The wife and I are planning to go to Glacier Nat'l Park this Fall.

My job situation makes any long-term planning risky, so I was thinking of purchasing trip insurance in case we need to cancel.

I've never used trip insurance before and don't know if it's worthwhile or a waste of money.

Any thoughts or recommendations?

If you have no assurance that you can make the trip, than the insurance you spend would be worth covering the "asset" you risk losing.

Short answer in your case. Yes.

Before you purchase the insurance make sure you understand exactly what situations will be covered for cancellation.

I always buy it for my tropical vacations. It is basically a moneyback guarantee minus the cost of insurance if you need to cancel up to 24 hours before the event. Since booking a vacation several months out the 300 bucks is worth a little security should an untimely death political uprising, hurricane happen.

In my case, worth it, 300 to save 4500. Depends on the cost of your vacation and cancellation policies of airlines/hotels for you.

quote:

Originally posted by Yellow Jacket:
Before you purchase the insurance make sure you understand exactly what situations will be covered for cancellation.

Just got a text from a buddy on this point. Coincidentally and unfortunately, last week he fell and blew out his knee on the first day of his vacation in Spain. Not only did he have to come home right away, he had to fly business class because of his knee.

His travel insurance is going to cover the cost, but he told me cancelling a trip because of a job situation is probably not covered by trip insurance.

quote:

Originally posted by CoolRich59:

quote:

Originally posted by Yellow Jacket:
Before you purchase the insurance make sure you understand exactly what situations will be covered for cancellation.

Just got a text from a buddy on this point. Coincidentally and unfortunately, last week he fell and blew out his knee on the first day of his vacation in Spain. Not only did he have to come home right away, he had to fly business class because of his knee.

His travel insurance is going to cover the cost, but he told me cancelling a trip because of a job situation is probably not covered by trip insurance.

Some will allow a cancellation for anything.

OP- Search trip insurance here on the forum. There have been some very good threads on it.

In your case, I would get it.

If any possibility I may have to cancel, I buy it. Most offer different levels or additional coverage for an add on fee.

You cancel for injury, illness, loss of job or weather usually covered at base level

You cancel for work reasons or cancelled military leave at higher level or additional premium.

You cancel "for any reason" at highest level or an additional premium.

As far as additional trip protections such as lost baggage, delays, medivac, etc. differing levels some with a deductible or limit provide mostly provide peace of mind and probably very rarely of benefit, BUT should one of things come up, it is like a winning lottery ticket.

My credit card offers basic trip cancellation, trip delay, trip interruption, baggage replacement, and baggage delay insurance. Request the benefits document for your card and read the amounts and situations it covers. If you are close to your doctor, that could probably write you a doctor's note severe enough to cancel a trip.

quote:

Originally posted by chongosuerte:

OP- Search trip insurance here on the forum. There have been some very good threads on it.

Thanks. I did a cursory search, but did not see any threads. I will look again.

quote:

Originally posted by 911Boss:
If any possibility I may have to cancel, I buy it. Most offer different levels or additional coverage for an add on fee.

That's my thinking. Usually it never crosses my mind. But, I've moved to a quasi-consulting role and I've seen where clients have told other consultants "you have to be there!". If that happens to me, I'd have to cancel, so the insurance would be worth it to me.

Any recommendations on where to look for trip insurance?

The only time I used trip insurance is on a cruise. I broke an expensive camera lens in Alaska and it was covered so for me it was worth it.

If $300 for a $4500 trip is the going rate, that is a high price (6.6% of the covered event). $300 doesn't seem like much, but as a percentage of the total, it is high.

I might buy it for a high risk trip - one where politics may intervene, like a trip to Africa.

The link below will take you to a website wherein you can price trip insurance/travel medical/etc. programs.

http://www.hthtravelinsurance....der=y&personalized=y

How much would you be out of pocket if you did need to cancel? Are you flying or driving? Hotels can be cancelled on as little as 24 hours notice. Airline tickets may or may not be refundable.

I'd expect it to be well under $200.

Last month for my 6 day honeymoon trip to Jamaica it was around 170 for my wife and myself.

https://sigforum.com/eve/forums...0601935/m/2800016414

I love this place, but the search function...is not

quote:

Originally posted by chongosuerte:
https://sigforum.com/eve/forums...0601935/m/2800016414

I love this place, but the search function...is not

Thank you Sir!

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
If $300 for a $4500 trip is the going rate, that is a high price (6.6% of the covered event). $300 doesn't seem like much, but as a percentage of the total, it is high.

I might buy it for a high risk trip - one where politics may intervene, like a trip to Africa.

thats why its called insurance Its only worth it til you need that 4500 bucks that you just took a dump on cause gam-gams died or a hurricane leveled your resort.

I should have clarified thats 150 per person. covers accidents, fly delays as well. Doesnt make it any less expensive I just rather not be SOL is all since my per hour aint no 4500 bucks

Being that it's in the continental US. I would check into hotel cancellation policies and not book the airfare until a few weeks out and forgo the trip insurance.

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:
Being that it's in the continental US. I would check into hotel cancellation policies and not book the airfare until a few weeks out and forgo the trip insurance.

That won't work for me. Glacier is a pretty popular destination and I've seen some of the flights sell out already. Plus, I understand that, because of the same popularity, hotels have stiff cancellation penalties.

I purchased insurance with SW Airlines for the 25th anniversary trip to Sedona. Cheap. I think it was $65 for a $3000 trip.

[Regarding the search utility, I wish as a community we could all title our threads with operative words. In this example, "world travelers step inside" as a title is not as easy to find as "is trip insurance worth it?" The forum search software is challenging to use, so I would encourage us to all try to help each other with better titles.]