Travel Insurance - Worth Buying?
by Grace Weinstein

If you're spending sizable sums on a vacation, especially if you're prepaying a cruise or travel package, you may be tempted to take travel insurance to protect your investment.

But don't leap at the first insurance package your travel agent offers. Be selective about what you buy, so that you don't duplicate other coverage you may have.

There are two types of insurance you won't have elsewhere. Medical evacuation insurance will pay what could be the very high costs of an emergency trip home if you're taken ill while traveling. Trip cancellation or interruption insurance refunds money you've paid in advance for trips that must be canceled or interrupted because you, a traveling companion or a close family member becomes ill or dies.

Trip cancellation insurance has been an empty promise for many consumers in the past because of strict clauses excluding pre-existing conditions. Today most insurers will cover pre-existing conditions so long as you buy the insurance within a few days of arranging the trip.

Although they are often presented as part of a travel insurance package, medical evacuation and trip cancellation coverage can usually be bought separately.

That's good, because you may find the other elements of a travel insurance package unnecessary. Lost baggage, for example, is typically covered under a homeowners insurance policy. And extra health insurance is a waste of money if you're covered by health insurance that will follow you anywhere. You may want extra health insurance, on the other hand, if you belong to a health maintenance organization that limits care away from home to life-threatening emergencies. That won't help if you break your leg.

If you buy medical evacuation coverage, be sure it covers the cost of evacuation rather than just providing assistance in making arrangement. And if you buy any travel insurance, make sure it will reimburse you if the tour operator defaults or goes into bankruptcy.