family members: in some cases, policies state the family member be actually hospitalized or receiving other intensive medical treatment on the day on which one elects to cancel. Merely the imminent possibility of such treatment isn't enough. And of course, then there's the weasel clause: "pre-existing conditions".

Bottom line: whether it's worth it is sometimes tricky to determine.

I never bought any travel insurance before..But after reading all these posts ,I am thinking that it would be wise to buy the health portion of the insurance.
Here in the States I dont worry about it, because I am a military dependent wife, but I am not covered when i travel abroad, unless i go to a military installations.
I dont know anything about insurance, can someone please tell me ,how much coverage I actually need?
I have already checked "insure my trip site", but like the old saying: is all
Greek to me..There are so many different kind of policies to choose..

Wow, I would never attempt to advise anyone else on what to get..as you say, there are a lot of different ones. You can read the coverage they give and the disclaimers and perhaps you have a friend or a financial advisor, or someone else close to you that could give you some guidance.

Read the fine print. Many travel insurance policies have so many exceptions and gray areas that they are practically worthless except in very extreme circumstances.

I bought trip insurance for the first time in my life when I bought my tickets to go to the Netherlands. I bought it right on the airline website (NWA), when it was offered to me. It cost me about $40.00 additional.

Dear kismet,

You have 2 choices: Read through the various policeis or

Please send me your address, phone number and financial information and I shall arrange for an insurance salesman to call.

You probably also need life, health and accident, homeowners, auto and medical insurance as well.