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I usually use: TravelSafe | TravelSafe Vacation Plan so let's use their coverage and my recent big claim for an example....
1: $100,000 Medical coverage: My medical insurance does not cover me outside the US. For others, even if yours does - will it contact the local medical facility and make guaranteed arrangements, or just reimburse you later if you can afford the payments at the time and file all the needed forms. I know that my DAN coverage includes $1 Million emergency medical evacuation and other benefits in the Trip Assist included with membership but not direct medical coverage. There is a redundancy to the emergency medical evacuation of the two coverage, but I kinda like that and doubt that it runs my insurance costs up. If I need to get back to Houston or Miami for medical needs, I don't want to have to deal with details - I want it done, and I have seen that happen twice in the last year. Those two cases were Dive Insurance covered, but many medical needs are not regardless of how invincible you think you are. (Wanta hear my DVT/clogged vein story again? I was lucky it happened to me in Texas and not on a dive trip to some distant site.)
2: Emergency evacuation for other reasons: When we had to evacuate Cozumel with hurricane Dean still headed our way, I was able to get Continental to "accommodate" me with a no charge change to a flight sent down just to pickup customers wanting to leave, but that took over an hour in various phone calls direct back to Houston, and most of my group had to pay American extra to get out - the last one in our group to book an extra $900.
Or when I was one Roatan Sept 11, 2001, after a few days of wondering when the planes would fly again and how, I almost had to stay an extra week - did end up returning a couple days later than my planned return, but those expenses were reimbursed by the insurance.
3: Baggage and Personal Effects: $2,500. From Contiential.com....
DAN Diver insurance covers my equipment for diving accidents, but what if the boat sinks - which happens, or the hotel porter loses my bags - which I have witnessed personally. I'd much rather file a claim to my trip insurance than to the dive operator or hotel in another country.
4: Airlines and Operators have other problems, even stop operating. Begging other airlines helps with plane tickets sometimes, but I like more options than that if any of my carriers and vendors don't deliver for what I paid.
5: Pre-Departure Trip Cancellation - Up To Trip Cost; Post-Departure Trip Interruption - Up To 150% Of Trip Cost: Family members get sick and so do I, homes get hit by storms and other disasters, etc. I could go on and on, but for brevity - let's just say "Caca Happens!"
Now this point can vary as to whether how I am booking. For last years Cozumel, Cenotes, Holbox trip I booked a package with one vendor who took care of all the trip details other than air - but it was all or nothing if I had to cancel, other than the plane ticket I could have canceled with only a $100 loss on future use. I could have covered $1500 for $85 or $2,000 to include the whole plane ticket for $118 - I went for the latter, but that's coin toss nearly.
I'm going back to recreate the planned trip this year, upgrading some hotel and operator options, even adding an extra day of diving and a hotel night. Even at that, I am saving a few hundred handling three different hotels, three different operators, and a car rental, but the question now is what would I lose if I had to cancel? $100 on plane ticket for future use plus a few deposits I'm splitting with my bud: $500 would really cover it for $40, but I think I will include the full cost of the plane ticket and go for $1,000 coverage for $50.
Okay if you have read closely this far, how can people spend - in this example - $2,000 on a trip, booking several months in advance with all the various possibilities that life can throw at us mortals, often even taking advantage of discounts offered in hurricane season, then skimp on $40 to $118 in comprehensive trip insurance...?
There were 16 in my group who escaped hurricane Dean and I'd been thru much of this with them, but half of them did not take the coverage - all of those paying several hundred dollars extra to get out, and still arguing with the vendor on what they might get back on the package they lost. The one in our group who had to pay an extra $900 to leave was uninsured, but she never will be again - wasn't when she went back since.
1: $100,000 Medical coverage: My medical insurance does not cover me outside the US. For others, even if yours does - will it contact the local medical facility and make guaranteed arrangements, or just reimburse you later if you can afford the payments at the time and file all the needed forms. I know that my DAN coverage includes $1 Million emergency medical evacuation and other benefits in the Trip Assist included with membership but not direct medical coverage. There is a redundancy to the emergency medical evacuation of the two coverage, but I kinda like that and doubt that it runs my insurance costs up. If I need to get back to Houston or Miami for medical needs, I don't want to have to deal with details - I want it done, and I have seen that happen twice in the last year. Those two cases were Dive Insurance covered, but many medical needs are not regardless of how invincible you think you are. (Wanta hear my DVT/clogged vein story again? I was lucky it happened to me in Texas and not on a dive trip to some distant site.)
2: Emergency evacuation for other reasons: When we had to evacuate Cozumel with hurricane Dean still headed our way, I was able to get Continental to "accommodate" me with a no charge change to a flight sent down just to pickup customers wanting to leave, but that took over an hour in various phone calls direct back to Houston, and most of my group had to pay American extra to get out - the last one in our group to book an extra $900.
Or when I was one Roatan Sept 11, 2001, after a few days of wondering when the planes would fly again and how, I almost had to stay an extra week - did end up returning a couple days later than my planned return, but those expenses were reimbursed by the insurance.
3: Baggage and Personal Effects: $2,500. From Contiential.com....
DAN Diver insurance covers my equipment for diving accidents, but what if the boat sinks - which happens, or the hotel porter loses my bags - which I have witnessed personally. I'd much rather file a claim to my trip insurance than to the dive operator or hotel in another country.
4: Airlines and Operators have other problems, even stop operating. Begging other airlines helps with plane tickets sometimes, but I like more options than that if any of my carriers and vendors don't deliver for what I paid.
5: Pre-Departure Trip Cancellation - Up To Trip Cost; Post-Departure Trip Interruption - Up To 150% Of Trip Cost: Family members get sick and so do I, homes get hit by storms and other disasters, etc. I could go on and on, but for brevity - let's just say "Caca Happens!"
Now this point can vary as to whether how I am booking. For last years Cozumel, Cenotes, Holbox trip I booked a package with one vendor who took care of all the trip details other than air - but it was all or nothing if I had to cancel, other than the plane ticket I could have canceled with only a $100 loss on future use. I could have covered $1500 for $85 or $2,000 to include the whole plane ticket for $118 - I went for the latter, but that's coin toss nearly.
I'm going back to recreate the planned trip this year, upgrading some hotel and operator options, even adding an extra day of diving and a hotel night. Even at that, I am saving a few hundred handling three different hotels, three different operators, and a car rental, but the question now is what would I lose if I had to cancel? $100 on plane ticket for future use plus a few deposits I'm splitting with my bud: $500 would really cover it for $40, but I think I will include the full cost of the plane ticket and go for $1,000 coverage for $50.
Okay if you have read closely this far, how can people spend - in this example - $2,000 on a trip, booking several months in advance with all the various possibilities that life can throw at us mortals, often even taking advantage of discounts offered in hurricane season, then skimp on $40 to $118 in comprehensive trip insurance...?
There were 16 in my group who escaped hurricane Dean and I'd been thru much of this with them, but half of them did not take the coverage - all of those paying several hundred dollars extra to get out, and still arguing with the vendor on what they might get back on the package they lost. The one in our group who had to pay an extra $900 to leave was uninsured, but she never will be again - wasn't when she went back since.
