Would you purchase travel insurance for this situation?

[floridascgirl]

Our family of 3 will be traveling to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons in July 2012. From the look of things, our flight costs will be approx. 2,000 and I expect that we will either be flying Continental or Delta.

The problem is my father is sick with Stage IV cancer and my mother feels we shouldn't book tickets that aren't refundable (we can't afford those). I think that she is being too pessimistic considering that he is still working 45 hours a week and feeling relatively okay. Of course, he could take a turn for the worse...but then again, something could happen to anyone in the family. Buying expensive airlines tickets is a financial risk for anyone.

With this being the situation, do you think we should look into travel insurance? Is it legit? Any recommendations of particular companies? I have heard stories of travelers being scammed and that they didn't get the benefits of coverage when they made a claim.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[uva185]

I would not purchase insurance for that scenario. Besides the airfare, all the other trip expenses should be fully refundable. Just make sure you book your hotels, rental cars, etc directly with each company instead of using a website like Travelocity.

If you needed to postpone the trip the airline will only charge you a change fee....you would not forfeit the full $2,000. I've also had decent luck having the airlines waive change fees for certain circumstances, though do not count on that.

 

[floridascgirl]

Thank you so much for your reply. Since posting, I have been reading the airlines' policies and it seems that we could get a refund with the proper documentation. Hopefully, we will not need to find out, but I want to be certain before purchasing.

Now I just need to decide how early is too early to purchase!

 

[NancyIL]

If you decide to get trip insurance, I suggest calling the Trip Insurance Store (www.tripinsurancestore.com) first to ask specifically whether any policies would reimburse you if you had to cancel due to your father's cancer. Even policies that have a waiver of pre-existing conditions when purchased soon after your first trip payment exclude terminal illnesses - when the patient isn't expected to survive beyond a certain amount of time.

**Just checked the Trip Insurance Store's web site about coverage for cancer (http://www.tripinsurancestore.com/3/pre-existing.shtml), and this is what it says:

A Pre-Existing Medical Condition includes any condition that's been tested, treated, examined, consulted with, received advice on or had symptoms of. This also includes any adjustments or changes in any prescriptions or medication. If a pre-existing condition exists, it must be "medically stable".

"Medically Stable", in respect to www.TripInsuranceStore.com's travel insurance plans, means that the person with the pre-existing condition:

Has not already taken a turn for the worse;

Is not in a state where any changes are foreseen, known, or expected that could cause the person to "take a turn for the worse".

This varies from company to company. For example, Stage 4 cancer will not have pre-existing conditions coverage with Travelex and Travel Insured, but CSA, Travel Guard & TravelSafe can cover it.

 

[floridascgirl]

If you decide to get trip insurance, I suggest calling the Trip Insurance Store (www.tripinsurancestore.com) first to ask specifically whether any policies would reimburse you if you had to cancel due to your father's cancer. Even policies that have a waiver of pre-existing conditions when purchased soon after your first trip payment exclude terminal illnesses - when the patient isn't expected to survive beyond a certain amount of time.

**Just checked the Trip Insurance Store's web site about coverage for cancer (http://www.tripinsurancestore.com/3/pre-existing.shtml), and this is what it says:

Thank you NancyIl for your info. I will check out your links and make sure that I'm completely informed.