If you’re like me, you probably don’t give travel insurance a second thought when you’re planning a vacation. But a new Bing Travel article by Peter Greenberg may open your eyes to the possibility. Greenberg gives a good overview of when it's worth it to purchase insurance for your trip, noting that travel insurance can “save the day” if something were to go wrong. And that something can take oh-so-many forms: You get sick before you travel, you get sick while you travel, your flight gets canceled, your tour operator goes bankrupt, the airline loses your bags, your passport gets stolen, a hurricane wreaks havoc on your destination …
Greenberg also points out that it’s important to purchase the right kind of travel insurance, and to always read the fine print. Policies come in many different forms, and the last thing you want to do is pay an insurance premium only to discover that it doesn’t cover the disaster that actually happens.
Would I purchase travel insurance now? If I’ve got a domestic trip coming up that’s relatively inexpensive, probably not. But if I’m traveling internationally — that includes cruises, by the way — or shelling out a substantial chunk of change for my vacation, absolutely. The extra money would be well worth the peace of mind, especially if I were to have a medical emergency while I was abroad.
Have you purchased travel insurance before a vacation, and why or why not? Have you ever been in a situation when travel insurance saved the day — or when you wish you’d had it? Share your thoughts and experiences with fellow travelers in the comments section.
Personally - I buy insurance only when the value of the trip is so great that it would be an issue.
It did come in handy when we got sick overseas - we would have been really stuck without it.
It is worth to think about buying annual travel insurance if you are frequent traveller.
I always take insurance. Just to be on the safe side. I've had delays on flights, lost luggage, ... There is a lot that can go wrong.
I do agree, if your trip is just for a weekend and it's not an expensive trip, you can decide to take the risk. But if you're going on an expensive or extensive trip, I would definitely recommend travel insurance.
And as you could read in the article, read the fine print! Because there is so much difference in insurances. Make sure you know what they cover and what not! Worldwide or not (also very important) and probably the most important thing: how much do they cover!!! I've compared a few insurances overhere (Europe). And for me it's important that the amounts they're covering are high, because if I make a trip to the US, medical treatment is very expensive overthere and I want to be fully insured. So taking some time to find the right insurance is the best advice I can give.
This is of course just my two cents :)
My wife and I were on a cruise in the Caribbean, Left port on Sunday evening and on Tuesday our family called the boat and informed us that our sister-in-law had passed away. On Wednesday we docked in Jamaica and the concierge on the boat handled the flight back to Miami then back home to San Antonio. We also had to spend an evening in New Orleans on a connecting flight. All expenses were paid
in full, no arguments, plane, hotel, and meals.
Because we left the cruise after 3 days, we also received
a partial refund on the unused days.
The insurance was well worth it.
"Have you purchased travel insurance before a vacation, and why or why not?"
in France when we pay with a credit card, insurance is sometimes directly included.
Travel insurance has grown more sophisticated in recent months, going well beyond the standard protection for hurricane, baggage delay and medical emergency disruptions. New options allow you to protect against trip disruptions due to job loss, unexpected work conflicts with your vacation, the recurrence of a pre-existing med condition or a terrorist act in your destination. You can even opt for Cancel Any Reason coverage. Travel Insured Intl. has lots of options available. Lots of flexibility too.
I buy travel insurance where I am taking a 1-flight per day type trip. For example, certain airlines only run 1 flight per day to certain destinations like South Africa. If your flight is missed then you'll typically be delayed by 24 hours, and in most cases invoking the travel delay clause which will pay for housing/necessities.
I'm currently battling with the travel insurance company SureSave run by Mondial. They don't want to pay for a replaced filling and subsequent root canal because the tooth had previously had a filling and was therefore not "sound and natural". I doubt that many people think their teeth aren't covered if they have previously had a filling.
Now that I'm off my parents' health insurance, I always buy travel insurance when going overseas. My current health insurance does not cover me AT ALL if I were to get sick/injured while out of the US and Canada. For that reason alone, $40 for insurance on a two week trip is worth if to me.
When I go international I always buy all the insurance I can afford. Especially if you have lots of connections, just my recent trip I passed 9X2 airports including domestic in the countries I visited. Nothing happens, but on the safe side if I missed one of the connecting flights then I will miss the rest. Plus if ever, heavens forbid you get sick & go home w/o completing your trip then you are covered medically & the rest of your trip will be refunded. For domestic flights my credit card will cover (I always enroll every time I charge my fare) will cover lost baggage & delayed flights & connecting flights.
To be safe, I would recommend reviewing the U.S. Department of State and/or U.K. Foreign Office policy regarding medical travel insurance and repatriation. See www.medicaltravelinsuranceinfo.com for a summary or the specifics at travel.state.gov/.../cis_1470.html and www.fco.gov.uk/.../travel-insurance
I never used to bother with travel insurance. Nowadays I do though. My friends went on holiday and one of my good friends ended up in hospital seriously ill. He nearly died yet his parents could not get him home because he was not covered for insurance. They now owe more than £20,000.
Travel insurance is almost a must in today's world. So many things could go wrong that being prepared is really your only and best option. Political evacuation, terrorism, trip interruptions, repatriation and other emergencies happen unexpectedly everyday. I work for a travel insurance company and hear daily the unbelievable stories everyday of those people who have had unfortunate medical emergencies while they were traveling. Whether its your own health, or you just want to be able to get back home in case an immediate family member becomes ill - you should certainly look at the pros and cons of travel insurance.
Thanks for such a useful post. The basic thing is that you should use <a href="http://www.mnui.com">Medical Travel Insurance </a> as a part of travel planning.because it will solve many problems.
I am real encouraged with the mentation and don't search like adding anything in it.Travel insurance has grown more sophisticated in recent months, going well beyond the standard protection for hurricane, baggage delay and medical emergency disruptions.
Anne
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