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Excerpt from Canadian Newspaper article

“Most policies I’m familiar with bury this provision deeply into the weeds,” he said. “Since so many trips these days are done on reward points, insurers should be up front about these kinds of limitations.”

In his view, trip cancellation policies are the most poorly explained and misunderstood travel products in the market.

“They are full of exclusions, limitations and contradictions. You really need a roto-rooter to get to the heart of what is covered and what is not.”

http://www.moneyville.ca/article/1051517--roseman-a-couple-s-costly-travel-insurance-mistake?bn=1

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I already posted this question but I realized that I should have posted it under the Canadian thread. Plus I haven't been getting much response.

 

I am in the process of getting insurance quotes for our upcoming cruise vacation. I am aged 33 and my DH is 40. We will be travelling for a total of 16 days as we are doing a B2B cruise along with 3 nights pre cruise in Fort Lauderdale. Our total incurred expenses is around $3000 per person.

 

I have gotten quotes from a few different places including insuremytrip.ca and I honestly didn't think it would be so expensive. After some review, I have narrowed it down to the 2 best plans I found.

 

Freedom Travel Insurance - This same policy was quoted to me by 2 seperate agencies.

  • $176 per person for the All Inclusive plan which includes $5 million medical along with trip cancellation/interupption and baggage.
  • $156 per person for the non-medical package

TravelSafe - Vacation Classic Plan

  • $136 per person for the All Inclusive plan

I should also mention that I am a multi-visceral transplant recipient but I have been stable for the past 3-4 years with no medication changes for the past 6 months.

 

We do have up to $1 million of medical coverage through my husbands work health plan but they can't confirm whether we would be covered on a cruise?? This doesn't make me feel very comfortable so with my complex medical history, I think I would feel more comfortable having a back-up plan. I just found his work plan to sound more basic.

 

So my question is: Are the quotes I received above resonable? I am aware that if something were to happen then yes, it is well worth it. But I just wanted to make sure I am not overpaying.

 

I am also trying to figure out which plan is the best to go with. Of course the cost of TravelSafe is more appealing, but cheaper is not always better. Quite frankly I find all the policy wording to be a little confusing :confused:

Edited by Misty_Que
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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this question or not, so please forgive me if it should go elsewhere. I have a insurance question that I am hoping for some advice on.

 

We are booked on a Carnival cruise leaving in November.

 

My husband was just told that his company may go on strike. He is management and has been told that all vacations would be cancelled - no exceptions. The problem is, we don't know the timing for the strike. It could be any date from next week to next year.

 

Carnival's insurance will not cover us for this. Had we added in the insurance before our final payment (we didn't know this as our booking agent told us we had up to 2 weeks prior to sailing to add in the insurance), we would have been able to cancel for any reason and would have got 75% back towards a future cruise.

 

Does anyone know of a insurance company that would cover this type of cancellation? I'm praying that we can travel as planned but am trying to be prepared in case we can't.

 

Thanks for any and all help!

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I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this question or not, so please forgive me if it should go elsewhere. I have a insurance question that I am hoping for some advice on.

 

We are booked on a Carnival cruise leaving in November.

 

My husband was just told that his company may go on strike. He is management and has been told that all vacations would be cancelled - no exceptions. The problem is, we don't know the timing for the strike. It could be any date from next week to next year.

 

Carnival's insurance will not cover us for this. Had we added in the insurance before our final payment (we didn't know this as our booking agent told us we had up to 2 weeks prior to sailing to add in the insurance), we would have been able to cancel for any reason and would have got 75% back towards a future cruise.

 

Does anyone know of a insurance company that would cover this type of cancellation? I'm praying that we can travel as planned but am trying to be prepared in case we can't.

 

Thanks for any and all help!

 

Not now that the potential strike is imminant. Insurance is to cover unforeseen events. This event is no longer unforeseen. Insurance companies don't stay in business very long if they cover events that are likely to happen.

Sorry

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I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this question or not, so please forgive me if it should go elsewhere. I have a insurance question that I am hoping for some advice on.

