Thinking through exactly what I want/need to insure...

Lately we have been just buying a GeoBlue medical and relying on our Sapphire for cancellation other risks. Our trips have not been high priced and our prexisting condition risk was low, so cancellation was not a big concern. DH now has higher pre-existing risk and we have a cruise booked next year that is higher $, that I might want to mitigate some of the dollar loss should we need to cancel.

I will probably call the TripInsurance store to get some feedback on what I’m thinking of doing...but wanted to have the group here poke holes before I do so.

First thought was to only insure my husband on a cancellation/medical (there is one policy we could buy at final payment). That would mitigate half the dollar risk if we had to cancel due to an pre-existing illness of my husband. We would be 100% covered if it was a non pre-exisiting risk (his trip cost with trip insurance, mine with Sapphire). The $1500 deposit for the cruise was so long ago that it’s already water under the bridge mentally.

Second thought...was whether to have the start date of the policy a day into the trip? It appears we will be using FF miles for most of our flights, except the first one...probably to Panama City. Since we will be going first...the cost of his flight would send the insurance to a higher tier. And, we can always just pay the fee and get a certificate for a future flight if we did need to cancel. No biggie... low risk, low dollar. So for about 4 hours we would be relying on his Medicare supplement international only. In other words I’m trying to lower the prepaid trip cost (and insurance cost) by excluding that day from the contract. Other coverage that we have should be fine for that minimal risk.

Am I missing any “Gotcha’s” that could sink my plan?

Lately we have been just buying a GeoBlue medical and relying on our Sapphire for cancellation other risks. Our trips have not been high priced and our prexisting condition risk was low, so cancellation was not a big concern. DH now has higher pre-existing risk and we have a cruise booked next year that is higher $, that I might want to mitigate some of the dollar loss should we need to cancel.

 

I will probably call the TripInsurance store to get some feedback on what I’m thinking of doing...but wanted to have the group here poke holes before I do so.

 

First thought was to only insure my husband on a cancellation/medical (there is one policy we could buy at final payment). That would mitigate half the dollar risk if we had to cancel due to an pre-existing illness of my husband. We would be 100% covered if it was a non pre-exisiting risk (his trip cost with trip insurance, mine with Sapphire). The $1500 deposit for the cruise was so long ago that it’s already water under the bridge mentally.

 

Second thought...was whether to have the start date of the policy a day into the trip? It appears we will be using FF miles for most of our flights, except the first one...probably to Panama City. Since we will be going first...the cost of his flight would send the insurance to a higher tier. And, we can always just pay the fee and get a certificate for a future flight if we did need to cancel. No biggie... low risk, low dollar. So for about 4 hours we would be relying on his Medicare supplement international only. In other words I’m trying to lower the prepaid trip cost (and insurance cost) by excluding that day from the contract. Other coverage that we have should be fine for that minimal risk.

 

Am I missing any “Gotcha’s” that could sink my plan?

I think you should just call Trip Insurance Store and ask them.

What might be "gotchas" for one policy might not be for others, so info we contribute here might/might not be relevant.

Also, if you are past that early window, then you'll have fewer choices, so some of our experiences also might be irrelevant.

Also, given that the insurance often goes in "bumps" ($500 intervals at first, then $1k intervals), are you sure you'd actually save money doing what you are considering?

The main thing is to be *sure* that IF you have a claim, you didn't violate any "fine print", etc.

Let us know about that "starting a day late".

Good luck.

GC

Yes, the bump is what got my wheels turning. It is not that much of a savings...but, against what little risk I am insuring it seems like such a waste. Our Sapphire Reserve will cover all the ancillary stuff for that flight day...delay, lost luggage...etc. For about 4 hours DH would be relying on the Medicare supplemental international.

LOL..I’m a bit short on FF miles to get the trip done any other way up paying for that first leg (one-ways to Central America are not penalized in price too heavily). And, actually we want to stop in Panama City to spend a few days in the warmth before an around the horn.

To tell you the truth I am still thinking this through. His medical would only cover up to $50K. Along with his supplemental another $50K at 80%, it’s probably enough...but mulling.

Yes, I agree the Trip Insurance Store is the only place I would feel could adequately address my questions.

