Travel insurance, step by step

A few days prior to my taking an Odysseys Unlimited trip to Spain and Portugal in September 2015, I was sickened with a blood infection that required a 5-day hospital stay followed by several weeks of IV therapy and monitoring. Afterward, I made a medical care claim with my travel insurance company, Trip Mate (Kansas City, MO; 800/888-7292, www.tripmate.com). My medical claim was successful, with no major issues.

Based on what I learned during this experience, the points listed below may be useful for other travelers who need to file a claim.

• Although the tour company is more than happy to be the purchasing agent for your trip insurance, they will not be your claims agent. If you need to file a claim, you are basically on your own with the insurance company. 

Having said that, most tour operators have excellent reputations for helping with any issue that may arise during a tour, and their representatives will do whatever they can to keep you on the tour. I have witnessed several instances of tour guides personally escorting travelers to the emergency room and then back, when the traveler was able to rejoin the tour, without the tour company assessing any additional charges. 

• The rates of trip insurance purchased through a tour company are very competitive against what you can find on your own. However, all these policies generally have limits on medical coverage or they have job-related constraints (meaning that they might not pay when your vacation has been purchased but then you are laid off or transferred or not given time off to take the trip).

If you want a trip-cancellation policy that pays regardless of the reason for cancellation, you will likely need to purchase your policy from an agent other than your tour operator, and it will likely be more expensive than your tour operator’s policy.

• Keep good records of all pre-trip tour costs, in case you are unable to travel. Even if you purchase your insurance through the tour company, it may be a good idea to make that a separate transaction so you have a bank statement that clearly shows you purchased the insurance. If you file a claim, you will need to provide copies of these records.

• In the case of a trip cancellation for medical reasons, a bona fide medical doctor or similar will have to fill out and sign a form or letter that vouches for your inability to travel. It would be a good idea to give this person a heads-up that you are planning to file a claim and to secure his agreement before you file. (One can imagine a situation in which the traveler thinks he is sick enough to file a claim but the doctor does not.)

• If your medical situation involves a hospital stay, you will likely be required to provide admittance and discharge dates as well as billing records, which you probably will need to request from the hospital’s financial department.

• Note that the goal of any insurance company is to AVOID paying claims that do not exactly meet the provisions of the policy. Therefore, there is inherently an adversarial relationship involved, one that can easily lead to your asking, “Why do they need this too?” However, if you qualify and you patiently and accurately follow the process, you should get your refund in a timely manner.

• Remember, do not include the trip insurance premium among the items you want to be reimbursed for in your claim.

DAN MITCHELL

Chanhassen, MN