Travel insurance

We have bought it in the past. Read the fine print.
Keep us posted on your trip. We are set to
Go to Switzerland in 2025.

I bought travel insurance once in my life for Japan trip bc we booked so far out. Covid cancelled it. In the fine print it did not cover “global pandemics”.

So yes, read the fine print.

Conversely, my parents took insurance for an Alaska cruise and a death in the family caused them to miss. They rebooked the following year with no issues.

I buy it for big trips. We had an exuma trip 2 years ago that got canceled when everyone went to a family wedding and got covid. It was 3-4 days before departure and at that time bahamas required testing both going in and out. Homeowner said he couldn’t rent the home at the last minute (he lied and did) so no refund. His best offer was future discount. Generali refunded ~ 14k within 48 hours of the claim. Claim process was tedious. So read fine print and document everything. We followed instructions which included proof of illness etc. Also don’t trust credit cards for their airfare refund policies and travel protections. Specifically chase/United airlines.

I checked with my BC insurance company before we left for Europe and they did honor international travel. Also, I took out travel insurance for a trip with grandkids during Covid time and we were reimbursed everything we paid for trip as I was hospitalized for 1 day with Covid and advised against any activity.

I personally don't ever get it. I think insurance is great for things that are either impossible to self insure OR would cause sever catastrophic damage to financial stability in case of an emergency or issue. Insurance for inconveniences is just throwing money away.

That being said, I do make sure I have coverage through other avenues. First, make sure you know what kind of world wide health coverage you have in case of urgent or emergent situations. If you don't have any coverage and would be responsible for all medical costs in case of an emergency then yes...travel insurance MAY make sense depending on the policy you get. I also make sure I add on addition al accident insurance on my health plan each year since I do things like snow skiing, cycling, snorkeling, hiking, etc.

Second, I never EVER book accommodations (of any significant cost) without a decent cancellation policy.

I have credit cards that cover luggage loss and damage, car rental damage, travel delays or interruption.

So, the answer is, for me it's pretty much a waste of money but for someone else it may make perfect sense. It's insurance so best case scenario is you never ever need to even file a claim and for many (especially my father in-law who eve adds it on his VRBO rentals ) it's a nice warm cozy blanket so it helps relieve concerns so they can enjoy the planning of and taking their trip.

Make sure you know exactly what you want covered. See what you are already paying for now that has coverage and take it from there.

Basic travel insurance is about 7% the cost of your trip, which means it covers a complete cancellation once every 14 trips.
Its not cheap. Its not great comprehensive coverage, in fact its terrible. But it IS very good for covering specific things that are covered that have a likelihood of happening such as a hospitalization or death (if old or sick), certain things like closures due to weather, etc.

If you are healthy and going somewhere with a very low chance of a major covered issue happening, then I'd suggest just paying a little extra for the large items like hotel and flights to be able to cancel or change, and booking everything else with the ability to get a refund or change dates.

Travel insurance paid big on my disaster trip to Scotland last September. Arrangements were made through travel agent.

Wife and I were traveling with another couple for a planned two weeks. Full-time personal driver plus hotels and excursions. Husband of other couple we were traveling with suffered cardiac arrest on the first morning in Edinburgh. Life support for a full week. We stayed by his side all week. Wife and I received about $9,000 each from insurance. Basically everything except airfares.

Insurance was a huge help to friend’s widow. Policies included coverage up to $500k in case of death, Plus $50k in medical emergency services. So, hospital, cremation, transportation all covered for deceased friend.

You never know.

I always feel better having it if I will be on the hook for a lot of guaranteed money. I have been getting mine from insuremytrip.com.