USVI-On-Line

For anyone who's been curious about this, you can get travel insurance up to 24 hours prior to your trip. I know, I just purchased it last night. We leave Saturday for St. John and have had a few close calls, fortunately minor, but I felt like I needed some peace of mind. I will mention that it does not cover any pre-existing conditions, but that didn't really apply to us.

Between strep throat (my kids) and a major stomach virus requiring a night's stay at the hospital (the other family we're traveling with) I couldn't take it anymore! It seems we're surrounded by viruses and in case something else pops up between now and Friday night, we've covered. Very reasonable price ($238 for family of 4, covering airfare and villa) includes trip interruption and weather-related delays as well...we'll probably have the first major blizzard of the season on Friday night too!

I'm trying hard to feel the warm, sunny air and taste the rum punch, but it's a struggle...

Does trip insurance cover the cost of a motel if weather keeps you from getting home the same day? Just curious.

Jumbie Girl - I just looked at my policy (32 pages long!) and it lists a Travel Delay benefit of $150 maximum per day, per person. For us, a family of 4, we'd have a benefit of $600 per day.

I called cust. service and they said if the airline delays/cancels the flight due to inclement weather, you can use that benefit to pay for hotel, meals, transporation expenses etc. Sounds reasonable to me. So if we get stuck on St. John or St. Thomas for an extra night due to a blizzard in Philly, we've got $600 per night to work with...probably can be done!

Hope that helps.

What was the name of the company that you got the insurance through. Do they have a web site?

Thanks

George - it was www.tripinsure.com

They came recommended by our villa owner because they will insure you if you rent a private villa, as opposed to a hotel/resort rental. The owners of Great Expectations, which is where we are staying, are registered with this insurance carrier. The owners said the insurance carrier can verify that we've paid our full rental and can therefore reimburse us for unused nights or full cancellation due to whatever unforseen circumstances we may encounter.