Do I Need Travel Insurance in Europe
“Do I need travel insurance fin Europe?”
Until recently, I never gave the subject of a travel insurance policy a second thought.
As a travel writer, I was hopping between JFK and airports in Italy, Spain, and France nearly every week without feeling the need for travel insurance for Europe.
Yet increasingly I have experienced more and more flight delays and cancellations with international travel …
… and just last month, off to a luxury vacation on a Spanish island, the international flight was cancelled from Madrid.
Clearly, a need for travel insurance for Europe!’
The key problem was that it was not cancelled immediately, so that another flight could be found.
Instead, international passengers had to wait 4 hours until the official cancellation was given.
And by that time, there were no flight options until the next morning.
International Travel Insurance For Europe: Yes or No?
Is Insurance to cover a trip cancellation really necessary?
Every situation is different.
In this situation, we called the luxury hotel we had pre-booked for the first night of our vacation.
Do I need Travel Insurance in Europe
Though the front desk was sympathetic, their policy was that the $$$$ was non-refundable.
We would also entirely miss the first night of our three night vacation.
As promised, the airline flew us out the next morning.
But I could not help thinking how the situation could be avoided in the first place, or minimized at the very least.
Travel Insurance for Europe: Filing A Claim with Your Credit Card
Upon return, the first thing one should do is call the customer service department of your credit card.
The reason is to see if you are covered for trip delay insurance and the amount that can be recovered.
The challenge for many long-vision planners is that hotels are charged months, and even as much as a year in advance.
Do I need Travel Insurance in Europe
In addition to filing a claim for the money lost on the hotel, your bank card will likely expect you to also produce flight information for their reference.
This includes your flight number, ticket number (yes, ticket number), and the credit card details you used to book your flight, even if it is different from the credit card you used to book your hotel.=
It’s not that you would be refunded for your flight, but that they need this information for their files and their report.
They also need proof of the delay and/or cancellation, and this is another very time consuming online process.
Travel Insurance For Europe: Keeping Good Records
Though I pride myself on producing a detailed itinerary for trips, it is increasingly important to create an itinerary with attention to the smallest details.
These details should include:
1. The date your flight was booked
2. Specific credit card used for the flight
3. Ticket number, as well as Flight Number for the flight.
4. Record locator.
5. Date hotel was booked
6. Cancellation policy of hotel
7. Credit card and other details used to make that hotel booking.
Travel Insurance for Europe: Time Investment In Filing a Claim
Though all of the details needed to file a claim could be located within various emails in my computer’s vacation folder, the process took a good 4 hours.
The bank card company also demanded a printout of my credit card statement, highlighted with everything that had to do with the entire trip, not just the night of the cancellation.
Because this included international flights and a myriad of hotels, this process involved printing out months of hotels, flights, and more trip-related activities booked over the course of three months.
Travel Insurance for Europe: Claim Results
When I began the claim process, I was not yet aware of how many hours I would need to devote to this task.
Only well into the process, after the hard work was done, did I discover that even if my claim was successful, I would not receive the full amount of the money paid to the hotel
$250 would be the limit for everything spent because of the cancellation …
… not a very high sum in an era of four figure hotel rooms.
Checking With Alternative Bank Cards
Curious to see if other bank cards provided more protection, I called them all and discussed this with customer service and other departments.
Each of the bank card companies have different claim procedures and maximum claim payouts.
This will depend entirely on the type of card you have and your status with that bank.
Some cards will not allow claims for flight delays at all.
Buying Trip Delay Insurance in Advance
Depending on the type of card you have, it may be possible to buy trip insurance in advance.
To give you an example, I called one well known bank card company and in accordance with our status with them, we could purchase trip delay insurance for $14 each.
In this situation, we would get up to $150 each to cover out of pocket expenses related to a delay or cancelled flight. Pay more and each person could receive $300 for a successful claim.
But is it worth it?
Other Types of Insurance
Before your next trip, you may want to look at your homeowners policy or chat with a representative to see what your insurance policy coverage includes when you are traveling.
I was surprised to see how generous this homeowners policy could be in so many different situations. In our situation, trip delay insurance was not covered, but far more extreme and expensive situations were.
Medical Insurance
Medical insurance when embarking on international travel is often covered by your health insurance.
Overall Travel Insurance
Third party companies like Travelex and Travel Guard also have policies that may be of interest. You can find a list here.
Only you can make the right decision for yourself and your family.
Here is the website of the American Embassy
Preparation and Anticipation: Planning in Advance
As a frequent traveler, after this experience I’ve remapped the way I travel.
1. I will record all details (include the date I made the reservation, the card number, etc) as soon as I make any transaction related to a trip.
2. I will make every effort to avoid the last flight of the day, especially if it is a flight going to an island or hard-to-get-to destination.
3. I will consider buying trip delay / cancellation insurance on low-cost airlines – though I am still not convinced it makes much sense, as even these small carriers will simply get you on the next available flight free if they caused the delay or cancellation.
Creating a “Plan B” Before Your Flight Takes Off
Last week, I was on a flight from JFK to Madrid.
Madrid was not my final destination. I was going to another country, but I gave myself over 2.5 hours to make the connection.
Wrong move.
The flight took off more than an hour late from JFK and landed about the time my flight would take off.
There would be no way to make my connection.
When I asked the flight attendant about it, she mentioned another passenger on the plane.
Though she didn’t mention who he was, she said he created an elaborate “plan B” that detailed:
1. All the airlines that would be flying to his next destination in the event the plane was delayed.
2. Trains that also went to his destination.
3. Alternative routes to his destination, via a series of small flights from different countries.
The Back Up Plan: Alternative Airlines
On the return of that Madrid flight back to JFK, the flight was cancelled – not just delayed.
Though we could stay overnight, we chose to take a non-direct flight from that same carrier that would see us home at midnight, instead of the scheduled 2pm arrival.
I tried to see if any competing carriers offered direct flights and had my choice of two …
… the problem is that even though I had loyalty with those airlines that might have enabled me to get a better seat, I did not have my loyalty card information with me.
Lessons Learned
Passengers have little power to prevent delays and cancellations.
Yet It is possible, with planning, to help mitigate them in the future.
Do I need Travel Insurance in Europe
Update as of 12/23/19
I just received an email from my credit card saying that my claim was refused.
A total of 27 hours spent filling out forms and in correspondence.
No, travel insurance is not worth it.
You might like this other personal experience – what to do when you lose a passport in France.
