non refundable air fare - is insurance a good idea?

[Globaliser]

Like you, I have a year long medical/evacuation plan that runs $170 a year(for two of us). My health insurance plan covers me out of country. I self insure for everything else. We travel 10 -- 12 weeks of the year, with two, three or four cruises thrown in the mix and I've never had a problem. I'm sure we've saved over $35,000 by not buying traditional trip insurance.

I'm not sure whether you read my post correctly. The amount we pay is for "traditional trip insurance" for a whole year, not just for medical/evacuation.

 

It includes cancellation cover, which we had to use last year to recover about £1,000 worth of sunk costs for a trip that had to be cancelled for an insured reason. That repaid about 6 years' worth of premiums in one claim.

 

I am not Methuselah, and I don't expect ever to be able to pay $35,000 across my entire lifetime for travel insurance even if I pick an expensive policy every year. I simply won't live long enough to be able to spend that sort of money on insurance.

 

So, as I say, whether or not it's worth it depends on how much you're paying, and what you're getting for it. Simply categorically telling people that insurance isn't worth it is bad advice. Always do a cost/benefit analysis.

[kelmac]

I'm not sure whether you read my post correctly. The amount we pay is for "traditional trip insurance" for a whole year, not just for medical/evacuation.

 

It includes cancellation cover, which we had to use last year to recover about £1,000 worth of sunk costs for a trip that had to be cancelled for an insured reason. That repaid about 6 years' worth of premiums in one claim.

 

I am not Methuselah, and I don't expect ever to be able to pay $35,000 across my entire lifetime for travel insurance even if I pick an expensive policy every year. I simply won't live long enough to be able to spend that sort of money on insurance.

 

So, as I say, whether or not it's worth it depends on how much you're paying, and what you're getting for it. Simply categorically telling people that insurance isn't worth it is bad advice. Always do a cost/benefit analysis.

 

I guess it has more to do with our (USA) messed up way of doing things. Our health care system is a mess; we allow insurance companies to buy our politicians; our wealthy can buy elections; drug companies are king. So many things we could learn from our partners over seas! Other than that, it's a nice place to live.:rolleyes::)

 

For Americans, trip insurance is expensive and may be a waste of money! How's that? Better?

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

[ducklite]

I guess it has more to do with our (USA) messed up way of doing things. Our health care system is a mess; we allow insurance companies to buy our politicians; our wealthy can buy elections; drug companies are king. So many things we could learn from our partners over seas! Other than that, it's a nice place to live.:rolleyes::)

 

 

 

For Americans, trip insurance is expensive and may be a waste of money! How's that? Better?

 

 

 

Enjoy!

 

Kel:)

 

 

Are you insinuating that socialized healthcare would cover you outside the U.S. Any more than it would inside? I assure you that you are wrong. Ask the Brits how well their insurance covers them outside the UK.

[calliopecruiser]

Are you insinuating that socialized healthcare would cover you outside the U.S. Any more than it would inside? I assure you that you are wrong. Ask the Brits how well their insurance covers them outside the UK.

 

No, I think he's implying that insurance companies wouldn't have so much control and wouldn't be able to charge as much.

[kelmac]

Are you insinuating that socialized healthcare would cover you outside the U.S. Any more than it would inside? I assure you that you are wrong. Ask the Brits how well their insurance covers them outside the UK.

 

Why do you think their out of country insurance is so much cheaper compared to ours? I would bet it's a very "regulated" industry.

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

[ducklite]

Why do you think their out of country insurance is so much cheaper compared to ours? I would bet it's a very "regulated" industry.

 

 

 

Enjoy!

 

Kel:)

 

 

You might not be comparing apples to apples. Without reading the policies side by side you can't claim the insurance is cheaper.

[kelmac]

You might not be comparing apples to apples. Without reading the policies side by side you can't claim the insurance is cheaper.

 

Perhaps not? I was just responding to Globalister's claim:

 

"It costs us £160 for this year, which covers an unlimited number of trips taken in a whole year subject to a maximum of 31 days for each trip. It includes £5,000 per person cancellation cover for all the common reasons (including serious illness, death including of family members) as well as £10,000,000 of medical cover (which we would not otherwise have when overseas)."

 

For £160 a year he seems to get most everything one would get with trip insurance for a single trip in the USA. I would sign up for a policy that covers everything for a year at the cost of $250. Maybe he could elaborate?

