Carnival insurance or another company?

[musicgal]

We'll probably never travel uninsured again now that we're in our 50's. I've fainted twice this year (for innocuous reasons such as having blood drawn) and my husband has had some adventures in the rafters of the garage. Chronic conditions notwithstanding- a case of food poisoning or accident would be a lot different now than it was 20 years ago. I don't want to go into debt to pay off an expensive medevac for a $2000 cruise.

I think it is wise to get what you need- we took an adventure sports waiver for the 20 somethings in our group- good for us too in case we want to hang glide (won't happen). And we bumped up to a mil for evac and hospital of choice. I'm not worried about suitcases so much or change of itinerary athough that's covered in My Travel Guard base plan. We did not take cancel for any reason. It's really quite a personalized thing, no matter who you choose. Happy cruising-

[ehfl]

You're right that Carnival's program is not as comprehensive as other cruise lines.

 

When booking through Carnival, we always get 3rd party insurance. Check the "cancel for any reason" provisions.

[Sargent_Schultz]

Carnival's insurances is group insurance where the risk is shared by all and it could be the best deal depending on your age.

[cfand3boyz]

I began searching for other options once I found out Carnival charges $49 per person. We have a family of 5 so that would really add up. Anyway, many people posted about Travel Guard. I called them and found out that kids are covered for free under their parents policy. So $79 for a family of 5 is not bad. I feel confident that we will have the same good experience with Travel Guard if a situation pops up.

[rickcop44]

majosa, you have to forgive some people on these boards. There will always be those who think that anyone who posts here is well educated about cruising and its associated costs and if a question is asked, it must be a stupid question. Forgive them - they know not what they do.

 

Okay, that's complete, I have found that as I get older, my insurance needs change. Another issue is your location. I see you're in Texas so this may not be an issue. I live in the mountains and flying in the winter always proves an interesting challenge. Twice in the last three years, I've had the first part of my flight canceled, once due to an ice storm in Dallas and once because Atlanta got an inch of snow and Delta canceled my ticket as a result. I had Travel Guard the first incident and they denied my claim when I ended up having to purchase airfare on another airline to get to my cruise. Last year, when Delta canceled my flight, I submitted a claim to my carrier, CSA, and I had a check within a month. Certainly, one important part of any policy is, how do I get reimbursed if I have to cancel my cruise. Some folks mentioned a cruise credit. If my plan is to just book another cruise anyway, then I'm happy with a credit. I've already spent the money so why not take the reimbursement in the form of a credit? But others may want the money.

 

Pre-existing coverage is also important. Most policies will waive pre-existing if you purchase a policy within a certain, specified time frame, often within 48-72 hours of booking the cruise and putting your deposit down. Some policies provide pre-existing coverage regardless of when you purchase, but you may pay a premium for such coverage. Bottom line? Make a list of what coverages are important to you, then look at the policies online. Do a word search in the policies of the coverages/conditions that are important to you. For example, you mentioned diabetes. Search the policies for diabetes and read the coverage.

 

For my cruise next week, I chose Carnival's policy. Is it as good as other policies offered for sale online? Yes and no. Mine offers me the choice a monetary refund or a credit in the event of a cancellation. It also includes a pre-existing condition waiver because I purchased it at the time I booked my cruise with Carnival.

 

One poster mentioned comparing apples to apples and not apples to oranges. Sound advice. Happy cruising!

[klmorg]

It is very confusing as they all seem to be a bit different in one or more coverage limits. I have been looking at it today.

 

Also have to think about what you have for health insurance at home and will that cover things when out of the US. I also have a high deductible insurance plan to think about.

 

Initially I was thinking about getting insurance that was Primary but I think that is actually a negative when my normal insurance is high deductible.

 

So I went with Travel Safe. It's secondary but will cover my out of pocket expenses that I have with my main insurance. Plus high limit for medical and very good medical evac coverage.

 

Might even be over insured if my normal insurance would cover things. But it was only about $20 more than plans with much lower limits so that is what I went with.

 

We were very pleased with TravelSafe. They were our carrier back when DH had a heart attack on board the Liberty a few years ago. It cost us $41PP then, and our expenses were HUGEMONGOUS (debark in Grand Cayman, ambualnce to Cayman Islands hospital, air ambulance to Miami, hotels, transportation, meals, yada, yada). They handled everything very well & quickly. All expenses were covered & paid in full by either regular health insurance or TravelSafe within a couple weeks of submission.

[valtandc]

I have looked at others and compared. I wanted opinions as what others have used and thought was better. This is a board and people can ask for help. I got the information on this site about a site to go to that compared. But i wanted to see what others could say was better

 

LOL. I loved that you posted this. I ask and answer questions on this board and others. This board is for asking question and offering tips. Comments like: "do research". isn't this board part of the research? lol. thanks for posting this!

[cooltch]

We've used Access America and been very pleased . typically cheaper than cruise lines, varying levels of policies... And kids are free under parent purchasing policy. I like how I can include all variables in my trip... Cruise, airfare, hotel...and on some trips I have a rental car... That's covered. In addition, since we use American Express to pay for our trips (initially) I have baggage insurance via Amex.