Travel insurance

[wld]

We booked Scotland for sept 2013. This is a more wxpensive trip for us than we have ever taken! While excited we are wondering about travel insurance never having bought it before. What do you do? Thanks

 

[figmentfan2009]

We buy it every time. I know you loose it if you cancel and it is a waste of money if you don't use it... but I also know that it is going to save a lot more money if anything happens and for some reason we can't make the trip. It is worth it for just the peace of mind

 

[sayhello]

I am a firm believer in trip insurance, especially when visiting a foreign country. Most US health insurance will not cover you outside the United States. Definitely check with yours, and find that out!

I buy trip insurance anytime I'm doing something expensive that is non-refundable, or traveling outside the US. I've needed trip insurance three times, and been very glad each time that I've had it. Last time, I fell & injured my head on the way to the airport, ended up in the ER, and missed my flight. The trip insurance paid for the ER visit (they actually dealt directly with the ER, and I never even saw a bill), helped me re-book my flight (since it took off while I was in the ER) and paid all the change fees, and set me up in a hotel by the airport for the night, since my new flight left the next day. All I had to worry about was getting patched up, and getting to the airport the next morning. TOTALLY worth every penny. I also had a hiking tour that I had to cancel a week and a half before I left due to a torn rotator cuff. They completely reimbursed me for the non-refundable tour, and paid to change my flight so I could still do the family visit that I'd had planned for after the tour.

One thing to keep in mind is the whole idea of "pre-existing conditions". Most policies won't pay you if you had some types of illnesses/injuries in the 60 to 90 days prior to buying the insurance, and that same condition is what keeps you from traveling, or needs treating while you are on vacation. If you buy the insurance within 14 days of paying your first deposit (21 days for some companies) then that pre-existing condition exclusion is waived. I've found that very useful.

ABD does sell trip insurance, and it's a pretty good policy (and I've found the price really great). The only problem I've found is that they won't cover pre days or post days that you've booked yourself. They will cover the flights you book yourself, but not the hotel, etc, you book yourself for while you are not on the trip.

Check out www.insuremytrip.com or www.tripinsurancestore.com or www.SquareMouth.com. They all allow you to compare & contrast several options in trip insurance. They also have Toll Free numbers you can call and get all your questions answered.

Let me know if you have any other questions. I've done a lot of research on trip insurance.

Sayhello

 

[lovetotravel]

Which insurance plans have you used if you did get the one issued by ABD?

Thanks!

 

[3mmm]

We always buy insurance and use travel guard. We buy within 14 days to be sure we have coverage for any pre-existing conditions as we have two special needs children

My question about ABD is when they purchase their insurance. On DCL my understanding is that insurance is not purchased until final payment and that then changes the pre-existing clause. For us, we are already a couple thousand into airfare even if our deposits are refundable by the time we get to final payment, so we always buy immediately and use a private company.

We almost recently cancelled 18 people due to a cancer re-occurence, but we got the go ahead from the oncologist last week, so we don't need to. Having the insurance removed a huge burden when we were making decisions.

 

[sayhello]

Which insurance plans have you used if you did get the one issued by ABD?

Thanks!

I've used Travel Guard and Travelex and CSA. All were great.

We always buy insurance and use travel guard. We buy within 14 days to be sure we have coverage for any pre-existing conditions as we have two special needs children

My question about ABD is when they purchase their insurance. On DCL my understanding is that insurance is not purchased until final payment and that then changes the pre-existing clause. For us, we are already a couple thousand into airfare even if our deposits are refundable by the time we get to final payment, so we always buy immediately and use a private company.

We almost recently cancelled 18 people due to a cancer re-occurence, but we got the go ahead from the oncologist last week, so we don't need to. Having the insurance removed a huge burden when we were making decisions.

ABD buys the insurance as soon as you tell them you want to purchase it & give them the money. They do have a pre-existing condition waiver as long as you purchase the insurance within 14 days of paying your deposit. They don't operate like DCL when it comes to the insurance. (One caveat. I don't know how the insurance is done for an ABD add-on to a DCL cruise. My assumption would be you'd have to buy the insurance through DCL, not ABD. But that's just an assumption. I bought outside insurance when I did the ABD add-on to my Med cruise).

Sayhello

 

[corky441]

Something to also think about...

If you purchase the travel insurance through ABD, it only covers expenses that have been incurred through them. So if you purchase your airfare on your own, you would have to get a separate policy to cover the airfare.

 

[lovetotravel]

I just spoke with ABD and "sayhello" also confirms that your airfare is covered no matter where you buy it, with ABD or on your own. I also have the insurance plan that says the expense for air does not have to be through ABD.

ABD also said if you book the pre and post with them, it will be covered in the insurance.

 

[sayhello]

I just spoke with ABD and "sayhello" also confirms that your airfare is covered no matter where you buy it, with ABD or on your own. I also have the insurance plan that says the expense for air does not have to be through ABD.

ABD also said if you book the pre and post with them, it will be covered in the insurance.

Now I forgot to ask this time, but I know when I bought the insurance for 2011, I was told the airfare was covered if it flew to and left from, where the trip begins & ends (does not have to be on the days the trip starts & ends, but does have to fly to the same cities). I flew in to London several days early, and flew out from Paris, so my flights were covered, even though I purchased them myself.

Sayhello

 

[sayhello]

OK, I just had a long conversation with ABD, and here's the deal with airfare and 2013's policy. Any leg where you are flying to/or flying from the arrival or departure city, where your accommodations were booked through ABD, your flight is covered, even if the airfare was not booked through ABD. If, for either leg, you arrive on a day (or depart on a day) where your accommodations were not booked through ABD, your flight for that leg is not covered. In no case will a hotel not booked through ABD be covered.

So for anyone arriving early (but not booked through ABD), it's probably worth it to buy your insurance with an outside company, to be sure you're covered for your flights. If you booked all your pre-days with ABD, the price and the coverage they offer is very good. (The same applies to leaving a few days after the trip vs booking post-days with ABD.)

Hope that helps. It took me quite a while to get to the person who knew how this worked.

Sayhello