Wondering if you need travel insurance? The answer is yes because....

[SB2788]

I always insure my vacations..

 

This time however, I decided not to because it was so cheap and somewhat close to home. I was able to sail from a port 20 minutes away from me and am only cruising for 4 days to Canada. One of my tickets was free due to my Carnival MasterCard. For the past few days, i have been toying around with the idea of insuring or not insuring my trip. I received a quote for $88 for three people and left it in my inbox..

 

However, after reading this article, I purchased the insurance. There is no telling what can go wrong. I've known friends who have gone on vacation only to find out mid-cruise that a loved one has passed away and they needed to go home for the funeral. They did not have insurance. Recently, a friend of mine flew down to pick up the ship. While going through the embarkation process, they learned that someone back home had died. They did not have insurance and for some odd reason ended up taking the cruise anyhow...

 

For the medical coverage alone, it's worth it! Trip interruption and baggage coverage is just icing on the cake.

[halos]

Booked a cruise yesterday and this thread was a nice reminder...so I just purchased through insuremytrip.

Peace of mind is a wonderful thing..... :)

[cruisinmeme]

we don't take additional insurance as our health ins. covers us anywhere in the world and covers medivacs .

 

never leave your job.... you are one lucky sucker. very few insurance's cover out of the country, much less medivac's

[cruisinmeme]

Who did you take out your insurance with? And, is it too late if you have already booked your cruise and will be leaving within 3 weeks? I want to add it now after reading all the insurance post!!

we have used insuremytrip.com many times.for our feb. 2011 cruise it is with insuremytrip.com and the plan we chose is

travelex max. i just check out each plan and see what suites my needs. we never fly, so all that part of missed flights,etc is useless to us. i go with the medivac mostly (this policy is for one MILLION.

for our december 2009 cruise my daughter picked a plan that covered the swine flu.

i have started getting the policy as soon as i book the cruise so it will cover pre-exis. it is not too late to get insurance, just check the different ones and see what suites your needs. carnival's insurance is bare bone and actually cost more than most of the plans thru insuremytrip.com

DON'T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT.

[Sargent_Schultz]

never leave your job.... you are one lucky sucker. very few insurance's cover out of the country, much less medivac's

 

 

MANY insurance companies cover outside of the United States - depends on your policy. I think it is true that most people don't read their insurance policies, including trip insurance, and have no clue what is covered, is it primary, do you need to pay up front and recover later, what notification is required and what proof is needed, etc.

 

My regular insurance policy is up to $5 million lifetime and I still have nearly that much left.

 

Carnival's insurance is really adequate - just that is costs more than what many people can arrange on their own. One of the reasons it costs more is that there is no age discrimination so the risk is shared by all. The older you get, the more sense the policy through Carnival makes - particularly if you are interested in trip cancellation insurance due to illness or even death.

[cherbear4000]

before by last cruise, i asked my health ins rep about medical emergency/medvac in other countries and cruise ship. she assured me it was covered at the non-network provider rate

[Kerryman50]

Annual policy does up to $100k.

 

Similar policy is available here:

https://www.globaltravelshield.com/rootGTS/GTS1001.jsp

We just took out the Deluxe Plan. It's all about peace of mind.

[T. Advisor King]

in the world i live in 22,000 is ACTUALLY alot of money. to add to that my insurance only pays 80%, also an out of network clause (paying at 50% only) to me it is all adding up to big bucks.

people do need to wake up and pay the insurance. thinking nothing of running up a liquor bill and other needless crap and don't spend money on insurance. our upcoming cruise the cost of really good insurance is 216.00 if i can't afford that i need to stay home.

 

I think the poster's point about the fact that the ultimate cost was $22,000, not $200,000 was that it can be the difference between having a significant debt to be paid off over time and being wiped out. Many cruise passengers wouldn't be wiped out by a $200k bill, but very few would not be significantly hurt by it. By contrast, a $22,000 bill would result in about the equivalent of a car payment -- which hardly compares to being wiped out. Put it this way, how many cruise passengers would have to file for personal bankruptcy if they suddenly incurred a $22,000 medical bill? How does that number change if the amount is $200,000?

