Should I buy travel insurance or not?

[uppitycats]

Where in heavens did you get that figure..It cost one of our CC posters on our Amazon Cruise $50,000 to have her Mom Medivac'd from Manaus, back to a Hospital in her home town several years ago ..Agree it could cost much more now, but I believe $400,000 is way out of proportion...I don't know of any policy that would even cover that amount..

 

Betty

 

My most recent travel policy covered me up to one million dollars for medivac coverage, for me and one travel companion. The $400,000 - $500,000 amount is what my travel agent tells me is the "average" cost for such evacuations, these days.

[sppunk]

Where in heavens did you get that figure..It cost one of our CC posters on our Amazon Cruise $50,000 to have her Mom Medivac'd from Manaus, back to a Hospital in her home town several years ago ..Agree it could cost much more now, but I believe $400,000 is way out of proportion...I don't know of any policy that would even cover that amount..

Betty

 

From life, honesty. Had friends hit with a $310,000 bill two years ago.

 

Policies cover either $500,000 or $1m for a reason.

 

It cost me $17,000 three months ago for a 2 1/2 mile ambulance ride to a hospital!

[COLLEYBERRY]

Never ,never, travel without insurance please......absorbing the cost of a cruise is one thing....catastrophic medical costs can cripple a family.

 

My son, healthy 26 year old(actor) shot a commercial in the US recently.He was only gone for two days, I made him promise me he would get travel insurance, even for this brief trip...$25.00 so Momma could sleep while he was gone, was cheap at twice the price.:D,

 

There was a recent fund raiser here in Toronto for a young women injured in Croatia. $!00,000.00 was needed just for air fare to fly her home( in a coma) ). She left home without travel insurance. Don't risk it

[mamaofami]

[quote name=mamaofami

 

I paid for Medjet assist for a year but when it came time to renew, I called and they told me it doesn't cover evacuation (helicopter) from the ship to a hospital on shore.

 

That's correct. If you get taken to a hospital while on your cruise, and you are in some place that doesn't have the facilities to care for you, Medjet will airlift you from that hospital to any one of your choice . To me, that's a lot better than being stranded in some local Caribbean hospital if I need surgery.

[doublebzz]

Someone in this thread suggested that you get a credit card with travel insurance attached. READ that protection plan before you decide it's enough! There are often loopholes in them the size of the grand canyon , making it impossible to actually resolve a claim, should you need one.

 

 

 

 

This sensible guidance is true for whatever travel insurance plan you are considering.

[RMLincoln]

I'm an EMT with a fire department 90 minutes by car from Albuquerque. A ground ambulance from here costs about $1500 and a helicopter ride (which we do about 10% of the time) runs closer to $25,000.

 

I answered NO on the poll, but here's where I'm coming from:

 

Cancelation insurance: We'll eat that if necessary. We've already made up for that in the number of cruises we've taken by not buying extra insurance.

 

Trip interruption insurance: I guess we'll eat that too. But we fly in the day before or have a plan that we could drive if necessary, meaning if the airports are closed or there are no planes because of storms elsewhere. If there's a volcano or earthquake we could have a problem but life will go on and we'd chalk that up and move forward.

 

Medical Evacuation: We buy a separate policy good all year for domestic and foreign travels and it covers up to $500,000 per event. We pay $120/yr for it through our RV club, Good Sam. It also covers repatriation of remains and provides for English speaking assistance throughout the event.

 

Medical Expenses: DH is on a Medicare Advantage plan that covers international urgent or emergancy care; my plan does so also.

 

Baggage claims: No coverage. But my motto is "pack like you'll never see it again".

Not comforting maybe but real. I carry on my jewelry, not that it's worth much in $s but some of it is sentimental, but I want to use it while I can. Clothes: We pack carry-ons with something for every need, though basic. A change of clothes that we could wear in the MDR if needed, swimsuit and a pair of something else to wear on our feet ( probably sandals), meds (mostly OTC, no life-sustaining drugs) toilettries and our electronics, cash and passports, plus our insurance policy and it's instructions and copies of all our necessary documents. Checked baggage could be done without if necessary and we self-insure if it's really totally lost.

