trip insurance
 

I'm looking to insure my family of 5's trip to CR. I've checked out insuremytrip.com and have alot of choices. What are some good choices and have you actually made a claim and recieved compensation?
Thanks

I've used Travel Guard on previous trips and am using them for my next 2 trips. I made one claim 2 years ago for trip interruption-our plane from Egypt arrived 10 hours late into JFK because of a blizzard and I missed my connecting flight home.. They paid for a hotel and taxi to the hotel and back to the airport the next day-a grand total of $133. I had to supply them with lots of documentation-airline tickets, letters from the airline that the plane actually was late ect, but they did pay. You should know that Travel Guard is part of AIG, so if your trip is many months away, you might not be comfortable with them as your insurer. I am because I know the travel insurance division of AIG is very profitable, and if AIG goes under, another company will probably take over Travel Guard.-Just my opinion.

Travel insurance is a great thing. We always want to refund to customers when they are faced with emergencies. But we pay the suppliers as soon as we are paid, and sometimes a supplier will not refund. Our hands are tied in these situations. Travel insurance is a great safety net.

But some insurers are very specific about what they will pay for, and will avoid paying you if they can. So you need to do your homework.

I once had a customer suffer heat exhaustion, and end up in the emergency room. He received fluids via IV, and was sent back to his hotel. He was miserable, and just wanted to go home.

I received a call from the travel insurer, and they started asking me questions. I was trying to be a helpful travel agent, and answered everything completely and truthfully. I soon realized that the direction the questions were taking. It seemed like they were looking for an excuse not to pay up. My first loyalty is to my client. So just I shut up, and gave them the shortest answer I could to all of their questions. I did not elaborate on anything.

No matter what you buy, make sure you read the fine print. Don't buy the cheapest. This is a case of getting what you pay for. Once you find something that seems acceptable, Google the name. Usually, reviews from old customers will pop up. Do your homework, and you will be okay.

Oh. And my client? Since he was never formally admitted into the hospital, the trip insurer was not obligated to pay.

Hope this helps! Let me know if I can offer any more advice.

Warm Regards,
Pat Hewitt
Travel Professional

Pat: Could you post the name of the travel insurance company you referenced above? I think it would be helpful for people knowing what to avoid. Thanks...

I am sorry. I don't recall, it was quite a while ago.

Everyone is so litigious these days. I would be afraid to post it if I did remember!

Regards,

Pat

I've also used Travel Guard in the past and unfortunately am getting ready to file a claim with them because I'm having to cancel a trip to Peru. My friend and traveling companion has developed some health issues that need to be addressed before she can jet off to South America. We were supposed to leave on November 1st, so we're both very bummed, but taking care of health problems is obviously more important than the trip.

Anyway, the long and short of this is that I'm currently in the process of working with Travel Guard to get reimbursed for the hotels and airfare that have already been pre-paid. Like shelleyk, we'll have to provide documentation of the things we've paid for, and we'll also have to provide a written statment from my friend's physician explaining why she can't travel at this time. So far, Travel Guard has been fine to work with. Hopefully everything will continue to go smoothly with the claim.

Having this happen just over a week out from a trip certainly reinforces why I purchased travel insurance in the first place!

Thank you for your advice. I better get busy.

I assume you know this, but you generally need to insure within a week of the first deposit to avoid a pre-existing condition exclusion.

NEVER LEAVE HOME WITHOUT TRAVEL INSURANCE!!
Just completedtwo week cruise and hubby was down to M.D. for bladder infection.. The med area was crowded...One cruiser was taken off by helicopter to Canada... Whether it's a broken wrist or stomach upset.. with five...it would be a poor decision NOT to take it out

We were insured through Travel Insured and had to file a claim when I had ER surgery 2 days before we were due to leave for France. No problem on getting reimbursed.

A couple of points:

1. Pre-existing condition waiver. This is what jgold is referencing. As Pat Hewitt said, read the fine print before you decide which one to buy. In most instances the pre-existing condition (re trip cancelation) applies not only to you and your spouse and kids, but what if you have to cancel because of a parent, or sibling ER? It usually applies to them too. So if any of them have a major health condition you may want to consider purchasing during the policy's waiver period. Some policies say within 1 week of the time you book your trip, others within 14 days.

2. Medical. Remember that normally while the trip cancellation applies to the travelling companions/immediate family of the insured, the medical evacuation/coverage only covers someone who is insured. So, you're thinking gosh cheaper to just insure me and if we have to cancel our trip because a family member is hospitalized I'm covered for the cost - true. However, once you start your trip, your family member (who you didn't insure)now needs ER care and to fly back to the U.S. Oops, they're not an insured and now no coverage for that issue.

We use it for all of our major trips and especially for any international trip.

Would not travel without insurance,
specially since we have elderly parents. The one website we've used that helps a lot with comparisons is www.squaremouth.com
On short less expensive trips we purchased Travel Lite policy from Travelex. However, on more expensive and longer trips we've purchased from the same company but the Travel Plus policy. Check these out and see what works for you. Whatever you do, if you purchase through a website, double check that the amount of insurance, etc. is correct. Hope this is helpful.

For my upcoming trip, I've used the Trip Insurance Store (www.tripinsurancestore.com), and have found them very pleasant and helpful to deal with.

I called insuremytrip.com, and they asked me my concerns, and what I wanted and then, they helped me pick out a policy that was suited to me.