As for seating, I typically figure out which seats I want based on what's currently available and then call the operating airline to request them. That procedure has never failed me. You are oneworld Sapphire. You can see your benefits when flying on oneworld members here:
http://www.oneworld.com/ffp/my-oneworld-tier-status/
Thank you - very cool that I get to use the FF lounges - that will be very nice for any long layovers. I just got AA platinum status recently - thus, the lounges was not a benefit as a Gold member.
I don't want to recommend a particular travel insurance company on a public website, but you can see almost all the options at
http://www.insuremytrip.com. That website will list the risks the insurance covers. They should be self-explanatory. Buy the insurance ASAP. It's what the insurers typically require, and no insurance will cover any events that happen before the policy is purchased.
Thank you for the site - definitely need to do more reading, but just eyeballed it quickly and entered the info for a quote and it was $6700 - holy moly! I think this was for a comprehensive policy and one with cancellation for any reason. But need some advice on how to answer questions.
What is the value of my trip - I included the $500 taxes and fees I had to pay for the ticket and the estimated costs of accomodations, food, etc. Is this correct?
Also, my itinerary starts in May 2012 and ends in Jan 2013 (9 months) - but this includes the 2 months I am back at home in the middle of the itinerary by flying back to the US. So do I still use the May 2012 - Jan2013 as my start and end dates?
My health insurance covers me overseas - I will just have to directly pay and submit receipts for reimbursement. Don't know what happens if they need to fly me back to the US for medical reasons - I will check. So if you get stuck somewhere and incur extra hotel and food costs due to delays - I assume the travel insurance would pay - but takes a lot of delays to add up to the $6K for the insurance. Am I missing out on something here?