 

If all you are looking for is medical insurance there is no need to buy more expensive trip insurance which can include extra coverage for things you don't care about.

I don't fool with trip insurance.

 

My regular group medical covers me worldwide and I have a backup annual medical that covers me whenever more than 150 miles from home, also worldwide. The backup plan is about $120 per year.

 

Many policies will have preexisting condition clauses and it is common for policies to exclude anything that occurs while under the influence of alcohol or other substances.

 

Medicare covers nothing outside of the country.

 

Thanks for making this point. I don't know how many times I've gone through the exercise of explaining the difference between trip cancellation insurance and medical insurance. It's sort of like the difference between buying collision insurance and third-party liability insurance if you drive a beater.

 

Trip cancellation "insures" you against the prospect of not being able to go on a trip you paid for -- "oh, what a bummer". Medical insurance covers you from potentially being wiped out by an adverse medical event. I never leave home without out-of-jurisdiction medical insurance.

[martyap]

Travel insurance (I use Travelex) covers lots of things in addition to any medical catastrophe those traveling might suffer.

I had to cancel a cruise last February because a non traveling family member took ill right before we were going to sail........Travelex covered all my losses. If you purchase your insurance within the specified time (14-21 days) of making your initial deposit pre-existing medical conditions are waived (and that includes family members not traveling).

 

I was also on a 16 day TA with friends who never got their luggage. Insurance covered the cost of the clothing they had to purchase along the way. A simple thing like that could certainly stink up any trip!:eek:

 

For the very low cost I think it's important.......and out of our many trips I've only put in the one claim.:)

[nbsjcruiser]

and its not just medical either. On our Valor cruise our flight from Portland Maine to Miami was cancelled due to the massive storm in the northeast back in March. Without going into too much detail, we ended up grabbing a cab from Portland to Boston to get a catchup flight and when we arrived in Florida, they couldn't get us to Miami and we had to cab it from Palm Beach to Miami. All our expenses ($600) were covered. Additionally, when we arrived in Florida our luggage did not. We ended up having to shop for some clothes for our cruise - again all expenses ($1000) covered.

 

We've cruised 7 times and bought insurance each time for around $275.

 

275x7=$1925. Expenses for one missed flight, $1600. So in effect, I've paid $325 for 7 cruises to cover any medical issues up to $5,000,000. Sounds like a deal to me.

[mike2000]

I learned the hard way. 10 years ago we had a land vacation planed. My 16 year old got sick and was in icu for 7 weeks. we lost all money prepaid for that trip.After that we always get travel insurance. 3 years ago My dad became sick and passed on what would have been the 3rd day of our cruise.We didn't go on the cruise because he was verry sick and in ICU. we got all our money back on that trip. I don't care who you are,things can go wrong.I don't travel without travel Insurance sence my Daughter got sick 10 years ago.

[halos]

 

I was also on a 16 day TA with friends who never got their luggage. Insurance covered the cost of the clothing they had to purchase along the way. A simple thing like that could certainly stink up any trip!:eek:

 

For the very low cost I think it's important.......and out of our many trips I've only put in the one claim.:)

 

I have to say that although for us, needing to be airlifted may be a minute risk...and cancelling is also a minor risk, that we have had numerous luggage issues over the years. (Airlines...:rolleyes: You would think now that they charge you for your luggage, they'd take better care of it :rolleyes:)

Even though losing a suitcase full of clothing would certainly not bankrupt me, I do like the idea of having that covered as well as the piece of mind that I have some cancellation money guaranteed me.

