Protect my trip!
October 10, 2011 9:50 AM Subscribe
What travel insurance should I use to protect an upcoming honeymoon in North Africa?
Come late April of next year, I will be married and on my way to Morocco for a 10 day honeymoon trip. We'll get to see Casablanca, Fez, and Marrakesh, and we'll sleep in the Sahara Desert for one night too! It's ok to be jealous. However, the trip is expensive and we want to make sure nothing goes wrong.
Our primary concern is the (perhaps remote?) chance of political unrest in the region. While Morocco seems stable, there is the possibility of violence. While some may argue that this is a low-probability event that doesn't warrant insurance (previously-ish), we are happy to pay for the peace of mind.
Since a political uprising wouldn't necessarily be covered by an insurance policy (as a war or terrorist attack might) but could seriously impact our travels, we'd like a "cancel for any reason" policy. Googling around gives quite a few aggregators to compare prices, and we found a pretty reasonable policy at a company called Travel Guard. The cancel for any time option adds about 30% more to the policy, and "Provides reimbursement of up to 50% of the Trip Cost when you cancel for any reason up to 48 hours prior to departure." Previously and previously make suggestions for other insurance companies, but the suggested companies don't appear to have a cancel for any reason option (that I can find).
So the question(s): I've never bought travel insurance. I've never heard of this company Travel Guard, and have no idea whether they are reliable. I've also never had a "cancel for any reason" kind of plan. Can you tell me if it's likely I'll get screwed on this deal? Can you give any advice for things I might be overlooking? Do you know of other companies with a cancel for any reason add-on that are trustworthy (if not this one)?
Thanks hivemind!
Come late April of next year, I will be married and on my way to Morocco for a 10 day honeymoon trip. We'll get to see Casablanca, Fez, and Marrakesh, and we'll sleep in the Sahara Desert for one night too! It's ok to be jealous. However, the trip is expensive and we want to make sure nothing goes wrong.
Our primary concern is the (perhaps remote?) chance of political unrest in the region. While Morocco seems stable, there is the possibility of violence. While some may argue that this is a low-probability event that doesn't warrant insurance (previously-ish), we are happy to pay for the peace of mind.
Since a political uprising wouldn't necessarily be covered by an insurance policy (as a war or terrorist attack might) but could seriously impact our travels, we'd like a "cancel for any reason" policy. Googling around gives quite a few aggregators to compare prices, and we found a pretty reasonable policy at a company called Travel Guard. The cancel for any time option adds about 30% more to the policy, and "Provides reimbursement of up to 50% of the Trip Cost when you cancel for any reason up to 48 hours prior to departure." Previously and previously make suggestions for other insurance companies, but the suggested companies don't appear to have a cancel for any reason option (that I can find).
So the question(s): I've never bought travel insurance. I've never heard of this company Travel Guard, and have no idea whether they are reliable. I've also never had a "cancel for any reason" kind of plan. Can you tell me if it's likely I'll get screwed on this deal? Can you give any advice for things I might be overlooking? Do you know of other companies with a cancel for any reason add-on that are trustworthy (if not this one)?
Thanks hivemind!
I had an absolute bloody fantastic experience with CSA Travel Protection (which I'm pretty sure I found via insuremytrip.com) a couple years back when weather and broken trains and lost bags tried to destroy a 2-week trip in western Europe. I've bought their insurance since for other trips, but never had to make claims like the first time. That said, I can't find anything on their site about cancel-for-any-reason, but it might be worth calling them?
FWIW, we didn't bother getting insurance for our trip to Morocco this past Christmas, where we did Casa > Meknes > Fez > Ourzazete (for the night in the Sahara) > Marrakech > Essaouira > Marrakech > Casa. I would feel plenty comfortable doing it again sans insurance. I also would have spent less tame in Casa and Marrakech and more in Fez and particularly Essaouira and maybe other places on the coast. Oh and don't get travel advice from any locals once you're in country, particularly if they want to help you find a good deal or meet their brother who knows just what/where you're looking for.
posted by allkindsoftime at 4:44 AM on October 21, 2011
FWIW, we didn't bother getting insurance for our trip to Morocco this past Christmas, where we did Casa > Meknes > Fez > Ourzazete (for the night in the Sahara) > Marrakech > Essaouira > Marrakech > Casa. I would feel plenty comfortable doing it again sans insurance. I also would have spent less tame in Casa and Marrakech and more in Fez and particularly Essaouira and maybe other places on the coast. Oh and don't get travel advice from any locals once you're in country, particularly if they want to help you find a good deal or meet their brother who knows just what/where you're looking for.
posted by allkindsoftime at 4:44 AM on October 21, 2011
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helpful. It has good information and some consumer reviews.
posted by JXBeach at 10:06 AM on October 10, 2011