Myra Altschuler with Travel Protectors gave a seminar on trip insurance on July 16 via Zoom. In it, she explained the two types of trip insurance and gave advice for navigating the complex issues surrounding when and what to insure. 

The two main types: 

• Standard (medical) - 100% refund of costs for illness, injury or death
• Cancel any reason - 100% refund for medical reasons; 75% refund for other reasons 

Of course, there are requirements for using trip insurance, time limits, and other considerations to keep in mind. 

• For a preexisting condition to be covered, you must buy trip insurance within 14 days of your first payment of any kind toward the trip.

• You must see a doctor during the trip and obtain documentation of the illness or injury. 
• Only obtain coverage for non-refundable charges, but you can increase your coverage if your estimate is too low.
• Trip insurance reimburses you, it doesn’t pay for expenses upfront. 
• Medicare doesn’t pay costs outside of the U.S. Check with your secondary carrier, if you have one, to see if they cover costs overseas.

Annual trip insurance, which covers any trip you take for a one year period, works the same, but it only covers a set amount from the year of purchase. If you use up your annual amount on a trip, you can purchase another annual policy within a short window of time.

The entire presentation is available for viewing on YouTube. Here is a link: https://youtu.be/aPkfYs4ZeK4?si=06ftznKjG7lmdGwe