Esh_ga - It's next to a wrought iron fence & close to neighbor's driveway. It's in a bad spot. But I had another quote for 450. So I guess 400 is better. ;( We bought a new house & didn't see this dead tree in the winter/early spring. It's also on the other side of the fence. Guess the previous owner didn't disclose? Shouldn't they be accountable? Hard to prove it died last year, heh?

Jan I would check with your home and/or car agent. Even if they don't write health policies, they likely have connections to someone who does and that could save you a lot of headaches. Better yet, find a broker who is not tied to one company. For example, our health agent writes for 5 or 6 different companies here in IL. We are making some changes to our policy (DH is self employed so we are our own mini group with our one college age son) and he knows immediately that 3 of the companies he represents are potential candidates for the type of policy that we want. No need to waste any time deciphering what the others offer. A good agent can also tell you in basic terms where policies are similar and where they differ - you have to be the judge of which fits you better. Make sure the doctors you want to use are part of the network for any company you consider, unless you are willing to change. Our current policy has a 100% coverage for any ER visits, something that was important to us with 2 active boys and DH in constr/remodeling - we used that a LOT over the years for broken bones, stitches and all kinds of boy things! But it costs to have that kind of coverage and since we haven't needed it in recent years it doesn't make sense for us to continue paying for that privilege. A good agent can help you clarify where best to put your ins dollars.

I've been checking weather reports for the South Pacific, and it looks like we will have decent weather for our trip. That was my main concern regarding insurance. We will not be doing anything risky that I think we would need insurance for, and so I think I will forego it this time, but I will still consider it for the future.\ As for bags not arriving, since we have a non-stop flight, I don't think there is much chance that they would get lost. I try to get non-stop flights whenever possible for this reason, but that was not possible when we went to Brazil, and nothing bad happened. I had not been told about trip/travel insurance before we went, and as it turned out, we did not need it. We also had non-stop flights to Rome when we went to Italy, but I would have been concerned if we had had to change planes in Paris or London. This information has been very helpful to me, and I will remember it for future trips.

For our Panama Canal cruise in May, I bought regular trip insurance including CFAR (cancel for any reason). I bought the cruise and insurance through Costco. Costco credited the cost of the cruise back to my Costco credit card; travel insurance has given me a credit of my full premium to use in the next year; Delta has given me a credit to use in the next year; and Southwest has refunded my money because they changed the flight schedule. Under federal laws, a change in flight schedule entitles me to a full refund. We did not have to make a claim on our insurance. Before the pandemic was declared but seemed imminent, I called the insurance company and asked pointed questions about CFAR. The only requirement for CFAR was I had to cancel more than 48 hours prior to departure. Other than that, I could just decide that my pink dress wasn’t fitting right or my sneakers had a scuff on them and therefore I did not want to go. CFAR does not get you 100% of your money back. You get 75%. It isn’t the world’s best deal. Nevertheless, we buy it. Fine print: It is not sold in New York State.