The rest of Q&A

Q – I am coming to traveltruth because I would love to get the bottom line on insurance. I’m a reader, and I organize every aspect of my trip. I’ve been traveling since my wife and I retired eight years ago and it seems that all my plans fall into place until it comes to the travel insurance. The online advice I see tells me I should price compare on sites like squaremouth.com and insuremytrip.com. I’ve tried that but they seem to be sites that rate insurance companies based largely on pricing. Any direction you might provide on this subject would be appreciated. I want good insurance although I hope I never need it. 

A – OK – here is the bottom line:

#1 – Never, ever purchase insurance online. You always want a human advocate for something as personal as insurance coverage. 

# 2 = Never purchase the cheapest policy. This is one product you should never buy on the basis of price. 

# 3 – Ask your travel consultant why they are recommending a particular insurance company or plan that includes medical  and Life Insurance

Which type of life insurance you have is going to have one of the biggest impacts on how much you pay in premiums. They each offer different types of coverage, and, as you could probably guess, more coverage equals more money. But life insurance is slightly more nuanced since there are so many different ways of purchasing it, although the general rule of thumb is that term is cheaper than whole.

Here you can find a short description of each of the different life insurance policies available. Average prices will be discussed later as they depend heavily on other factors.

Term Life Insurance

The most popular type of life insurance is term life insurance. This is life insurance that will provide a lump sum (known as the death benefit) to your named beneficiary in the event you die. However, with term insurance, your policy is not unlimited. It runs for a pre-determined “term,” and it expires when that term is over. For detailed information about child life insurance visit azmoney.co.uk.

Term life insurance policies can be bought for as little as five years and as many as thirty. They are designed for people who want to be covered in the event something happens to them before their dependents (in most cases their children) can take care of themselves.

For example, a couple in their early 30s with two young children might buy a 20-year term policy to make sure their kids will be taken care of in the event one or both parents die before the kids become adults.

Again, it’s a bit morbid to think about, but term life insurance makes a ton of sense for people who have dependents. However, after your term is over, you will no longer need to pay premiums, but you will also no longer have a death benefit.

Renewable Term Insurance

Some term life insurance policies are renewable, meaning you can opt to purchase them again after the term has expired. But this does not mean you are guaranteed the same rate.

In fact, most insurance companies will probably require you to undergo a new medical exam, and this, plus the fact you are anywhere from 10 to 30 years older than you were when you bought the policy, means you can expect higher premiums when you renew your policy.

Level and Decreasing Term Insurance

Something else that can affect the price of your term life insurance premiums is whether or not you have a level or decreasing policy. In level policies, your death benefit remains the same throughout the entire life of the policy. This means if you buy a $1 million, 20-year term policy and die on year 19, the payout will still be $1 million.

With decreasing term policies, your death benefit decreases over time, usually in one-year increments. The benefit of this is that you will likely pay lower premiums, but you are assuming more risk on your own by reducing the value of your policy each year of the term.

Q – We have read your warnings about travel to southern European countries like Italy and Spain during the summer months. You have pointed out the issues with heat and over-crowding. But what of Northern Europe. We are considering a museum-oriented trip to Amsterdam in August and we were wondering what months to avoid in this portion of Europe? Are the recommendations different? Also, we are thinking about booking our art-focused tours in Amsterdam, and perhaps Paris, through an online company called Context Tours. We were wondering if you recommend them and if they use high-quality guides? Really appreciate this site – we’ve learned so much we had not read elsewhere.

A – Let’s treat this as the two-parter it is. The short answer to part one – Amsterdam has many of the same summer over-crowding issues as its neighbors to the south. You definitely want to avoid July and August. Many of the locals will leave the city during those months because the population grows from just under a million permanent residents to more than 20 million visitors. Like many other cities enduring July/August crowding, Amsterdam is trying to do something about its crowding problems. They are heavily promoting areas outside the city, they have placed restrictions on the number of Airbnb rentals, and they have started limiting the number of shops that serve tourists in the city center. The reality is that Amsterdam is an amazing walking city with more canals than Venice. It is lovely when the tourist mobs have left to return to their studies and the financial support of their parents. You always want to go to Europe when colleges are actually holding classes.

Context Travel is an interesting and quite reliable company. They do walking tours for individuals and small groups led by local scholars and well-educated locals. Their pricing is generally less than one would pay for a certified city guide and driver and they are happy to work with families. They have an office on Walnut Street in Philadelphia. Their idea of employing true “scholars and experts” on a subject rather than historically based generalists – which is what most tour guides are – is an approach that we very much endorse. 

Q – There has been lots in the news about the crashes of the 737 Max version. I think we’re about to be scheduled to fly it by our tour company in August (2019). Can you offer a quick summary of where things stand, what the issues are, how we would know if our pilot knows what he/she is doing, and whether or not there is anything we need to do at this point to change planes? It seems that the problem is only with American Airlines. Is that correct?

