Do you buy travel insurance?

[LVWineaux]

I'm sorry to hear about your wife's passing. My prayers are with you and your family.

 

Here's something else about your trip insurance: many plans pay the extra amount for a single supplement, so be sure to find out if your plan covers this, too.

 

I hope this helps you.

 

Steve Dasseos

 

Thanks for the note and the tip. I'll check it out. The HAL single supplement is 100%, so they are only refunding her taxes and fees.

[sail7seas]

I will from now on buy travel insurance whether I am going on a cruise or just a vacation. Here is my reason why......my brother in law and his girl friend were on vacation in Mexico and he suffered a massive stroke. Pretty serious. He has been in the hospital in Puerto Vallarta since June 22nd. He has medical insurance but they won't pay until he is back in the USA and the hospital there wants money upfront for services. Well they have exhausted all their money and it looks like he will need to be medical evacuated back to the USA which is quite costly we are finding. We are trying everything we can to come up with the money to bring him home. So far nothing.

Does anyone know of an organization that might be able to help us?

 

So just a reminder ALWAYS BUY TRAVEL INSURANCE with medi vac included.

 

Thank you

 

 

Just a thought but maybe it might be helpful for someone.

 

If your DH paid for his trip using a credit card, perhaps you may not know one of the benefits from some card providers are various policies and sometimes medical evacuation might be one of the benefits.

 

Worth checking. Lots of us have insurance we've forgotten about or never knew were 'side benefits' to something else.

Hope you get him home safely and he makes a good recovery.

 

[Cruiser Forever]

Yes we always buy travel insurance. I was just wondering are the companies basically the same or is there one that is above all the rest. I have used Travel Guard and Access America.

 

 

 

 

[jb12]

What are good travel insurance companies in US?

[elhenry]

Buy the Travel Insurance and when you receive the policy - READ IT. Be especially aware of time limits for reporting qualifying events. I have a cruise booked for August. A few weeks ago, my DW passed away unexpectedly. The Trip Ins Certificate said I needed to report the event to the cruise line WITHIN 72 HOURS. My TA said the Ins company would PROBABLY cut me some slack for death of a spouse, but for other events, they might not be so forgiving.

BTW - I decided that she would want me to go on the cruise anyway, so I'm going. It just won't be the same. HAL waived her cancellation penalty, so I don't have much of a claim at this point.

 

LV Wineuax, my deepest condolences on the death of your wife. Your cruise in her memory, IMHO, is a good idea. My father died (unexpectedly of course) while on a cruise with us in April. The rest of the family continued the cruise, and although sad, it was a fitting tribute. I don't know if the link to the story will come through, but here it is:

 

<<http://articles.philly.com/2012-06-17/news/32283005_1_crew-members-port-canaveral-sofa-bed>>

 

BTW, we had TravelGuard, purchased within 14 days and covering pre-existing claims, and they paid for all claims.

 

el henry

[LVWineaux]

Thank you, el, for the condolences and for sharing your story. On the cruise, I will raise a glass for my DW (the Wine Princess) and one for your Dad. My condolences on his passing.

[seasidegal]

LV Wineuax, my deepest condolences on the death of your wife. Your cruise in her memory, IMHO, is a good idea. My father died (unexpectedly of course) while on a cruise with us in April. The rest of the family continued the cruise, and although sad, it was a fitting tribute. I don't know if the link to the story will come through, but here it is:

 

<<http://articles.philly.com/2012-06-17/news/32283005_1_crew-members-port-canaveral-sofa-bed>>

 

BTW, we had TravelGuard, purchased within 14 days and covering pre-existing claims, and they paid for all claims.

 

el henry

 

Was searching the forum for Travel Insurance help and came upon your post. I went and read your piece in the newspaper. I think your staying on the cruise and being close together as a family was a wonderful decision. Having just lost my dad, I would have loved to have been with those who loved him best in such a close environment where sweet memories and tears could be shared without having to attend to the usual concerns of daily life (cooking, cleaning, etc) Thank you very much for sharing.

[Gone Traveling]

I love using squaremouth.com to get comparative info on various companies and coverages, along with prices. We often decide to take the risk of not insuring, or else just get medical evacuation coverage if it's an overseas trip. For our African safari I did get full insurance and found squaremouth had the best options for comparing and choosing exactly what you want at very competitive prices.

[cruzer26]

As almost everyone has said, travel insurance is not an option. We buy insurance, although we do not want to use it. It is a safety net for the UH-OH's, the OMG's, and the catistrophic events. Shop online to find that which fits your life best; "all size fits all" isn't always necessary. If you have auto insurance, home insurance, then check with agent to see what is covered and if travel is included. Medical evacuation and emergency return costs are usually the most costly. Folks we know were about to start a river cruise in France, when their home in the US burned to the ground. Travel insurance covered the full fare tickets, a few thousand dollars each, for one way back to the US. Our own travel insurance covered all our hotel and food needs in Seattle after an Alaskan cruise when we were unable to get home. Flights to FL were cancelled due to Hurricane Charley. We may make the best of plans, but life comes when it wishes.

