Have you ever purchased the RS Trip Protection Plan?

My husband and I almost always purchase the optional insurance that is offered through RS. Fortunately we have not needed to use it during a trip, but on 3 occasions, we did need to cancel shortly before the program began. In each case, there definitely was paperwork to submit, including statements by the doctor who recommended that we not travel. Once submitted, we received our refunds (for the money paid for the trip and also the change fee for our airline tickets) reasonably promptly. The insurance is definitely fairly expensive for trips out of the country. But it is important to remember that for older adults, Medicare does not cover us anywhere other than the US. Therefore, it is important for those on Medicare to purchase insurance, either through RS or another insurance vendor, unless they have a supplemental policy that will offer international coverage.

I travel solo, usually internationally -- and leave my non-travelling spouse at home -- and I have always purchased the trip insurance. Feels like it becomes increasingly important as my spouse and I get older. I've used it twice to cancel out of a program shortly before it started -- one time because of my spouse's health issues -- and one time because my travelling companion fell and could not travel -- and it has been totally great to get back the cost of the program and the airline tickets.

Alice

I wouldn't travel without insurance

Well I am in the middle of paperwork now since I got sick for 3 days and had to have a doctor come to the hotel. I'd like to hear from anyone who had a doctor and prescriptions because Aon wants something from Medicare! Where do I send it I have never had to submit a claim to Medicare the US doctors do that. Then how long for the paperwork to come back denied and the secondary insurance and you know if Medicare doesn't pay neither does the secondary! It's almost not worth the trouble to get 110 Euroes back.
I have already submitted the trip interruption paperwork

I always purchase trip insurance...without fail. One never knows what can happen. I once was going to travel with a friend who got ill and could not go on the trip. The insurance paid for the single supplement so that I could go as planned.

I will be the contrarian. My wife and I have been on 9 RS trips and several others with other companies. We never pay for insurance. The total amount that we have saved would pay for a trip, so if we do have some expenses due to unforeseen circumstances in the future, we will still be ahead.

Our travel credit card (Chase Saphire Reserve) covers trip interruption/cancellation, lost luggage, accidental death and dismemberment, emergency medical and evacuation. Our previous card, United Explorer, had many of the same benefits.

Also, while it is true that Medicare doesn't cover out of country, my medicare supplement does cover it. So paying for the RS insurance would be double coverage for us.

I would suggest that you check your credit card benefits to see if any of these benefits are included with your card.

We always get travel insurance. For some tours RS only charges a flat $100 per person. Other tours require using the insurance company they recommend. We find using a company called Travel Guard has a better price when the flat $100 rate is not offered.

I thought medivac insurance was covered as part of the Road Scholar program cost. I bought the additional trip cancellation insurance.

Of the 20 domestic trips I have done, I only purchased travel insurance once and that was because my elderly father was very sick and the risks were high. It turns out he did pass two days into my trip. I left the trip early to return home and was reimbursed for the unused days and the extra cost to fly home. As for the other 19 trips, the savings from not paying for insurance have pretty much funded 1 or 2 trips. As for future trips, it will depend on the health of my elderly mother. But she would have to be gravely ill before I considered purchasing it. Of course there is the risk of her falling ill outside the purchasing window. In which case, she would want (insist) me to go on the trip regardless of her health.

We always purchase travel insurance and have had to use it 3 times. We however don't buy it from tour or cruise companies because we find it so much cheaper from Insuremytrip.com where we are able to choose the coverage and company that best fits our needs.

Always.

If you charge your trip on a credit card, check with your card to see if they give you travel insurance.

Although it seems like and option and sometimes feels expensive, to me travel insurance is must. I was almost sent home on the 2nd day of a $7000+ trip to the Far East and it really would have hurt not to get the cost of the tour and tickets back.

Only once. Otherwise I buy through a third party like insuremytrip.com. I think it is always a bad idea to purchase through an airline, trip provider, etc. as the policies are always designed to benefit them not you. Note, among other things, that the RS policies do not cover reimbursement of airline redeposit fees if you were traveling on a FF plan award ticket on a trip that you or RS cancel.

Another reason not to buy through Road Scholar but through a site like insuremytrip.com is that the RS insurer grossly overcharges. It's foolish to insure more than you stand to lose, but that is happens when some trips are insured through the RS insurer. For instance, on the RS domestic trips I have taken you can cancel up until the day of departure and still get 50% of your money back from RS. Only if you don't notify them do you not get anything back. Yet if you click the link RS sends you when you book the insurer automatically insures you for the full amount of the trip; you don't have any choice, which is ludicrous. When you buy insurance through a third party, you CHOOSE the amount of your coverage, which presumably would be no more than you stand to lose if you have to cancel at the last minute.