trip insurance: yea or nay?

[pe4all]

I'm on the website for the same company mention above and just about every option has an adendum beneath it that says.. "residents of new york state may not purchase the cancel for any reason upgrade", as well as "residents of new york state..."cancel for work reason upgrade...or may not purchase "medivac to your choice of hospital upgrade".

Now being a resident of NY state... um... hmmm... what gives??? :(

I'm even more confused now.

NY seems to have some interesting rules. When I put a claim in for Travelguard last December (daughter taken off CCL Dream to hospital in Belize - we spent 3 days there) they said NY was one of only a handful of states where you had to put in the claim thru your primary private insurance first, then Travelguard would cover the rest. Took months to sort out - but we got back ALL our money. (hospital bills, dr. bills, lost cruise days, flights back to U.S., hotel, food, etc.) Cost $308 for the policy to cover 4 "adults." (Travelguard Gold assist) Saved us $5,000 out of pocket expenses. I book a vacation, I book trip insurance with my next phone call. As we usually book cruises at least 1 year in advance, and have elderly/ill family members, and my vacations are expensive, as they are taken during prime school vacation time, I have some back-up "just in case."

[bythehex]

Travel insurance is a hot button topic for a lot of people, some who think because such and such never happened to them it never will. My mother died unexpectedly while we were on a cruise - we never thought that would happen either. It's up to everyone individually to decide whether they want to spend a little extra for peace of mind or not.

 

We always get travel insurance. My travel insurance covers accidental death and dismemberment, baggage delay, baggage and personal effects loss, emergency assistance, missed connection, medical or dental expense, trip cancellation, travel delay, trip interruption, missed port of call, and cancellation for any reason. I do not purchase through the cruise line, this is from an outside company called CSA.

 

The reason I purchase through an outside company is because most of the times we fly to a cruise we book the airline tickets ourselves, and if we just got cruise insurance through the cruiseline, we wouldn't be covered for the air portion.

 

My recommendation for insurance is to do your homework. There are so many companies to choose from - CSA, Travelex, Travel Guard, etc. Research companies, see what they have to offer, check their rates, and decide what's right for you.

 

But most importantly, enjoy your cruise! :D

[GTO-Girl]

Always buy it......

Never had to use it.....

Hope I never do......:D

[Lazz]

I always purchase trip cancellation and interuption. One cruise, my Father in Law had a massive heart attack back home. We had to leave the ship in Cozumel and fly back to Cincinnati (we drove to Baltimore to embark). The insurance paid for the unused cruise, first class plane tickets (no coach available), food, rental car, my air flight to Baltimore to get my car, and an overnight hotel stay for the drive back.

 

Never take a cruise without it.

[slowpoke58]

We purchase trip insurance within two weeks of down payment in order to include "cancel for any reason" insurance, but the main reason for buying it is for the med vac coverage. The cost of a medical evacuation is HUGE!

 

We have always taken it out until this trip, I don't know why I forgot to do so, but I did, and now, because it is after the 15 days, we would not be covered with pre-existing conditions. But I am still thinking about taking it out, even just to pay for the cruise in case we have to cancel.

 

But we will get it through insuremytrip. it is a lot cheaper.

[cruising3times]

We purchase trip insurance within two weeks of down payment in order to include "cancel for any reason" insurance, but the main reason for buying it is for the med vac coverage. The cost of a medical evacuation is HUGE!

 

Same with us, we always purchase it for the medical evacation. I talked to someone who's brother did not have this and his medical evacation flight back home was 55,000 dollars, fortunately their health insurance provider paid a large portion of it but they still had to pay some. It is something you hope you never need to use, but it is important to have.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

We have always taken it out until this trip, I don't know why I forgot to do so, but I did, and now, because it is after the 15 days, we would not be covered with pre-existing conditions. But I am still thinking about taking it out, even just to pay for the cruise in case we have to cancel.

 

But we will get it through insuremytrip. it is a lot cheaper.

