Anyone ever used travel insurance before?

purbeast0

No Lifer
Sep 13, 2001
53,003
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We're looking to take a trip in May however we want to be sure that in the case of things changing with covid and travel restrictions, things getting worse, etc, that if we do get some kind of travel insurance, that it covers that scenario.

I've never ever used any kind of travel insurance so I know nothing about what companies are good/bad/etc.

Has anyone here ever used travel insurance before and/or filed a claim with it? If so can you let me know your experiences, good or bad?
 
Nov 8, 2012
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I have a certain disdain for insurance in general outside of Auto/Home which are required by law or required for a mortgage. Home makes sense though because the costs of the disaster outweigh what the typical person has. Similar with auto if you make someone permanently disabled and they sue you.

Travel insurance I would suspect that during these times of chaotic mess that majority of agencies or travel places either won't offer it or would have a very high-spiked rate.

I would look into any credit cards that have it as a feature: https://millionmilesecrets.com/reviews/best-travel-insurance-credit-cards/

Personally the only thing I've ever used insurance-wise as of late was a Purchase Protection insurance policy from a card I had. Since I bought an item within 60 days or so - in this case a BOSE headset for using on business travel - Someone stole it from me while on a plane and they credit card company fully refunded me through it. Was actually quite easy. Not sure how easy travel insurance will be though.
 

brianmanahan

Lifer
Sep 2, 2006
24,412
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i've bought insurance from world nomads a couple times, but never needed to make a claim

i was tempted to just rely on the chase sapphire reserve benefits, but their emergency evac and medical coverage amounts weren't as high as i wanted
 

local

Golden Member
Jun 28, 2011
1,851
515
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We had travel insurance for a trip late last March. Amusingly pandemics were one of the few exceptions. Thankfully most places were accommodating and we got about 80% back, we donated our airfare apparently though.
 
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skyking

Lifer
Nov 21, 2001
22,376
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It was required for our 2019 cruise out of Southampton UK.
We got to complete our trip, but sister and her husband had to cancel for health reasons, and it worked as planned.
 

DigDog

Lifer
Jun 3, 2011
13,747
2,263
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We're looking to take a trip in May however we want to be sure that in the case of things changing with covid and travel restrictions, things getting worse, etc, that if we do get some kind of travel insurance, that it covers that scenario.

I've never ever used any kind of travel insurance so I know nothing about what companies are good/bad/etc.

Has anyone here ever used travel insurance before and/or filed a claim with it? If so can you let me know your experiences, good or bad?
i work in travel insurance.

i am not going to write ten thousand words to explain what absurd situation we are in right now, and how we try to cope with it.
I advise you to wait until just before your trip has started, to look what which single-trip policies are available, and then CALL and speak to an agent, before you buy it. Ask specific questions about what is covered.

If we tell you something is covered, we will cover it, even if we made a mistake telling you that.
 
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purbeast0

No Lifer
Sep 13, 2001
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i work in travel insurance.

i am not going to write ten thousand words to explain what absurd situation we are in right now, and how we try to cope with it.
I advise you to wait until just before your trip has started, to look what which single-trip policies are available, and then CALL and speak to an agent, before you buy it. Ask specific questions about what is covered.

If we tell you something is covered, we will cover it, even if we made a mistake telling you that.
I was doing a bit more research last night and basically it looks like what I'm looking for is the "cancel for no reason" (CFAR) type of insurance.

There are a lot that seem to have covid specific stuff, but everyone I've seen so far will cover the trip cost if you or someone in your party gets covid. That's not what I'm looking for specifically. I'm looking for being able to cancel if like the numbers start to get really bad but travel restrictions don't change, and I just have a bad feeling in my gut about it and just don't want to go,

Based on the little bit of research I did last night, it seems like most places that DO offer this, offer it at a pretty significant optional upgrade cost, and on top of that, it only covers 75% of the trip cost, not 100%.

It also seems that for that type of coverage, you HAVE to get the insurance like within 15 days of booking the trip or you don't even have the option to get the CFAR option.

In your experience, is that generally how that works with travel insurance?
 

Exterous

Super Moderator
Jun 20, 2006
20,479
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Depending on your plans you may not need insurance. We've been planning a couple of trips again and have been largely able to book easily cancelable tickets and reservations. Occasionally we've seen a hotel cost a few $ more for a flexible reservation but doing that might still be less than buying an insurance policy
 

purbeast0

No Lifer
Sep 13, 2001
53,003
5,892
126
Depending on your plans you may not need insurance. We've been planning a couple of trips again and have been largely able to book easily cancelable tickets and reservations. Occasionally we've seen a hotel cost a few $ more for a flexible reservation but doing that might still be less than buying an insurance policy
The specific place I'm looking at is an airbnb and it's got free cancellation for 48 hours, then I can get 50% back up until 7 days prior.

I'm not really worried about flights or anything, credits would be fine with that.

And I guess the rental car too. But most car rentals I use I've never paid until I actually get there so I'm not worried about that really either.
 

DigDog

Lifer
Jun 3, 2011
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I was doing a bit more research last night ..

i don't know where to start, man. if we were on the phone, i could go on for an hour.

First off, i'm in the UK, so there will likely be some differences; and also, i'm with the AXA Group (we're N2, or N1 if you count United Healthcare, which is our partner in the US). Big insurers tend to all write policies the same way, smaller insurers can and do deviate from the norm.

