Saturday, April 7, 2012

Travel News Blog ? Blog Archive ? How much does travel insurance ...

Q: Do you have some good sites for travel insurance that is inexpensive? I have looked at some sites and the cost is over $700.

K.B.

A: Travel-insurance prices are based on the value of your trip and what you want to cover.

It?s not worth insuring, say, a flight from Phoenix to Los Angeles. But if you?re taking a big-deal trip for which you?ve shelled out thousands of dollars, consider a policy that provides cancellation and medical coverage. Cancellation insurance will reimburse you if you miss your trip because of emergency or illness or if the travel provider goes out of business.

Medical coverage is important if you are traveling outside the United States. Chances are good that your health insurance doesn?t cover you when you leave the country. Many policies don?t cover you if you cruise on a foreign-flagged ship, which most are. If you don?t have medical coverage, you will be responsible for all your costs if you are injured or become ill ? everything from doctors to ambulances to an air evacuation if one is required.

Don?t buy insurance from your travel provider. Who will cover your costs if the provider goes under? Instead, choose an independent insurance company. You can compare policies offered by 21 insurers, including John Hancock, American Express and HTH Worldwide, at InsureMyTrip.com.

And I can?t stress this enough: Before you buy, read the fine print. Understand what?s covered and what?s not. What type of proof will you need if you cancel for emergency reasons? If you buy evacuation insurance, will you be flown to a destination of your choosing or of the insurer?s choosing?

The last time the topic of travel insurance came up, a reader posted this on travel.azcentral.com:

?Annual travel insurance is a very reasonable option even for travelers that fly (just) a few times. The annual policy I have has the following benefits: checked-baggage loss, $1,000; checked-baggage delay, $500; repatriation of remains, $7,500; travel delay, $100 per day/five-day maximum; medical evacuation, $25,000; and ADD, $25,000. My cost is $69 per year and it is a Voyager Basic Policy from TravelInsuranceServices.com. It does not cover cancellation costs. I purchase a supplemental policy for larger trips where I have non-refundable costs.

?It does make sense to purchase travel insurance for a flight from PHX to LAX if you are going to catch a connecting flight to Europe or Asia. ? If the plane is late and you miss your flight from LAX, you are (out of luck). Thus, it is important to cover all flights.?

?In addition to the InsureMyTrip website, I recommend SquareMouth.com. It has over 250 travel-insurance products and international medical insurance products that you can compare.?

The price you pay will be determined by the amount of risk you are willing to tolerate. Do you want a policy that will help cover some unexpected expenses, or are you more comfortable with one that will reimburse every dollar if something goes wrong?

Readers, have you had any experiences ? good or bad ? with travel insurance?

Club meeting

The Travelers? Century Club, for people who have visited 100 or more countries, will meet at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 12. The speaker will be Harold Norton, a retired United Nations representative to west Africa. For information and directions, call Arizona coordinator Matt Cohen at 602-793-8666. The club?s website is travelerscenturyclub.org.

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