As I began preparing for an 80-day cruise around South America that was scheduled to start on Jan. 4, 2019, I became interested in what would happen to my remains should I not succeed in finishing the journey. (86 at the time, I turned 87 this May.)
Where would my cadaver go? Who would pay to ship it home or for cremation? What problems would there be for my children, since I have no significant other?
In the letter “Tips on Booking Hotels and on Insurance” (March ’19, pg. 14), a subscriber wrote, regarding travel insurance, “I used to purchase insurance on every air ticket; the airlines made it so convenient. Then one day I realized that I rarely cancel or change flights, so I would only be on the hook for the amount of the cancellation penalty that the airline would charge. The rest of the value would be available to me as a credit toward a future flight. Now I only insure the amount of the cancellation penalty, not the entire value of the tickets.”
My husband’s cousin, Diana, and I had scheduled a trip to Paris and Amsterdam with Tripmasters (Rockville, MD; 800/430-0484, www.tripmasters.com). We had purchased travel insurance through Allianz Global Assistance, which Tripmasters had recommended; we chose the Horizon Plan.
There are basically two types of overseas emergency-medical-evacuation policies. First is the type of coverage supplied by Divers Alert Network, or DAN (Durham, NC; 800/446-2671, www.diversalertnetwork.org).
DAN is primarily designed for scuba divers, but anyone can join. Their basic coverage is called "DAN Membership," and for a year's protection the cost is $35 for an individual or $55 for a family (including spouse or domestic partner and children under 24 in school and unmarried).
I am a volunteer advocate for Chris Elliott's travel help forum, Elliott Advocacy (www.elliott.org). I travel often but have never worked for a travel provider. I previously shared with ITN readers information about some of the issues people have reported regarding booking flights (Nov. '18, pg. 12). In this letter, I'd like to share some of the hotel- and car-booking issues we've seen, along with some personal advice, particularly about travel insurance.
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I would like to share valuable information recently supplied by two travel insurance sources.
First up is a table of advice from InsureMyTrip (800/487-4722, www.insuremytrip) to which I have added some information and tips of my own [in italics — Editor].
Top Reasons Travel Insurance Claims are Delayed or Denied
My husband and I were ready to take the "Morocco Sahara Odyssey" with Overseas Adventure Travel, or OAT (Boston, MA; 800/955-1925, www.oattravel.com), but a week before our departure on April 22, 2018, my husband had to cancel for health reasons.
Following is a testimonial that an ITN subscriber, Thomas Selgas of San Diego, California, wrote to his travel insurance broker, Dan Drennen, relating to an experience that he and his wife, Anne, had with their post-departure policy.
Thomas wrote, “I should tell you that the insurance that we had for our trip to Cyprus was great.
My wife, Carole, and I found Ron Carlson’s letter “Tips on Driving in Europe” interesting (Sept. ’17, pg. 15). With one of his tips, he stated, “Many major US credit cards cover collision damage, with no deductible, but be sure to check the terms, and use the card for making both the reservation and the final payment.
“There should be no need to buy any insurance from the rental agency, itself, except in a few fringe countries…”
