Hats off to Tom, who reminded us of the Volunteer Card…
For just $53 (premium), you can get 12 months of coverage including return of remains to USA, medical evacuation, $75K life insurance for accidental death and dismemberment, luggage delay (limited to $200), trip delay (limited to $500), etc. It can be used on multiple trips during the year. Have you tried it? Ever had to collect? Please click “comment” at the web version of this item to share your testimony. Note that the coverage limitations would easily be surpassed on even one missed flight, once in the year. What’s more, on a more traditional trip interruption insurance, the policy would provide emergency housing costs, rebooking and new ticketing to get you there and back regardless of how much it ended up costing. (It could be $2500 – $4000 for just one flight, one time — because you’d presumably have to purchase it on the fly, moments before boarding.) So some might rather get the “real” trip interruption/Trip Cancellation insurance. But if the above limitations work for you, this is very affordable. I guess it’s another case of, “You get what you pay for.”
(Note: To compare with a real plan, see, for example, …
http://www.missionaryhealth.net/brigada/
Brigada will be honest with you when someone helps Brigada: This vendor makes a gift to Brigada every time you buy trip interruption/cancellation coverage. The Volunteer Card does not. But having said, that, our above points are still true.)
I used the Volunteer Card when I traveled to Guatemala in 2011 during a volunteer abroad three-month trip. That was a few years ago, so my information may be outdated. But, I had a great experience with them! I paid just the one-time $53 fee to enroll in the program. While I was in the country, I had to have a few medical procedures done and months worth of medication for a pretty bad bacterial infection. The clinic/doctors fees, procedures, and medication were all reimbursed in full. They were really easy to work with when I submitted my claim also. And the funds came in a timely manner. For reference, the claim ended up totaling around $1,000.