Big Island: Trip Insurance

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Trip Insurance

What kind of coverage do you honestly need? Do you even need trip insurance at all? Take a deep breath and read on.

We believe that comprehensive trip insurance is especially valuable if you're booking a very expensive or complicated trip (particularly to an isolated region) or if you're booking far in advance. Who knows what could happen six months down the road? But whether or not you get insurance has more to do with how comfortable you are assuming all that risk yourself.

Comprehensive travel policies typically cover trip-cancellation and interruption, letting you cancel or cut your trip short because of a personal emergency, illness, or, in some cases, acts of terrorism in your destination. Such policies also cover evacuation and medical care. Some also cover you for trip delays because of bad weather or mechanical problems as well as for lost or delayed baggage. Another type of coverage to look for is financial default -- that is, when your trip is disrupted because a tour operator, airline, or cruise line goes out of business. Generally you must buy this when you book your trip or shortly thereafter, and it's only available to you if your operator isn't on a list of excluded companies.

If you're going abroad, consider buying medical-only coverage at the very least. Neither Medicare nor some private insurers cover medical expenses anywhere outside of the United States besides Mexico and Canada (including time aboard a cruise ship, even if it leaves from a U.S. port). Medical-only policies typically reimburse you for medical care (excluding that related to pre-existing conditions) and hospitalization abroad, and provide for evacuation. You still have to pay the bills and await reimbursement from the insurer, though.

Expect comprehensive travel insurance policies to cost about 4% to 7% of the total price of your trip (it's more like 12% if you're over age 70). A medical-only policy may or may not be cheaper than a comprehensive policy. Always read the fine print of your policy to make sure that you are covered for the risks that are of most concern to you. Compare several policies to make sure you're getting the best price and range of coverage available.

Insurance Comparison Sites

Insure My Trip.com (www.insuremytrip.com)

SquareMouth.com (www.squaremouth.com)

Comprehensive Travel Insurers

Access America (866/807-3982. www.accessamerica.com)

CSA Travel Protection (800/873-9855. www.csatravelprotection.com)

HTH Worldwide (610/254-8700 or 888/243-2358. www.hthworldwide.com)

Travelex Insurance (888/457-4602. www.travelex-insurance.com)

Travel Guard International (715/345-0505 or 800/826-4919. www.travelguard.com)

Travel Insured International (800/243-3174. www.travelinsured.com)

Medical-Only Insurers

International Medical Group (800/628-4664. www.imglobal.com)

International SOS (215/942-8000 or 713/521-7611. www.internationalsos.com). Wallach & Company (800/237-6615 or 504/687-3166. www.wallach.com)

OK. You know you can save a bundle on trips to warm-weather destinations by traveling in rainy season. But there's also a chance that a severe storm will disrupt your plans. The solution? Look for hotels and resorts that offer storm/hurricane guarantees. Although they rarely allow refunds, most guarantees do let you rebook later if a storm strikes.