[chiwawa3lover]

In 2001 we were booked on a cruise for the Hawianne Islands and the cruise ship (for that area) went bankrupt. If we had not purchased travel insurance we would have lost our deposit. Even with having it covered with insurance and it was put on a credit card, it still took time to recover. We have another cruise planned for this January. I have purchased Vacation Insurance through our travel agent, partly so that everything is covered under one policy, otherwise, you have cruise/air/and any other tickets that you may have to pre-pay.

[luvincruising]

:)

I always buy travel insurance - just in case. The policies through the cruise line and travel agents are usually basic coverage with varying limitations. You should only consider insurances that are rated A - A+. I have used the following sites to compare and buy travel insurance:

http://www.insuremytrip.com/

http://www.squaremouth.com/

http://www.travelguard.com/affiliate/?PID=271787

http://vintage.johnnyjet.com/Who-Covers-What-Travel-Insurance.html

 

Good luck and happy travels.

:)

[resort10]

What is your experience? Do you buy through a cruiseline? Or do you buy it independently (any recs in this case)? Do you buy it at all? We just booked our first Alaskan cruise and we are not sure if we need travel insurance.

 

 

 

we usually use www.insuremytrip.com, they quote various resources, you can buy online, very convenient. Thankfully we've never had to use the coverage but if you've invested mucho $$ for a cruise, there's peace of mind

[elhenry]

Was searching the forum for Travel Insurance help and came upon your post. I went and read your piece in the newspaper. I think your staying on the cruise and being close together as a family was a wonderful decision. Having just lost my dad, I would have loved to have been with those who loved him best in such a close environment where sweet memories and tears could be shared without having to attend to the usual concerns of daily life (cooking, cleaning, etc) Thank you very much for sharing.

 

Seaside gal, my deepest sympathies on the death of your father. You are right, we almost considered this a "death at home", and the distractions and the attentiveness of the crew staff did lighten the load. And now we have scheduled another family cruise, and you can be sure that we have purchased insurance!

 

el henry

[thearcher]

I would never dream of traveling without buying travel insurance!

 

Two years ago, we were three days from leaving on our Caribbean cruise when I started experiences the most awful abdominal pains. The Wed. before the Saturday we were suppose to leave, I was admitted into the hospital and had to have an emergency apendectomy!

 

Our entire cruise, airline fare, etc., was refunded!

 

We have scheduled again.... a Hawaiian cruise for October 6th. But once again..... :( my husband just found out yesterday that he may have some blockage on the left side of his heart and needs to undergo a cath in two weeks! What luck, huh?

 

But once again, I tacked on the insurance to our trip, so we'll see.....

[LVWineaux]

I'm sorry to hear about your wife's passing. My prayers are with you and your family.

 

Here's something else about your trip insurance: many plans pay the extra amount for a single supplement, so be sure to find out if your plan covers this, too.

 

I hope this helps you.

 

Steve Dasseos

 

After returning from the cruise and jumping through a few hoops, the trip insurance did pay for the single supplement (100% for a HAL suite). Thanks for the tip! The insurance check paid for my next cruise.

[Reina del Mar]

Note that most of these comments are coming from. 'The other side of the pond'

We are from Great Britain.

 

I believe it is a MUST to have travel insurance for travel to other countries from GB....we buy an annual worldwide policy which covers all of our travels. Am not sure but believe it is a condition of travel...and if not certainly highly recommended !!

[icat2000]

I wouldn't step out of Australia without travel insurance. Travelling anywhere in the world without being fully insured is simply tempting fate.

[FlightMedic555]

I guess I am in the minority in not purchasing insurance, at least on the minority of those posting on this board. Many who post praise their insurance as they had a claim. Obviously very, very few people, as a relationship to all those that cruise, ever use their insurance. Not purchasing is a gamble with risks that can be minimized.

 

I look at insurance as basically covering three components of the trip. Medical care, evacuation insurance, and the cost of the cruise if I need to cancel.

 

I have good medical insurance which DOES cover me overseas. While I may have to first lay out the money I can afford to do that and I am confident that I will get the money back.

 

If I need to cancel for some reason or miss the ship that would really suck. The reality is that since I can afford the cruise I can afford to flush the money if I needed to cancel but I,would be a really, really unhappy camper. The cost for this insurance can be quite significant if you are taking a longer or higher end cruise. My most recent Oceania cruise was about $4500 per person and the cost of the insurance for the two of us would have been about $800. Last year we did an 18 night cruise on the Paul Gauguin out of Australia and the insurance would have been about $1200 for the two of us. If I did an inexpensive Caribbean cruise I would be more willing to throw $200 towards the insurance.

