Travel insurance

I have seen on the entry portal they are asking/requiring Covid 19 travel insurance. Are they really asking if I/we have health insurance ? And if so what kind of proof are they looking for, my Blue Cross card ?

thank you

International healthcare insurance that covers Covid in a foreign country. Our group used GeoBlue (single trip group coverage). I believe they might be a subsidiary of Blue Cross?

I believe you can get clarification email/ policy language that your insurance (Blue Cross) covers medical treatment in foreign countries. You can verify by contacting BVI Tourism

Many of our guests traveled this past year with a letter from BCBS stating their normal policy covered international health care. No mention of COVID or quarantine costs.

A bit unrelated but within the same realm... does anyone have any recommendations for a reliable Travel Insurance company not related to Covid-19? For example, I am looking for something that will reimburse for trip cancellation up until 48 hours before, or something along those lines

We have used https://www.trawickinternational.com/ for our last 2 trips. They seem to be competitively priced and are underwritten by Nationwide.

Sounds like maybe you are asking for Cancel for Any Reason insurance. As I assume you know, that insurance has to be purchased within a very short time of when you make any payment for the trip.

TTOL sponsor Insure my Trip allows you compare all kinds of travel insurance policies straight up against each other. If you go there via the link on TTOL, we get a small commission and your cost is exactly the same.

Yes the CFAR feature is pricey and usually covers 75% of your trip cost.

Insure my trip does allow you to compare several different insurers, and individual policies. There are medical/medivac policies, comprehensive policies, single trip and annual policies. Comprehensive policies are a great choice for both the trip cancellation/ delay/interruption coverages and medical/medivac coverages.

But just a comment on this comparison site and others like it - we’ve used the IMT portal for years, but for some reason some insurers or policies are no longer included in the search results. For example, we’ve used Allianz One Trip Premier for years, the Allianz policies were always included in the IMT options, but now I must go to the Allianz site to book. So just a comment that you do need to do your due diligence when comparing policies to find the best option for you.
As an aside, Allianz recently updated their policies COVID-19 coverage to include coverage for a positive test (with no symptoms), and costs associated with a forced quarantine as a result.

Trawick was mentioned earlier, we chose their Voyager policy this year because the medical/medivac coverages are so much higher for the cost. I know MedJet is very popular for their medivac coverage and their private resources…

Digressing a bit, but just wanted to add these comments for anyone researching trip insurance…

We got a letter from Cigna confirming our worldwide coverage, which they accepted. We also have MedJet Assist, but didn't include that. I think they just want to see something. Perhaps they're more lenient with homeowners, who have a free place to quarantine. The issue has been people who test positive and are out of pocket for lodging.

I've used this sponsors site for insurance on every trip for the past many years. VERY easy to compare policies/costs.

Can you share this link? I was unable to find it

Thanks for your support. I'm actually buying some insurance with them right now. Have to go back and look at actual coverages again. One thing that Insure my Trip now is doing is showing which policies offer the best Covid coverage. I probably am going to pick one of those because of that, even though we are fully vaccinated..

Sorry, the link to Insure My Trip here?? Here it is. Link

Yes as we all know even being fully vaccinated we can test positive and trigger the local quarantine requirements…Not the extended vacation we hoped for!

Some policies are a bit vague on the actual COVID-19 coverages, and some are for sickness only and do not include coverage for a positive test (asymptotic and forced quarantine, for example) so be sure to read them carefully. I was happy to see that Allianz expanded their coverage to clearly identify these additional coverages…

Rick I’ve used the IMT site for many years as well, unfortunately some of the policies I always compare are no longer included so I also research those insurers as well. I called a few times asking why I was not seeing all of the popular options and never got a real answer…But I still query IMT when comparing policies, along with Allianz, MedJet and others. We want the trip delay/cancel/interruption coverages, but the medical/medivac are our main priority today…These latter coverages vary tremendously from one policy to another…

crmoores--for sure, we basically focus on medical/medivac policies, almost exclusively.. The rest of it is chicken feed, in terms of cost for US.. Your mileage may vary..

Before joining TTOL I used Squaremouth to compare and purchase trip insurance. But have used IMT since becoming aware of it on this board. I am with Carol, I want medivac coverage to the USA and the rest is just fluff. I filter to cancel for any reason just because, you never know, and almost had a claim in May of 2020 for a trip to St Lucia. But American ended up canceling the flight so I got a cash refund so disaster scenario averted!

Now I have a trip to Maui booked for October and I think that one will get canceled or severely curtailed to the point we will need to find a new destination, so I am happy that United has no fee for changes.

Yes Carol we are out of the US for several months each year, and we have Medicare, but want that primary emergency coverage since so many medical facilities are private and/or require funds upfront. And not only are high medical/medivac coverages important to us, but quality of service as well. We’ve had real medical emergencies on a few occasions, and Allianz has been excellent in taking over the cases immediately and working directly with the hospitals. We’re trying Trawick this year (Nationwide is the underwriter) based on good feedback, and hopefully won’t need the insurance, but if so I hope they are up to that same standard.

Regarding the trip coverages I agree that is chicken feed in comparison to costs associated with a medical emergency. But with the tightening of airlines in recent years that coverage has paid for several overnights in beautiful Detroit and other winter wonderlands due to connection woes. Hotels, dining, transportation, and of course costs associated with missed accommodations and car rentals. These comp policies all include those basic coverages of course. But because of those we are ahead of the game for a few years yet…

Actually I think Trawick is also what I just booked, as I know it was underwritten by Nationwide. As far as Allianz, we have booked them through the airlines several times, but I am leery about their coverage limits for medical evac, as they seem low.

Yes the insurance policy offered through the airline is a joke as far as the med coverage but it’s an easy option for many who aren’t concerned about med coverage. You would want to look at their One Trip Premier for $50k medical/$1million medivac…