5 Tips on Senior Trip Insurance
Medical Crisis, Tour Cancellation May Be Separate Policies
Mar 27, 2008
What is your biggest concern about travel? Whatever it is, make sure you insure it. For some it is trip interruption, for others medical evacuation after getting hurt or falling ill in a strange land and being stuck there, for still others it is paying in advance for trip that could fall through. Here are 5 tips based on an informal survey of experts, travelers and Consumer Reports.
1) Evaluate What Your Current Insurance Covers
Check existing insurance coverage first. Your medical policy (not Medicare, but corporate or Medigap insurance) may already cover such things as medical needs away from home. “Many people don't realize it, but travel insurance often duplicates coverage they already have through their credit cards, homeowners insurance, life insurance and other policies,” said Greg Daugherty, Editor at Large at Consumer Reports, in a press release last May, when the magazine warned that most trip insurance is unnecessary.
2) Avoid Buying from Your Tour Outfitter
Compare costs of various plans online at InsureMyTrip.com, Travelguard.com, TotalTravelInsurance.com, or another site, and avoid buying from the company sponsoring your tour. Comparisons indicate that such insurers as Travelex offer the same policies for less than most tour operators. And tour operators might not include their own cancelled trips.
3) Big Risk -- Financial Default
Cancellation or company default may be biggest risk. “Financial default of a big airline, tour operator, or cruise line is no longer a vague possibility; it's a real risk,” writes senior-travel columnist Ed Perkins of SmarterTravel.com..
4) Look into Medical Evacuation Coverage
Consider a membership policy if you travel a lot and/or to exotic places. Friends of mine swear by Medjet Assist. Like AirAmbulanceCard.com and others it begins where even Amex Platinum might leave off. Instead of being taken to nearest hospital, which might not be up to your standards in a third-world country, you are flown wherever you specify. Cost: several hundred dollars a year per person and a bit more for an entire family. See my previous article on AARP MedjetAssist discounts for details.
5) Protect Against Personal or Business CallbacksBuy for-any-reason cancellation insurance if you think you might have to cut a trip short either because of a close relative’s health or your own business affairs.
With luck, you probably won’t need trip insurance, but peace of mind is important when you are traveling. Even Consumer Reports concedes that if you are elderly or infirm, you might want to get coverage on a per-trip basis. As a spokesman for AirAmbulanceCard.com said in an interview, “it’s like Triple A for your body. This is the kind of service people don’t know about, yet when you tell them, they say, ‘of course.’”