 

Medical evacuation insurance is a whole other matter. I can't afford the cost of a medical jet back home and therefore I purchase evacuation insurance. You will be in the $30,000-$50,000 range to be flown home from the Caribbean and $250,000+ from Asia. Yes, these are real numbers. Many evacuation plans only cover $100,000 which may not be sufficient. Many only cover evacuation back to the closest place that can provide care. That means Miami or perhaps Houston if you are in the Caribbean. For me I want to be back in my hometown.

[momthecruisedirector]

We never used to get travel insurance - just kind of held our breath and hoped for the best, and we've been lucky. One cruise though my husband got gall stones - we had no idea what the problem was but it was a long night. In the morning he felt a bit better - we attributed it to the popcorn at MUTS (well, what did we know!?). If it had continued as horribly as it was that night he may have had to have the emergency surgery he ended up having not long after we got home - sometimes things come up that you don't expect. I would gladly stay at Best Western pre cruise instead of the Hilton to make up the cost of the insurance!

[dwjoe]

I guess I am in the minority in not purchasing insurance, at least on the minority of those posting on this board. Many who post praise their insurance as they had a claim. Obviously very, very few people, as a relationship to all those that cruise, ever use their insurance. Not purchasing is a gamble with risks that can be minimized.

 

I look at insurance as basically covering three components of the trip. Medical care, evacuation insurance, and the cost of the cruise if I need to cancel.

 

I have good medical insurance which DOES cover me overseas. While I may have to first lay out the money I can afford to do that and I am confident that I will get the money back.

 

If I need to cancel for some reason or miss the ship that would really suck. The reality is that since I can afford the cruise I can afford to flush the money if I needed to cancel but I,would be a really, really unhappy camper. The cost for this insurance can be quite significant if you are taking a longer or higher end cruise. My most recent Oceania cruise was about $4500 per person and the cost of the insurance for the two of us would have been about $800. Last year we did an 18 night cruise on the Paul Gauguin out of Australia and the insurance would have been about $1200 for the two of us. If I did an inexpensive Caribbean cruise I would be more willing to throw $200 towards the insurance.

 

Medical evacuation insurance is a whole other matter. I can't afford the cost of a medical jet back home and therefore I purchase evacuation insurance. You will be in the $30,000-$50,000 range to be flown home from the Caribbean and $250,000+ from Asia. Yes, these are real numbers. Many evacuation plans only cover $100,000 which may not be sufficient. Many only cover evacuation back to the closest place that can provide care. That means Miami or perhaps Houston if you are in the Caribbean. For me I want to be back in my hometown.

 

My thoughts on insurance are similar - think about what you need and buy only what you need. For me the major risk is medical evacuation. Thanks for the background info on medevac costs.

[PeterJB]

We always take out travel insurance whenever we do major trips like cruises or overseas holidays. We had a cruise earlier in the year and were called home early because my wife's mother took ill suddenly and passed away before we could arrive home. We took out insurance with Allianz Global Assist and they refused to pay our claim because they "dont recognise anyone over the age of 85 years". This is a disgrace and we have just been advised from Anti Discrimination Queensland Agency that it is discrimination on the basis of age.

Avoid Allianz Global Assistance travel insurance at all costs, as we have found since our experience, there are others who have lost many more dollars due to refused claims by Allianz

[klfrodo]

We always take out travel insurance whenever we do major trips like cruises or overseas holidays. We had a cruise earlier in the year and were called home early because my wife's mother took ill suddenly and passed away before we could arrive home. We took out insurance with Allianz Global Assist and they refused to pay our claim because they "dont recognise anyone over the age of 85 years". This is a disgrace and we have just been advised from Anti Discrimination Queensland Agency that it is discrimination on the basis of age.

Avoid Allianz Global Assistance travel insurance at all costs, as we have found since our experience, there are others who have lost many more dollars due to refused claims by Allianz

 

Sorry for your lose.

 

I'd bet big bucks though that there is another side to this story that is not being shared in a truthful and forthright manner

[PeterJB]

Would love to take the big bucks bet, as what I have said has been the truth and accepted by both Anti Discrim Qld and Human Rights Commission

[gator489]

My husband and I cruise 4 to 7 times a year and we always buy trip insurance. When we booked a cruise with my husband's parents for this month, they were a bit hesitant to buy insurance since they hadn't before. They are very grateful since we had to cancel our cruise three days before leaving due to mother-in-law’s hospitalization.

 

We purchased it through Princess and since we were going to Quebec early and made our own air arrangements, their insurance only covered the cruise. Father-in-law said he thought he was covered by his credit card for the air. Turns out he was not. We can reschedule air with Delta and United within one year from ticket purchase and not lose much. Some hoops have to be gone through.

 

The forms from Berkley were emailed to us and we are in the process of completing them. It is good to read positive reviews of the company.

[PSkinner]

as I stated in many other post Travel Insurance is for far more than just medical and insurance cost. My husband fell and required stitches and the doctors at the hospital spoke no English. I called our Insurance and they provided me with a translator. My husband is a heart patient and has Epilepsy, is on several medications, and has allergies to some. Without the interpreter I would not have been able to communicate with the doctor! These is no way to put a value on that!