portobelloB

Does anyone have experience with a travel insurance company that actually delivers? We travel quite a bit but never have purchase travel insurance before. We are going to Japan this fall and using a private tour co. and it will be very expensive. We often read that people pay for travel insurance but their claims our denied when they had to cancel for medical reason or get injured while traveling,
We are health(so far).
Any recommendation for recent dealings.

crellston

Travel insurance is country specific - to the country in which you are resident NOT to where you are travelling.You don't mention in which country you are resident,

FWIW I am UK based and would never travel anywhere without comprehensive travel insurance. This covers me for just about everything from medical issues before or during a trip, delays and cancellations, lost baggage etc..

Re "We often read that people pay for travel insurance but their claims our denied" . The thing is people tend to complain online about bad experiences. The people who make claims without incident are the majority, but rarely post about those claims that go smoothly. You could check out an insurers' customer service and claims record on sites like Trustpilot or similar.

It is essential to disclose all medical issues and pre existing conditions whether or not you think them important to the underwriters. They may or may not charge an additional premium but if you were to make a claim they will check your medical records and if you have not disclosed anything, your claim will most likely be refused.

Melnq8

We research using Squaremouth to compare the various policies and have purchased policies through TinLeg and Seven Corners.

No idea if they 'actually deliver' as we've not yet had to make a claim. Do read all the small print and make sure you know what the policy actually covers and the various conditions. We buy insurance within two weeks of booking our trip to get the ever important pre-existing conditions coverage (US).

Until the last few years we never bought travel insurance, but we're getting older and the chaos wreaked by COVID on travel gave us a reality check.

HappyTrvlr

We use Travel Guard and had two claims paid in full quickly with this company.

jacketwatch

We have had two claims with two different companies.

Alianz covered my wife's hospitalization in Thailand, no muss no fuss.

American Express covered us when we had to book a return on our own from Madrid to Chicago because super storm Sandy coiled UA to try to push back our return 5 days past the scheduled date. We could not do that due to work reasons. AE covered the air we had to book on our own. No questions asked.

magritten

I can recommend the Trip Insurance store as a good source of info on various insurers. They'll patiently answer as many questions as you have. (Steve, the owner, is great.) They're a broker for various insurers and have a useful website for comparing policies.

soo38

Our annual plan through Medoc and Global Allianz has covered twice for us - 5 years ago when Guatemala was having protest riots and this year when we had to cancel a trip to Morocco due to covid. We have never had to use the medical coverage when partway through a trip.

kja

Research your options using insuremytrip.com or squaremouth.com
Be sure to read all the clauses!
Call either company to ask questions if you have any before purchasing.
And make sure you buy your trip insurance within a week or two of your first trip payment.

progol

<<And make sure you buy your trip insurance within a week or two of your first trip payment.>>

This isn’t really true. There are only a few reasons when buying insurance is time-sensitive. One is getting a “cancel for any reason” policy. And in NYS, where I live, CFAR policies aren’t available. Another reason would be pre-existing medical issues. But I’ve occasionally purchased travel insurance within a week or 2 of a trip departure.

kja

progol makes a good point. I should have said: Make sure you research your trip insurance within a week or two of your first trip payment, because some benefits may be limited thereafter.

crellston

Not familiar with the term CFAR policy but the received wisdom is to buy insurance as soon as you have entered into a financial commitment. The would normally be as soon as you have booked a trip and are on the hook for hotel costs, air fares etc. You would then be covered in the event of being unable to travel because of a medical event such as a heart attack or stroke either by you, a spouse or close family member. i.e. book today and have cardiac arrest tomorrow and you would be covered. leave it until two weeks before departure and you would not be covered for events in between booking and taking out cover.

One of the benefits of ANNUAL travel policies is that you are covered years round for all trips and dont need to worry about it. Although you are still obliged to notify the underwriters of any medical conditions arising prior to departure.

mjs

I also use insure my trip and Squaremouth. I often talk to the advisors as they are quite knowledgeable. I do not insure hotels I can cancel and get a refund or airline tickets I can use for credit if they are an airline I fly often.

portobelloB

I should have added that we are from the US and have no pre-existing conditions.

It may be true that you only read about claims that go denied but this forum is very helpful to hear from travelers positive experiences. Thank you to everyone who has responded so far. I really appreciate your recommendations and advice.

kja

If it helps ... insuremytrip provides data on plan reviews and Better Business Bureau rating.

lcuy

I've used AIG-Travelguard for many trips over the last 20 or so years. I have a pre-existing medical condition that if I needed to be evacuated would cost way more than i'm willing to spend. If I purchase the policy within 14(?) days of my first trip purchase (airfare usually), then my policy covers me in full for medical, delays, lost baggage, death in the immediate family (even if they are at home), companion if I need to evacuate, etc. AIG has 3 levels- bronze silver, gold. I usually buy Silver. Because the cost is based on the price of your trip, I usually only plug in the cost of my Airfare and any non-refundable reservations. Usually the cost was between $100 and $200. I very rarely buy for domestic trips..
I've made claims several times. Medical treatments in Bangkok (plus taxi fare!), Cambodia and London, once for delayed luggage in India, and once for a very delayed flight. All the claims were settled quickly with a minimum of paperwork.
That last one was really important...I was on my way to a wedding when my first flight arrived too late for my connection. United wanted to rebook me on their next flight to that city, but it wasn't for another 10 hours, and I would have had to take a long taxi late at night in an unfamiliar city. United refused to put me on a different airline. I ran down the concourse and paid for a ticket on the other airline and got there within an hour or two.

Mara

I also use Squaremouth and Insuremytrip to research and I buy the insurance very quickly as I have pre-existing conditions. I only had to make a claim once many years ago when I fell and broke my foot after a weekend in Japan and had to come home. I had a huge hassle to collect - can't remember which company right now - and after volumes of paperwork and letters I finally got my correct reimbursement....I just felt they tried not to pay but I'm sort of stubborn and didn't give up.....lol...

magritten

Keep in mind that although you may not have pre-existing conditions, a family member might. So if you had to cancel your trip or return early if that family member had an issue, that could be a problem. There are also different lookback timeframes on policies--for a policy we just took out for a trip to New Zealand, the pre-existing lookback period was 60 days.

mlgb

I had never heard of True Traveller. That's because they only insure residents of the UK and Europe. As crellston said above, insurance availability and pricing as well as some details will depend on where you reside. (Also your age will be a big factor!)

Before I got too old to qualify, I would use World Nomads which has some of the same features of True Traveller. But I have never filed a claim either.

HappyTrvlr

Travel Guard paid two very large claims in full and Alliance paid one in full. No problems at all

ricardodesousa8885

While visiting Thailand, my brother and I got severe food poisoning and had to be admitted to the hospital for 2 days. We were insured through AIG Travel Guard; we received excellent treatment and great service from the travel insurance company, with a representative even visiting us to make sure everything was okay; they covered all the hospital bills. We did have to pay a deposit for the hospital beds initially, which was refunded back.