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DEL.ICIO.USIs travel insurance a good idea?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Anyone who watched Hurricane Fay crisscross the state of Florida last week knows the havoc that wind and water can wreak. As Floridians begin to clean up and Georgians catch the tail-end of Fay’s dousing, I wonder how many travelers’ vacation plans were doused as well.
How many people plonked down hundreds (or thousands) of dollars months ago to secure a house, resort or cruise only to find airports and hotels closed or flooded when it was actually time to leave for vacation? How many trips were cut short as a result of the storm?
It’s a risk any traveler takes when they plan a trip to a hurricane-prone area during hurricane season (June through November in our neck of the woods, with most storms churning up mid-August through October). And it’s one of the reasons people buy travel or trip cancellation insurance.
When we booked our house in the Outer Banks, we paid the extra money for the travel insurance. You never know what the weather will be like out in the Atlantic in the summer. The idea of losing the rental money or of having to evacuate part-way through our trip made the cost of the insurance palatable.
Naturally, the weather during our vacation was perfect. I’m certainly glad that the insurance was not needed. But since then, I have asked myself if travel insurance is really worth it or just another way to squeeze another dollar out of travelers like me.
Travel insurance averages about five to eight percent of your trip’s prepaid cost, and hurricanes aren’t the only reason folks buy it. Many policies cover cruise ship sicknesses and natural disasters of all kinds -snowstorms, earthquakes, fires, etc. - as well as travel delays that impact your ability to get there, medical emergencies or death, and even terrorist incidents occurring in your destination city. “Listed unforeseen events” is usually the key phrase in travel insurance policies, so make sure you read all of the particulars and compare travel insurers if you are buying a plan.
In the end, I know I would have kicked myself had we lost our vacation AND money due to weather. So I will probably keep buying the insurance.
Tell us…what would you do? Have you ever bought travel or trip cancellation insurance before a big trip? For what reasons did you buy the insurance? Were you glad you did? Have you ever had to use your trip insurance? Was it easy getting reimbursed? Does the cost of the trip have to be a certain amount before you will purchase insurance?
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By Pete
August 27, 2008 8:13 AM | Link to this
I have purchased travel insurance for all of the cruises we have taken but have never had to use it. I purchased it for a trip to Hawaii last year and paid for every policy I have ever purchased when I had to cancel due to my father’s death. I was using credit card points and buying non-changeable, non-refundable tickets for the trip. The travel insurance put back the points and reimbursed me for the airfare (a combination value of ~$3K). It really made a stressful situation a little better and we had a great time when we ere able to go ahead with the trip this year. As I said, I purchase travel insurance for the cruises we take as the ship will not wait for you if there are any delays in arrival. Additionally, the medical insurance if you become ill or injured while out of the country is very valuable. Many insurers do not cover out of country travel or at least not to the the extent they do for domestic issues. Further, if you have a serious illness or injury, a medical evacuation can be extremely expensive if required and that is totally on you. I know many people travel without travel insurance and claim you don’t need it. The thing to remember it that it is like health insurance - you hope and pray you will not need it but buy it anyway! :) Just my $.02 and your mileage will vary.By A
August 27, 2008 8:34 AM | Link to this
We are travelling to Curacao in September and while it’s outside the hurricane belt, we have to fly through the hurricane belt to get there. This is the first time we’ve travelled to the Caribbean during hurricane season and since we all SCUBA dive, we decided the combination of non-refundable airline tix during hurricane season and non-adequate medical coverage would make the additional 5% worth it should something happen. I hope and pray nothing does because we’re really looking forward to the trip but at I do feel better knowing that we won’t be out several thousand dollars if something does.By Theresa
August 27, 2008 8:43 AM | Link to this
