Travel Insurance

What kind of travel insurance should you get when going back to the states?  Most of the policies here say you must be a UK resident. Does having a spousal visa make one a resident?

Yes, if you live here you are a resident.  I have one with our mortgage but this summer got a good deal for the teenagers through the post office. 

You will need Worldwide Travel insurance, one that covers US & Canada.  Sometimes insurance companies charge at a premium because of the health costs in the US.  If you are traveling more than once in a year (not just to the US but to any other countries) it may be worth going for an Annual policy as they can sometimes work out cheaper than buying individual coverage for each trip you make.
Also, if you plan to do any "dangerous" sports like skiing you will probably have to add that additional coverage.

Matt

I just bought a year-long plan from InsureAndGo.com.  We only paid 90 quid for both me and my wife. The plan is worldwide including USA, and includes winter sports (skiing & snowboarding, which we do quite a bit). 

I just bought a year-long plan from InsureAndGo.com.  We only paid 90 quid for both me and my wife. The plan is worldwide including USA, and includes winter sports (skiing & snowboarding, which we do quite a bit). 

That sounds like a pretty good deal including winter sports.  Without it you'd not get it for much less than £65-70 I don't think.

We get our travel insurance included for free through our current account (they require a certain amount of £££ to stay in the current account at all times) which works out pretty well.  I like the fact that if, for some reason, we don't travel as much in a particular year, we aren't paying out of pocket for insurance, although I realize that we  lose some money we would have gained in interest had we put it in a higher rate savings account but it works out very cheap anyway.

Matt

We are looking for travel insurance and wondered what the best rate is anyone has found?  We are looking at one trip vs. annual as well as with baggage and without baggage.  So far we have only been able to find £119 for the both of us for a year with baggage.  I would desperately love to find something else so am open to suggestions! 

We have Direct Line, not sure how much it costs but I do know how great it is.  Last year Rich and I went to the US for a holiday.  While there Rich had to go to the hospital.  Not only that but we also could not come home the day we planned. (In fact got on the plane and then got off before take-off)  We didn't pay a cent for the hospital stay or date change for the plane.

don't forget to read the fine print about the 6 month UK resident rule for many policies in the UK.

I went back to the states and I ended up getting one from STA travel good for US citizens which includes US travel and restricting my travel to UK domestic until the end of my 6 months... 27 days to go!

no need to worry about that on my end!  Have been here nearly 3 years!

Check out http://www.moneysupermarket.com/travelinsurance/?Source=MS
You can put in Annual or Single Trip and the number of people and any additional things like Winter Sports cover.
I did a quick check on Worldwide cover for 2 adults and it was coming back with some rediculously silly premium like £39.  I didn't have time to
look at it closely, the fine print is worth reading.  But even some of the more expensive ones were only about £65.  Perhaps you can find much
cheaper coverage?

also- doubt check to see if you credit card offers any services if the ticket is purchased on their card.  that way you could get a cheaper insurance to cover health care.  but the card would cover baggage, missed flights, etc. 

That is a fantastic link Matt!  thanks!  As for the credit card thing, we did look into that because we kept reading "free travel insurance". But it's not if you used the card to pay for it, it's if you booked one of THEIR holidays or flights. So that was a bummer!

Just got to sit and weed through this great site though. Lots of options!

No worries, whispersarah.  They do comparisons of all kinds of financial products, it's a godsend.
Btw, generally Worldwide coverage means what it says but occassionally insurance companies put premiums for US (and possibly Canada, too) because of the particularly onerous costs involved when getting treatment there!

Update to my post earlier. I am a huge fan of InsureAndGo. Not more than two months after buying my travel insurance, I broke my collarbone whilst on a ski trip in Italy.  The cost out of pocket for medical expenses was about 200 pounds. I filed a claim when I returned and after a month wait, I received a check for the full amount I claimed! Insurance policy cost has already paid for itself.

Thanks for this.  It has been very helpful!