Hard Justifying TI-What is it actually giving us?!

[scarlett81]

We have a unique party going on our East Med cruise, my parents who are 69 and 77, me who has chronic health issues but are well managed with my specialists way before I go anywhere, hubby 31, and the 2 kids aged 5 and 1. Naturally I didn't even consider NOT getting T.I. (I always get it)

 

But I'm looking at the options and the costs and its pricey. The trip itself is long-16 days, and the cost is alot, which is making the base prices for T.I quite high. I'm looking at $2000+ for all 6 of us. Thats the price I get if I select adequate medical coverage plus added evacuation coverage.

 

Our health insurance covers some costs outside of the U.S for travel. I really wouldn't need the minimal $25K that base T.I offers. The only coverage I'd need is if something catastrophic happened, over $50-100K or medi-vac coverage. So that means I'd have to pay for the high end plans.

 

We already missed the boat (no pun intended) on the cancel for any reason coverage that I wanted, bc we booked this cruise late, and paid in full when we booked. :( stinks...I really wanted that but its too late.

 

I doubt flight insurance is needed for us. We used our skymiles to get non-stop direct flights to our location. No messy connection problems forseen here. We live right near the airport, so we won't be missing any flight. If the airline cancels, they'll cover it. I'm scratching my head here.

 

What am I missing here? SHould I go ahead and get the T.I anyway? With the kids especially it seems careless not to, I just don't know if its worth it.:confused:

Tell me if there's something I'm not thinking of.

[cruiseco]

Our health insurance covers some costs outside of the U.S for travel. I really wouldn't need the minimal $25K that base T.I offers. The only coverage I'd need is if something catastrophic happened, over $50-100K or medi-vac coverage. So that means I'd have to pay for the high end plans.

 

 

 

What do you mean by "some costs"? Is there a $$ limit? Are you paying a higher deductible or co-pay? If you needed $200,000 of care and your regular health insurance will pay 80% your risk of loss is only $40,000. Most travel insurance plans have that or more as a minimum benefit. Call your regular insurer and find out exactly what you're covered for if you need $200,000 in care during the trip.

 

Most plans start with about $250,000 in evac coverage -- enough in my opinion.

 

Also, have you checked some of the plans that cover kids for free?

[scarlett81]

My health plan gives us the same coverage overseas on travel, for emergencies and hospitalizations. So, we'd have a $500 deductible for any hospital stay, $30 co pay for ER visits, and minimal co-pay for various procedures (bet $50-200).

 

The catch is that everything is paid out of pocket while overseas, we call our insurance, they open a case, and we are reimbursed within 90 days once we get home. Our reimbursement is the full amount, minus the above co-pays I mentioned.

 

I see that travel guard covers children. However I think they're making up for it in higher base costs. The main thing I'm hung up on is evacuation coverage. Without insurance that would be entirely on us. I can only imagine the costs that would incur.

[cruiseco]

My health plan gives us the same coverage overseas on travel, for emergencies and hospitalizations. So, we'd have a $500 deductible for any hospital stay, $30 co pay for ER visits, and minimal co-pay for various procedures (bet $50-200).

 

The catch is that everything is paid out of pocket while overseas, we call our insurance, they open a case, and we are reimbursed within 90 days once we get home. Our reimbursement is the full amount, minus the above co-pays I mentioned.

 

I see that travel guard covers children. However I think they're making up for it in higher base costs. The main thing I'm hung up on is evacuation coverage. Without insurance that would be entirely on us. I can only imagine the costs that would incur.

 

The Travelex TraveLite plan covers kids at no charge, has $250,000 for evac/repatriation, and is reasonably priced.

 

The mid-range TravelSafe Classic plan, while it doesn't cover kids for free, has $100,000 medical and $1,000,000 evac/repatriation plus this nice feature:

 

"Advance payment will be made to a Hospital, up to the Maximum

Benefit Amount, if needed, to secure Your admission to a

Hospital, because of a covered Sickness or Injury. The Program

Medical Advisor will coordinate advance payment to the Hospital."

[scarlett81]

Thanks for the tips. I was thinking travelex.

 

I had my parents look into their health coverage for travel, and they are also covered, my mom-100%, my dad, 80%. With low deductables.

 

I'm now thinking the base/minimum plan may just be enough for all of us.

[6rugrats]

Thanks for the tips. I was thinking travelex.

 

I had my parents look into their health coverage for travel, and they are also covered, my mom-100%, my dad, 80%. With low deductables.

 

I'm now thinking the base/minimum plan may just be enough for all of us.

I am curious - your parents have a private health plan, not Medicare?

[scarlett81]

They have medicare, plus a secondary form, the name which I can't remember off hand right now. The deductible is $250. Everything else is exactly the same as what it would be back home.

[6rugrats]

Except that Medicare will not cover you, except in very rare cases, outside of the US. Most people who have Medicare just carry a Medicare supplement, though I have no idea what your parents have.

[CruisinGerman]

Dear friends:

 

 

Greetings from Madrid. It would be practically impossible to spend $200,000 in emergency medical care in Europe. For nationalities that require a Schengen Visa, the EU requires that people have medical coverage of 30,000 euros plus repatriation.