 

I purchased a minimum policy. If I should cancel, I will recoup 1/2 my money (That's if I cancel after I have paid my final balance. If I cancel before I pay the final balance, then I'll see all my investment back)...But the lost luggage, travel delay and medical coverage are all excellent.

The cost of my insurance was $91 for two of us. Well worth the piece of mind.

 

We never used to take out insurance...the older we get, the more necessary it becomes. We have parents in their 70's. You never know what's going to happen to possibly change your plans.

[redskin80]

I am glad that I have never needed my insurance but I do purchase this each time, even with the Land Vacation to Hawaii a few years back. You just never kow when you are going to need the insurance. Like most times you pay for it and never use but then there would be that one time,,,,,,,, I never want to know

[Sdallnct]

We always buy insurance. Tho we have always bought from the respective cruise line. I'm intrigued about 3rd party coverage.

 

We always buy for about 50% medical and 50% we have to cancel. Due to what I for my company I work for, it is possible for them to "ask" me (really tell me) I have to cancel even pre-approved vacation. Now if they do this, they will reimburse me for any out of pocket expenses. But having the insurance backs me it and doesn't cost my company a ridiculous amount of many if I do have to cancel for work.

 

On about 10 or so cruises, had to cancel twice and used the insurance both times.

[Lyncruiser]

It's important to buy travel medical insurance in time to take advantage of the waiver of pre-existing conditions. In the case of the woman in the article, if she'd had insurance, the insurer most likely would have argued that the kidney stone was a pre-existing condition that existed at the time she bought the insurance. So, even if she'd had insurance, most likely only if she'd had the pre-existing condition waiver would she have had coverage-- particularly if she's ever had a kidney stone before.

 

Beyond that, although $200k of costs are claimed it seems that $22k was the cost directly related to the Cayman hospital and the medical evacuation. So, failure to have insurance is not as catastrophic as the headline would suggest.

 

Moreover, most private insurance obtained through one's employer will cover some of the cost toward foreign care and some of the cost of medical evacuation. It would be interesting to know what the ultimate cost would have been that a travel insurer would have borne.

 

It's also important to note when purchasing travel insurance whether the coverage is primary, secondary or tertiary. Primary is best. Except for evacuation, most travel insurance provides secondary or tertiary medical expense coverage -- and often up to a maximum of $10k. With anything but primary, the insured will have to pay up front, submit the claim to one's regular medical insurer, see what is paid and then submit the remainder to the secondary insurer and so on.

 

Having said all that, I am a firm believer in insurance. We purchase it for cruises mostly due to the concern about an at sea evacuation costing $100k. A rarity, I know, but with elderly parents, not something I'm willing to risk.

 

Just be sure to purchase it in time to get the pre-existing condition waiver. Otherwise, you can plan that your policy only covers accidents, because with any other medical problem, the insurer will claim it was a pre-existing condition -- this goes for heart attack, appendicitis, kidney stones, blood clots, etc.

[nbsjcruiser]

[quote name='Lyncruiser']It's important to buy travel medical insurance in time to take advantage of the waiver of pre-existing conditions. In the case of the woman in the article, if she'd had insurance, the insurer most likely would have argued that the kidney stone was a pre-existing condition that existed at the time she bought the insurance. So, even if she'd had insurance, most likely only if she'd had the pre-existing condition waiver would she have had coverage-- particularly if she's ever had a kidney stone before.
.[/QUOTE]

Not really. A pre-existing condition is one that you are currently being treated for or that you knew existed. Using your argument, a heart attack in an otherwise healthy person was a pre-existing condition because it didn't just happen, it was building for years one could argue.

I don't understand this pre-existing condition logic that most in the US seem to fall under. We book with Blue Cross every year and pre-existing conditions are covered if there has been no change in your condition or treatment within 60 days of travel. We book a yearly plan for around $300 that covers us for an unlimited number of 15 day (or less) trips. Pre-existing conditions are not covered if and only if your condition or treatment has changed 60 days prior to travel or your doctor has advised against travel.