 

We are booked on a Carnival cruise leaving in November.

 

My husband was just told that his company may go on strike. He is management and has been told that all vacations would be cancelled - no exceptions. The problem is, we don't know the timing for the strike. It could be any date from next week to next year.

 

Carnival's insurance will not cover us for this. Had we added in the insurance before our final payment (we didn't know this as our booking agent told us we had up to 2 weeks prior to sailing to add in the insurance), we would have been able to cancel for any reason and would have got 75% back towards a future cruise.

 

Does anyone know of a insurance company that would cover this type of cancellation? I'm praying that we can travel as planned but am trying to be prepared in case we can't.

 

Thanks for any and all help!

 

Now,,, what you CAN do if you don't want to lose all of your money is, for a fee, change 1 of the passengers to a friend or family member and you still go.

Not the best, but since you didn't buy insurance in a timely manner, this way, you don't lose everything.

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Not now that the potential strike is imminant. Insurance is to cover unforeseen events. This event is no longer unforeseen. Insurance companies don't stay in business very long if they cover events that are likely to happen.

Sorry

 

 

Thanks for your response. It's pretty much what I figured but I had been told that there may be coverage if insurance is purchased prior to a strike vote. I've had no luck with that either.

 

I'm hoping (and praying) things settle and we can travel as scheduled!

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Reading with interest the Canadian insurance threads. We are cruising in Jan 2012. Used my Aeroplan Points for the flight; but payinig for the NCL cruise to Hawaii and a 6 night post cruise stay at a villa on Oahu. My local Blue Cross agent said that he can't insure the air portion, because it was booked thru Aeroplan. Understood. However he is quoting me $278 for a one time trip cancellation/interruption with medical for both of us.

 

I am actually looking for an annual pan covering trip cancellation/interruption. We have Blue Cross medical plan which will cover our medical portion. Also, DH has high blood pressure, which would be pre-existing.

 

Can you CC experts direct me to a company with annual coverage? Thanks for all your help!

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There are several with annual coverage including the credit cards, however the CC coverages tend to be the most restrictive. The one I like the best is the McLaughlin Group offered by CARP but many will prefer RBC or other favourites such as the company recommended by the Canadian Snowbird Association ( Medipac ). If you look at the original post on this thread there is a list of various companies that you could check out.

Your DH's high BP will only be a pre-ex condition if it is not stable according to the definition contained in the specific policy that is bought. For most, if the condition has been stable for either 6 months or 3 months with no med changes then is will not be a pre-ex condition. Those definitions vary a bit so you have to read them in detail. One of the biggest variables is the length of the stability period. The only company I am aware of that offers a pre-ex condition waiver to Canadians with adequate coverages is TravelSafe, if the policy is purchased within 21 days of the initial trip deposit. You can buy pre-ex condition waivers through American companies but their medical coverages are very low, to low in MHO. I don't know if the Aeroplan offers cancellation insurance but suspect they might. I know that the Airmiles program does offer insurance for its reward bookings for flights.

 

Hope this helps

 

edit to add: I believe that most companies mentioned offer interruption / cancellation only. I would have to check though.

Edited by LiftLockCouple
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  • 1 month later...

This is a true story. I know the author of this story which was shared with us recently in a public forum. I do not know the insurance company but it illustrates that insurance is required and how the insurance comapny may deal with illness when out of Canada. It by exstension illustrates the potential costs of a claim and how important it is to be honest with the insurance company to avoid a claim denial. I don't know how large the claim will be but it could easily be greater than the coverage offered by many if not most American policies, with or without a pre-ex condition waiver.

here is what the individual wrote about their mothers situation. The family lives in southern Ontario but not Perterborough.

 

Unfortunately... they only just got down there last week and mom was rushed to the hospital with severe abdominal pain. They did some tests, and found a cyst on her pancreas. The Insurance company took over, and decided that they weren't going to treat her down there, and flew her, my dad, and a nurse back up to a Canadian hospital (Peterborough), where we are awaiting news of the biopsy.

