wandering-europe

Travel Insurance

I am still going back and forth about travel insurance.  Our health insurance already covers medical care abroad.  Trip cancellation and trip interruption insurance is appealing, but the claims process looks arduous and filled with little loop-holes and exceptions for the insurance companies to justify denial of a claim.  If the volcano blows in Iceland and the airspace is closed, canceling our flight, is that covered?  

In researching on the internet I've come across so many stories of seemingly unjust denials of claims.  Looking at the contracts, which are pages and pages of small print legalese, it makes me wonder if battling the insurance company would make whatever crisis we may find ourselves in even more difficult.

After reading this article about a claim being denied because the cost of the airline ticket was off by $2.50, I wonder how on earth I can calculate our costs to even insure us.  The insurance company wants the costs broken down between the four of us, but how do I do that accurately when the kids' tickets cost a percentage less for some things, or were part of a "family package" for other things?  For example for our prepaid train tickets in Norway the children were free since we purchased a family rate ahead of time, but if we had to purchase replacement tickets that offer would not be available and we'd have to pay more.  What if I'm off by 2 cents?  Will the insurance company deny even the smallest claim?    

 

For our rail passes we bought replacement insurance for them.  We already have health insurance.  Because we already have these things insured, will the travel insurance deny us coverage for being doubly insured?  I've heard that can happen.

Here's an excerpt from a posting on the Rick Steves travel board about an insurance hassle, and how even having four types of insurance you can find your claim denied:

"So here's the wonderful news about travel insurance: fine print. We were insured four ways: 1. Trip: TravelGuard. 2. Car Rental: TravelGuard. 3. VISA purchase/rental insurance 4. Homeowner's Insurance. My wife's purse had the usual: credit card, driver's license, health insurance card, passport, a camera with 300-400 photo memories of our trip, and about $350 in cash. All evaporated. The purse content amounted to about $700 out of pocket. Hassling all four insurance contracts for weeks after we returned, we find that none of the policies cover the loss. One said "you didn't have tire/window insurance so you're not covered" and "we don't cover cash." Another said this policy is for your plane flight and luggage only. A third had a deductible/pro-rate policy that made it ridiculous to bother filing the paperwork. And the fourth also didn't cover cash and had an $1100 deductible.

My take-home from all of the above is that travel insurance is another way corporate interests scam a public while their attention is diverted to planning a wonderful vacation, and not on contract details or issues they know nothing about (c'mon, really, "tire and window insurance?") Why would a car rental agency offer tire and window insurance separately unless their calculations showed that their major losses were from slash-and-grab or smash-and-grab in the first place? And why don't they tell you this up front? So they don't have to pay on claims.

Bottom line: TravelGuard insurance premiums added another $150 to our $700 losses and I'll never bother to buy it again."

Adding $500.00 of travel insurance to the escalating cost of our upcoming trip is sobering, especially in light of the chances of the insurance actually helping us.  I'm OK buying insurance and never having to use it.  I'm not OK buying insurance and then having them forsake us in our hour of need.   We'll probably err on the side of caution and get travel insurance, but if disaster strikes and we need to file a claim, I am going to be burning mad if they give me a hard time.

 

Update:  After spending over an hour with a travel agent, who called Travel Guard with specific questions on my behalf, and going over the 24 page fine-print policy exclusions word by word, we've decided to take our chances and not get travel insurance.  Here's why (italics in quotes come direct from the policy schedule of benefits):

 

Volcanic eruption is not covered.  Natural Disaster is defined only as "flood, hurricane, tornado, earthquake, or blizzard that is due to natural causes."

 

My daughter's allergies are considered a pre-existing condition, so if she ate something that caused her to have an anaphylactic reaction and needed medical attention, it's not covered.  My husband had knee and back surgery last summer, so if he twists his knee hiking, or strains his back hauling luggage, it's not covered.

 

"Terrorist Incident" MUST be "deemed terrorism by the United States Government." Therefore, if something happens in Stockholm, Oslo, or Copenhagen, and the US Government doesn't officially declare it, we're on our own. 

 

Trip cancellation interruption for an airline or train strike?  Only for "strike resulting in complete cessation of travel services at the point of departure or destination."  Therefore if the other travel services are available (canoes? bicycles?), or the strike happens mid-way on our journey, it's NOT COVERED. 

 

And if any of these items are lost or stolen from us, they are not covered: "eyeglasses, sunglasses, hearing aids, tickets, currency."  And anything can be excluded if the insurance company considers it a "mysterious disappearance" -- and of course they determine if it is mysterious or not.

 

And here's more: "Items over $150. must be accompanied by original receipts.  If receipts are not provided, no benefits are payable."  I can provide receipts, however... 

 

"the company will pay the lesser of:

a) the cash value (original cash value less depreciation) as determined by the Company; or

b) the cost of replacement" 

 

So let's say my camera & lens, which are 6 years old and in perfect condition, is stolen.  Replacement cost would be about $2,000, but the insurance is only obligated to pay the lesser of, and they could say it's only worth $25. if they wanted to. 

If I disagree with their appraisal?  "The Insured will share with us the cost for the arbitrator and the appraisal process."  Bet you anything they pay their arbitrator and appraiser more per hour than anything that could be stolen from me would be worth. 

Those are just a few gems.  The Schedule of Benefits is loaded with exclusions.  I now have no faith that if I bought a policy it would cover anything at all.  

