WHAT A PAIN ! You just get reconciled with the cost of your trip. Then they say you ought to get trip insurance. More cost, and you know that trip insurance is a big waste of money. Until you need it...then you wonder what you were thinking not to get it.

What's the cost? Usually between $75 and $200 per person, depending very much on the cost of your trip and on what bells and whistles you want in the insurance coverage.

What does it cover? It depends on the particular policy you choose. Like anything else, you get what you pay for. Most people get it to cover the cost of trip cancellation, if someone has an accident, or gets sick, or a close relative dies just before the trip to Europe, and they need to call off the trip. That could also happen during the trip.

What most people don't stop to think about are the many other things that can happen, some of which -- like delays due to flight problems -- are far more likely to occur than a serious medical issue. Examples are trip delay, baggage loss, and medical or dental cost during trip (which may or may not be covered by your domestic health insurance).

Instead of droning on about the theory of why you need it, we've simply noted the real-life cases that our clients have experienced. Have a look, then ask yourself if you are ready to deal with these kinds of consequences if you don't get the insurance....

Honeymoon flight is cancelled due to bad weather ~ Our clients are delayed by 24 hours getting to Italy. They miss their first night in hotel in Rome. They also miss their arrival transfer. PLUS, they miss the private Rome tour scheduled for the morning of their second day in Rome. All of that is non-refundable. They do not have trip insurance. The total cost for lost services is about $850. Most trip insurance policies would have covered it.

Mom breaks her ankle tripping over a curb in Rome ~ She gets medical attention, then needs to be evacuated to the USA. Her adult son and daughter choose to return with her. The rest of the trip is cancelled. There's big cost, mainly due to the evacuation. But they have trip insurance that covers most of it.

Husband gets a blod clot while in Florence ~ His wife gets him to a hospital. The rest of the trip is toast. But the biggest problem is that he cannot fly, so they're stuck there for a week until he's released to fly home, on an expensive last-minute flight arrangement. They do not have trip insurance. We don't know what success they had in recovering the hospital cost from their domestic health insurance provider, but they certainly lost a lot on the travel arrangements.

Dad learns 2 days before departure that he has a life-threatening illness ~ His wife and two adult children were ready to leave on a big trip. Everything has to be cancelled under the worst-case scenario for cost. There is no trip insurance. By a small miracle, we succeed in getting everything cancelled with minimal cost (we don't expect to be that lucky again). Theoretically, they would have lost about $5,000.

Grandmother gets deathly ill before honeymooners depart for Italy ~ Our clients decide to cancel the honeymoon trip a day before scheduled departure. They have trip insurance that covers them on the cancellation cost. Grandmother recovers, so they reschedule the honeymoon trip a month later. And their departure flight is delayed. So they miss their connection and the first night in hotel in Italy, plus their arrival transfer. But again, they have trip insurance that covers their cost.

Flight delay plus flight cancellation ~ Another honeymoon. The original departure flight is delayed due to bad weather. Our clients lose a day in departing for Italy. The next day, they get ready to try again, but this time, the airport is closed due to some idiot running around posing a security risk. Our clients drive to another state, another airport, to catch a different flight. But that flight get's delayed due to weather, enough to miss the connection in Europe. They finally get out on a later flight. They lose the first two days, and one night in hotel, in Italy, plus the arrival transfer and a Rome tour. They do not have trip insurance, which would probably have covered it all.

Sister dies unexpectedly while our client is in Italy ~ Our client cancels remainder of trip and rushes home. Trip insurance covers her cost.

Husband suffers severe spinal injury in freak accident before trip ~ Trip cancellation is least of family's trouble. We're able get it all cancelled at minimal cost. There was no trip insurance.

IF YOU DECIDE TO GET THE INSURANCE.... we advise that you get it from one of the dedicated insurance websites that let you shop for the best price and coverage for your particular circumstances. We recommend going to InsureMyTrip at <www.insuremytrip.com>. They are insurance people, brokers who sell all kinds of policies from just about every source. And they have a great facility on their website for comparing polices and learning about your options. We have no deal with them and get nothing from our referral.

If you have particular concerns to address, such as a complicated medical history, it is especially important for you to get involved in the choice of a policy and understand exactly what you're getting.

On the other hand, if you only need a basic policy, we recognize that the insurance websites can be unnecessarily complicated. So as an alternative, you can buy a good general trip insurance policy from us. We sell policies by AIG/Travel Guard. Please note that we are not insurance people, so if you have questions we cannot answer, we will be quick to refer you to insurance company experts.

If you do buy trip insurance, DO NOT ASSUME that you are covered for anything in particular unless you have seen it in the terms of your policy. There are many variations out there. You can't just buy a one-size-fits-all policy and depend on it to cover every eventuality.

Whatever you choose to do, when you make your trip arrangements with us, we will need for you to sign our Terms & Conditions, by which you will acknowledge the schedule of cancellation penalties as well as our recommendation that you buy trip insurance.