InsureMyTrip News

In a recent article on Philly.com by the Washington Post’s Andrea Sachs, the benefits of having a comprehensive travel medical insurance plan are made glaringly clear.  Citing such reputable sources as the United States Travel Insurance Association (USTiA) and Peter Evans, Vice President of InsureMyTrip, “How to Prepare for Sickness on Foreign Trips” provides insight into the whys and hows of securing the best medical coverage for your travels abroad.

Among the highlights: Evans’ advice to double-check with your U.S. health insurance provider before traveling, to find out whether or not they will fully cover your treatment and possible evacuation if you become ill or injured abroad; the reminder that travel medical insurance comes not only with financial benefits, but also with real-time assistance to help you locate and access appropriate treatment away from home; and this bit of information gleaned from InsureMyTrip’s Ratings and Reviews page.

“…Travelers gush about how travel medical insurance gave them ‘peace of mind.’ In the first 100 of 1,466 responses, not a single person related a negative story involving an injury or a claim. Nor did anyone complain about wasting money for an unused service.”

The full text of “How to Prepare for Sickness on Foreign Trips” can be found on Philly.com.

In an article published on the Huffington Post regarding the many headaches Carnival Cruises has endured this year, the difference between cruise line insurance and third-party travel insurance for your cruise is spelled out in stark terms.  While there are many good reasons to purchase your insurance from an independent source rather than from the cruise line on which you’re planning to sail, the most obvious one is often overlooked: If you are insured by the cruise line, that insurance policy is likely to be written in such a way as to be of more benefit to the cruise company than it is to you.

To avoid common headaches such as receiving “reimbursement” in the form of vouchers for future cruise experiences you may or may not want to take, as well as to secure additional benefits for yourself that could be useful in helping you to recover the costs of additional transportation, or cover your medical expenses out of country if necessary, buying travel insurance for your cruise should always be done through a third party.  The Huffington Post article recommends InsureMyTrip as a “respectable and easy to use service” for just this sort of purchase.

The full text of “Carnival Cruise Lines and why Third Party Travel Insurance Pays” can be found on the Huffington Post’s Travel section.

With golf tours abroad being a hot travel choice for many people, the question of whether or not travel insurance is a worthwhile investment for golfers was bound to come up sooner or later.  A recent issue of Golf Digest tackles just that question, with clear advice and recommendations to those who are planning to hit the links and have invested a significant amount of money in pre-paid expenses to make their golfing dreams come true.

Among the excellent points raised in the article is the relative cost of travel insurance vs. your trip cost, and whether or not your personal financial picture allows you to tolerate losing all your pre-paid costs.  “If you can hear that you just lost the cost of your trip, then roll over and go back to sleep, you probably don’t need insurance,” a tour company spokesperson is quoted as saying.  However, given the relatively low cost of a travel insurance policy that will cover the needs of most recreational golfers — noted in this piece as anywhere from 5% to 15% of total trip cost, depending upon whether or not you want specialized benefits such as “Cancel for Any Reason” coverage — even those who have a high tolerance for absorbing financial losses may find that it’s worth it to protect their trip investment.  Golf Digest recommends shopping around to compare different insurance plans and rates from different companies, and highlights InsureMyTrip.com as the place to do the best comparison shopping.

The full article “Money Clip: Man Down” can be found on Golf Digest’s site.

A recent insightful column by the Frugal Traveler exposes the step-by-step decision-making process of a traveler who is considering whether or not travel insurance is a wise investment for his upcoming trip to Asia.  While the decision that each traveler may reach regarding this choice is decidedly different — and should be, since the need for insurance is based on highly individual factors — the issues that are raised in the column are common to almost all travelers, and should be considered whenever you’re planning a trip.

Among the concerns raised by the Frugal Traveler are the cost of travel insurance relative to the cost of a trip; the relative likelihood of misfortune befalling you on your trip (for example, greater for one who is traveling by motorcycle through remote mountains than for one who is visiting Grandma for a week); the coverage already offered to you by your own medical insurance or homeowner’s insurance; and your individual financial tolerance — whether or not you think you’d be able to absorb the cost of a medical evacuation or other major unforeseen expense.  In most cases, the Frugal Traveler recommends using InsureMyTrip as one of the key sources for comparing and purchasing travel insurance options that suit your needs.

The entire column, “Should You Buy Travel Insurance?” can be found on the NY Times website.

This week, the Washington Post ran a very thorough story on the details of travel medical insurance.  Using InsureMyTrip as a resource, the article explains in depth how travel medical coverage works, why it’s important, and how it should be used.  One excerpt underscores the security many travelers feel when they have appropriate travel medical insurance in place:

On the comments page of InsureMyTrip.com, a travel insurance aggregator, travelers gush about how travel medical insurance gave them “peace of mind”; “fortunate” and “felt very comfortable” were also popular words. In the first 100 of 1,466 responses, not a single person related a negative story involving an injury or a claim. Nor did anyone complain about wasting money for an unused service.

One reason travelers may feel so secure, the article points out, is that those who travel without insurance may need to pay out of pocket for any unexpected medical costs, while those who travel with insurance can file a claim with their travel insurance company to have those costs reimbursed.  When the medical emergency is severe, requiring specialized services such as evacuation, the difference travel insurance makes could be measured in the tens of thousands of dollars.  However, as InsureMyTrip’s Executive Vice President, Peter Evans, points out in the Post article, travelers looking to purchase a medical plan for their trip should always check with their primary health insurance carrier first.  Some U.S.-based health insurers will cover medical expenses abroad, in part or in full, so it’s smart to have an understanding of your provider’s policies before buying additional coverage.

The complete story can be accessed on the Washington Post website.