 

I don't think $330 per person for a 16-day trip is exorbitantly priced for travel insurance. If you want to get the price down, see what coverage you really need and how much financial risk you are willing to assume.

 

Insurance always sounds expensive and a waste of money until you need it and use it. Then all of a sudden it somehow seems very cheap .......

 

Kind regards,

 

Gunther and Uta

[scarlett81]

Thanks for the info. Not sure I totally follow what you're saying, but I believe that most of the regulations in the EU regarding costs, like you're describing, apply to EU citizens...not foreigners.

 

What's funny/irritating to me about this trip insurance is that the main reason I'm getting it is bc of myself, with my health issues, and my 2 little kids. Ironically, the plan for the 4 of us is approx $350. The plan for my 2 parents, aged 69 and 77 but healthy (no meds, no conditions except a knee replacement) is $850. Crazy.

[cruiseco]

Thanks for the info. Not sure I totally follow what you're saying, but I believe that most of the regulations in the EU regarding costs, like you're describing, apply to EU citizens...not foreigners.

 

What's funny/irritating to me about this trip insurance is that the main reason I'm getting it is bc of myself, with my health issues, and my 2 little kids. Ironically, the plan for the 4 of us is approx $350. The plan for my 2 parents, aged 69 and 77 but healthy (no meds, no conditions except a knee replacement) is $850. Crazy.

 

Remember that you don't all have to be on the same plan. For many cruisers in the upper age brackets the cruise line's plan becomes very cost-effective because age isn't taken into account. Their weak points tend to be that they have a low benefit amount for medical services but from what you've posted that's not really a problem. You can even split their coverage -- use the cruise line's plan for the trip cancellation/interruption benefits then buy them a third-party plan with $0 trip cancellation (you're only interested in the higher medical and evac coverages) and you're probably looking at about $100 for the twp of them additional. I'd bet it comes in at least a couple hundred less than what you're getting quoted now.

[scarlett81]

Remember that you don't all have to be on the same plan. For many cruisers in the upper age brackets the cruise line's plan becomes very cost-effective because age isn't taken into account. Their weak points tend to be that they have a low benefit amount for medical services but from what you've posted that's not really a problem. You can even split their coverage -- use the cruise line's plan for the trip cancellation/interruption benefits then buy them a third-party plan with $0 trip cancellation (you're only interested in the higher medical and evac coverages) and you're probably looking at about $100 for the twp of them additional. I'd bet it comes in at least a couple hundred less than what you're getting quoted now.

 

Thank you! Awesome tip...I'll look into it.

[goodroe]

Cruiseco, also want to thank you for the tip. Due to our ages and cruise cost, am using HAL's insurance, but wanted to supplement the medical. Our Medicare advantage plan doesn't cover anything outside the US and HAL's $10,000 won't go far in an emergency.

[sirwired]

What are you missing with the flight insurance? - Delta may re-book your original flight, but they may or may not catch you up with your cruise if you miss the boat. (This depends on the service rep's mood, and if Delta even has flights that would get you to the next port.) This may or may not be a concern for you, depending on if you are arriving at the departure port a day ahead of time, as many suggest.

 

While you cannot get Any Reason coverage at this time, you may still be eligible for pre-ex waivers from policies that use your initial payment date as the start of the "waiver clock" instead of Final Payment date. If anybody in your family has health issues, pre-ex waivers can make life much easier if you have to cancel for medical reasons.

[scarlett81]

What are you missing with the flight insurance? - Delta may re-book your original flight, but they may or may not catch you up with your cruise if you miss the boat. (This depends on the service rep's mood, and if Delta even has flights that would get you to the next port.) This may or may not be a concern for you, depending on if you are arriving at the departure port a day ahead of time, as many suggest.

 

While you cannot get Any Reason coverage at this time, you may still be eligible for pre-ex waivers from policies that use your initial payment date as the start of the "waiver clock" instead of Final Payment date. If anybody in your family has health issues, pre-ex waivers can make life much easier if you have to cancel for medical reasons.

 

I'm not missing anything with the flight. We are arriving in our departure port 4 days ahead of time.

Thats why I'm not concerned. This happened on a flight we took to Egypt, they got us out on the next flight, and paid all costs involved.

[SadieN]

Another thought--

 

DD is studying in Europe. We have been purchasing her a different kind of policy through TravelGuard. It is primarily a medical policy that also includes some travel benefits. This policy was much cheaper than traditional travel insurance with medical.

 

Just the other day she was able to get info on Drs in Marakesh.

[scarlett81]

Just fyi for others wondering the same thing. I went with travel insured intnl. The plan for me and hubby was about the same as other competitors, the kids were free. My parents 70+ were priced out about $200 less than other companies.

I picked the base plan that covers cancellation for covered reasons like health (which is all we're concerned with), covers interruption and evacuation costs. It does include decent medical coverage, besides what our health plans will already cover for international.

All in all after mulling it over I think in general a basic plan is more than enough.

Fyi, at least with Crystal's insurance plan, you need to purchase it 60 days out, or before final payment. We didn't realize this at time of booking. We initially booked the cruise 70 days out, so oh well. It was cut too close. Keep that in mind when booking your cruise if you want that companies insurance program.