(Comprehensive) Travel Insurance, henceforth CTI, tend to be cheaper products. They may offer a lot of benefits, but only under certain circumstances. One of the main aspects of these policies is "outside of your control". They will cover you for things that you have no responsibility for, but tend to exclude everything that you can option for yourself.
So, most won't let you cancel a trip unless you have a good reason. "Covid got worse" is not a good reason, as the presence of covid in that country was a previously known fact that YOU take responsibility for.

Now, IF your government says "the rates are worse now, you can/should no longer travel" then yes, you can be covered. We have the Foreign & Commonwealth Office that does just that. But if YOU say "the rates are worse" then sux2bU, CTI will not cover you.

Keep in mind that everything i say is "unless specified in the policy". I strongly, strongly recommend that once you have found a package you like, you CALL and speak with an advisor. They are liable for the advice they give you, so if a dumb agent says "oh yes cancellation is covered" then even if it isn't, you can cite that advice as legal liability.

Also note that most CTI we handle have a "travel against govt regulation" and a *pandemic* exclusion; you are still allowed to buy the insurance, but you can only use it if you travel for essential purposes (wedding, funeral, important business meeting, etc), so once again, CALL and speak to the sales department of whatever company you decide to go with.
 
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purbeast0

No Lifer
Sep 13, 2001
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Travel medical insurance is a must.
I'm not concerned about medical insurance in the least. Just about being able to cancel and get my money back.

I've actually had to go to medical facilities like 2 times total, both in Grand Cayman, and it was a very simple process. But, I did have to pay with my credit card then talk to insurance when I got home. It wasn't too expensive either time though (sub $500).
 

sdifox

No Lifer
Sep 30, 2005
96,905
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I'm not concerned about medical insurance in the least. Just about being able to cancel and get my money back.

I've actually had to go to medical facilities like 2 times total, both in Grand Cayman, and it was a very simple process. But, I did have to pay with my credit card then talk to insurance when I got home. It wasn't too expensive either time though (sub $500).

medical insurance is much more important than travel insurance. with travel the most you can lose is the amount you paid for the vacation, medical is a whole different ball game.
 

JEDI

Lifer
Sep 25, 2001
29,391
2,736
126
We're looking to take a trip in May however we want to be sure that in the case of things changing with covid and travel restrictions, things getting worse, etc, that if we do get some kind of travel insurance, that it covers that scenario.

I've never ever used any kind of travel insurance so I know nothing about what companies are good/bad/etc.

Has anyone here ever used travel insurance before and/or filed a claim with it? If so can you let me know your experiences, good or bad?
hotel rooms are usually 100% refund till 2 days before arrival.
and because of Covid, airfare is 100% credit to be used within a year (i think)?

the only time i bought travel insurance was for a cruise.
medivac is like $50k. :eek:
3rd party Medical (including medivac) travel insurance was like $25. (never buy travel insurance from the cruise line.)
 
Dec 10, 2005
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I bought any reason cancellation insurance through travelex for an international trip booked in February for a week last summer. Our flight was cancelled outright by the airline, so we got that money back. We then worked with the hotel to move the dates to this spring, and the travel insurance covers the new dates.

However, given the current situation, if I can't move the hotel again, I'll probably make a claim to get my 75% back on the nonrefundable hotel.
 

purbeast0

No Lifer
Sep 13, 2001
53,003
5,892
126
I bought any reason cancellation insurance through travelex for an international trip booked in February for a week last summer. Our flight was cancelled outright by the airline, so we got that money back. We then worked with the hotel to move the dates to this spring, and the travel insurance covers the new dates.

However, given the current situation, if I can't move the hotel again, I'll probably make a claim to get my 75% back on the nonrefundable hotel.
So they would give you 100% of the airfare but only 75% of the place you were staying?

Also, was getting the money back a simple/painless process?

EDIT:

Oh it sounds like you got the money back from the airline since they canceled it.
 
Dec 10, 2005
25,022
8,298
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So they would give you 100% of the airfare but only 75% of the place you were staying?

Also, was getting the money back a simple/painless process?

EDIT:

Oh it sounds like you got the money back from the airline since they canceled it.
Yeah, the airline cancelled on us. They just credited back my card.

For the insurance, not sure how easy it will be yet. But Travelex was one of the higher rated ones. Their CS was fine when I wanted to move the dates of my trip.

I think the payout is higher for covered reasons, but "any reason" is at 75%.
 

sdifox

No Lifer
Sep 30, 2005
96,905
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Yeah, the airline cancelled on us. They just credited back my card.

For the insurance, not sure how easy it will be yet. But Travelex was one of the higher rated ones. Their CS was fine when I wanted to move the dates of my trip.

I think the payout is higher for covered reasons, but "any reason" is at 75%.

I have always had 100% coverage for whatever cancellation reason when I get travel insurance.
 
Last edited:
Dec 10, 2005
25,022
8,298
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I have always had 100% coverage for whatever cancellation reason when I get travel insurance.
It's 100% for covered reasons. It's only reduced for if you cancelled for a non-covered reason. I don't think they offer 100% coverage policies for any reason
 

sdifox

No Lifer
Sep 30, 2005
96,905
16,171
126
Didn't even know travel agents were still a thing with the internet around lol.


I don't have the time to shop for tickets. I call them up, they give me a price, I say ok and give them my cc number. And get the insurance paper when I pick up ticket.
 
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DigDog

Lifer
Jun 3, 2011
13,747
2,263
126
Just about being able to cancel and get my money back.
beast, this should be included in your flight ticket. Maybe it's worth calling the airline to ask what cancellation rights you have, there's been major changes since covid hit.

As for medical, you're probably not going to needed it, but it's a tiny cost compared to what would happen if you had a serious situation.