Hey Keith — we’ve used travel insurance twice — once during hurricane season and once for a cruise —-I think especially with small children when you never know if one will get sick it’s nice to know you won’t lose all the money if you had to cancel — The cruise insurance not only covered cancellation but also medical insurance in foreign hospitals — so we just didn’t have to worry about anything.By Theresa
August 27, 2008 8:45 AM | Link to this
Hey Keith — we’ve used travel insurance twice — once during hurricane season and once for a cruise —-I think especially with small children when you never know if one will get sick it’s nice to know you won’t lose all the money if you had to cancel — The cruise insurance not only covered cancellation but also medical insurance in foreign hospitals — so we just didn’t have to worry about anything.By terri
August 27, 2008 9:24 AM | Link to this
I’ve Never Used it, I’ve been to mainly different countries in Europe, UK, as well as China this past May (during the major earthquakes). Because it is just two of us and no little ones I think that is why we don’t buy it. Another thing to consider is the foreign currency rates. When going somewhere your dollar just does not go very far, and if you had to be hospitalized-well then you’d probably spend a fortune. But if you had to be hospitalized in China, or South America, or Mexico, then obviously your dollar goes very far (well at least it used to-not sure of the current rates) and a hospital bill would not be much, in comparison. So it’s a risk, but so is going on vacation and doing adventurous things, too. You all have changed my mind though-If I were to go on a cruise or rent a beach house, then I think I would get it based on the above postings.By Traveler
August 27, 2008 9:50 AM | Link to this
I’ve purchased travel insurance in the past when I was traveling to a country with inadequate health care services. I made sure to purchase coverage that included medical air evacuation in case of serious injury that required air transport home or to a hospital in a nearby country with better medical facilities. I would also consider purchasing insurance for a cruise or other completely prepaid vacation if I were to ever go on a cruise. I would not purchase the policy offered through the cruise line or tour company from which I purchased the trip. There are a couple of reputable independent travel insurance companies that I would use so that if the reason I couldn’t go on the cruise or trip is because the company folded, I would still have an operational insurance company with which to file a claim.By Lissa
August 27, 2008 11:10 AM | Link to this
The way I look at it, I just ask myself the question of “have I paid more money than I would be willing to lose if I couldn’t go?” I’ve purchased it for pre-paid vacations to WDW and a cruise. We normally don’t buy it, but when you’re looking at $5000 for our honeymoon cruise, you better believe we paid the extra few hundred just in case. A ship will not wait for you! The one time we bought it for a trip to WDW was when my family went with us. My mother is in poor health (dialysis, etc.), so we went ahead and got the insurance just in case something were to happen to prevent us all from going (which could have easily occurred).By Mavis
August 27, 2008 2:32 PM | Link to this
I have begun to purchase travel insurance for all international trips since 9/11. I was all paid and scheduled that year to leave on 9/15 for Morocco for 2 weeks. Then 9/11 happened and all airports were closed in the u.s. Many of the other travelers were based in Europe, so the tour was not cancelled. Only Americans were unable to make it. Thankfully, that time I had purchased insurance and my trip was fully refunded. It may seem like a useless expenditure, “UNTIL YOU HAVE TO USE IT”.By Lee
August 27, 2008 5:18 PM | Link to this
I used to always buy the $1.00 airplane trip life insurance at the airport when I traveled. I would then sign all my girl friends as beneficiaries, and send each of the forms to them by mail. It made all the girl friends all think I was serious, responsible and fiscally sound. For $1.00 each, I got really good kudoes with the girls. Not a bad deal. Sigh. Since 9/11 all those little insurance kiosks have disappeared from the airports. And I got married. But the technique was great for flirting.By Ken10
August 30, 2008 5:24 PM | Link to this
The Caribbean is a great place to enjoy vacation trips and i just have to admit that i had the time of my life at charlisangels adult sex vacations resort at all inclusive packages.By Thomas Dee
September 1, 2008 2:49 PM | Link to this
I purchase insutance for a big trip. It has been more than paid for when I used it twice. My spouse had a heart attack the day I was to leave for England and I had a flight to London on 9/13/01.