I never have used trip insurance for any of my trips to the Caribbean and Mexico.

I am considering it for my trip to the US Virgin Islands in mid-August.

Who have you used and/or do you even suggest getting it?

I use the American Express insurance on anything outside the US. It is ~$30 a person and came in handy when I was stuck in the Iceland Volcano mess. If it was much more, I would probably not get it, but $30 isnt that much.

[This message has been edited by Hoyt Ag (edited 4/10/2012 10:12a).]

I never buy insurance.

But I don't travel to where you are going during Hurricane Season. I know some don't worry about it, but I avoid it for several reasons.

1) The weather is typically not as good. Often late summer/early fall their are cloudier days and the water is typically not as clear. Can be very humid, when I travel to these locations I can be picky and I want the perfect weather and water that you see on tv/inmagazines.

2) I don't want to have to worry about a hurricane. I know the odds are very small that a hurricane will come. But I don't want to have to watch the weather and wonder. While it may not come, I don't want to keep looking at the news and wonder. I want to relax and think of nothing.

3) If a hurricane came, I definitely would not have to worry about evacuating. I have had to evacuate from locations before because of storms. I definitely don't like leaving my home and having to drive somewhere. Just think about being on an island worrying about finding shelter or making sure you get on a plane to get out of there.

Granted the odds are very low that it will happen, but I still don't put myself in position to have to worry about it. With that said, I know lots of other TexAgers do it every year.

Thanks for the tips. I have traveled to many Caribbean locations at various times during the late summer and have never had an issue with weather.

I have also never purchased travel insurance either. I just thought it might be a good idea though and wanted to get others thoughts.

I get it; Travelguard. A few years ago, my wife and I were going fly fishing in Patagonia. A pretty expensive trip; air, lodging, guides, etc. The night before we left, our son broke his leg in a lacrosse game, trip cancelled. At that late time, there were no refunds on the fly fishing lodge, about $11,000 for the all inclusive lodge and guides. The policy reimbursed all of the non-refundable expenses. I won't travel outside the US without it.

I bought for our cruise. To me, it's like a guarantee that your trip will turn out the way you want it to.

11k for Argentina? Wow...

I have never bought travel insurance. I have been to 60 countries and have never needed it either. One bad experience can change that...

I have only bought TI once when I was taking my daughter on a cruise. I had booked thru VTG so I used a company affiliated w/them. We go to Mexico a lot & I have recently heard a lot of stories about people needing to be evacuated by air for various medical reasons. My understanding is that in Mexico you have to pay in advance to be released from the hosp & a doc must travel w/you, etc. Very expensive. I am not concerned about getting reimbursed for my travel expense only for serious medical issues. You just never know when an accident can occur & you are in the middle of a very bad situation. We are going to Cabo again in July & one of my Aggies is a bit of a daredevil! There was also the time a few years ago that I came very close to having a very bad accident on an ATV. Does anyone have any recs for insurance primarily for medical emergencies?

You can compare rates at:

www.insuremytrip.com

We recommend anyone traveling outside the US buy travel insurance. It does not cost that much and may save you thousands if something does happen.

I have purchased Travelguard for my trip to St. Lucia in late June. I think there was 3 different "levels" of insurance that you could buy. I purchased the mid grade. I sure as hell wouldn't want to have no backup plan if some terrible happened while we were there. It gives me peace of mind, which is worth the cost.

I think people are talking about two different things:

Trip Insurance (what he asked about)
Travel insurance (more medical related)

I have never had trio insurance to cover the cost of my trip.

I have had travel insurance to cover my health on a trip but only once. If I am going to some off destination I will get it again (when I go to the 'stans probably next year) but for Europe, it wouldn't even cross my mind.

An going to the USVI...I would not have either especially medical. Your health insurance should cover that.

Right, I am not concerned about medical as much as delays of my trip, not catching the connection or not being able to travel due to a hurricane.

Ias said before, I have been to many islands and have never got it before. Just interested what others had done.

The $11k for Argentina was for a week of fly fishing in Patagonia at an all-inclusive lodge that included fly fishing guides, for two of us.

I'm going to Congo in a few weeks on a mission trip. I'm 55 and while I'm in good health, there's no medical infrastructure there, not to mention it's a pretty rough place. I bought a Travelguard policy for this trip, mainly for the medical evacuation coverage if I get sick or injured.

While we're there, we'll be flying around the country on single engine planes operated by MAF. They increased the cost of the flights by $300 per person from what we were originally told, because some of the landing strips needed some work before they would land on them.

[This message has been edited by One-Eyed Fat Man (edited 4/12/2012 9:48p).]