Author Topic: Travel Insurance  (Read 8007 times)

tomatoprincess

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Travel Insurance
« on: June 24, 2013, 07:34:55 AM »
Hi all, I'm planning to travel to Europe soon and was booking flight tickets when they offered me insurance. Typically when ppl try to offer me extra stuff I automatically decline, but this time I'm not so sure. This is the first trip I'm organizing myself that is out of the country, I recall last time I went backpacking in Australia, the organizer bought insurance for everyone. What do you mustachians think? I'm from Canada btw.

SnackDog

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Re: Travel Insurance
« Reply #1 on: June 24, 2013, 09:07:54 AM »
In the US it is often not needed as airlines will provide cover if they screw up your flights. In many other countries you are on your own if they delay your flight a day or two and you lose out.  Be careful!

matchewed

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Re: Travel Insurance
« Reply #2 on: June 24, 2013, 09:10:51 AM »
Understand the rules and policies that the companies have regarding delays and the like prior to signing up for any insurance. Also some credit cards have built in travel insurance if the purchase is made with the card. Look into options like those before forking over your money.

Lina

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Re: Travel Insurance
« Reply #3 on: June 24, 2013, 10:41:49 AM »
I don't know how it is in Canada, but in Sweden the insurances for your home includes a travel insurance for 45 days. Credit cards such as Visa and Mastercard often includes insurances for flight delays and luggage that disappear. But the important thing for you is to have an insurance if you end up in hospital and need to take an ambulance flight back to Canada for some reason. Don't travel without an insurance without health coverage and before you buy anything check the fine print of what is included. I skip the insurances offered by travel agents because I can get the protection cheaper through my home insurance.

travelbug

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Re: Travel Insurance
« Reply #4 on: June 24, 2013, 06:25:59 PM »
My philosophy is that is you cannot afford (or have) travel insurance you shouldn't go.

If something happens to you you need to be insured! I suppose it would depend on your health insurance in your country if it included travel insurance in another country.


mpbaker22

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Re: Travel Insurance
« Reply #5 on: June 24, 2013, 06:38:07 PM »
My philosophy is that is you cannot afford (or have) travel insurance you shouldn't go.

If something happens to you you need to be insured! I suppose it would depend on your health insurance in your country if it included travel insurance in another country.

I've never traveled outside the US, what is so special about travel insurance?  Insurance, by definition, has an expected loss, so what is covered under travel insurance that is necessary to have?

expatartist

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Re: Travel Insurance
« Reply #6 on: June 24, 2013, 07:07:08 PM »
Don't pay extra for travel insurance when booking a ticket or hotel.

DO have your own travel insurance, in case you get hit by a buzzing Vespa in Rome.

There are many choices out there. I use World Nomads because it's affordable and flexible.

Zikoris

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Re: Travel Insurance
« Reply #7 on: June 24, 2013, 07:27:37 PM »
I have emergency travel medical insurance through work for free, so not an issue anymore, but I used to buy it before I worked here through Co-operators. It wasn't very expensive.

As for trip cancellation insurance, by my calculations I would have to cancel at least one in 10 trips for it to be worth it(I travel frequently and cheaply), otherwise it would make more sense to just eat the cost of a trip every 20 or 30 or however often I broke a leg the day before my flight. I also tend to book fairly close to departure date, which limits the time frame where something can go wrong, compared to people who book a year ahead.

iamsoners

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Re: Travel Insurance
« Reply #8 on: June 24, 2013, 08:39:00 PM »
I buy travel insurance when I feel like I have a really high emotional investment in how the trip goes.  For instance if I miss my flight out to see my sister, it's not a huge deal, I can get the next flight. But when I'm taking a trip of a lifetime with a complicated itinerary and I know I'd be upset having to pay to fix a big set-back, then I get travel insurance.  Basically that means foreign trips with complicated itineraries and tight time-tables. In those cases, where I'm stuck on a train and know my flight's departure time is getting closer and closer, I feel a lot less stressed knowing I have a fallback.

