travel insurance

[MnAsMom]

Do you buy it for your vacations?

 

We never have but we've never done a true vacation with our children either. Is it worth it? What kind of coverage do we need? We are local so driving to the port.... no need to cover missed flights etc. I've seen rates from 80 bucks to 400+.... what is necessary to have? Do you have a preferred company you use or a site?

 

Thanks ... I have no clue what I'm doing in this dept!

 

~Tondi

[crusinmama06]

http://www.travelinsured.com/

 

Some plans start at like $30 - $35pp with kids free as add ons to the adult policy. :)

 

Yes, I've needed to use it in the past. So I really think it's worth it.

[MnAsMom]

http://www.travelinsured.com/

 

Some plans start at like $30 - $35pp with kids free as add ons to the adult policy. :)

 

Yes, I've needed to use it in the past. So I really think it's worth it.

 

Is there any specific things in the policy I need to make sure we have? Any particular brand/company that is better than another?

 

Thanks

[Snowbuddy]

another one I heard about on here is insuremytrip.com. I can't make any recommendations, as this will be our first trip using insurance. for us, we had to find a policy that a pre-existing condition waiver, b/c MIL is elderly and has been recently diagnosed w/ CHF and so we are very worried about having to cancel last minute or head back mid-trip due to her taking a turn for the worse. also, i want to make sure we have good medical coverage and med-evac, also, since we will have our 18-month-old DD w/ us for the 1st time on a cruise.

[cb at sea]

If the loss of the money you paid will hurt financially, then you should purchase insurance. If you can absorb the loss, then you don't NEED it!

Travel ins. doesn't always include medical...check your policy! Some policies give you additional medical coverage, should you have an accident and need to be med-evacced off the ship---that can cost a bundle and isn't usually covered by your health insurance.

 

Whatever you do, KNOW what you're buying!!!!

[crusinmama06]

Travel Insured is a brand.

 

Insure My Trip is a company that compares all policies, so that works too. :)

 

You just have to figure out what's right for you. Snowbuddy is correct, if there are any preexisting medical conditions then you may need a policy that covers that (in the event that the trip is cancelled or interupted for that condition).

[Kerry's Girls]

I never bought it either until I started cruising with my kids. For me, it's mostly for the nightmare scenario of needing to be helicoptered off the ship, which would be financially devastating to me. But also, with the way kids pick up illness, it's nice not to have to be stressed that if one of them gets sick before the cruise, we'll be able to reschedule rather than just lose our money. I've always just purchased through the cruise company, but I know others find good deals online.

 

Best,

Mia

[kitty9]

You need medical evacuation coverage. When my mom broke her hip on Celebrity, the one half hour flight off the ship to FLL cost $9000. Some evac's can run more than $30,000.

 

Also, if you have any pre-existing conditions, even for the kids like asthma, in order for those to be covered, you must buy the coverage within 10 to 14 days of booking. If you're beyond that, there are some policies that will still cover pre-existings, but they are a lot more expensive than if you had purchased it at the time of booking.

[MnAsMom]

You need medical evacuation coverage. When my mom broke her hip on Celebrity, the one half hour flight off the ship to FLL cost $9000. Some evac's can run more than $30,000.

 

Also, if you have any pre-existing conditions, even for the kids like asthma, in order for those to be covered, you must buy the coverage within 10 to 14 days of booking. If you're beyond that, there are some policies that will still cover pre-existings, but they are a lot more expensive than if you had purchased it at the time of booking.

 

OK good to know.... so I need to find something that will cover a evac. We will be 14 days out as of tomorrow. We just booked TODAY!

[mobster75]

Ever since a short trip to Paris back in January 2005 where my girlfriend at the time ended up in the ICU due to her diabetes, I've always gotten travel insurance. The hospital stay back then didn't cost a dime, but changing our flights and a couple extra nights at the hotel set me back an extra $1500.

 

One trip with travel insurance: Same girlfriend's luggage doesn't arrive with us in Rome (mine was fine) and she had just the clothes on her back for 2 whole days and high-heels. Travel insurance reimbursed me for buying her toiletries, some fresh underwear, and a pair of sneakers.

 

Second trip with travel insurance: Had basically all my scuba gear stolen out of a rental car in the USVI. About $2500 worth of stuff. Homeowners gave me pennies for the claim. Travel insurance covered the difference between that and what I PAID for the stolen items. I ended up actually making a $300 profit on that one after rebuying all my stuff - some of it had dropped significantly in price.

 

I've always gone with CSA Travel and had no complaints with their service (insuremytrip.com).

[nothriver]

We also used insuremytrip.com to compare policies. I purchased trip insurance for the first time in my life for our recent cruise, we had 9 people coming and going from different places, there were just too many things that *could* have gone wrong. In the end we used Travelex, we did not need the insurance so I can't speak to their service. However as a single mom, I paid for my insurance and my kids were included free, so that was a huge bonus for me and I'll look into them again just for that reason even for less expensive trips in the future, it makes the trip insurance a good investment for me.