CyberProfessor

I live in the USA and will be traveling to Europe for a month. It'll be an expensive trip and I want to protect myself from losses. I have both a CSR and Amex Platinum.

I think that purchasing travel insurance separately is the right approach but I know nothing about travel insurance and how it supplements (or replaces) insurance from CSR or AMEX.

Is there a good place to read up on this topic? Every website I read is taking me to insurance brokers so I have to imagine they have an incentive to get people to buy insurance.

Craig6z

For a month trip, you probably should look at an annual travel policy, versus one just for that trip. I wouldn't be afraid of brokers' site, particularly if they offer plans from a lot of carriers. Their comparative coverage tools are generally pretty thorough (insuremytrip.com and squaremouth.com are good starting points). But before you buy, read the full sample policy. Exclusions abound on all travel insurance covers (annual or per trip).

The big brokers don't push annual policies as much as individual trip ones. Some carriers sell their annual policies direct, without using one of the big brokerage sites (probably saving themselves 15-25% commission). I personally buy an annual policy from the carrier - Allianz directly, for my wife and me. Had a healthy sized claim last fall that was a consequence of my wife balking on a trip to Jordan and Egypt that was kicking off 24 days after the Gaza/Israel conflict started. Interacting with Allianz to get the claim adjudicated wasn't completely stress-free, but ultimately, I got what I expected.

Disclaimer: I spent nearly forty years working for national-scoped commercial insurance property and casualty brokers on the regulatory & compliance side of the business. I have a lot of experience reading fine print policies so I'm not a typical consumer (but admit - Travel Insurance was not part of my professional repertoire)

bwiadca

When you search for intl insurance; the main thing would be medical coverage. The lost baggage, delayed flights etc can be covered by your credit cards. Most of it is covered with travel health insurance as well. Compare the prices with online brokers and you will get the idea.
Whenever I travel outside of US I always buy insurance. I'm actually on the market to get one for my upcoming Asia trip.
Since I moved 'over' to the new age bracket, my insurance went up double to the range of $100-$150 for 2 weeks trip. I don't buy annual insurance because mainly I only do 2 intl trips a year, and the cost is around $200 vs. $300+ for the annual one. My work trips out of the country are covered by my job so I don't have to buy extra.
Couple of days ago I came across this stie safetywing.com - their prices are half what every other insurance company is charging.
Are they legit? Did anyone ever used them?

bwiadca

Don't need opinions about safetywing insurance. I've done my research and it looks like they are as scammy as they can be.

Global Adventurer

Some hospitals don't care what insurance you have. They want cash/credit card payments up front and then your insurance will reimburse you. So the best thing is to figure out which countries you'll be in and you find hospitals that accept your insurance BEFORE you need it. If you're basically self insured then you don't need to worry.

notSoFreqFlyr20

EU does have minimum insurance requirements for travelers which can be found on their Visa application websites. If the travel is visa-free, we generally don't review these websites
I check on Allianz and United Healthcare and then settle on the lower price providing the required coverage. United appears to have lower rates when traveling as a group (i.e., family vacations).

Cheers!