Ok...so we are headed to the Bahamas in the middle of hurricane season and are considering purchasing trip insurance for the first time. OMG! I'm going blind from reading all of the fine print. So many things excluded (eyeglasses, cash, limits on payments regardless of actual cost of item lost, etc...), not sure if it is worth the extra cost. It seems that the only benefit that would apply to us is if there was a hurricane that delayed our arrival or caused us to leave early.

Let's poll the group. Who has used travel insurance? Which company did you go with and why? Who has had experience with filing claims, and what was that experience?

Tribs

We use an annual policy that includes trip insurance and DAN cover.

Brian...how did you get that? I was just over on the Dan website and they offer separate policies. The Dan Accident Premium, which is what we have, does not cover any loss unless it is related to illness/sickness related to not being able to dive. It does not cover hurricanes or other issues. Their separate policy does, but again it has a ton of exclusions (5 pages worth in a PDF file). Can you give me a link for your policy? I cannot find it on the Dan webiste.

From Aug to Nov, Ins should be part of your plans.

Think about the poor people going south this weekend.

Tribs

We are in the UK and use Divemaster insurance. Again I don't think we would get a refund if a hurricane stopped us diving but it would cover if we could not fly out.

This is the service we take http://www.dive-master.net/e7.html

Tribs - I use AIG Travel Guard

Here's what I get for $84.00 dollars that covers us both.

Accident and sickness med. exp. $10,000.oo each
Baggage & travel documents $500.oo each
Baggage delay $100.oo each
Emergency Med. Trans. $100,000.oo each
Travel delay $500.oo each
Trip Cancellation 100% trip cost per Insured
Trip Interruption 100% trip cost per Insured

Never had to file a claim yet but as you can see by the Premium cost is equal to a night out for us. I buy it well before any storm can be named.

We have Dan Preferred coverage too...

Smart Timmy, very smart!

We use travel insurance every time we travel now, because we have a kid. We've needed medical coverage twice when our son got sick, and last year we got "stuck" in Curacao for 3 days because of a so-called hurricane in Miami. It never really materialized, but the airports were all shut down and we couldn't get a flight back to Miami. We flew to San Juan instead, and then to JFK, avoiding Miami entirely. It has definitely been worth it.

We're headed to Bonaire on Monday. I hope the airport in San Juan is not too messed up!

We use AIG Travel Guard and DAN Master coverage. I think it is worth the investment.

Lorri

Lorri - Have a great time ... looks like it's going to pass well below PR from what they are saying here.

Ok...AIG users. I have been playing on that website and am not sure of a few things. I get better quotes when I use the honeymoon option, than when I just buy for a single trip. Same trip, same costs, but I get charged less for the Honeymoon??? And Timmmmy, it looks like you have the Savvy plan, but I cannot find any policy with that travel delay $. Which policy did you get?

I just bought that Savvy package a couple minutes ago. I believe the $500 is maximum payout for single traveller based at $100 per day.

Just checked with the good folks at State Farm. It would seem that my homeowner's coverage also covers personal belongings I bring when I travel, even out of the country. That combined with the AIG coverage and my DAN Master coverage should make life a little less stressful?

After all, getting AWAY from life's stresses is kinda WHY I go on vacation in the first place.

I am another AIG user. We used them when we went to St. Marteen with my mom...we bought medical coverage as well. They helped me in more ways during the crisis, and also in paying the mortuary promptly to get her out of the Country...no questions asked. They called me daily during the five weeks to see how things were going. (God forbid, you don't want a medical emergency, but if that is how they handle all of their claims, they have my vote)

This is my first trip ever using trip insurance but it's also the most expensive we've ever taken
First lesson learned --- purchase your trip insurance within 15 days of purchasing your tickets and you have more options available.

I chose Access America's Classic w/trip cancellation coverage. I felt they were a bit clearer on what they covered. I'm not very patient with legal-ease and have bombarded Ann with so much minutia I figured I'd do it on my own - probably a mistake!! Ann is wise and she promotes AIG.

I also signed us up for the DAN coverage, thanks to a post a few years back from Cynde

Randy, I had planned on checking with our SF agent as to what coverage we can expect - that's good news. I'll be calling him later today!

Also, Kathy H has become quite the source of knowledge. I wouldn't hesitate to ask her opinion!

Great Thread Tribs!!

hmmmm.... I still have time to switch to AIG. It's what a company does in times of crisis that counts most. Thanks for the input Cynde

Tribs- Our plan is : product 107838 TG ESSENTIAL BASIC AIG P1

Hi all, we just bought our trip insurance for our upcoming trip (how is it said, 26 days and a wake-up?). We started with this site, which gives a comparison of a bunch of different companies. I am in no way affiliated with them:

http://www.insuremytrip.com

We ended up going with Global Travel Shield because they are underwritten by AMEX and you can customize your package. We upped the baggage loss coverage. Also I called my homeowner's insurance (Liberty Mutual) to see if they would cover lost dive gear...they said yes.

We never filed any claims, but were delayed once on our honeymoon . I did call the insurance company who said they would cover, but due to my lack of follow through, we didn't get any reimbursement.

-Brad

And to I guess state the obvious(?), some of these coverages only provide 'reimbursement' for losses. You still have to go out of pocket on your own dime to self rescue. Be sure you have some room left on that credit card - lol

Thanks everyone! I appreciate the input. We will be buying trip insurance, but haven't decided which one yet. I sent off a few questions to AIG and DAN and am waiting for a reply. Plus, we checked with our homeowners insurance and it looks like we might have some coverage there. They are going to get back to us as well.

Okay, for some reason I thought Bonaire wasn't really in the hurricane path. I'm buying insurance right now.

Hi Cat,

Bonaire lies below the "normal" hurricane tracks. It is all the airline inter-connection islands that are at risk during hurricane season.

Direct USA-Bonaire flights could, in theory anyway, divert around a major storm to land at Flamingo Airport. I'm booked on Air Jamaica, Chicago-Montego Bay-Bonaire so I am of course watching the storm track and weather services closely.

Dean may well be a Category 5 storm by tomorrow when it hits that island.

I was just reading that there is a wind reversal on Bonaire right now. While that makes the resort shorelines veryu choppy, it could open up East side diving to some folks where that shore generally gets a pounding.

(Message edited by chicagorandy on August 18, 2007)

UK travellers have been told that they will NOT be flying to Jamaica, airlines and government advice.

I remember seeing an insurance that will cover you even if you cancel for reasons not on their form. I can't find it again though, and it looks like I have to cancel my trip. Does this sound familiar to anyone?

Lorri again. We've filed 4 claims with TravelGuard: 3 illnesses & a delay that prevented AA from getting us from MIA to JFK. We often customize a plan. Fewer $ if we book directly with AIG. My husband Les has been great with the claims filing & knows exactly what to do. Our photo gear is on a personal articles floater for replacement value if we break it, lose it, or have it stolen. In the event of a negative diving situation we're covered up the proverbial kazoo via AIG, DAN, & special catastrophic coverage. One can never be too careful.