Where to buy all-inclusive insurance?

[trivial]

Hi all,

I'm looking for all-inclusive insurance, including such things as trip cancellation and interruption, job loss, medical, etc. Blue Cross and Sears have quoted me about $300, but as of yet, I'm still uncertain as to exactly what that covers -- particularly whether or not it covers trip cancellation due to job loss. I'm not anticipating losing my job, but I'll be spending about $5,000 on my vacation, and I don't want to be left in a great big hole if the unexpected happens.

Any suggestions would be most appreciated!

 

[Amberle3]

Both the RBC and Travelguard package insurance cover job loss, although I think you have to have been at the job for at least 12 months prior.

One thing to note - most of the insurance companies require that cancellation insurance be purchased within 48 hours of paying for your trip. The only exceptions to this are things like cruises where you can pay the deposit and then cancel X period out and still get your deposit back.

If you're beyond the 48 hour window then one of 3 things will happen:
1) you won't be allowed to purchase the insurance
2) you'll be allowed to purchase but all the exemptions and so forth are effective as of that day rather than the day you purchased your package (ie if you buy a package but not the insurance... someone then develops or has a change to a medical condition and then you purchase the insurance, that medical condition is no longer covered because the risk was in existence when the insurance was purchased).
3) you'll be allowed to purchase but with what's called a "zero prior" - that means you won't have the cancellation portion of the insurance but you will still have the interruption part.

 

[siobhan1997]

I have the Mosaik M/C they have a great travel & medical plane that you can purchase. Great rate as well only $69 for full travel including car rental which is great when going overseas and $49 for full medical. This covers my whole family for up to 17 day or less. And for as many trips we take out of country per year. And yes, bankrupt airlines are covered. We travel every year so it automatically renews itself on the anniversary date of the card until you tell them to stop.

 

[nibab4]

I have the Mosaik M/C they have a great travel & medical plane that you can purchase. Great rate as well only $69 for full travel including car rental which is great when going overseas and $49 for full medical. This covers my whole family for up to 17 day or less. And for as many trips we take out of country per year. And yes, bankrupt airlines are covered. We travel every year so it automatically renews itself on the anniversary date of the card until you tell them to stop.

Hi siobhan1997

To qualify for that insurance coverage, would we need to pay for the trip on the card?
I also was offered this plan but opted not to take it 'cause I sometime use Sears travel, when they have their book now pay later, this way I collect sears club points that I redeem for certificates toward anything at Sears including travel . Wasn't sure I wan't to pay for something yearly that I may not use.

 

[trivial]

Thanks for the responses. I'm currently planning on going with TravelGuard, thanks to Amberle3's advice above. $190 for all-inclusive coverage for 2 (taxes included) for a 7-night trip costing approximately $1900/person.

 

[Belle1997]

When you say most insurance companies require you pay within 48 hours of payments for your trip is that after the deposit or after paid in full. Thanks for your help.

 

[Amberle3]

The 48hours is once any non-refundable payment is made.

For instance: I'm going on DCL in July. I've paid my deposit, and my room deposit for WDW after, but if I were to cancel right now I'd get my money back so in essence there's really nothing to insure.

But, I just booked my airfare. That is non-refundable, so now I must purchase the insurance within 48 hours if I want to make sure that the airfare is covered. I can also include the total cost of the cruise and the hotel in the insurance - I just have to make sure that my "amount insured" is high enough. So even though I haven't actually paid them yet since I've made my first non-refundable payment on the trip I might as well just lump everything in there. It's easier for the insurance company than going back and amending the policy every time you make a non-refundable payment.

Just an FYI for those folks booking airfare through Airmiles or Aeroplan - you can still purchase cancellation insurance for those flights. Just because they're "free" doesn't mean that you can't insure them.

(And this is why when I'm on a flight or in an airport and someone starts a conversation and asks me what I do for a living, instead of telling them that I'm a travel agent I tell them that I sell insurance! I learned this chapter far too well in travel school.)

ETA: Just to clarify - if you've booked something like a cruise then you certainly CAN take out the cancellation insurance as soon as you've paid the deposit, even though it is refundable. A person might do that to ensure that any possibly illnesses or medical conditions that might arise later would be covered. All medical conditions have to be stable for X period of time prior to the purchase of the insurance - let's say 90 days. Stable means no change in the condition, *no change in medication, even a decrease*.

Okay so for example Mary books a cruise for 2 in October05, sailing the following October06. Deposit is due October 05, final payment due August06. Mary doesn't have to take out cancellation insurance until August06 because before then she can get all her money back. But let's say Mary's husband Bob is diagnosed with a heart condition in June06. If Mary had purchased the insurance in October05 then the insurance should cover the condition because it wasn't present/known at the time the insurance was purchased. If Mary purchases the insurance in August06 then Bob's heart condition would not be covered, because it wasn't stable for the 90 days prior to the insurance purchase date.

Isn't that fun?

 

[siobhan1997]

Hi to nibab4, yes you do have to put part of your airline, car rental etc. on your card. I never have a problem doing this as then most of my holiday is already paid for when I leave. If you go to www.bmo.com and check out their mosaik features I believe most of your questions are answered there. Because we take more than one trip outside the country every year, I find this all works well for us.

 

[Amberle3]

Other things to be very careful of when using credit card insurance:
- does it cover your family? Some credit card insurance policy only covers the card holder.
- does it cover you for travel out of the country, and off the continent? The latter is especially important if you're taking a cruise - being air lifted isn't cheap (for the medical coverage).
- does it pay the hospital etc bills directly or require you to pay and then apply for reimbursement? It might be a minor matter when you're talking about a replacement airline ticket, but if you're talking $50,000 in hospital bills that's a lot to have to pay and then wait for a cheque.

 

[trivial]

Amberle3, thanks very much for taking the time to provide us with all of this excellent and helpful information!