trip insurance experiences

[erdoran]

Has anyone ever had to collect on their trip insurance? Did the companies pay off? What type of problems did you have? Learning other peoples' experiences will be helpful for any of us who have the misfortune to need to collect on their insurance--please share your experiences!

[Sandy Miller]

We have collected on our insurance, which we had to use 1.5 weeks before leaving. We had no problems collecting because we bought preexisting conditions waiver. All this means is that you buy the insurance at the same time you give your first deposit and make sure you qualify according to the companies criteria.

 

Wouldn't sail without insurance coverage as above.

[JOVERNITE]

We bought trip insurance for our 2009 12 day Med cruise. I got what we thought was bronchitis at the time and went to see the ships doctor to make sure I didn't have something more serious or communicable. It was $174.00 US for that visit (office visit, strep test, throat lozenges & cough syrup (non-narcotic). It was charged to our sea account & we paid. I submitted to my regular medical insurer who, surprisingly, picked up some of the cost. I sent their explanation of benefits along with the copy of the ships paperwork and the trip insurance paid quickly. We are planning our Mexican Riviera and have bought insurance again.

 

The 2 big things we care most about is medical coverage and evacuation coverage. We start comparing companies based on their plans that have good coverage for those and then look at what the rest of the policy offers and what they charge.

 

FYI: make multiple copies of everything relating to your claim.

[Mtn2Sea]

Like Jovernite, my DW got sick on a Med cruise, went to the ship's doctor for treatment & meds. The bill went to our onboard account, which we paid. Made copies of everything and sent it off with the claim form and got reimbursed pretty quickly. On that same cruise, a man fell during an excursion and ended up in surgery in Turkey. I'd love to hear from someone who's had a major mishap explain how well their insurance worked out.

[Kellie Poodle]

READ your travel insurance policy carefully. Mine, from Access America®, had language that said that if there was any damaged luggage or valuables, I had to contact the airline, hotel, tour company, or whomever else was responsible for the damage within 24 hours of the actual damage.

 

I had a situation where my netbook computer was damaged beyond repair by TSA inspectors when I was screened for a flight boarding at 7:30 AM on a Wednesday. I did not arrive at my destination in Barcelona, Spain until after 9 AM on Thursday. It was when I got to my hotel that I realized my computer was broken. Though I immediately called the travel insurance company, and followed their directions to call the airline who then told me to contact TSA via their web site, the company has denied my claim because I “failed to contact TSA within 24 hours of when the damage occurred.” I was on a plane and didn't know the item was damaged!

 

Their clock started ticking from before I boarded the first plane. They refused to account for the time I was in the air and between the airport and hotel, not to mention the shift in time zones.

 

This company provided me secondary coverage and there is still a chance, though quite slim, that I will recover something from TSA, however I want you all to see the kind of tricks some travel insurance companies can play on consumers. Everything was fine with them until I insisted I file a claim just in case TSA took longer than 90 days to get back to me. Once they saw that there might be a necessity for them to pay, they dropped the claim.

 

Consider what would happen if you were on a long flight, like to Australia, and your luggage is damaged in transit. Should your claim be denied because it conceivably happened more than 24 hours earlier and you didn’t contact the airline until after you got off the plane and found the luggage was damaged?

 

The company I’ve chosen for our next trip has the provision to contact them “as soon as possible”. I called and asked what would have happened in the same situation with them and they would not have kicked out the claim because I reported it in a reasonable time.

 

Be careful of exclusionary language. If you are not sure, call the insurance company and ask them to explain the language in the provisions.

[hbear]

Has anyone ever had to collect on their trip insurance? Did the companies pay off? What type of problems did you have? Learning other peoples' experiences will be helpful for any of us who have the misfortune to need to collect on their insurance--please share your experiences!

 

At the age of 50, my husband and I decided it was time to start insuring our cruises. Just one week before our Panama Canal cruise I urged my DH to see his physician because he was coughing a lot. It was cancer. This was the first time we purchased insurance and we were so glad we did!

 

I am now cruising with a new partner who never believed in insurance. I insist on it! And we purchase medical, evacuation, and cancellation.

 

BTW, my husband and I were reimbursed every penny we put into that cruise.

 

DJ

[Islanderman]

Take a look at the thread "Not the way I wanted the cruise to end ..." on the Princess board. There are some lessons there. After I read about the ordeal that the insurer put Pam's BIL through, I went out and purchased a Medjet assist membership. I don't know if there are any other medical evacuation plans that will get you to a hospital of your choosing. Hope we never need to use it, but it takes some of the worry out of traveling as we grow older.

 

Rich

[Olivares]

I had to used the travel insurance that we bought with the Berkely Group due to emergency surgery 5 days before cruise departure. It could not have been an easier application and process overall. I was returned every penny minues cost of insurance ($79/pp).