Travel Insurance

The article “Will I Have a Medical Emergency Overseas?,” back in the August 2011 “Eye on Travel Insurance” column, discussed the likelihood of travelers needing treatment plus the types of coverage one might want. One key thing I felt the article did not place enough importance on was where one is going, such as Antarctica, Madagascar or Svalbard in Norway, to name a few of the more remote destinations, as opposed to visiting places like the major European capitals on a tour.

Our family of 20 was planning a June ’11 visit to Ireland, where we would rent six vehicles. Our son mentioned that Visa would not provide insurance coverage on his rental, though it normally does when he uses that credit card to rent a car. Our daughter’s American Express card wouldn’t include insurance coverage, either.

When I went online and booked my air travel with Continental Airlines for a February ’11 trip to Belize and Guatemala, I impulsively added on the Access America trip insurance offered with my ticket, since the insurance cost only $25.

I then remembered that I also had trip insurance by virtue of having paid for both the trip and the plane ticket with my Continental OnePass Plus MasterCard (issued by the airline but administered through Chase Bank).

Will I have a medical emergency overseas? The short answer is ‘Probably not.’

by Wayne Wirtanen (See this month's Boarding Pass and Barbara Porter's letter.)

Annie and Fred Dintzis of Peoria, Illinois, sent in a request: “We’d like to know how travelers with medical problems cope in different locations overseas. Please solicit readers’ experiences, comments and tips on dealing with diabetes, various allergies, high blood pressure, etc.”