Yes, the bump is what got my wheels turning. It is not that much of a savings...but, against what little risk I am insuring it seems like such a waste. Our Sapphire Reserve will cover all the ancillary stuff for that flight day...delay, lost luggage...etc. For about 4 hours DH would be relying on the Medicare supplemental international.

 

LOL..I’m a bit short on FF miles to get the trip done any other way up paying for that first leg (one-ways to Central America are not penalized in price too heavily). And, actually we want to stop in Panama City to spend a few days in the warmth before an around the horn.

 

To tell you the truth I am still thinking this through. His medical would only cover up to $50K. Along with his supplemental another $50K at 80%, it’s probably enough...but mulling.

What Freq Flyer program do you use? Some allow the purchase of points, which can be a great way to "top off" the balance needed in a case like this.

(For us, our use in International Premium - business/first - makes it a slam dunk to purchase points anyway, but there's a limit per year. We haven't needed to do this but as we 'spend down' the points, it's nice to know we can replenish if needed for a specific trip, etc.)

I'm not sure if this is a consideration, but those charge card insurance coverages might not work for any pre-existing conditions (or something that the insurer wants/tries to claim is related to a pre-existing condition).

Unless our coverage is right at he bottom of an "interval", we usually keep the "bump" at the "next category".

I just don't want to find out someday that we somehow forgot about a pre-paid non-refundable tour, or forgot the "change fee" or whatever. It's easy to think, "Oh, we wouldn't do that!", but with the amounts at risk for some of our trips... it's just not worth trying to save what is a relatively small amount (the premium for that "next" bump).

However, we are the first to admit that we are risk averse. Also, we realize we are more likely than average to actually need to make a claim. (Our largest claim was for the *first* big trip, and the first time we ever took out travel insurance. We read about it here, and we are forever grateful! (Thanks to those unknown/un-remembered posters back in 2013...! We do try to repay the favor by posting here and in two other Forum venues besides CruiseCritic.)

If there was a "deductible" (hmmm, I've never asked, but never seen it mentioned), we'd consider that to reduce the premiums, just like we do with our homeowner's insurance, where we have a relatively high deductible. We can "cover" that. It's the "big loss" that worries us.

We also usually get the CFAR coverage, which does add quite a bit, proportionally. For now, there are two reasons. First, MIL is very elderly, approaching 100 (and still always in search of a good bridge game!). If she got really sick, the regular insurance would cover that. She always insists, "Go - don't worry about me!" However... IF she *ever* mentioned something like, "I don't quite feel right", that would be SO "different", that DH would obviously want to stay, and I can't argue against that! The other reason, which we'll need to re-evaluate when it becomes the only reason is... what if we just have a "reason to fret", whether it is an approaching hurricane that hasn't been declared a problem *yet* (?)... [We don't get seasick, or haven't yet, but I can sure get scared!] Or... what about those increasingly pesky "political situations". Sure, right here in the USA, there is more than enough "risk" to fret about. But there are some locales we'd like to visit, and they keep going in cycles of calm, and... not so calm...

Yes, we are risk averse, and admittedly a bit skittish. But "that's us"...

GC

We are members of the three big ones and it just depends where our point totals are ripening on which we use. This trip will be UA. I thought about topping off with a miles purchase, but the DL flights to PTY work well and are reasonably priced. Actually, we want to get away from winter and spend some time pre cruise in the warmth...so this works. I’ll be working my Starwood Card later this year to top that off for hotels.

The Chase credit card does have a pre-existing “gotcha”...which is why I want to buy insurance for DH only. We had to postpone a trip to Puerto Vallarta earlier this year, so I am probably a bit more nervous about a cancellation for the cruise. That said, if we only insure for half the cancellation loss I’m fine....and if it was because of something happening to me...we would be 100% covered. One problem I have is the only policy available with pre-existing exclusion is light on medical for DH (we are long past initial payment). Actually we have another cruise prior to the South American cruise...that is not a dollar amount that I feel we should insure for cancellation. We’ll just do our usual medical only.

It does show how one’s personal needs do impact the insurance decision. We use to buy CFAR for even low cost cruises back 10 years ago. We both had elderly parents alive and at that time we thought the risk of cancellation was over 50%.

LOL...Trip insurance is definitely not one size fits all.

I did think of one “gotcha” for starting the policy a day into the trip. If DH had a medical event in those first few hours in PTY, the policy would probably not cover the next day...as he would not be considered “fit to travel”.