Cranky on the Web: The Rise of Travel Insurance

Cranky on the Web

Yes, you are being asked if you want travel insurance more oftenMarketplace
It was a quick one minute story for Marketplace on the rise of travel insurance. Sometimes it’s worth having, sometimes it’s not. But as I note in the piece, it is quite lucrative for those who are selling it.

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6 comments on “Cranky on the Web: The Rise of Travel Insurance

  1. I get the feeling it’s far more common to have travel insurance in place if you live outside the US – maybe for those of us visiting the US, we’re well aware of how fleeced you can be for the simplest of medical emergencies, for example. Also, many UK banks offer current accounts that include family travel insurance (usually 30 days maximum stay in one trip, usually don’t cover you for sky diving etc., but fine for most trips).

    1. I believe the article is talking about insurance that will refund otherwise-nonrefundable ticket costs in the event of certain emergencies, rather than health insurance for international travel.

      1. Sure, just we usually purchase all encompassing policies that cover cancellations, theft, medical etc.

  2. Brett,

    You are pretty good about not sending trash, so your emails get priority handling in my leisure reading. That said, the travel insurance article on Marketplace misses the mark. Your short precis left out only one detail: that credit cards often duplicate the coverage. Otherwise, there was zero value in this almost-content-free fluffy click bait, and no useful illustrations to make me actually check my credit cards. I expect better from Marketplace, whose radio show inspired me to pursue my MBA, and if you can’t poke your colleague there to do better, I don’t know who can. I am getting really tired of click-bait articles who deliver the value of one sentence in a five paragraph advertising substrate. Please don’t help that irritating trend grow.

    Doug

    1. Doug – I didn’t leave out any details. As is always the case, I had a lengthy discussion with the author, and that included details about how credit cards might provide coverage depending upon what people need. I don’t control what gets published, and I’m guessing neither does the author. They gave her a very short segment, shorter than I believe it was originally supposed to be. So she had to figure out how to squeeze into that short segment what she could. You can take that up with the producers of Marketplace if you don’t like it.

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