[aimeelee]

i am really interested in international adoption, but i feel like everywhere i turn i'm being warned of all the risks due to foreign countries' ever-changing policies and attitudes. and it's SO expensive! does anyone know if there is a company that provides insurance for this kind of thing? im assuming the agencies don't provide any type of refund. insurance would certainly make me a lot less nervous about spending thousands of dollars just to learn that the country i chose isn't going to follow-through. THANK YOU! Aimee

[v_kats]

I know some agencies have a refund policy for special circumstances that are not of your own making. It is not a 100% refund, after all, they did provide you with some services like lawyers do. And some agencies charge most of their fees closer to the end when you accept a referral, so you don't lose all your money if anything goes wrong half-way. Lastly, some agencies try to make it up to you in other ways rather than monetary, i.e. if you were going to Romania and its program closes, they would help you adopt from Ukrain at no cost. But you need to discuss all of it in more details.

Good luck,
Victoria

[espressox2]

I looked around a great deal but only found programs that used to offer insurance. Seems that people would not buy it until they new there was a problem then buy and collect. I am going through wide horizons and they don't collect any money (towards the country of your choice) until you get a referal...once that happens you pay the big money. Upfront you only need about 3000 or so. However, once the money leaves our country the refund opportunities are slim....depends on the country.

If however, your country of choice changes things before you get a referal, wide horizons doesn't charge you anymore $$. You should call and ask them about the procedures.

Dan

[aimeelee]

thanks so much for your responses. it seems so hard to think about spending all that money and then the country just shutting its doors. i guess there's risk involved in anything that's rewarding ...

i guess the best bet is to pick an agecy with several countries of interest, and one that will switch for no extra $ if need be.