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

[hobbsie65]

I also think that travel insurance is advised as essential in the UK by all travel industries & agents. We can get 'free' public health care in Europe but I would want private everyday of the week after my experience of living in Greece for 15 years :) Most people buy travel insurance the same as house or life insurance & as you say, the price is very reasonable for something I consider a must for our peace of mind when travelling. We get a very good free travel policy through our bank for Europe travels, which again is very common, but for longer trips I always buy it. As I stated before, I worked in the travel industry in Greece for many years and saw the financial & emotional effects first hand of not having travel insurance.

[dsrdsrdsr]

One reason UK insurance is so much cheaper is because health considerations are always taken into account. If you want to insure any pre-existing condition, you must tell the insurer about it and the premium will be adjusted accordingly. The US rule about pre-existing conditions being covered if you insure within 2 weeks of booking, does not exist.

 

Another possible reason is that the valid reasons for cancellation may be different. "Cancel for any reason", for example, does not exist in Britain.

[kenish]

Retired Canadian friends came to visit me in California after "snowbirding" in Cancun. Their flight was CUN-YYZ-LAX (they live in Western Canada). I asked them why they did such a circuitous route...their Canadian medical coverage is only good for 30 days out-of-country. By "tagging" YYZ after 28 days abroad, they reset the clock for another 30 days. In the US, Medicare offers zero coverage outside the USA.

 

(Agree our system in the US is badly broken, though).

Edited May 13, 2015 by kenish

[Globaliser]

For Americans, trip insurance is expensive and may be a waste of money! How's that? Better?

I wouldn't disagree with that!

Why do you think their out of country insurance is so much cheaper compared to ours? I would bet it's a very "regulated" industry.

Prices aren't low because the industry is regulated; they're low because the market is extremely competitive and nobody charges more than they absolutely need to.

You might not be comparing apples to apples. Without reading the policies side by side you can't claim the insurance is cheaper.

...

 

For £160 a year he seems to get most everything one would get with trip insurance for a single trip in the USA. I would sign up for a policy that covers everything for a year at the cost of $250. Maybe he could elaborate?

What's in a typical policy? You might have a look at what this policy includes. As dsrdsrdsr says, you can't "cancel for any reason" - but all the common reasons for genuinely forced cancellation are included.

[kelmac]

I wouldn't disagree with that!Prices aren't low because the industry is regulated; they're low because the market is extremely competitive and nobody charges more than they absolutely need to.What's in a typical policy? You might have a look at what this policy includes. As dsrdsrdsr says, you can't "cancel for any reason" - but all the common reasons for genuinely forced cancellation are included.

 

Thanks G,

 

That policy looks very extensive to me! If I could get that kind of coverage for an entire year for $250, I would be all over that.

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

[Globaliser]

Every time this subject is discussed on CC, I wonder whether there isn't a huge business opportunity in the US. (And if there isn't, why not.)

[kelmac]

Every time this subject is discussed on CC, I wonder whether there isn't a huge business opportunity in the US. (And if there isn't, why not.)

 

That would be a great test case! Can a US citizen purchase UK trip insurance?

Me thinks the Corporate Welfare system here would block that as they write all our laws. Or maybe no one has tried it?

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

[Globaliser]

Can a US citizen purchase UK trip insurance?

Yes, of course. There are very few situations in which anyone's allowed to discriminate against someone on the basis of their nationality.

 

However, whenever I've noticed, UK policies seem to restrict purchase to UK residents. Citizenship doesn't matter, but if you look at the details of how our policies are worded you'll see why these are aimed at (and therefore restricted to) UK residents.

[ducklite]

My neighbors Are UK nationals who stay here for a few months at a time twice a year. They often take a cruise while they are here and buy travel insurance from the TA because their international health policy doesn't cover emergency evacuation. Only major medical.

[iancal]

We are typically careful when we buy tickets. We look at the fare code and try to select the ticket that allows for change. This is about as far as we go to insure our ticket.

 

Two winters ago we were in Thailand. Our choice of airline came down to two carriers. One had no change fare code, the other had a $200. change fee. We took the latter. And as luck would have it we did have to return early.

Edited May 15, 2015 by iancal

[waterbug123]

I just re-read your first post where you say:

 

What kind of ticket cost $2172, yet has a penalty of $5000 to make a change?

 

That was my question as well. Also, even a "non-refundable" ticket can often be canceled and a credit (less a change fee of a couple hundred dollars) issued to be used within the next year, meaning it's not necessarily a total loss. Depends on the individual ticket of course, who it's purchased from, etc.