A friend of theirs drove their vehicle, the dog, and all their stuff back up on the weekend, and then flew himself back down to Florida Monday.

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  • 2 weeks later...

In the past I've always got travel insurance included in the package when we book our trips but this time we booked directly with the cruise line and declined their coverage thinking we'd source out our own - never realizing we needed to act within 10 - 14 days (depending on the Insurance Co.) to qualify for the pre existing condition waiver.

I always assumed I was healthy and was horrified to find a number of places wouldn't even insure me because of a heart valve replacement over 20 years ago. All depends on the way they ask the questions on the medical form.

Finally spoke to a broker at Presidents Choice and was able to get a package for trip cancellation and emergency health coverage which had a 90 day stable proviso for pre-existing. Maybe there is still some fine print they might invoke if I ever have to make a claim but to the best of my awareness this seems to fit our needs. Next time we'll be more pro active and find insurance as soon as we book to save all this hassle. One of those learning curves encountered as we age!

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WoW !! :) Over 4000 reads since April. That amazes me. I hope all the folks reading this are finding helpful information. There haven't been very many posts other than my own so I am not sure how useful it has been, but 4000 reads seems like a lot to me. Have a great Christmas and safe travels wherever you go in 2012. I will continue to look for useful information regarding Travel and out-of-country medical insurance for Canadians to post here. I am not in the insurance or travel industry so I find info the same place as most do, in the media and on websites like this one.

 

Cheers

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  • 4 weeks later...

My brother in law ended up in a hospital in Mexico last spring. They had medical coverage through BCAA and my sister was so happy with their experience with BCAA she told me she would happily do an advertisement for them. It was a pretty stressful experience made a lot easier because of the way BCAA helped them out.

 

 

Freddieg

Edited by FreddieG
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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi! Thanks for creating a Canadian thread on this subject! I am curious about the Insurance that Carnival offers when booking. Does anyone have more info on that?

From what I have read through the threads/posts on Credit Cards.. it doesn't cover much. Should I look at CAA or Presidents Choice?

 

Here is the link for Carnivals Vacation Protection Insurance: CLICK HERE

 

When I read through CCL's VPInsurance plan.. it seems like sickness and evacuation costs, etc... are really LOW.. I would think that you could be charged much more than that for medical assistance???

 

Any thoughts? THANKS!

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Well, I did some reading and calling. Carnivals plan doesn't seem that good.. and it only gives you 75% back in a cruise credit if you cancel for any reason. The amounts given for coverage on emergency evac.. medical bills, etc.. seem way too low.

 

I called CAA... you buy coverage based on how much you have spent on your vacation (so if this includes Airfare and cruise or just cruise, etc) It seems okay. They don't offer any discounts for members as this is a contracted pricing structure through Manulife Financial.

 

Next up is PC Insurance (which I think is a relatively new product for them?!)

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Here are some other options as well. They are all reputable companies to the best of my knowledge. You can add to this list all of the major banks.

 

a) Primelink b) Primelink underwriters c) Travel Underwiters d) Travel and health care Solutions ( ETFS ) e) TIC f) Travel Guard canada G) CAA H) Sears J) Travelsafe Canada ( has a Pre-Ex Waiver option and cancel for any reason) K) Special Benefits Insurance Services.

Travel Underwriters has to be purchased through a third party such as insuremytrip.ca

 

good luck

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Well, I did some reading and calling. Carnivals plan doesn't seem that good.. and it only gives you 75% back in a cruise credit if you cancel for any reason.

 

Just to be clear, if you cancel for a covered reason you get reimbursed 100% in cash. It's only if you cancel for a non-covered reason that you are given the 75% credit toward a future cruise.

 

That 75% future cruise credit toward a future cruise is pretty standard for cruise line plans that include this coverage. Third-party plans that offer an optional "Cancel For Any Reason" benefit (not all do) will also usually limit their coverage to 75% of your penalties. However, they give you that in cash, not a future cruise credit. But they will also charge you on average 50% more over the basic premium whereas Carnival includes that benefit at no additional cost.