And agreed, don't buy the insurance through the airline, you'll want something that covers all the aspects of your travel (trains, hotels, medical, etc.).  There's a website out there that allows you to compare policies--google for that.

tomatoprincess

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Re: Travel Insurance
« Reply #9 on: June 24, 2013, 11:21:28 PM »
Phewph! I love this forum and getting the opinions of mustachians. I value your opinions as I know you have thought about a situation logically and advice based on experience.

I have decided to book my flights declining the travel insurance, due to the fact that the website expatartist mentioned "World Nomads" are a few dollars cheaper. Knowing that I could get insurance independently gives me more time to consider my options.

Thanks all!

Villanelle

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Re: Travel Insurance
« Reply #10 on: June 25, 2013, 03:44:39 AM »
Are you referring to medical coverage while you are away, or insurance that covers the cost of the trip is something goes wrong (natural disaster, illness that prevents you from making the trip, etc.)?

If it is the former, check with your medical insurance to see if you are already covered.  My dad had a stroke on a tennis court in Mexico, and it cost him nothing because his regular insurance covered everything, including a medical plane flight back to the States.  If you aren't covered, then it is probably smart to purchase something, but I'd go for a no-frills plan.

If it is the latter, I think that in most cases, it is a waste of money.  Most airlines in most places will put you up if you miss a connection.  (I spent a night at the Radison in London just last week, thanks to British Airways.)  If you have a complicated itinerary with lots of connections made of different reservations, then it starts to be worth considering, because RyanAir doesn't care that you missed your flight because British Airways had a delay, or because your train to London arrived late.  But it it is a fairly simple trip with one set of round trip tickets and a hotel, to me, the insurance is a rip off. 


kit

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Re: Travel Insurance
« Reply #11 on: June 25, 2013, 07:22:19 AM »
US medical insurance is usually a lot better when it comes to covering overseas stuff, but you need to check your policy. I have a private Australian policy that covers the standard $0 as soon as I leave the island, so I pay $360/year to http://www.1cover.com.au/ and don't have to worry until the next year's payment is due.

The thing that catches a lot of people from nationalized health care countries is that people don't think to prepare and when they drunkenly fall off the back of a motorbike in Thailand, their drunk friends have to come up with some money or show proof of coverage before the hospital will even scrape them off the pavement.

tomatoprincess

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Re: Travel Insurance
« Reply #12 on: June 25, 2013, 10:20:26 AM »
I'm from Canada so I don't typically pay for medical insurance, that I am definitely getting for traveling abroad. Travel insurance for flight cancellations I'm leaning towards getting since my flight plan is slightly complicated, and one connection time is 50min between different airlines.

travelbug

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Re: Travel Insurance
« Reply #13 on: June 26, 2013, 09:04:58 PM »
My philosophy is that is you cannot afford (or have) travel insurance you shouldn't go.

If something happens to you you need to be insured! I suppose it would depend on your health insurance in your country if it included travel insurance in another country.

I've never traveled outside the US, what is so special about travel insurance?  Insurance, by definition, has an expected loss, so what is covered under travel insurance that is necessary to have?


I am not from the USA but I know in Australia that our medical insurance does not cover any medical expenses that may be incurred while overseas.
I do not take out domestic insurance for if a plane is cancelled etc. But when travelling abroad it is imperative to have some sort of insurance for any accidents that happen: whether for the hospital/ to transport your body home if you die/ for any emergency flights home to operate etc etc...

I presumed that was what was being asked about. ? .


Christof

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Re: Travel Insurance
« Reply #14 on: June 27, 2013, 05:31:46 AM »
Your flight to and from Europe is covered by European regulations (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulation_261/2004) which require airlines to provide food, shelter, communication for even the slightest delay as well as compensation in addition to reimbursing your ticket price if they cancel flights. If the reason you wanted insurance is to cover any airline issue not initiated by yourself, you don't need insurance.

If the coverage is about you cancelling the trip, you might want to check into the terms. European airlines, hotels, and other providers do NOT have the same cancellation policy as US companies. If you book a flight that is non-refundable, in Europe this means, the flight is non-refundable. You can't buy or complain yourself out of a contract you signed.

Make sure, though, that you check terms and conditions. Most travel insurances only cover cancellations for a pre-defined set of reasons like medical issues as certified by a doctor, death of a close person, weather related incidents.