Is Travel Insurance Worth the Money?

Do you have many non-refundable expenses for your trip? Does your health insurance cover your medical expenses in another country? Your answers to these questions will help you decide if you should purchase travel insurance.

Long-term policy or Single Trip Policy:

When we traveled to Thailand and Cambodia we selected GeoBlue Insurance's Trekker Essential medical policy for one year. It had a limit of 70 days max. per trip and required that we have a primary health plan. The price for us was about $260 in 2019 ($293 in 2022) for the multiple trips plan.

We found out that some policies don't cover Larry and I now because of our ages (I'm 68 and he's 76). Medicare and our supplemental plan don't cover us when we leave the United States. For our upcoming Mexico trip, we opted for single-trip coverage that included COVID coverage.

Travel Insurance Coverage:

Some people opt to purchase an inexpensive flight cancellation insurance policy when they make their airline reservation. These usually just cover the cost of the flight or provide money if the flight is delayed, interrupted, or canceled. Some airlines are partnering with Allianz Insurance to provide a more comprehensive travel policy.

Check your credit card first because some credit card companies provide basic trip cancellation, trip interruption and luggage coverage. If your card covers this, you may want to look into a travel medical insurance policy in case of a medical emergency.

Travel insurance covers things such as trip cancellation if you get sick prior to your trip, delayed or lost luggage, overseas emergency dental, medical expenses, and medical evacuation. A more expensive option available is an add-on called "cancel for any reason. " These usually reimburse up to 75% of your expenses. Some policies may have limitations if you engage in what they consider a risky or dangerous activity/sport.

World Nomads Explorer Plan is one of the top-rated plans for people who like to participate in adventure sports on their vacation (over 200 sports activities covered) and plan to spend less than $10,000. Unfortunately for us, they have an age limit of 66 (at trip departure). They have raised their maximum age from 61-66, but Larry and I don't qualify.

On January 13, 2022 Elina Geller wrote an article for Nerdwallet (https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/travel/best-travel-insurance-of-2021) where she compared several insurance companies. She selected the World Nomads Explorer Plan as the top plan.

Squaremouth compares policies from about 90 companies after you give them your age and the date(s) of your trip.

My Choices For Our 2022 Mexico Trip

I used Squaremouth to compare annual medical policies (GeoBlue - $293) and single trip insurance policies. It allows you to search using filters for type of policy, limits, etc., and then it shows the insurance companies that meet the criteria. For this particular trip I chose TinLeg Gold ($257) which covered Covid-19 cancellation, medical expenses, trip interruption, and medical evacuation. It didn't cover my diving, so I also insured with Diver's Alert Network (DAN) that has an affordable diver's insurance (yearly amount - $61.25 with membership in DAN).

Only you can decide what risks you want to take in regard to travel misfortunes, what they might cost, and whether travel insurance is right for you.