Advice for travel insurance

[Frwinkley]

I am currently covered under an EPO plan that only covers out of area expenses for true medical emergencies. My employer offers a PPO plan as well with more coverage for services provided out of area (for college kids living away from home, etc.). This plan costs a few hundred dollars more per month and really isn't worth it for us (it is just my husband and I who are covered). The coverage we have is terrific (I am a school teacher)--no deductibles, 100% coverage for almost all services, etc. We've been fortunate in that we've traveled extensively (even out of the country) and have never had an issue.

As we need retirement with plans to travel more, I'm beginning to think I need to look into some type of insurance that will cover us while traveling. We are both in excellent health, but it's only a matter of time when we may need medical services away from home. I'd rather not pay an additional $300 per month for coverage we may only need 2-3 times per year.

Does anyone have any advice or suggestions? We are covered under Highmark Blue Cross/Blue Shield in western PA.

 

[tvguy]

Check what your credit card covers, assuming you are paying for the trip with one. Or just buy the travel insurance when you need it. But make SURE it covers what you want covered.

 

[White Cat]

I never trusted the credit card kind. I have purchased it often through CAA, used it once and all went well. Mostly i buy it for a year with certain restrictions.

 

[RamblingMad]

I use AIG when traveling abroad. I have rescue insurance for my hiking. I did an add-on to my inReach Mini subscription.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I am currently covered under an EPO plan that only covers out of area expenses for true medical emergencies. My employer offers a PPO plan as well with more coverage for services provided out of area (for college kids living away from home, etc.). This plan costs a few hundred dollars more per month and really isn't worth it for us (it is just my husband and I who are covered). The coverage we have is terrific (I am a school teacher)--no deductibles, 100% coverage for almost all services, etc. We've been fortunate in that we've traveled extensively (even out of the country) and have never had an issue.

As we need retirement with plans to travel more, I'm beginning to think I need to look into some type of insurance that will cover us while traveling. We are both in excellent health, but it's only a matter of time when we may need medical services away from home. I'd rather not pay an additional $300 per month for coverage we may only need 2-3 times per year.

Does anyone have any advice or suggestions? We are covered under Highmark Blue Cross/Blue Shield in western PA.

When we travel out of country, we've purchased an annual policy from Geo-Blue (which is Blue Shield and Blue Cross connected, but you don't have to belong to either of them to get coverage). Originally found via a travel insurance comparison site.

 

[MillauFr]

I would check out the Travel Insurance Benefits on the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card. Much better coverage than many of the plans that you pay for coverage.

 

[Dznypal]

When we travel we always put the trip on chase sapphire that has trip cancellation/intrurupation. And covers close family members that aren’t even traveling. Last year we had to cancel the DCL Hawaiian cruise since my mom was out into hospice care. Which we were covered for. I had to get a statement from her dr though but other then that it was just papers to proof what we paid. Deposit for the cruise got refunded real quick. Since the airline gave us a credit good for a year I needed to wait the year. Which is now up so any day I should get the check from the airlines. This though just happened before Covid hit here. And it doesn’t cost extra

 

[zoo2tycoon]

Nm

 

[LoveSpringsteen]

I use a website that offers policies from multiple providers (the website begins with "InsureMy...). You can find it with a Google search. You can compare several provider policies at once, you can narrow down your options to coverages important to you and compare pricing. I also found their agents to be helpful when I had questions. The site also has customer reviews for the insurance companies which I find helpful in making my decision.

For my family, I usually purchase a policy for larger (i.e. more expensive) trips - or when we've traveled out of the country. For trips out of the country, I make sure we have coverage that will cover medical costs outside the US, and that it will pay for transportation to get me back home from wherever we are. I also select a "cancel for any reason" policy because that feature is important to us - we have elderly parents and my husband has some pre-existing medical issues.

 

[JLTraveling]

I don't remember now which company, but we bought trip insurance when we cruised to Cuba (9th ship after the embargo was lifted). Good thing we did, because my dad had a gall bladder attack partway through the cruise. Fortunately they didn't end up airlifting him to Havana (very close call), but shipboard IV treatments cost a few thousand. Insurance would have covered the airlift if it became necessary, as well as transportation home. Had to pay out of pocket for the shipboard services and get reimbursed, but it was WELL worth it. Super easy process.