A – It is true that American and Southwest have a large number of this new version of the 737 in service or on order. But many airlines all over the world have the aircraft or have it on order. It is a workhorse with high levels of fuel efficiency for short-haul routes. Here are just a few observations we hope will be helpful:

• No oversight organization is going to rescind the grounding of these aircraft until the software issue is fixed and all pilots are aware of proper procedures. 
• In fact, it does not appear that pilot error was an issue in the crashes. The issue had to do with the fact that the safety fix software was not installed and the manufacturer did not adequately instruct airlines considering purchase of the aircraft why the safety “extra” was a critical component in an in-flight emergency.
• The reason it was not installed is that Boeing had made the safety equipment at the center of this issue non-mandatory. It was sold as an add-on and airlines purchasing the aircraft were not informed of potential problems if it was not installed. Just think about that for a moment. Safety-based software that would have prevented sudden dives was offered at an extra-charge – sort of like adding a shot of espresso at Starbucks. That needs to change. But the public seems to have turned away from this issue.
• American has announced that they are now (April 14, 2019) expecting the planes to be back in service by the third week in August. Meanwhile, American is canceling more than 100 flights per day to try to manage a meaningful schedule. 
• We recommend waiting until 30-Days prior to your scheduled flight to see what kind of aircraft is scheduled for your flight. We would not have the slightest trepidation flying the 737 Max once it is, again, cleared for take-off. Meanwhile, several of the nation’s largest airlines will not have enough aircraft authorized to fly that can possibly meet the needs of summer travel schedules and weather-related issues that cause flight cancellations in July and August. 

Q – We’ve been reading this blog and one particular section has really made me angry. We have been booking our own travel for almost twenty years. Yes, there have been glitches, but most of the time things worked out and we’ve had some marvelous times. But we always felt we were getting a deal by bypassing travel agents. Now that we understand how the system works, it seems that we were charged thousands of dollars for services we never received. Since two companies, tour operators, received most of our business, we are thinking we should demand some money back for all the times we traveled and were charged a price that included the travel agent’s fees for stuff we never received. We never, for instance, got any advice about insurance and we got badly burned twice. Again, we never used a travel agent. Is this a complete waste of time and how should we approach it? 

A – It could be a waste of time but it might be worth the effort. You would need to carefully document the money you spent over the years with each company. You would then show that the travel agency commission was built into all of the payments you received. You would next show the types of services an agent would have performed for their built-in fee – and point out you never received those services. You might assume an average built-in commission of 12-15% and demand a refund using specific percentages of what you paid. You can assume that everything you paid always included the commission. 

You have, in our view, been ripped off over the course of many, loyal years. We seriously doubt that any tour company or cruise line will give you back the funds you are due, but they very well may offer a response that, in some way, recognizes their appreciation for your past support. 

Q – Friends told us that you can fly home out of Ireland back to the United States without clearing customs as though you are on a domestic flight. True?

A -Not exactly. US Customs staff are in Dublin’s airport and US citizens clear US customs before ever boarding the plane home. This also allows for baggage that can be checked through to final destination.

Why isn’t this being offered in other European countries? The U.S. has offered to expand this service –  so far no takers. 

Q – First, thank you for keeping us up last evening. Love your sites and especially the “No Ads” policy. How refreshing. Kept waiting for the magical, annoying boxes to appear – but none ever did.  My husband and I are planning to visit both Australia and New Zealand for up top three weeks but we are unsure as to whether we should do a cruise ship, one of the Top Ten, or an Escorted Tour with one of the firms you recommend. Sad to say, we’ve done neither. This is a big deal for us financially but we have money saved and now we’re just trying to figure out the “how”. We live in Chapel Hill and my husband will be retiring in June after 30 years as a financial planner. Is there anyone in Chapel Hill you would recommend or is there a way to speak to you directly? Love to know your thoughts regarding our quandary. Thanks so much for your expertise, insights, and recommendations. 

A – We would be pleased to speak with you and we will forward some propaganda about our firm and services. If you would prefer working with a neighborhood travel consultant we will help you with that as well. Our feeling, based on the facts at hand, is that you should lean toward the escorted tour. The better ones that cover both countries in some depth are about three weeks long. Water-based touring in Australia and New Zealand includes a fairly high percentage of days at sea when you would essentially be seeing nothing. Given that this would be a “first” for you, we would suggest you save cruising for Europe, Alaska, South America, Antarctica, or Asia. You will love the tour itinerary, it will give you multiple night stays, and you will not feel that you have any “wasted” days at sea. Sure, we love cruising, we love reading a book in a deck chair with nowhere to go. We love not packing and unpacking at sea. But to this part of the world – on your very first experience, we would strongly recommend the land tour. 

Q – We are wondering if you would recommend some of the beach resorts along the French Riviera such as Cannes or St. Tropez or would we be better off pursuing our French dreams inland, away from the glam coast.  This will be a long-delayed honeymoon for us. She is 56 and I am 65. We have, for various reasons, never been to Europe. We think we will enjoy it all but afternoon reading, cuddling, and dining are what we are all about. Did I say “cuddling”. 

