Please help me figure out what coverage to buy

[psyllie]

We're taking a cruise with grandkids - two old farts, 79 (will be 80 day before cruise leaves), and me at 59, plus 44 yo mom, and kids 15, 13 and 10. We're driving our own vehicle to the pier, and I read with interest the thread about mechanical breakdowns not being a covered reason for reimbursement if the cruise is missed - ack! The vehicle is a nice one and dependable, but it's a 4.5-hour trip and you just never know.

 

I checked out the Travelex "all events included option," mentioned in that thread, and it seemed good - I hit the buy button - but then it said all travelers had to live at the same address or separate policies were required. We have three separate households here. The separate polices for the 80 yo and 59 yo - yowch! Put it this way, if we could buy just one policy covering all six of us, it would be like a BOGO deal on insurance compared to what it will cost us to buy three separate policies. But if we have to, we have to.

 

But maybe there is a better option, and since we don't know much at all about insurance, what would be the best type of policy to buy given these concerns:

 

- Trip cancellation for health or injury (all in good health knock wood at the moment, no current medical issues at all. But the kids are very involved in sports, so their chances of medical issues are probably as high as for us oldsters!)

 

- Missing cruise because of problems with personal transportation or traffic events.

 

- 80 yo on medicare so primary medical would be important.

 

- Don't need any airline or car rental insurance, or even baggage insurance since we'll all be rolling on.

 

Any help or insight would be very greatly appreciated!

[cruiseco]

We're taking a cruise with grandkids - two old farts, 79 (will be 80 day before cruise leaves), and me at 59, plus 44 yo mom, and kids 15, 13 and 10. We're driving our own vehicle to the pier, and I read with interest the thread about mechanical breakdowns not being a covered reason for reimbursement if the cruise is missed - ack! The vehicle is a nice one and dependable, but it's a 4.5-hour trip and you just never know.

 

I checked out the Travelex "all events included option," mentioned in that thread, and it seemed good - I hit the buy button - but then it said all travelers had to live at the same address or separate policies were required. We have three separate households here. The separate polices for the 80 yo and 59 yo - yowch! Put it this way, if we could buy just one policy covering all six of us, it would be like a BOGO deal on insurance compared to what it will cost us to buy three separate policies. But if we have to, we have to.

 

But maybe there is a better option, and since we don't know much at all about insurance, what would be the best type of policy to buy given these concerns:

 

- Trip cancellation for health or injury (all in good health knock wood at the moment, no current medical issues at all. But the kids are very involved in sports, so their chances of medical issues are probably as high as for us oldsters!)

 

- Missing cruise because of problems with personal transportation or traffic events.

 

- 80 yo on medicare so primary medical would be important.

 

- Don't need any airline or car rental insurance, or even baggage insurance since we'll all be rolling on.

 

Any help or insight would be very greatly appreciated!

 

If you leave out the problem with your car breaking down or a traffic situation there's plenty of plans that will suit your needs.

 

Are you really going to let a mechanical problem with your car cause you to cancel this cruise? If it's a 4.5 hour drive to the pier I'd leave at 8am. If my car breaks down half way I have AAA tow it to the dealer, tell them I'll be in touch with them in a week, have them call Enterprise for me, and instead of getting to the pier at 12:30 I'm there at 2:00. To me it's a total non-issue. Same with traffic -- leave early enough that a 3 - 4 delay will be a nuisance but won't ruin your trip. If you're that worried drive down the previous night.

 

Be careful about the kids and sports -- some insurers (especially Travelex) exclude injuries that result during organized sports (including at school). For example, some of their plans have the following exclusion:

 

"15) Participating as a member of a team in an organized sporting competition or as a professional in athletics;"

 

For those on Medicare and no supplemental plan, any secondary plan automatically becomes primary since there's no primary coverage in line ahead of them.

[psyllie]

Thanks cruiseco - you're right, the car is a non-issue. I just got to worrying after reading that other thread! I will pay close attention to the policies re: the kids though. Appreciate the info.