jclinard

Medical and related items would be the biggest insurable issue with (more or less) unlimited costs. It's what I look at. I prefer not to insure costs which are fixed. If something happened and I couldn't take my next trip, I'm out about a mere 10K between air and cruise tickets (as well as prepaid hotel and tours), but that's assuming it's a total loss. I've never canceled a cruise before, so I haven't looked into what I could recover (unlike Royal Caribbean, which has canceled at least five cruises on me).

Don't blame Carnival; blame the state of New York.

I think they followed their training exactly. They didn't want to pay, so they issued a check for a pittance and hoped you'd go away.

It's worth noting that AON is NOT accredited with the Better Business Bureau. That alone should make anybody nervous about buying a policy from them. I'd run the math on CFAR before buying. How much are you putting up, and if you have to use it, what do you really get back? It's especially important because without it your losses are limited to the amount of pre-paid items (hotel, airfare, cruise, etc.). In addition, I think you can't cancel within 48 hours, so with a last minute issue you're stuck with both having paid for the policy and for the non-refundable portions.

I trying to check in at the WestJet desk at Athens. Of course, I don't know if it was open then. I'm not surprised the insurance won't pay. Maybe the people who push insurance can explain to you what you did wrong.

Have you read the airline policies? I'm curious if you tried to check in with WestJet at Athens. Athens must be the worst. On the way back from a cruise there, they boarded the passengers before the luggage. No a/c, no water, just people cooking in the summer heat and humidity. We were in the last non-smoking row. It was awful. The plane was delayed and we missed our connection in New York. The original route home was Athens to New York to Dallas to Las Vegas. They rebooked us and got us a hotel voucher. The next day, we find they rebooked us to Dallas only... and there were no seats to Las Vegas. The agent just wanted to get rid of us and make us somebody else's problem in Dallas. We ended up having to go to Newark and go Chicago to Las Vegas.

Interestingly, from what I've read from people, old people and people traveling with other old people are supposed to be getting more value out of travel insurance as they are more likely to die or have medical issues that prevent them from traveling. Getting medical is a good thing though. I've stated many times people should get that because the costs are high. Anything else (air, hotel, cruise) costs are limited to the non-refundable portions of those. Several people here don't agree with that philosophy.

Read any policy before you buy one. Examine the record of the company with the BBB beforehand. Don't take recommendations from people who only know how quickly the premiums are deposited. Look at people who have attempted to make claims. Travel insurance generally costs around 6% of the cost of the trip. Be wary of recommendations from people with a financial interest in selling policies. Understand the conditions on which you can collect. Pay particular attention to requirements to get approval before getting treatment. I'm considered the bad person here for pointing these things out.

I'd read the policy from your CC, and any policy you think might cover you. See if what events you think will apply to you is a covered reason, or not. See how messy it might get in trying to collect from two different insurance companies. Only take recommendations from people who have collected on a claim. Don't take recommendations from people who only know how fast they deposited the premiums. Be very careful in taking recommendations from somebody with a financial interest in selling a policy. Read the BBB reviews of any company you consider. Don't end up being a sucker like I was.

I'll have to add "Do you have receipts for all the items in your bag, as well as the bag itself" as questions people should ask when considering travel insurance.

All of my interactions with AIG Travel Guard were online. I still feel like a prime sucker for buying their insurance, following their instructions, and then ending up with both a denial and no alternative methods to obtain a refund.

Well, I'll toss it back to you. Where can I get these "cheaper plans", and can I see the policies in advance so I know what is and what is not covered. That way I could make a prudent investigation to see if the insurance is not low value. I believe the norm for travel insurance is around 6% of the cost for the trip.

You don't have to take my word for Travel Guard. You can just look up their cases with the Better Business Bureau. Just google Better Business Bureau AIG Travel Guard to read their reviews and cases. That will provide plenty of information on the "gotchas" and "not covered" from a variety of people, not just me. I will urge you to only take recommendations from people who have tried to collect on a policy. It's foolish to take recommendations from people who only have experience with how fast they deposited the premiums. You should also request a copy in the policy in advance and read it. I'll give you the high points of my denial. I had a trip to Copenhagen. Denmark then imposed travel restrictions during COVID times, meaning I would not be allowed into the country. I was told I had to cancel the flight before I could make a claim. I did so, then my claim was denied. That meant I no longer had recourse to cancel the flights for different reasons (such as flight time delays). It didn't seem to be fun enough for them to deny my claim. They wanted to make sure I was totally screwed first.

I've asked that question several times, especially as I travel alone. If I'm incapacitated, how is anybody to know to call them to get prior approval?

Fair enough on the privacy issue. AIG Travel Guard also refused my claim.

Can you name your insurer, and give the reason for the denial? People need to be warned who to look out for, and the conditions on which they won't pay.

As you can see, klfrodo is pointing out the limited conditions on which an insurance company would pay. Oddly, he blocked me for pointing out this exact thing, as well as urging people to read the policies, investigation the reputation of the insurer, and only take insurance recommendations from people who have collected on their policies. I'm known as the bad guy for that.

Not the airline.

I would think you'd get your refund directly from the airline, not an insurer. They can't possibly take the position that they are entitled to keep your airfare while not providing the service.

I appreciate your honestly in conceding the points I made, notably that it wasn't you who had the medical issue, rather, it was your elderly husband. I know it takes a big person to admit my points where correct. You have my respect on that. Oh, and the answer to your question is black, but only because my denials were done in e-mail. There wasn't any special formatting (for boldness, underlines, font choices, and font color), so that's really more of an issue as to my e-mail client's settings than a deliberate color choice. Cheers,

Oh, I suddenly understand. The issue is I'm not old. Old people can probably get doctor's notes that a broken limb or other kind of mishap makes them ineligible for travel. They also tend to travel with other people, multiplying the odds somebody will be too infirm to travel. As I'm not eligible for Social Security and travel alone, I only have myself to worry about, and my doctor will have a very hard time writing a note that says a broken bone means I need to be home resting. If I was a geriatric patient, it would get a lot easier to declare me too feeble to travel.

Read any policy before you buy it. Only take recommendations from people who have collected, not from people who only have experience with how quickly the premiums were deposited.

Whatever. I did my homework, presented my concerns, and we'll have to agree to disagree on whether spending $350 to $500 on premiums to protect an $8000 trip (which I only used as that's my upcoming one) is a prudent purchase.

Please name the insurance company. I constantly tell people to only take insurance recommendations from people who have filed claims. Because taking them from people who only know how fast they deposited the checks for the premiums is stupid. Of course, a number of people don't seem to agree with that philosophy...

As you can see, I went over the policy and isolated the conditions on which I MIGHT be able to collect from the insurance company. Under those conditions, I've made no claims. I'm unconvinced they will pay out claims resulting from sickness / injury. The specifics in the policy require a written doctor opinion that my condition prevents me from traveling. It might be easy to claim if I'm in an iron lung, but not so easy if I have a broken hand. Even if the purpose of my trip is to play piano at Carnegie Hall. Same with a broken leg, and going on a Caribbean cruise where my main activity was supposed to be scuba diving. They will take the position that the injury does not prevent travel and refuse to pay. For all my research and examination of policies, I'm constantly pooh-poohed, even when I tell people not to take recommendations from people who only know the firm quality by how quickly they cashed the checks for the premiums (rather than how quickly / completely they paid a claim). Which is their right, though I can't really figure that out.