 

not knowing when you booked so just throwing this out there. If you just missed the cutoff date Travelex covers pre existing conditions if you buy the insurance within 21 days instead of 14.

 

Bill

[Cruiseme1979]

Consider looking at squaremouth.com. They list multiple policies/companies that must past squaremouth's customer satisfaction criteria or the companies are removed from their listings.

[smc0320]

ok...so mybe I am stupid.....I cannot figure out how to use insure my trip dot com.......HOW do you know which plan is suitable to cover a basic cruise? i know everyone will say "it's otally up to you" but which plan is best for most people...covers 90% of people....??

[kbmeow]

We buy it more for the medical than the cancel part. We have never needed it but we have it. It is like car insurance you have it and hope you never need to use it. We can handle the 1200 we would loose if we didn't make the vacation but could not handle the medical stuff if it happened

[murcielago]

Nay!

 

Only done it once when we had a flight to Italy on Alitalia. There was a rumor of possible reorganization and strikes, so we decided to purchase insurance through American Express.

[yesaccasey]

Never have. And never have had an issue. You want to use it in high risk situations. If there is a likely chance something will go wrong, then buy it.

[GlendaleCruiser]

I always take out trip insurance. Not just for cancellations, but for lost luggage, missing the ship, strikes, and most importantly, medical evacuation.

 

I've heard too many horror stories of people taken off by helicopter to the tune of $20,000+ and the price of peace and comfort is a small one to pay.

 

My corporate health insurance does not cover me on pleasure travel outside the USA.

 

It cost me $182 for the trip to Spain and Italy for the Med cruise (15 days), but only $130 for 14 days to Hawaii because we will be near US cities for the most part, except for the Ensenada stop.

[shippmates]

We never purchased travel insurance until after our cruise on QM2. I passed out and cut the bridge of my nose and the side of my forehead at my eye. I needed stitches, they did blood tests and also an EKG. Could not find any reason for this but the bill was almost $1k. Luckily my health insurance reimbursed all but my deductible. We now purchase insurance but you still must be able to cover the expenses before you leave the ship.

[retiredgram]

I was to take my son and his family to airport to catch a cruise ship out of Miami and that morning his father-n-law passed away. Trip insurance reimbursed for cruise and airlines gave credit to be used in 2 years.

 

Husband got severe hives on cruise and had to be treated by ship's doctor to the tune of $800 + . Was reimbursed by insurance.

 

We never leave home without it. You just never know.

[soazlaney]

We do not buy trip insurance.

 

In over 25 years of vacations & cruising I have never needed it. So at this point, if I have to miss a trip because of an emergency, I figure that I am still coming out ahead considering the thousands of dollars I did not spend on trip insurance.

 

If I was taking a $10,000+ trip, I would probably do it. But not for cruises that we usually spend under $2,000 on.

 

My husband fell and broke his leg/hip in our cabin on the Pearl last April. We were airlifted from Guatemala to our home city so he could get surgery. The airlift cost was $36,000. The surgery and hospital stay about $43,000. Since we had purchased really good travel insurance , at a cost of $457. our contribution to those bills was ZERO!

 

Travel insurance isn't only for cancellation. It became irrelevant how much the cruise cost the second he fell. We have spent far less on the insurance than this fall could have cost us.

 

Needless to say we will ALWAYS buy cruise insurance for every cruise.

 

Safe cruising everyone :)

[keiann]

I just purchased Travel Guard Gold from insure my trip dot com. My sister refuses to purchase, but guess what, she's covered because it was cheap enough for me to pay for hers. I just cannot see traveling without it, having parents and others at home with medical issues and myself being a diabetic.

[runamuc]

Patriot T.R.I.P.® Elite by IMG does cover pre exisiting conditions as long as nothing has changed medically within the 60 days prior to you purchasing the insurance . This does not have to be purchased within so many days of booking. I booked my cruise 15 months out so they won't even sell the insurance for it yet. I have pre existing medical conditions so I would never travel with out it.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Yes always