Consumer Reports: To buy or not to buy trip insurance

thanks) if you're planning a holiday get-away you might want to consider travel insurance. leah linscheid is here with suggestions from consumer reports in an uncertain world - with natural disasters, terrorist attacks or even personal injuries - cancelling a trip at the last minute could mean money out the window. consumer reports explains why it may make sense to take out insurance. paulette mann and her family love to travel, but one ski trip was canceled abruptly. two weeks before departure paulette tore her knee and had to have surgery. (sot: paulette mann) "the first thing i thought was: oh my god, i have travel insurance!" (v/o) paulette had prepaid everything from airfare, hotel, ski lifts, rentals, excursions - plus 10-percent of the trip's cost to her insurance company. (sot: paulette mann) "i think the insurance company probably paid back about 80 to 90 percent." (v/o) premium insurance policies like paulette's are more expensive but allowed her to cancel for any reason and gave her the most flexibility. chyron: margot gilman, consumer reports business editor, ("it's really important that consumers read the policy carefully so they understand exactly what is and isn't covered." (v/o) like when the policy offers a waiver for pre-existing medical conditions, provides healthcare coverage, or covers medical evacuations for more adventurous trips. do your research. travel agents may have preferred relationships with only a couple of insurance providers. instead use comparison websites - like insure-my-trip- dot-com and square-mouth-dot- com - each sells more than a hundred policies from a variety of companies. and stick to insurance that will cover potentially bigger losses. just ask paulette. (sot: paulette mann) "it makes you feel like you're not at risk for losing a whole chunk of change. absolutely gives you peace of mind." you can also call the comparison websites like squaremouth- dot-com who can clearly explain coverage and determine exactly what you need. and don't forget - many credit card companies also offer travel insurance, so it's good to check with them, too. thanks