Cruise insurance for longer cruises

[goodroe]

We are taking our first Grand cruise next January and have been researching insurance. We usually get HAL insurance, but after reading on the boards about pros and cons, am not sure it would be best. The pluses seem to be later payment date and the 90% refund. One of the negatives is the med evac coverage. My DH and I are in our 60s and 70s and in good health, but there's always the unexpected.

 

I did check the cruise insurance board, but found mainly information about insurance for shorter cruises.

 

Thanks. I appreciate any information.

[andeesue]

We are taking our first Grand cruise next January and have been researching insurance. We usually get HAL insurance, but after reading on the boards about pros and cons, am not sure it would be best. The pluses seem to be later payment date and the 90% refund. One of the negatives is the med evac coverage. My DH and I are in our 60s and 70s and in good health, but there's always the unexpected.

 

I did check the cruise insurance board, but found mainly information about insurance for shorter cruises.

 

Thanks. I appreciate any information.

 

 

From my research, it seems best to get insurance NOT from the company you're sailing with. otoh, to make sure you're covered with pre-existing conditions, you usually have to buy the insurance within 14 days or so of initial deposit.

[sail7seas]

If you are on Medicare, be advised it usually does not pay out of the country. Unless you have other coverage in case of medical need while out of the country, HAL insurance is not for you. It only provides $10,000 for medical.

 

Good advice above about paying attention to deadline within which you have to write insurance if you want pre-existing condition coverage to be included. There are a few you can write at the time of final payment. One you might look at is CSA. I haven't read their terms in a long time so it well could no longer offer that feature.

 

[HamburgAvonLady]

Check out http://www.accessamerica.com -- they offer a "Biz Pack" that can be purchased just prior to final payment date of the cruise. This is especially helpful for self-employed folks -- we have used them 3 or 4 times --- had to submit claims twice --- very easy and no hassles about getting our claims paid. If you booked with a travel agent -- they should know the company. Also, go to http://www.insuremytrip.com where you can compare companies/benefits.

[michmike]

we always go to insuremytrip.com It's a good online shopping tool that will allow you to enter your trip parameters and then compare between 20 or more companies. Very easy to use. We always get a minimum of $500,000 med evac coverage as both of us (60s) have some health issues.

 

Recent premium for what I thought was pretty decent coverage (including $100,000 accidental death in a plane and a million in med evac) was about $260 for a 10 day trip that will cost us about $4000 each. That included a decent sum for medical coverage (not a big issue for us as we are not on Medicare yet and have excellent BC/BS coverage thru work) as well as travel delay, lost or delayed luggage etc. DO pay attention to the pre-existing condition clause as those that cover them will typically require that you book the insurance within 7-10 days of the time you book the trip.

[FLACRUISER99]

We are taking our first Grand cruise next January and have been researching insurance. We usually get HAL insurance, but after reading on the boards about pros and cons, am not sure it would be best. The pluses seem to be later payment date and the 90% refund. One of the negatives is the med evac coverage. My DH and I are in our 60s and 70s and in good health, but there's always the unexpected.

 

I did check the cruise insurance board, but found mainly information about insurance for shorter cruises.

 

Thanks. I appreciate any information.

I have purchased HAL's Insurance but also have a MedjetAssist evacation insurance. www.medjet.com/aarp

[sail7seas]

We buy the medjetassist policy annually. It's a good back up but be aware they do not evacuate from a ship..... only from a port. (After having that policy for years, I just learned that last year.)

 

[HamburgAvonLady]

Also, insurance purchased through the cruise line only covers the cruise --- we like our insurance to cover us from the minute we leave the house until we return.

[goodroe]

Thanks for all the very helpful information. It looks like our best choice may be

HAL insurance w/ added evac coverage because of the 90% cancellation coverage.

We may have to buy an annual membership and then add the evacuation insurance

because of my DH's age (75), but I need to call them for details.

 

I had not considered evacuation insurance before until I found out

the possible cost - not something we could cover easily on our own!!

[sail7seas]

You seem vague about what HAL CPP Platinum coverage includes and I suggest you go to their site and read it carefully or you might end up duplicating coverage and paying more premiums than you need.

 

CPP Platinum includes US $10,000 in medical expenses. It also covers expenses up to US $50,000 for emergency medical evacuations and repatriations are covered.

 

Why buy duplicate coverage.

You need to be careful about medical coverage. A limit of $10,000 is very low if you are on Medicare and have no health insurance that pays outside the U.S.

 

[goodroe]

You seem vague about what HAL CPP Platinum coverage includes and I suggest you go to their site and read it carefully or you might end up duplicating coverage and paying more premiums than you need.

 

CPP Platinum includes US $10,000 in medical expenses. It also covers expenses up to US $50,000 for emergency medical evacuations and repatriations are covered.

 

Why buy duplicate coverage.

You need to be careful about medical coverage. A limit of $10,000 is very low if you are on Medicare and have no health insurance that pays outside the U.S.

 

 

Thank you. I think I was getting ahead of myself. You are right about duplicating coverage. My concern was about the cost of medical evacuation for which I don't really don't know what possible costs might be and it's obviously dependent upon on where it might occur.

 

And yes, we are on Medicare and know that we have no coverage outside the U.S. - $10,000 is very low without any other coverage. Need to do more research.

[HamburgAvonLady]

You should also check with your credit card companies IF you used one to pay for your cruise. Some provide travel insurance as an added "perk" -- be sure to read the fine print and possible restrictions.

[dakrewser]

We always use insureMyTrip.com for all cruises/trips but medical, especially medEvac, coverage we get thru American Express (available to Platinum card holders). For $18/month we get a half million in evac coverage whenever we're more than 100 miles from home...

[cruzincurt]

We buy insurance for every cruise, one reason is my father is 90 and not in the best of health and second for emergency evacuation.