Travel Insurance

[cruiseco]

Thanks for the replies regarding medical and medical evacuation coverage. I was leaning towards the higher coverage--especially since my husband will not be covered at all by Medicare.

 

Does anyone know the difference between CSA freestyle and CSA custom? They both have "luxe" policies. My TA quoted me the freestyle fees but I can only get the quotes for the Custom on insuremytrip and on the CSA site.

I tried to call CSA today, but they were closed for a company event.

 

Any other recommendations as far as a good company to go thru for travel insurance?

 

Thanks

 

The coverages on the Freestyle series of plans and the Custom series of plans is pretty much identical with one major difference -- with the Custom plans you have to step up to the Luxe version to get coverage for pre-existing medical conditions (and pay a higher premium). With the Freestyle plans the pre-ex exclusion waiver is available with both the standard and Luxe versions.

 

One other difference is the pricing formula. With the Freestyle plans offered through travel agents there are only two parameters used in determining the premium -- the trip cost to be insured and the age of the client. This means that the premiums can be printed on a brochure or posted on the agency's web site using a simple two-dimensional grid.

 

With the Custom plans the pricing is based on those two factors plus several more -- the traveler's residence (someone from Minnesota is more likely to have weather delays in February than someone from Florida), the destination (an emergency evacuation will cost more from Antarctica than Las Vegas), number of days from date of purchase to date of departure (a lot can happen in six months, less so in six weeks) and so on. While this gives a much more accurate way of pricing the policy to the actual risk of loss, it also makes it impossible to put the premiums in any printed form that a TA can pass out to clients. And it's almost impossible for a TA to give an accurate premium quote as the premium will change over time.

 

Depending on when you buy a policy either can be the better value (ignoring the unavailability of pre-ex coverage on the standard Custom plan). If you buy a Freestyle plan eight months prior to departure it will almost always be cheaper than a Custom plan. If you buy your policy a month before departure there's a good chance the Custom plan will be cheaper. This is why you won't see both series of plans on the large comparison sites like insuremytrip.com. CSA doesn't want people picking the less expensive option every time.

[lsok]

Thank you, Cruiseco for a very detailed and clear explanation. I was looking for the higher coverage for the medical coverage and medical evacuation. The luxe plans had that, however the freestyle luxe quoted by my TA was over $250 more than the Custom luxe that I saw on CSA website and insure my trip. The "regular" freestyle plan was only $10 less than the Custom luxe. It seems to me that the custom luxe with the increased coverage for medical and the pre-existing coverage would be the way to go.

 

Any downside to that? My TA has had positive experiences on claims with CSA and is sort of pushing that company.

 

thanks again

[cruiseco]

Thank you, Cruiseco for a very detailed and clear explanation. I was looking for the higher coverage for the medical coverage and medical evacuation. The luxe plans had that, however the freestyle luxe quoted by my TA was over $250 more than the Custom luxe that I saw on CSA website and insure my trip. The "regular" freestyle plan was only $10 less than the Custom luxe. It seems to me that the custom luxe with the increased coverage for medical and the pre-existing coverage would be the way to go.

 

Any downside to that? My TA has had positive experiences on claims with CSA and is sort of pushing that company.

 

thanks again

 

Assuming that either plan will cover what you need to have covered:

 

Would I spend $10 more for the Custom Luxe plan vs the standard Freestlye plan? Yes

 

Is there any downside? For you? No. For your TA? Yes. He/she is going to lose the commission but that's not your concern.

 

In my experience CSA does have good customer service. I've had a couple of claims with them over the years and everything was handled professionally. Even the one I had denied should have been denied -- just thought there was no harm in submitting the claim anyway.

[lsok]

Assuming that either plan will cover what you need to have covered:

 

Would I spend $10 more for the Custom Luxe plan vs the standard Freestlye plan? Yes

 

Is there any downside? For you? No. For your TA? Yes. He/she is going to lose the commission but that's not your concern.

 

In my experience CSA does have good customer service. I've had a couple of claims with them over the years and everything was handled professionally. Even the one I had denied should have been denied -- just thought there was no harm in submitting the claim anyway.

 

So the travel agent will only get a commission on the Freestyle? Can't she purchase the Custom Luxe for us and get her commission? I was considering the Custom Luxe since the medical coverage is more than the regular plan even though it is quoted per plan, not per person.

