Do I need travel insurance? Some experts say 'No'
ajc.com
Here's a topic that inspires fear, loathing — and boredom.
Yes, we're talking travel insurance. We fear illness and accidents, loathe thinking about them when we plan a trip and are too bored to plow through 20 pages of fine print on an insurance certificate.
"Nine times out of 10, they don't read it," Angela Norton, spokeswoman for CSA Travel Protection in San Diego, said of travelers who buy packaged policies for trip cancellation and interruption, medical costs and evacuation, luggage loss and other mishaps.
Now, some heavy-hitting critics are asking, "Why bother?"
First, Consumer Reports magazine in May ran an article titled, "Travel Insurance: Why You Rarely Need It."
One of the experts quoted, Bob Hunter, director of insurance for the Consumer Federation of America in Washington, said that the typical traveler can afford to forfeit trip deposits and is covered by medical insurance, homeowners' policies or credit cards for most other losses.
In emergencies, he added, airlines and other suppliers might offer refunds or waive penalties.
"I never buy travel insurance," said Hunter, a former federal insurance administrator under President Ford and President Carter.
In September, Jeffrey Miller, a travel attorney and consultant in Columbia, Md., wrote a piece in the trade magazine Travel Weekly titled, "Losing Faith in Travel Insurance." After his article ran, he said he " got a lot of grief from the industry."
Americans spent more than $1.3 billion on travel insurance in 2006, according to the U.S. Travel Insurance association. About half of U.S. travelers who take a cruise, a tour or fly internationally buy policies.