 

This approach isn't for everyone, I know that. And i'm not suggesting that it should be but this is what we do, so far, for now. I think our biggest risks are driving to the airport without having a car accident! We live in an area that is threatened by fire danger every year and we take precautions for that, plus we live on the edge of a volcanic caldera, not that anyone expects it blow again in the next 10,000 years, I suppose it could - we do have lots of hot springs and sulphur vents around us so it's not impossible. :) m--

[startwin]

Do we really need a poll as to whether to buy travel insurance or not? It's common sense, and if you don't you take risks, and pay for it dearly if something happens. Please don't be guided by the results of poll - only you can decide.

[bcnvcanada]

Yes, Yes, Yes, we paid for a cruise in late January of this year. In April, one of us got sick, never had been ill a day in there life, by the end of April, when we were to leave one of us passed away, a silent but quick kind of cancer. We were of the younger side of pax of HAL late 50's. You never know.

[lvz2cruz]

We always do through Travel Guard.

Once we cancelled the day before when my dad had a bad reaction to a new cancer drug and another time we nearly had to when I had a hard time getting out of jury dury. Still another time a person in my husband's office had surgery and he thought he could not be gone when she was.

Cancelling a cruise is disappointing enough. When you get a full refund you can start planning another one:).

[MR NW GUY]

Do we really need a poll as to whether to buy travel insurance or not? It's common sense, and if you don't you take risks, and pay for it dearly if something happens. Please don't be guided by the results of poll - only you can decide.

I appreciate other people's opinions. Even those I disagree with. Considering the responses here, I think there are many other people who are finding this enjoyable reading. And, even the poll is a great recap regarding my question. Cheers!

[Beejay4016]

I wonder if this is a cultural thing. I've never met an Australian above about 25 years of age who didn't have travel insurance, but most Americans I have known don't bother with it. I think we Aussies are absolutely terrified of needing medical attention in the US - there are always horror stories of the huge medical bills incurred there by people who don't have travel insurance - that attracts a bill about the size of an average mortgage. Having said that, it seems that most folks here a very pro-insurance, which is great. And bear in mind, a good policy will cover all your medical bills, plus lost luggage - including cameras, jewellery, clothing - missed flights and the costs associated with those delays, car hire excess, plus getting you home if you need a medical evacuation. Over here we tend to say that if you can't afford travel insurance, you can't afford to travel.

 

One of the posters mentioned travel insurance attached to credit cards. I have year-round travel insurance attached to my Mastercard/Amex. Yes, there is an annual fee on the card, but travel insurance is quite pricey and so the fee is nothing compared to that. The insurance is actually through Zurich, who are one of the biggest travel insurance companies in the world, and you have a 24 hour emergency contact number with them should anything go wrong anywhere in the world. I have known a couple of people who have had to call on them when they have had accidents - the usual broken leg, and one case of luggage disappearing - and the issues have been handled promptly and professionally. Worth checking out. :)

[scamper]

Always buy insurance. Period. With at least a half million dollars in Medevac.

 

It bugs me when people think they're too young to need the coverage. After all, no accident EVER happens to a young person. Anywhere.

 

Can't tell "kids" anything. They know it all.

[nannygoatjunction]

I could not comprehend leaving home without Travel Insurance on the highest level.

 

I go thru the policy with a finetooth comb to make sure it covers every scenario, then look even harder at what it doesnt cover.

 

Altho the only time we ever claimed was a simple pair of glasses that got broken.

 

I have always thought the policy price was very cheap and just put it in there with the cost of our holiday.

[ialwayswanttocruise]

We would not leave home without travel insurance. We are young and fit but can not control accidents or the airlines loosing our suitcases.

 

I work with travel insurance and have heard horror stories that have cost people thousands of dollars. We buy a years cover at a time and it covers us where ever we go for that year. We are in Australia and it costs us about $300 a year, a little price to pay for peace of mind :):)

[brucory]

I love travelling and have never had the need to make a claim on travel insurance.