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  • 1 month later...

I have not seen the CBC MarketPlace program but another horror story appeared in the Toronto Star today. There are a couple of things of note.

One is, and I have said this before, read and answer the questions very carefully. The article notes that thousands of claims are denied every year for a variety of reasons. It is probably a good idea to get help but I have no idea who to suggest. I don't trust most TA's to help in that area. Perhaps someone can make a better suggestion of a reliable option when the helper doesn't have a divided loyalty between making the sale and being honest and complete on the form.

Second, The hospital LOWERED the bill by well over 50% when they learned that the patient was not actually covered. So tell me, what is the true cost of the care in a USA hospital? I have other antidotal evidence of this happening in US hospitals. Charge the Canadian insurance company top dollar but the uninsured get a HUGE break. Is it really a break or are the insurance companies being hosed. I suspect the latter.

Obviously the insurance companies and the hospitals know the game they are playing but the average applicant for insurance is often the victim of sneaky tactics by insurance companies trying to limit their costs. Apparently often due to over charging US hospitals.

To be fair, some of the "insured" are the victims of their own "innocence" of what is required of them or perhaps, simple wishful thinking which results in denial of an actual condition or blatant dishonesty. It pays to be honest with yourself and the insurance company. It also pays to know your own medical history in as much detail as possible.

As the article mentions this is sometimes not enough. The insurance companies do have the field tilted in their favour and an applicant doing their best to answer honestly is sometimes not enough. That has to be fixed. Having a case like this publicized in the national media often results in the correct payment by the insurance company just by shaming the shameless.

 

having said all of that here is the article. Also be sure to find the program on CBC Marketplace. Keep in mind though it is TV and they do like to embellish.

http://travel.sympatico.ca/TravelNews/contentposting_cbc?FeedName=CBC_LOCALNEWS&NewsItemID=vancouver-travel-insurance-marketplace&SID=43683

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I have not seen the CBC MarketPlace program but another horror story appeared in the Toronto Star today. There are a couple of things of note.

One is, and I have said this before, read and answer the questions very carefully. The article notes that thousands of claims are denied every year for a variety of reasons. It is probably a good idea to get help but I have no idea who to suggest. I don't trust most TA's to help in that area. Perhaps someone can make a better suggestion of a reliable option when the helper doesn't have a divided loyalty between making the sale and being honest and complete on the form.

Second, The hospital LOWERED the bill by well over 50% when they learned that the patient was not actually covered. So tell me, what is the true cost of the care in a USA hospital? I have other antidotal evidence of this happening in US hospitals. Charge the Canadian insurance company top dollar but the uninsured get a HUGE break. Is it really a break or are the insurance companies being hosed. I suspect the latter.

Obviously the insurance companies and the hospitals know the game they are playing but the average applicant for insurance is often the victim of sneaky tactics by insurance companies trying to limit their costs. Apparently often due to over charging US hospitals.

To be fair, some of the "insured" are the victims of their own "innocence" of what is required of them or perhaps, simple wishful thinking which results in denial of an actual condition or blatant dishonesty. It pays to be honest with yourself and the insurance company. It also pays to know your own medical history in as much detail as possible.

As the article mentions this is sometimes not enough. The insurance companies do have the field tilted in their favour and an applicant doing their best to answer honestly is sometimes not enough. That has to be fixed. Having a case like this publicized in the national media often results in the correct payment by the insurance company just by shaming the shameless.

 

having said all of that here is the article. Also be sure to find the program on CBC Marketplace. Keep in mind though it is TV and they do like to embellish.

http://travel.sympatico.ca/TravelNews/contentposting_cbc?FeedName=CBC_LOCALNEWS&NewsItemID=vancouver-travel-insurance-marketplace&SID=43683

 

Boy, same old story. How the Canadian insurers can get away with this is beyond me.

 

I'd suggest having your own personal physician fill out the form or supply the correct answers. Doing it yourself obviously leaves too much room for error.