A – Tough to generalize but we think the safest approach would be to plan flying home out of Nice while beginning your trip in Paris or Provence. Depends on length of trip but you might want to end with a few days on the Riviera beachfront before departure. If you like to pick up the garbage from the beach to clean the environment we have  scrap metal pick up to make the task easier.

You will enjoy the beach, there is a great weather, people and the ambiance is marvelous, also we recommend you to take the whale watching california experience, you can’t miss it !

Here are some basic decisions you should make before consulting your consultant:

• Number of nights and number of hotel changes (For a honeymoon we think you should become familiar with the bedding and avoid frequent changes.)
• Is seeing one portion of a country going to be satisfying or will you be frustrated that you didn’t see more?
• Nights beachfront versus rural village proximity
• Can you abide by the Honeymoon Travel Rule: No more than one hotel change per week?

Q –  Greetings whoever y’all are. (May I suggest you tell us who is writing what so we know who to blame?) I have just retired from a Bourbon producing company here in Kentucky and it is time for me to show my wife a bit of the world in the fashion to which, unfortunately, she is accustomed. We love doing travel research but we would love to know which two or three hotels in the world are your favorite. I would also like to know at what point I should be engaging the services of you (hopefully) or some agent you would recommend and just what kind of expenses that might involve over, say, a ten-year period. A tip of my glass to your team. Great site. 

A – Thank you for an impossible question to answer. We love Ballyfin in Ireland, Monasterio Santa Rosa on the Amalfi Coast, and the Aman Resorts almost anywhere but particularly in the isolated mountains of Bhutan.  In Paris, our favorite is a boutique property on the Left Bank called  Esprit de St. Germain. In southern Africa, Singhita Lodges are really special and we love several of the smaller hotels in New Zealand such as the  Huka Lodge. 

Instead of just planning vacations, one at a time, we think you would really benefit from some discussions that would help you prioritize future trips and destinations. If you were to work with us we would discuss/design a Five-year Travel Plan. Once we know you and your specific needs and goals when you travel, we can help you put your plan into action. As you have already retired, it would be wise to begin talking things through as soon as you are comfortable doing so. 

Q –  We are strongly considering a cruise on the Paul Gauguin in Tahiti next November, We are extremely excited about this destination but we have friends who flew the airline and said it was extremely uncomfortable in coach. We’re willing to pay for Business Class if you think it would be worth it. The line offers free coach and then an up-charge for business. This is not an airline that is a household word so we’re kind of concerned.

A – Don’t be. Air Tahiti Nui is a household word in the islands. We recommend them but we doi think that the eight and a half-hour flight is best done in Business Class.

There is some good news. Air Tahiti is taking delivery of new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners on this route. You’ll be riding in Rockwell Collins B/E Parallel Diamond seats that are 20.5 inches wide with a 60 inch pitch. They are the same brand-new seats pm the United Airlines Dreamliners. Your seat becomes a lie-flat bed six feet and six inches long (excellent). There are four new planes and these are the ones you want to book. They are designated TOA, MUA, VAA, and NUI.

The new aircraft will depart LA on Tuesday, Fridays and Sundays. Business Class will fill up quickly so get this confirmed tomorrow. Your flight will leave LA at 10:55 pm. unless there is a Leonardo di Caprio sighting in the terminal beforehand. Arrival time is 5:05 in the morning the next day so make sure you have a day room with guaranteed early arrival in Papeete.

The flight back to LA departs at one minute before midnight on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, arriving at 10:10 am. the next morning.

Your flight numbers are TN 191 and 102. Seating is three rows of two across. 

It isn’t a bad way to get to paradise. 

Q – Are all travel writers working part-time and do they always receive free trips? I read several of the travel magazines and love their stories of exotic travel. But I always wonder who is paying for their travels and how the financing works. 

A – Travel writers are often approached by public relations media to travel to a destination to write about it. Most of the features we see in print and on TV were provided to the writer on a complimentary basis. The one major publication we are aware of that does not accept complimentary travel is the New York Times. We understand that the Associated Press and USA Today also have policies that do not permit subsidized travel for writers on assignment. It is assumed that the destination will be treated fairly and in a generally positive manner. Tourist boards, cruise lines, and hotels routinely offer comp. travel to writers affiliated or freelancing for major publications. Airlines are a bit more hesitant to comp writers but it does happen. 

Much of what you read in the consumer travel press is bought and paid for by the destination or product being described, The economics of publishing are such that few publications could afford to send their writers off to the far corners of the earth. Many trips are organized specifically for travel writers and they will travel as a small group. The sponsor can then concentrate on assuring a really spectacular showing.

Travel writers do not enter the profession for the money. They do it for the lifestyle and experiences. Pay varies but is almost consistently low. A payment of $1 per word is not uncommon. It is a better hobby or second job than a neat way to make a lot of money. For examples of some of the best travel writing read anything by Paul Thoreux, Pico Iyer, or the late Anthony Bourdain.