I've never bought trip insurance and so far have never needed it. Is it a waste of money? Are people buying it?
We've been to Cancun 6 out of the last 7 years. For the first few years we were going in August for our anniversary which was hurricane season. We bought it then (I believe). One year we missed the hurricane by one day. (Cant remember which one it was but it was the big one a few years back). Three years ago we decided to switch our time there to June for the better weather & we havent bought it since. I guess it is a good thing to have if you have the extra money....theres always that risk that something could happen. We just dont feel like spending the extra money. We felt it was worth it when the risk for bad weather was high but just dont feel its totally necessary now. Jess
We don't buy it, we both have it through work. Our visa card also has trip insurance associated with it.
You only have to need it one time to realize the true value of it. It's not the cost of the trip we are concerned with, but the cost of extended treatment for injury or illness while in another country and needing to get home. Invaluable. We always buy insurance.
I always feel when I buy any kind of insurance that I am betting that something bad will happen! Having said that, I've been flying to Mexico with Sunwing in the last 2 years, and they have a $50 Care Free Waiver that allows you to cancel up to 3 hours in advance of your flight for ANY reason. You get a full credit that is good for one year. My first trip was booked for TTR last October, and it ended up raining for half of the week I was supposed to be there. I changed my dates for other reasons, but I would have been thankful to have the Carefree Waiver if I had decided not to take a chance on the weather. If you plan on Cancun in the fall, it seems like early October thru to early November is when the risk of getting rained out (as opposed to a hurricane) is highest. So you'd def want some cancellation insurance. Check what your provider offers in that regard. Medical insurance is another matter...I have that thru American Express.
Thanks for the thoughts on this. I guess when your gambling with the weather it's a good idea to have. I'm going to TTR in June so I should be fine. But when i return in Dec I'll probably consider it. A few of you mentioned your CC coverage and I need to see what mine has. Thanks
I went the first week of December last year. My impression is that you don't have to worry about rain or other bad weather in December. It can just be a little cool. But post on the Chaos Crew Chat thread to ask some of the December regulars if rain is ever an issue in December.
I will always buy insurance for any trip outside of the EU - purely for medical cover. We're lucky here that medical cover is free, and as long as you apply for a medical card, then it's also covered in the EU. Would never chance going to a foreign country without insurance in case something happened...trip to hospital, treatment (even just for a day) would probably be huge! Those bills have to be paid up front! Worth bearing in mind the insurance I bought didn't cover for medical issues that occurred through 'abuse' of alcohol...so bit of a gamble still!