Edited by cruiseco
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The following was posted today on another CC thread. This is important stuff to understand when you are completing medical forms for travel medical insurance. The poster in this case is a agent for RBC travel insurance.

"if anyone who fills out a medical questionnaire with RBC (you have to at 60 and up), and you fail to disclose a condition, you will not be covered for ANY medical condition that may come up. For instance, if you failed to disclose your cancer and broke your leg, you would not be covered."

I can tell you that this is something I did not understand. I have not yet had to complete any medical questionnaires.

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The following was posted today on another CC thread. This is important stuff to understand when you are completing medical forms for travel medical insurance. The poster in this case is a agent for RBC travel insurance.

"if anyone who fills out a medical questionnaire with RBC (you have to at 60 and up), and you fail to disclose a condition, you will not be covered for ANY medical condition that may come up. For instance, if you failed to disclose your cancer and broke your leg, you would not be covered."

I can tell you that this is something I did not understand. I have not yet had to complete any medical questionnaires.

 

The theory behind this is that a premium isn't quoted until the health questionnaire is submitted and reviewed. The insurer takes that info, crunches the numbers, and decides that Mr. Jones, based on the totality of his health history, should pay a premium of $X.

 

Mr. Jones subsequently has a medical claim at which time the insurer requests his full health information form his doctor. They discover that he mis-marked the health questionnaire and thus didn't disclose that he had been treated for some condition or another.

 

The Canadian insurers will now reason that this failure to disclose caused them to under-price the premium and thus they have been defrauded of their rightful premium and thus the contract/policy is void from the start.

 

Again, if I were buying one of these plans I would have my doctor fill out the application form so that what's on the application matches 100% with my patient records so when the insurer asks for those records (and they certainly will in the case of a claim) they can't hide behind a mis-match of the application and the actual health records.

Edited by cruiseco
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The person lady in question here were in Florida for the winter. She became ill and had to be admitted and then was flown home to Ontario. This was posted by her son, a person that I have met once this past July. For readers other than Canadians, Canadians flock by the thousands to warm states in the winter for obvious reasons. If they are smart they all buy insurance which is of course big money and big risk of claims. The insurance costs in the USA are probably the most expensive in the world. It seems obvious the insurance companies are doing everything to protect themselves at the expense of people like these here. This has to change. The part here about the cholesterol meds is unbelievable. I don't know which company they used and have not asked. In this case they have help in Florida to fight the case. In this case the bill was approx $100K.

 

anyway, re: the insurance.

First, the insurance that we get for a one week cruise in the caribbean is not as comprehensive as what snowbirds have to get for their 6 month coverage.

 

Its not even as simple as someone lying on the form about what service they have had or not.

For many seniors, as you read in that article today, who go south for up to 6 months at a time, the insurance is very expensive,

and the questionnaire is worded in such a way that most folks do not fill them out 100% correctly.

In my parents case they purchased the "Elite Insurance Pkg" when they should have purchased "Premium Insurance Pkg", according to the company.

Why? Because they had just visited the doctor for complete physicals and been given a clean bill of health.

So they listed all the medication that they were on also.

What they didn't put down was that 9 years ago, Mom was on cholesterol medication.

That required a change in the package, where that information would have been input, and that gave the insurance company the out.

 

The way these things are laid out, you almost need a lawyer to figure out in advance.

So, in my parents case, even though one thing is not related to the other, the insurance company is fighting it.

However, the lawyers for my parents found a loophole too.

Because the insurance company had directed the hospital to admit, administer, and conduct certain tests, THEY are therefore on the hook for hospital costs.

So now, Dad is down to $10,000. for the doctors fees. In the US doctors send fees seperately from the hospital.

They are negotiating to get it down

Edited by LiftLockCouple
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I personally live in Florida and I would have to be almost dead to go to the hospital here, with the average cost of an emergency room visit and tests hitting the 20k mark. I have kids and could never afford the bill :( Health insurance here for myself, my wife and 3 kids comes to about 1500 a month.

 

Crazy...

 

-M

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