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NFT: Travel Insurance

tentboy : 1/7/2019 9:05 am
I am going to be traveling to Florida in February and I am looking to purchase travel insurance in case someone in my family gets sick or weather would preclude us from getting there. There are certain parts of my trips that are nonrefundable.

Can anyone recommend a company to use?
I took a big trip in August to outer banks  
Heisenberg : 1/7/2019 9:12 am : link
The house we rented was very expensive so we did travel insurance for weather and an illness, as you are thinking.

I used insuremytrip.com to do it. they have a comparative rating tool that will let you specify the location, times, etc of the trip and get quotes from lots of companies at lots of different insurance levels. We ended up picking one company (Nationwide) and buying a policy. It's a lot of information to digest and the differences between the coverage levels can be a lot to go thru but otherwise, a good experience.


Insure my trip dot com - ( New Window )
Comparison site  
Jim in Fairfax : 1/7/2019 9:15 am : link
There is a travel insurance comparison site, linked below, that will quote you prices from many providers based on the parameters you enter. Ratings of the insurance companies are provided.
Insure My Trip - ( New Window )
I can't  
ron mexico : 1/7/2019 9:15 am : link
But my general rule of thumb is to never buy insurance for a loss that wont have meaningful impact on my life. Missing a trip wont change my life, breaking my iphone wont change my life, so I would never buy insurance for it.

There is a reason all these companies push insurance contracts on everything under the sun these days and its not because they are good for the consumer.

Or what Heisenberg said :-)  
Jim in Fairfax : 1/7/2019 9:15 am : link
.
RE: I can't  
Heisenberg : 1/7/2019 9:25 am : link
In comment 14251778 ron mexico said:
Quote:
But my general rule of thumb is to never buy insurance for a loss that wont have meaningful impact on my life. Missing a trip wont change my life, breaking my iphone wont change my life, so I would never buy insurance for it.

There is a reason all these companies push insurance contracts on everything under the sun these days and its not because they are good for the consumer.


In general, I agree. This trip was one of the most expensive as we rented a really big house for a bunch of families. Didn't need it and the trip was awesome (thank goodness!) but OBX was hit by hurricane Florence just a few weeks later. It was nice piece of mind that we wouldnt lose out on a 5 figure house rental if Florence arrived a bit earlier.
RE: I can't  
Giantophile : 1/7/2019 9:38 am : link
In comment 14251778 ron mexico said:
Quote:
But my general rule of thumb is to never buy insurance for a loss that wont have meaningful impact on my life. Missing a trip wont change my life, breaking my iphone wont change my life, so I would never buy insurance for it.

There is a reason all these companies push insurance contracts on everything under the sun these days and its not because they are good for the consumer.


I'm no expert but wouldn't a good rule take into account the likelihood of an event occurring? If you are prone to/have a history of losing or breaking your phone -- isn't insurance a better option than buying a new one every time? I'm somewhat insurance averse but I've come out in the black with cell phone ins.
Check your credit card(s)  
robbieballs2003 : 1/7/2019 9:42 am : link
Credit card companies insure stuff like that up to a certain amount. When I went on my honeymoon I put the trip on two cards and got insurance on whatever difference wasn't covered.
RE: RE: I can't  
ron mexico : 1/7/2019 9:50 am : link
In comment 14251812 Giantophile said:
Quote:
In comment 14251778 ron mexico said:


Quote:


But my general rule of thumb is to never buy insurance for a loss that wont have meaningful impact on my life. Missing a trip wont change my life, breaking my iphone wont change my life, so I would never buy insurance for it.

There is a reason all these companies push insurance contracts on everything under the sun these days and its not because they are good for the consumer.




I'm no expert but wouldn't a good rule take into account the likelihood of an event occurring? If you are prone to/have a history of losing or breaking your phone -- isn't insurance a better option than buying a new one every time? I'm somewhat insurance averse but I've come out in the black with cell phone ins.


the companies offering the insurance are far more equipped to estimate the likelihood of the event happening than you are and price it so they will always turn a profit.

Add in the deductibles, exclusions and general hassle of trying to collect on those policies and its very very unlikely you will come out ahead.

RE: Check your credit card(s)  
Jim in Fairfax : 1/7/2019 10:51 am : link
In comment 14251816 robbieballs2003 said:
Quote:
Credit card companies insure stuff like that up to a certain amount. When I went on my honeymoon I put the trip on two cards and got insurance on whatever difference wasn't covered.

