Best Travel Insurance

[Merriem]

No doubt this has been brought up before. However does anyone have recommendations a really good travel insurance. We would prefer one that you do not have to pay out of pocket, and then be reimbursed . Thank you for your suggestions.

[blindrid]

No doubt this has been brought up before. However does anyone have recommendations a really good travel insurance. We would prefer one that you do not have to pay out of pocket, and then be reimbursed . Thank you for your suggestions.

 

I don't think you find any that pays direct. It's more of a vendor thing as the provider wants a gtd payment. They assist in guaranteeing coverage though to make sure you get taken care and not quite sure all of that works with a large claim. Thankfully, I've never had to find out.

 

I'd call Steve at Tripinsurancestore.com and go over your concerns. He's super knowledgable and quite helpful.

[Merriem]

We did have one for a Silversea cruise, and we would have not paid anything up front out of pocket if we had to use it. We did not, thankfully, but I would not cruise with them again, but I liked where you did not have to pay and then get reimbursed later. I look into the one you mentioned. Thanks.

[Christine Frances]

Lots of info in this "Cruise Discussion Topic" on Insurance. Using search here will probably bring up what you are looking for:)

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=635

 

 

Cheers

[divechick]

Fortunately we have never had a claim but I always book thru the trip insurance store compares rates and the staff is great about answering questions if you have any.

[ptrpanpens]

Fortunately we have never had a claim but I always book thru the trip insurance store compares rates and the staff is great about answering questions if you have any.

 

Agree. Steve is the most knowledgable person I have ever found for trip insurance and you will never go wrong listening to his recommendations.

 

And he spends alot of time explaining all the options. He is the best one there to call.

[FloatSomeMore]

We use Travelex and yes we have had to use the policy twice. Once when my husband was medivac'd off ship, sailing on Regent that cruise and once when we had a family cruise (on Celebrity) and my brother-in-law was sick and could not make it. Documentation is everything, but they were great.

[Merriem]

We use Travelex and yes we have had to use the policy twice. Once when my husband was medivac'd off ship, sailing on Regent that cruise and once when we had a family cruise (on Celebrity) and my brother-in-law was sick and could not make it. Documentation is everything, but they were great.

 

Great to know! Thank you..that is what we are leaning towards. Appreciate it.

[blindrid]

Fortunately we have never had a claim but I always book thru the trip insurance store compares rates and the staff is great about answering questions if you have any.

 

I had a piddly claim that Steve helped out on. I'm a believer!

 

Steve, whenever we may meet, I owe you a drink.

Edited November 16, 2014 by blindrid

[trvlcarib]

USAA if you are eligible

[A Sixth?]

If you travel a fair bit, get something that is year round, not trip by trip

 

My 2 cents

[ghstudio]

Whatever policy you buy, consider adding MedJet assist (US residents...and through AARP for a discount). It can make a major difference if you find yourself in a foreign hospital that believes they can treat you adequately....and you know (or suspect) they can't. You, not your insurance company and some doctor in that remote hospital, are the gatekeeper. With MedJet, if you are medically stable enough to fly, you can request to be flown home (or to the hospital of your choice)....MedJet can really save your life.

[Lsimon]

There is no best travel insurance. There are a range of different products at different prices. They cover different risks at different levels and have different prices. You have to determine which risks you want to insure for and then read the policy terms to determine which policy fits best. If you Google "travel insurance" you'll find some sites that will compare the offerings from several different companies and help in this determination.

 

Here is a good example: A few years ago we had some contingencies that would not be covered by any policy other than those that have a "cancel for any reason" coverage. We were concerned enough about that contingency that we felt we needed to insure it so we chose the Celebrity policy as it provides a "cancel for any reason" coverage which provides a percentage of the non-refundable cruise fare as a future cruise credit. But for most other cruises we feel our biggest risk, in addition to regular cancellation coverage, is medical evacuation and choose the policies that have a good mix of coverage and cost for that.

 

Whatever you do you should read the policy so you'll know exactly what is covered and what isn't. Reading the policy isn't fun but it isn't all that bad as most policies are written in a simpler form of legalese than they were a few years back. The reason I suggest this is that I frequently see posts here on cruise critic where people presume certain events would be covered by travel insurance when I know that they never, or almost never, are. Clearly many people have a misunderstanding of exactly what coverage they are buying.

Edited November 16, 2014 by Lsimon

[blindrid]

Great points.

 

We've had friends have accident like broken bones, surgery. A few DR's held them hostage for payment.

 

I agree that the evac is important to us also. And the flight coverages are important as we fly out of Denver in the wintertime. At trip insurance store, they have a good compare software as I've seen a lot of variations in price, coverage and primary vs. secondary.

 

As you mention - know what you're buying. I always read the exclusion portion of the policy before I buy.

[lovecruzin]

In my experience, as far as ease of filing a claim, Travelex beats Travel Safe. DH broke a rib and filing with Travelex was fairly straightforward, less documentation and if I recall correctly, I was able to do it all online.

 

I am in the process of filing a claim with Travel Safe and claims are handled by a 3rd party. They are asking for much more paperwork (including itineraries, receipts for trip payment and even proof that I purchased the policy).

 

The broken rib was a claim for $900~ and the current one is for $95, I was almost tempted to not even bother..

 

For that reason I won't use Travel Safe again.

[blindrid]

Who'd you buy it from? I'd get them involved.

[Keith1010]

There are many good policies out there and there is no best.

 

I would do the research on insuremytrip.com

 

We use travelex insurance and have filed claims a couple of times and they were processed in a reasonable amount of time. The key was to provide all of the information requested which we did.

 

Keith