Travel Insurance

[Deleted member 397]

I just thought I would state the obvious-take travel insurance, the adage applies:if you can't afford insurance you can't afford to travel. The recent tragedy is an extreme example of what can go wrong on the camino. Given the tendency for physical difficulties such as torn cartilege can mean that repatriation could be very expensive without insurance. Also to state the obvious make sure the poilcy does not exclude 'exclude' activities' which they may include as the camino.
Just thought a reminder would be in order as I've never seen anyone mention it.

 

[Howie]

Absolutely right, omar. Nobody in his right mind should consider travelling through Europe without travel insurance. DON'T. DO. IT. It's expensive, allright. But without that you might very quickly be in deep doodle indeed...

If push comes to shove and you hurt yourself during your walk nobody can force you to tell them "you were walking the Camino" - if you don't want to tell them (DON'T!!!). You were just underway, walking around, enjoying yourself somewhere in the sticks, somewhere in Northern Spain. Walking. Wandering. That's not forbidden, isn't it? End of problem.

And, hey, watch that part with the "preexisting conditions".

 

[Deleted member 397]

Good point about not saying you're on the camino. That 'pre existing condition' always bugs me-how can you have a condition (or anything) before it exists.? What they mean of course is a condition you already have before you take out insurance.

 

[Magnara]

Hola
I have put a note about this somewhere else on the forum, but feel so strongly about it I'll add another here. Two year ago we were in Hawaii and my husband was knocked over by a car. He had to be repatriated to Australia business class, after a stay in a hospital in Honolulu. You just can't predict freak things like this, and I can't imagine how many years we would have been paying this off if we hadn't had travel insurance. (And being young doens't save you from this kind of thing, it's not all about falling ill while away). What it cost us the cost of faxes back and forth but other than that it was all paid for by our travel insurance.
5 weeks before we started our camino my husband fell while we were on a training walk and had major surgery. If it had happened on the trail in Spain...
Just get it!
Magnara

 

[windeatt]

We've got a travel insurance which covers the two of us for ninety days on a 'sport', (i.e. walking) holiday trip.

http://www.simpletravelinsurance.co.uk/

They classify the sports according to degree of danger and walking comes in category one and doesn't incur any additional charges to the standard.
So you can be honest and declare it. (You can probably also be honest about any medical conditions - my husband has one, declared it, and was not charged anything extra).

The disadvantage - it's only open to residents of the UK and Ireland and once over 64 you have to pay more.

Note - I got the Single Trip insurance (90 days) rather than the backpacker which seems to be aimed at people going off on gap years.

Pricy and some people might not think it worth the bother but some of us oldies may like the reassurance.

 

[WolverineDG]

For pilgrims from the US (maybe other countries as well), you can go to http://www.insuremytrip.com & get quotes on travel insurance. I've bought travel insurance 3 times & only had to make one claim (this past December when the weather at Christmas got weird). I'm glad that I did, because I was able to get a hotel room & meals. My cousin, who didn't get travel insurance had to sleep in the airport (She was in the Dallas airport, I was in Houston; otherwise, she would have bunked with me) & make do with what snacks she had as she was out of money.

And now I'm off to follow my own advice.

dg

 

[sillydoll]

Insurance

I have never bought insurance.
When I book my airtickets with my VISA credit card, I get free insurance cover to the value of a couple of million Rand through Barclays Bank -which they assure clients is sufficient. It includes cancellation, curtailment, repatriation etc. Baggage cover is R3 000 (my packing list is worth 1/4 of that!)
When we crossed the Alps last June on the Via Francigena there was a section on the mountainside where we were on a narrow ledge, hanging onto chains bolted into the rockface with a 2000m drop on the other side. I must admit I wondered if my insurance would cover a helicopter resue!
Hope I don't ever have to test it!!

 

[Deleted member 397]

Sil
Not to alarm you but I've read enough criticism of credit card insurance to make me take out extra insurance. I think it's ironic that my credit card bank (also Visa) has a separate travel insurance department, I've heard that the insurance you get the card has so many provisos and exceptions that it's a bit of a worry.

 

[Howie]

Re: Insurance

... I wondered if my insurance would cover a helicopter resue ...

Yes, it will. Because if you are to be rescued by ambulance or by chopper of course depends on were exactly you had your accident and therefore is within the (calculated) risk of the travel insurance company.

Re VISA and insurance: make sure by asking where you got your VISA if this kind of credit card includes travel insurance. As far as I know it's only included in the VISA GOLD card. I know for sure it's not included in my standard Bank of New Zealand VISA.

We travel to Europe a lot and we pay for travel insurance all the time. Wouldn't go without it. No way...

 

[Anonymous]

Great info, Wolverinedg, thanks. Buen Camino :arrow: xm 8)