It’s a good idea if you have such a card. Pretty much it’s only travel oriented cards which have annual fees that offer this.
RE: RE: Check your credit card(s)  
robbieballs2003 : 1/7/2019 11:07 am : link
In comment 14251938 Jim in Fairfax said:
Quote:
In comment 14251816 robbieballs2003 said:


Quote:


Credit card companies insure stuff like that up to a certain amount. When I went on my honeymoon I put the trip on two cards and got insurance on whatever difference wasn't covered.


It’s a good idea if you have such a card. Pretty much it’s only travel oriented cards which have annual fees that offer this.


I have 2 Chase cards. One was the sapphire card which I definitely paid an annual fee to not have to worry about foreign transaction fees. The other was the freedom card which doesn't have an annual fee.
RE: RE: RE: Check your credit card(s)  
Jim in Fairfax : 1/7/2019 11:54 am : link
In comment 14251981 robbieballs2003 said:
Quote:

I have 2 Chase cards. One was the sapphire card which I definitely paid an annual fee to not have to worry about foreign transaction fees. The other was the freedom card which doesn't have an annual fee.

There are cards with no annual fee that don’t charge foreign transaction fees. For example Capital One Quicksilver, which also gives a 1.5% cash back reward.
RE: I can't  
npd4432 : 1/7/2019 11:26 pm : link
In comment 14251778 ron mexico said:
Quote:
But my general rule of thumb is to never buy insurance for a loss that wont have meaningful impact on my life. Missing a trip wont change my life, breaking my iphone wont change my life, so I would never buy insurance for it.

There is a reason all these companies push insurance contracts on everything under the sun these days and its not because they are good for the consumer.


No truer words have never been spoken. Insurance in these situations are not necessary. Use your credit card and most will cover the insurance just for using the card. Check your cardholder agreement first. The push for insurance on these types are home runs for the industry.
RE: RE: I can't  
MetsAreBack : 1/10/2019 9:38 am : link
In comment 14251794 Heisenberg said:
Quote:
In comment 14251778 ron mexico said:


Quote:


But my general rule of thumb is to never buy insurance for a loss that wont have meaningful impact on my life. Missing a trip wont change my life, breaking my iphone wont change my life, so I would never buy insurance for it.

There is a reason all these companies push insurance contracts on everything under the sun these days and its not because they are good for the consumer.




In general, I agree. This trip was one of the most expensive as we rented a really big house for a bunch of families. Didn't need it and the trip was awesome (thank goodness!) but OBX was hit by hurricane Florence just a few weeks later. It was nice piece of mind that we wouldnt lose out on a 5 figure house rental if Florence arrived a bit earlier.


Wouldnt a local hurricane fall on the landlord not you? I understand insurance for you getting to and from their property... but if lets say there's an evacuation order during your stay, then i would think that's not your problem, its theirs.
RE: RE: RE: I can't  
Jim in Fairfax : 1/10/2019 10:45 am : link
In comment 14256512 MetsAreBack said:
Quote:

Wouldnt a local hurricane fall on the landlord not you? I understand insurance for you getting to and from their property... but if lets say there's an evacuation order during your stay, then i would think that's not your problem, its theirs.

Nope. Most beach rentals are non-refundable for any reason including hurricanes or other acts of god. The rental agencies make that abundantly clear and strongly urge getting rental insurance.

We had an Outer Banks vacation in Duck wiped out by a hurricane a few years ago. Fortunately we had insurance and got our money back (several thousand).
RE: RE: RE: I can't  
ron mexico : 1/10/2019 10:46 am : link
In comment 14256512 MetsAreBack said:
Quote:
In comment 14251794 Heisenberg said:


Quote:


In comment 14251778 ron mexico said:


Quote:


But my general rule of thumb is to never buy insurance for a loss that wont have meaningful impact on my life. Missing a trip wont change my life, breaking my iphone wont change my life, so I would never buy insurance for it.

There is a reason all these companies push insurance contracts on everything under the sun these days and its not because they are good for the consumer.




In general, I agree. This trip was one of the most expensive as we rented a really big house for a bunch of families. Didn't need it and the trip was awesome (thank goodness!) but OBX was hit by hurricane Florence just a few weeks later. It was nice piece of mind that we wouldnt lose out on a 5 figure house rental if Florence arrived a bit earlier.



Wouldnt a local hurricane fall on the landlord not you? I understand insurance for you getting to and from their property... but if lets say there's an evacuation order during your stay, then i would think that's not your problem, its theirs.


No way. If you are evacuated due to a hurricane, you are not getting your money back.

The only way you get your money back is if the unit is uninhabitable before your stay and you are never able to check in.
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