So here's the scoop on travel insurance:
Travel insurance covers the cost of out of pocket money paid in advance of travel--so for Italy, it would include airfare, cost of pre-paid rental cars, cost of villa, cost of additional hotels you had to pay in advance. It is used to reimburse you for money already paid out of pocket if something goes wrong and you can't make the trip.
It doesn't make sense for us to get one policy to cover the villa. I think each person/couple needs to decide what they want coverage for. But here's how to do it.
Go to the following website:
www.insuremytrip.comThis site compares 18 different providers of travel insurance, and it is really easy to use.
I'd suggest you look at the FAQ's (on the left navigational bar) first. They gave some good info about how travel insurance works in general...which was helpful to me when I was doing the research.
If you click on the "products" link (on the left navigational bar), then select "Compare" from the group policies blue bar at the top of the page, you can actually see an overview of all the different options for coverage for our trip. This gives you a good idea of the ranges of benefits.
To get a quote, it is easiest to click on the "quotes" link (on the left navigational bar), because it will allow you to get quotes from many plans at the same time.
Once you are on that page, it asks some basic information:
1) Trip cost (per person or combined)
2) Medical limit (if you want additional health insurance--we aren't using this because Blue Cross works in Europe)
3) Trip Type (we selected other so it will quote coverage for air fare, hotel costs, etc)
4) Primary destination (pick Europe/Mediterranean)
5) Residence (state you live in)
6) Departure Date
7) Return Date
8) Current age (as of quote day) for people who will be covered.
So, when we put in $2000 total pre-paid cost (because we are using FF miles for airfare, only pre-paying for our villa time, and a couple of other hotels), for Departure Date 6/1/2008 to 6/30/2008, with 45, 32, and 1 year old living in Oregon, we got quotes that ranged from ~$85 up to $250. If you check the boxes on the left of the ones you are interested in comparing, it will pull the summary information for those plans so you can make a more detailed analysis of coverage.
Then, once you are ready to pick, you can buy it right from this web site. We haven't done that yet, because we wanted to wait until we have our plane tickets locked in.
There are some general things I want to make sure to point out from the FAQ page:
Q. What is the latest date I can purchase travel insurance?
A. You can purchase a policy up to the day before you travel. However, our recommendation is to purchase as soon as possible to maximize your benefits. If you wait, you always run the risk that something will happen before you buy your insurance and you won't be covered.
Q. When is the best time to purchase travel insurance?
A. To receive the most benefit from the travel policy you must purchase the insurance within 7 to 21 days (varies by company and plan) of making your initial trip payment. If the insurance is purchased within the 7 - 21 day period you receive two enhancements (varies by company and plan) to the policy.
1. protection against the financial default of a tour operator, airline or cruise line. (depends on company)
2. the pre-existing medical condition exclusion is usually waived (again, depends on company and plan).
Most companies count the day you make the first trip payment as day one (not the day the check is cashed).
Q. Can I cancel a policy I purchased? Do I incur a penalty?
A. Most of the companies allow you to review the policy for 10 - 20 days following purchase (varies by company and plan). If you cancel your policy within that 10 - 20 day period, you will receive a full refund except for a small $3 - $5 non-refundable processing fee charged by the company.
Q. Which policies will protect me if my trip needs to be cancelled because of terrorist activity?
A. Many of our plans will offer coverage for "Terrorism". Trip cancellation coverage is generally considered to be a "named peril" type policy, meaning that only those perils that are named in the policy are covered. This includes terrorism. Each company includes their own definition of terrorism.
Q. Can I purchase a policy to cover cancellation due to war or threat of war?
A. No. All insurance companies exclude coverage if the loss is caused by war or threat of war.
So the bottom line is this: you each need to make your own decision about purchase of travel insurance. Matt and I are going to do it for sure, and will likely purchase in the next 2-3 weeks as soon as we nail down the plane tickets and the villa costs.
