One Snarky Chica with Issues

Today in the mail I got a brochure from AIG Travel Guard on travel insurance. The outside of the brochures touts ” Coverage starting at $30!” As someone that travels quite a bit I can honestly say that I have never had travel insurance. This may be because I am a spontaneous traveler, meaning I usually do not put a lot of planning into my trips. It’s more like I get online and see that Laura Pausini is performing somewhere next week and I buy a ticket and book a flight. The end. While something horrible could happen to me before the trip, it is not as likely as if I had planned months in advance.

What do you think of when you think of travel insurance? When I think of travel insurance I think that it is for insuring the money you spent on the trip in the event you do not get to actually take the trip. However vacation and trip cancellation is apparently only a few of the things covered by travel insurance.

On my brochure I was directed to visit www.TravelGuard.com for more information. The main page of the website lists what is covered by travel insurance as:

“Our travel insurance plans offer coverage for vacation and trip cancellation, travel interruptions and delays, emergency medical and health expenses, lost baggage and more. “

In looking over the site it appears that there are different levels of coverage that you can buy. A preliminary look for pricing states:

“Q. How much does travel insurance cost?
A. The cost of travel insurance is based, in most cases, on the value of the trip and the age of the traveler. Typically, the cost is five to seven percent of the trip cost.”

So, five to seven percent of the trip cost. I wonder if that is a general average for the trip cost or actual trip cost?

A bit more digging shows that travel insurance is broken down into categories. They are:

1. cruise
2. international
3. single trip
4. flight
5. student
6. travel medical
7. annual

You can get quotes by package:

Cruise, Tour & Travel (Platinum)
Our Platinum plan for travelers who want our most comprehensive package of travel insurance coverage and assistance. Provides our highest limits of medical coverage plus additional benefits when purchased within 15 days of initial trip deposit, including coverage for pre-existing medical conditions and financial default. Optional Coverages include Cancel for Any Reason, Cancel for Work Reasons and Medical Evacuation home or to the hospital of choice.

ProtectAssist (Gold)
Our Gold plan is our most popular package of travel insurance & assistance. Comprehensive coverage for travelers and families; includes coverage for children under the age of 18 at no additional cost. Provides additional benefits when purchased within 15 days of initial trip deposit, including coverage for pre-existing medical conditions and financial default. Optional Coverages include Cancel for Any Reason, Cancel for Work Reasons and Medical Evacuation home or to the hospital of choice.

Essential Expanded (Silver)
Our Silver plan for travelers and families who want our standard coverage and 24-hour emergency travel assistance. Each child under the age of 18 is covered at no additional cost for each adult that purchases this plan. Provides additional benefits when purchased within 15 days of initial trip deposit, including coverage for pre-existing medical conditions and financial default.

My Travel Guard
A “build your own” travel insurance plan. Includes basic and 24-hour emergency travel services. Customize “My Travel Guard” with coverages and limits to meet your clients’ specific travel needs. Optional Coverage Upgrades include Cancel for Any Reason, Cancel for Work Reasons, increased medical, evacuation and baggage coverages, Adventure Sports Coverage, and more.

Savvy Traveler
Savvy Traveler is our lowest-priced package plan for travelers who want basic coverage and Travel Guard’s exclusive 24-hour emergency travel services.

Essential Basic
Our basic package plan includes essential travel insurance coverages and 24-hour emergency travel assistance. Trip cancellation coverage not provided for financial default or pre-existing medical conditions.

Air Ticket Protection
Ideal for travelers who want to protect their airline ticket investment. Covers ticket change fees charged by the airlines and includes few added benefits like trip interruption, delay and baggage coverage.

Pack ‘N Go
Ideal for spur-of-the-moment, last-minute travelers who don’t need trip cancellation coverage. Includes all of our post-departure coverages and our exclusive 24-hour emergency travel services.

Golf Travel Plan
Premier travel insurance plan featuring coverage and services designed specifically for golf travelers.

Sportsmans Travel Protection Plan
Ideal package plan that combines essential travel insurance coverage with customized protection exclusively designed for sportsmen embarking on hunting and fishing adventures.

Student Guard®
Purchase StudentGuard and insure your young adult on their next class trip, spring break or study abroad program. This program provides coverage for medical expenses, travel delay, missed connections as well as unique services such as translation services, legal referrals, bail bond assistance and more.

