DuxFan,
We have always gotten insurance but have always wondered if it was worth the money. Well last January our trip to and from AC was the trip from h---. Absolutely no ones fault, all the problems were weather and mechanical related.
The trip down, due to weather, we missed all our connections and had to spend the night in Houston (Room, meals, ground transportation etc.) after a wonderful three weeks we headed home and in Miami had a 6 hour mechanical delay which means we missed our connection out of Boston. In addition it was in the middle of another blizard so we were delayed even more.
After we finally got home I contacted the insurance company (we had gone through InsureMyTrip.com) They immediately sent me a claim form, I completed it - it was very basic. Gave them copies of our expenses and an explainantion on what had happened. About two weeks later we received our check, it not only covered our expenses but the check was for about $150 more than we had claimed. The extra was "trip interuption".
Needless to say we were very please. The total check was more than double what we had paid for a premium. Couple this with the insurance coverage that was included incase of medical problems or worse and it is well worth the money.
Two years ago while we were on AC a gentleman from Montana passed away from a heart attack. His poor wife did not have insurance and was faced with trying to secure the funds to have him returned to home. It was an awful time and something I hope no one ever has to go through, but it is an example that the worset of things can happen unexpectedly and insurance would have made a horrible time a little easier to get through.
If you go and have no problems you might say - gosh I did not need to spend the money. But the peace of mind that it provides for a fairly small amount of money is well worth the expense.
I won't travel anywhere with out insurance coverage.
Byron