>>>>>>Click Here to go to the Index<<<<<<

Background and Why We're Going

 

Heather and Antje, both expecting, at Antje's baby shower in August 1999.

This adventure has been on the horizon for more than a decade.  In a way it began in 1999 when I was pregnant with my daughter Aubrietta, and became friends with a Swiss woman who was pregnant as well.  Just after Little Navina was born, but before Aubrietta arrived, my friend Antje returned to Switzerland.  Our daughters were born weeks apart, and despite many miles, 9 time zones, and many years, our friendship has continued to grow.  

Navina, Aubrietta, and Kelsey, enjoying coffee in Bellevue, August 2006

In 2006 my friend and her daughter visited us in Seattle, and the girls got to meet each other for the first time.  During their visit we made a promise that 6 years later, when the girls were 12, we would meet again.  Now it is our turn to visit them in Switzerland!

Another reason to take this trip is that in 1952 my mother and her sister traveled to Europe (by boat) with their parents, and my mom still talks about that epic trip as being one of the most amazing experiences of her life.  She was 12 years old, just as Aubrietta is now.  My grandparents were working class folks who scrimped and saved for years to make that trip happen, and that was an inspiration for me to do the same.

My mother, age 12, feeding birds at the top of the Jungfrau in the Swiss Alps, 1952 

I have been to Europe twice.  The first time I had just turned 17 and my dad and soon to be Swiss step-mom had relocated to Switzerland after the commune they had been living on in the US disbanded.  They invited me to come stay with them for the summer.  My dad's new wife was in her late 20's and wasn't quite sure what to do with a teenage step-daughter, so she decided to show me around her beautiful homeland, and for weeks the three of us traveled through the country, camping in tents, hiking in the alps, and exploring idyllic little villages. My dad's wife, being a teacher, arranged everything: tours of factories, visits to museums, farm stays, city walks, tours of historical sites, incredible meals, and more.  I tasted my first wine, ate caviar, and swam nude in mountain lakes.  I wanted to see more of Europe that summer, but instead I saw nearly every Canton of Switzerland, and got a more in-depth view of a single country than most travellers ever get.  What a gift that summer was.

Me with the Matterhorn in the background, Switzerland, 1986.  We had taken a gondola up, and were about to start and all-day hike back down to Zermatt.  

My next trip to Europe was in 1997.  My brother had just finished graduate school with a degree in transportation engineering, with an emphasis on public transit, and I had banked my vacation hours from my job for a few years so I could take a big trip somewhere... My brother and I decided to backpack through Europe together for 5 weeks, exploring public transit throughout.  It was quite the adventure, let me tell you!

 

My brother and me on a train in Switzerland, 1997.  Yes, we had some matching outfits.  It helped us find each other in crowds.

Preparing for this upcoming family trip has been a lot harder.  There are four of us.   I am a parent and wife now, and have to take care of others and not just my own interests.

We have been saving money, and watching in dismay as the value of the dollar keeps plummeting.  This trip is going to cost a lot of money, there's no denying that fact.  

My car is 12 years old, and a basic model that I have to actually insert a key into the lock to open (no fancy electronic doors).  I've replaced the transmission, timing belt, brakes, and more, trying to keep it going.  My friends and neighbors have upgraded to newer vehicles 2 or 3 times since I've owned mine.   I try to walk instead of drive, combine trips, and carpool when I can, to extend the life of my vehicle, so it doesn't need replacement.  

I work odd jobs here and there but haven't returned to work full time because I didn't want to get locked into the American "2 weeks vacation when we say so" trap.  I didn't want to have to quit or be fired from a job in order to travel, and have that black mark on my resume (but then again being unemployed all these years doesn't look so good either...).  When I return from this trip I will seek full time employment to help pay off the cost.  I wish we could leave for this trip knowing we'd fully saved for it, but it just isn't possible.

Several times in recent months we've nearly thrown up our hands and said, "forget it!"  Like when we learned that we couldn't use our stockpiled airline miles for flights to Europe like we intended, and would have to spend thousands of dollars for airfare we weren't planning on.  Our mileage plan credit cards boasted "no blackout dates," but the agent rephrased it by saying "mileage seats aren't released" for those flights.  Sure, we could get to Europe on miles by taking 6 flights over 48 hours by crisscrossing the globe through obscure airports, but is that really how I want to travel with 2 kids?  I don't think so.  The costs keep expanding beyond our anticipated budget.

My husband wants to retire soon.  We should be saving money for the girls to go to college.  Our bathroom needs remodeling in the worst way (if you've been to our house and seen the hole in the ceiling in the front hall, beneath our leaking shower, you'll know what I mean).  There are so many other things we should be doing financially, that we are putting on hold.  Why do this trip?  Why go now?

My view is that life goes by quickly, and we never know how much time we have with each other.  This trip is a gift my husband and I want to give to our daughters before they leave the nest.  A chance for us to be together as a family, 24 hours a day, for 6 weeks.  My mother is not in the best of health, and it will bring her joy to receive postcards from us and know that her granddaughters are following in her footsteps, exploring the world at a young age.  We are even going to try to visit our ancestral village in Switzerland, and find the "old family farm" where my mother visited with her family in 1952.  We want the girls to have wide-world view, and to get a taste of other cultures and ways of life.  More than likely this will be the last big trip we take as a family.  Who knows what the future holds? 

There are plenty of reasons not to go, but important reasons why we should... so off we go.

>>>>>>Click Here to go to the Index<<<<<<