You can get quotes for medical:

MedEvac Per Trip and Annual
Travel Guard MedEvac provides worldwide travel medical evacuation that will transport you home or to the hospital of your choice, plus cover any qualified accompanying travel medical expenses you may incur. This program is ideal for frequent international or business travelers. Available as an annual or per-trip plan. To add trip cancellation, interruption, travel delay and baggage coverage to your existing annual MedEvac plan for an upcoming, planned trip, please call our World Service Center at 1.800.826.4919.

Worldwide Health
Worldwide Health is ideal for travelers going outside their home country looking for medical coverage up to $1 million. This program is designed for trips of 5 days up to a maximum of one year and provides coverage for emergency evacuation, medical expense, and trip interruption. Worldwide Health is Travel Guard’s recommended product for travelers applying for a Schengen Visa. Worldwide Health covers residents from any country.

TravelRite® Annual
Ideal for frequent leisure or business travelers who are looking for basic annual coverage plus many specialized services. Coverage is good for one year regardless of the number of trips taken, with maximum trip length for any individual trip not to exceed 90 days. Includes medical, baggage, hotel overbooking, collision damage protection for rental cars, credit card protection and more.

And you can get specialized coverage:

Renter’s Collision Insurance
Pay just $9 per day and receive coverage for costs of repairs for collision or comprehensive damage to a rental car. Our primary rental car insurance is sold per vehicle rather than per person.

Flight Guard®
Purchase Flight Guard if you’re interested in life and accident insurance while flying on commercial airlines. Select from five levels of coverage and receive coverage against unexpected accidents that may occur while on, boarding or leaving an aircraft.

I decided to see how much coverage would cost for travel insurance. I used my information for the quote as it is based on age (I am 29). Here is what I found out -

•  For the cruise, tour and travel platinum I used the parameters of a trip to France from 12/22/07 to 12/29/07 costing $1500 and it would cost me $96 for basic insurance and the options add ons would cost an additional $48 for cancel for any reason, $28 for cancel for work reason, $13 for umbrella, $75 collision rental plan and $12 for flight guard. Or $271 total.
• Protect assist gold has a base quote of $59, with the add ons costing an additional $24.20 for cancel for any reason, $27 for cancel for work reason, $15 for umbrella, $75 collision rental plan and $12 for flight guard. Or $212.20 total.
• Essential expanded silver has a base quote of $51, with the add ons costing an additional $13 for umbrella, $75 collision rental plan and $12 for flight guard. Or $151 total.
• My Travel Guard has a base price of $65.09, with the add ons costing an additional $38.21 for cancel for any reason, $24 for cancel for work reason, coverage for terrorism, $9.93 for financial default or pre-exist, $1.38 for medical expense upgrade, $1.17 for hospital of choice evac, $3.14 for baggage upgrade, $3.31 for adventure sports coverage, $72 collision rental plan, $9.99 for “at your service” and $9 for flight guard. Or $237.22 total.
• Savvy traveler is only $38 total.
• Essential basic has a base quote of $46.00, with the add ons costing an additional $7 for optional additional medical, $75 collision rental plan and $12 for flight guard. Or $140 total.
• Air guard protection has a base quote of $55.00 with a grand total of $113 to add the additional flight guard protection and car rental collision coverage.
• Pack ‘n go has a price of $32 for me.
• Golf travel plan would cost me $61.00.
• Sportmans Travel Protection Plan has a base quote of $61 with umbrella coverage costing $15 for a total of $76.
• Student guard tells me I must be under age 29, so I amend my birthdate for the quote and get$52.
• MedEvac Per Trip for me would be $69 and for annual coverage would be $185.
• TravelRite Annual would cost me $266.

That means the cheapest option for me would be the Pack n’ Go at $32. At such a small amount would that be a worthwhile investment for me? I’m going to go with ‘no’ on this one. Now, if I was the kind of person that planned big trips a year or so in advance then I might be able to see the use in getting some travel insurance.
Additional info I found on the website:

                                                                                    Additional Flight Guard® Protection
                                                    Accident coverage up to $400,000 for loss of life for the Insured while flying.

Renter’s Collision Insurance
$25,000 in primary coverage. Covers collision damage to a rental car for which the car rental contract holds you responsible.

Note: Rates subject to change.  Above rates do not include a $2 service fee.

This is not an endorsement or paid advertisement for this product. I have never used it, these are just my opinion on the product after looking over it.