invisible

Subj? And I mean ordinary, not FT audience - these people who travel overseas once every several years.

I know that buying travel insurance is norm for certain countries/cultures, British and Commonwealth countries come into mind.

CPRich

I know my in-laws do. I don't think they had been out of the state until they were 50+. They joined some travel club and have been to Iceland, Japan, etc. over the last few years. My MIL fell and broke her leg a few months ago and they had travel insurance for their upcoming trip.

So that's one data point.

rubesl

We always buy travel insurance for expensive vacations that are mostly non-refundable close in. In 1/16 we had a cruise in Tahiti & I broke my ankle (four hours of surgery) 10 days before the trip. The trip ins. reimbursed the $10k for the trip within two weeks. Another reason we always buy it is medical & evacuation.

kochleffel

I started buying travel insurance after an accident in London about a decade ago. Although emergency treatment is free under the NHS, if I had been admitted to hospital it would not have been free.

My current health insurance pays 80% of medical treatment abroad, but doesn't cover medical evacuation. This was particularly on my mind for a recent trip to a remote area where serious conditions require transport to Europe. However, my only claim so far, still pending, was for a missed connection and travel delay.

84fiero

I didn't know I wasn't ordinary - I feel special now!

According to the US Travel Insurance Association, Americans spent over $2.2B in 2014 on travel insurance products. It doesn't say what percentage of international travelers are covered but it states that about 33 million people were covered by policies purchased through its member companies and 152 million were covered inclusive of credit card and affinity group coverage.

http://www.ustia.org/uploads/2/4/8/8...release_v4.pdf

I'd guess some non-FT types may even have cards like the Prestige or CSR and don't know about the travel protection benefits that can be leveraged with those cards.

The UK government has this flyer trying to get more people to consider coverage:

https://www.gov.uk/government/upload...graphic_v5.pdf

Often1

Even healthy young people suffer serious injuries and illnesses overseas and can amass large bills in locations which may not have top-notch medical care. Air ambulance back to the US from Africa-Asia can easily run $120K or more and that is all payable in advance. Some policies may only pay for repatriation to the closest suitable facility or to the closest location in the US.

If you will be stuck in a hospital for a long time or there is someone with you who requires a hotel and you will need to stay in a hotel, a perfectly good medical facility in Western Europe or in Boston (if you live in Chicago) might not be great.

Good travel insurance is cheap and may be purchased on a per ticket or annual basis, all depending on how much you travel. The reason it is cheap is that few people really need the expensive stuff, but when it happens few people can pull out $120K for a G-V to fly them home.

pinniped

I don't buy it. I have the Prestige card and have always had credit cards with various low-level coverages.

Part of it is certainly ignorance on my part: I don't know how my home state regulates it, with whom I'd file a complaint if something goes wrong, or where (which state) my case would even be heard if I had a complaint.

My other concern is that none of the reputable insurance companies with which I've done business in the past actually offer it. If I could buy travel insurance directly from USAA, I'd buy it for every international trip where good medical coverage is desired. The USAA site has links to it, but there's a URL redirect in the middle. I can't buy fully under the USAA.com domain, and it's another company offering it. I don't trust that.

I'd potentially buy from Prudential, State Farm, or Allstate as well, but I don't believe any of them offer it.

RAAng

This ordinary American bought it before signing up for the credit card that included it. I do buy medical before traveling out of the US. I used the travel ins. twice when evacuated for a hurricane.

darthbimmer

My father traveled overseas only once in his life but was in the habit of buying insurance for trips to a rental house at the beach 250 miles away. It paid off one year when there was a hurricane evacuation.

cargo13

More stats on travel insurance buying habits: https://www.generalitravelinsurance....edictions.html


Travelers recognize the risks of international travel --trips are usually more expensive/investment is higher so trip cancellation could cause a large loss, trips are booked further in advance so there is longer risk of cancellation, medical abroad is not covered by US health policy, medivac could be super expensive...

but we buy for domestics trips too. Small cost and worth the peace of mind of what could occur.

Kagehitokiri

travel insurance or travel medical insurance?

i'd like to find travel insurance that covers nights etc when one arrives late

pinniped

For those of you who live in markets where travel insurance is mainstream and well-regulated: do you have any providers that are especially good at handling trips booked with miles/points?

e.g., One that covered any loss of miles/points at a realistic value, one that covered redeposit fees, etc.

I would worry that this is something TI wouldn't handle well. It'd almost need to be a TI package designed specifically with Flyertalkers in mind.

aroundtheworld76

I wouldn't be employed if people didn't. More should though. It's not uncommon to see churches or other groups raising funds to pay for a medevac flight for a member of their group who didn't have travel insurance.

Lkeade

I buy it for all international trips for peace of mind in case of medical emergencies both before (to cover cancellation) and during the trip. Thankfully, I have never had to use it.

Often1

This thread is split into people asking about how to cover a $200 change fee or a night an airport hotel vs. medical treatment overseas or medevac.

The former may be occasionally useful if you cover your own travel costs so your employer or a third party isn't picking these up. But, it should not be a big deal unless you are really unlucky. If you have something through a CC and it sometimes works, all the better.

The latter is money well spent and it does pay to read it carefully. Ask yourself where you would come up with $120K to get home and despite wonderful people doing bake sales to raise money for you, whether the dollars really work out.

Last, check your employer. Many firms with worldwide operations have worldwide coverage which applies 24/7, even for leisure travel of employees.