 

That said, I would never travel without a good insurance policy.

 

The saddest thing I have ever seen on a plane was a 19 year old New Zealand boy being flown home from Europe to New Zealand after a diving injury rendered him quadriplegic. He had nurses and doctors flying with him and was given the best care possible to be returned to his family. His policy probably cost very little, but I imagined what it would be like for his family if he did not have that insurance.

 

After having seen diversions and medical evacs on every cruise I have been on, I will not cruise without a good policy covering every personal illness disaster. It would be awful to have to decide between an evac to a hospital and the thousands (or tens of thousands)it would cost for that evac...

 

;):rolleyes::p

[sprockie]

At least 10 years ago we missed our ship in St. Thomas due to a traffic delay and very busy port. When they asked me (HAL) if I wanted the gold or platinum insurance I said "platinum - you never know". Had I picked gold, it would not have covered us. It covered our flights back to Florida, missed cruise days, hotels etc. You never know what will happen when you're off the ship. It's not only getting to the sailing you have to worry about, but while in ports.

[Typhoon1]

While we always buy insurance, DH has a habit of calling it "junk insurance". I wonder if he would still have that opinion once he has to make a claim. That said, buying it is really pretty subjective.

[iancal]

We buy in now, but not from a travel agent or a cruise line. We typically buy it from a primary insurer and we reduce our premium by increasing our deductable to 5 thousand or whatever deducable makes sense. Apart from price, there can be significant variations in conditions, exclusions, etc.

 

We find that the most expensive comparable policies (in Canada at least) come from the banks and other on line sources that make it so easy to buy without shopping around. We just purchased a five month policy. After shopping around, we found the differences between offers werfe significant. Not sure how relevent this would be for people in the US or for shorter trips. Our credit cards and contents insurance cover us for trip interuption.

 

We would take a higher decuctable if the premium discount was good. OUr view is that we need to insure ourselves against catastrophic costs (to us). We also find that the private, primary insurers offer better rates and better packages. We do not need cancel for any reason insurance either.

[world~citizen]

yes.

[igraf]

These stories are starting to sound like insurance sales pitches.

 

My mother was recently transported a much longer distance via ambulance and the bill was $1,000. Seriously, you could hire a dozen doctors in a dozen Rolls-Royces for $17k.

 

Besides, I already have health insurance from work. And yes, it covers me in foreign countries.

 

igraf

 

 

 

 

From life, honesty. Had friends hit with a $310,000 bill two years ago.

 

Policies cover either $500,000 or $1m for a reason.

 

It cost me $17,000 three months ago for a 2 1/2 mile ambulance ride to a hospital!

[Sea42]

We are covered by my husband insurance for out of country medical emergencies. Including med. evac. However, that does not cover our loss of travel expenses. Everyone needs to look at what coverage they already have, what losses they can afford, before deciding they need a separate policy. There is not one answer that is right for everyone.

[George C]

We always had good health insurance and only did insurance once in over 50 cruises so we have saved alot of money not using it, but almost missed a recent cruise due to a bad back (never had that problem before) and will start buying it.

[Osmosis Jones]

If you can't afford the insurance, you can't afford the trip! :)

 

Anyone can break a leg or end up with some unexpected, unpredictable and unpreventable illness or situation that can change everything in an instant.

 

It's not that expensive in the scheme of things, plus it's worth every cent for piece of mind.

We have 4 people (2 adults + 2 kids) who may possibly incur an injury or 'something' unexpected, so it isn't even a question, it's just part of the cost.

 

We buy a travel insurance policy as recommned by our previous travel agent that also rates highly on several comparison websites.

[alexspepa]

two words - emergency evacuation.

 

if you are injured, and your better half is looking at the option of putting out $200k or more before the helicopter will lift off, ask yourself two questions:

 

do you have the credit card limit for him/her to authorize?

 

if so - will he/she sign?

 

plus all the other stuff it covers.

 

did not always feel this way of course, do now.

[PatsyAnne]

"I know what you're thinking. "Did he fire six shots or only five?" Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I kind of lost track myself. But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?"