[cruiseco]

So the travel agent will only get a commission on the Freestyle? Can't she purchase the Custom Luxe for us and get her commission?

 

Normally not. A travel agency will have the option of offering the Freestyle plans or the Custom plan but not both. Since the plans are so similar in coverages CSA doesn't want the TA recommending a plan solely on which one has the cheapest premium. When the agency signs a contract with CSA to offer their products it has to choose one or the other based on the best fit with the agency and its clientele. Again, that's why when you go to the various online comparison sites you'll see the Freestyle or the Custom plans but not both.

 

That doesn't mean the TA can't sell you the Custom plan, it only means that he/she won't get paid a commission. However, if the agency does a lot of business with CSA it may be able to contact its sales rep and maybe get an exception.

[seaa]

Last fall I had an eye problem & was put off of HAL in Funchal,Madeira,Portugal. We used Travel Insured. We just found out that the trip interruption insurance did not cover the hotels & meals. Read between the lines to see what is left out of the coverage. They list what is covered. Don't make our mistake.

 

seaa

[cruiseco]

Last fall I had an eye problem & was put off of HAL in Funchal,Madeira,Portugal. We used Travel Insured. We just found out that the trip interruption insurance did not cover the hotels & meals. Read between the lines to see what is left out of the coverage. They list what is covered. Don't make our mistake.

 

seaa

 

Wow. Are you sure about that? Obviously, I don't know all of your details but the following is from the trip interruption benefit description from their most popular plan:

 

"The Company will pay for reasonable additional meals, lodging, and transportation expenses incurred by You up to $200 a day if Your Traveling Companion must remain hospitalized or if You must extend the Trip with additional hotel nights due to a Physician certifying You cannot fly home due to an Accident or a Sickness but does not require hospitalization or if Your Trip must be extended due to an Unforeseen event listed under TRIP CANCELLATION"

 

They have numerous plans and they are not all exactly alike but that seems pretty comprehensive.

[DKK47]

Sometimes we purchase it, sometimes not; depends on how expensive the trip. But we had children and grandchildren along and wanted the access to medical care or medical evacuation that travel insurance can provide. Happily no one needed any medical care; but we were stranded in Seattle after our cruise when Hurricane Irene closed all the northeast airports. The trip insurance was wonderful; the customer service very helpful and payment so prompt. We'll be steady customers.

 

Would you tell us who wants the insurance company ?

[T_Bone2012]

Are there advantages to buying travel insurance when you book (11 months out) or is it best to purchase right before final payment?

[D4]

Are there advantages to buying travel insurance when you book (11 months out) or is it best to purchase right before final payment?

 

I purchase insurance within a couple weeks of booking. This gets us the pre-existing condition waiver and we can get the cancel for any reason option.

 

Even if you don't have medical problems, you don't know when you might develop some. Also if something happens like an Icelandic volcano shutting down flights, hurricanes, or an airline going out of business/striking, it is too late to purchase insurance.

[sirwired]

Are there advantages to buying travel insurance when you book (11 months out) or is it best to purchase right before final payment?

 

If you are pretty sure you won't be cancelling on a whim (and not re-scheduling), there is no reason to wait to buy the insurance. As D4 pointed out, there are things like pre-exsisting condition waivers that are often only available to early insurance purchasers.

 

Even if you aren't getting a pre-exsisting condition waiver, the pre-ex clock is set based on insurance purchase date. It'd really stink to lose coverage for problems with your heart because, after years of no changes, your doc adjusted (or put you on) cholesterol meds a couple of months from now.

[T_Bone2012]

I purchase insurance within a couple weeks of booking. This gets us the pre-existing condition waiver and we can get the cancel for any reason option.

 

Even if you don't have medical problems, you don't know when you might develop some. Also if something happens like an Icelandic volcano shutting down flights, hurricanes, or an airline going out of business/striking, it is too late to purchase insurance.

 

That's funny you mentioned the volcano- We were scheduled to go to London - Paris back in April of 2010. We did NOT have insurance, and I had accepted the fact that we were going to take a bath. We were scheduled leave on a Friday - and the airports suddenly opened back up the day before! We had a fabulous time - as there were virtually NO tourists. I also decided that we would buy trip insurance from now on!