Do You Get Travel Insurance?

[CantanaLobo]

We could self-insure trip cancellation, it would not have negative financial consequences. There would just be emotional consequence, spending all that money on a cruise and getting nothing - I'd be bummed for weeks. What we can't self-insure is the medical/medivac. That could have a very expensive financial exposure. We figure if we're covering the medical/medivac, we might as well cover cancellation. Not cancel for any reason, that would be too expensive. If we need to cancel because the pet parakeet died or some other non-covered reason, we'll just have to eat it.

[Lookingforfacts]

A lot depends on how good your health insurance with regard to international coverage. Does your plan cover emergency medical evacuation. The cost to obtain medical services. The cost to fly home via air ambulance or equivalent if required (Repatriation?)

 

Those are the kinds of expenses most people need to insure.

 

An intelligent person can decide to "self" insure the cost cancelling the trip for reasons which might be covered by insurance. Do we really need the additional coverage for lost luggage?

 

A friend cruised a lot. Always got deals. Saved enough insurance premiums through the years to pay for an extra cruise. Saved enough to cover the cost of skipping a cruise after final deposit if it came to it.

[Guest maddycat]

We buy our travel insurance through the Trip Insurance Store. We've been buying Travel Safe travel insurance. The Trip Insurance Store's website is very informative and easy to understand. Their agents are very helpful.

 

***Trip Insurance Store***

[beachchick]

We never do. Cruises seem to sail regardless of the conditions or situation. Yes, I realize I could be injured or become so ill on a cruise that I would need to be airlifted out but what are the chances of that happening?

 

The chances are the same as hitting the lottery, by which I mean that the chances are slim right until it happens to you. Great in the case of the lottery (dang, never happened to me--yet) and bad in the case of travel woes (2 medical claims and 1 provider bankruptcy claim; saved our travel budget and allowed us to rebook without worry).

 

But IMO you're thinking much too narrowly. A good travel insurance policy covers medical (usually secondary to your regular insurance unless you go for the higher cost of the primary coverage) and evacuation and accidents and weather problems and flight delays and baggage delays/theft and immediate family medical crises and loss of job and many other things. Granted, some things such as coverage for cancellation due to pre-existing medical conditions, provider bankruptcy, and a couple of other "extra" benefits usually requires policy purchase within 14 or 21 days of initial deposit for any part of the trip, but that's a no brainer for us as we have medical conditions that could and have meant cancelling last minute.

 

It really depends on whether someone is willing to risk the cost of a trip. I have no problem with people not buying travel insurance because their choice doesn't affect me, unlike auto, homeowner's/renter's, and medical insurance. But if someone doesn't buy travel insurance I do not want to hear, "I didn't buy insurance, but now I have to cancel 3 days before my cruise. How do I convince the cruise line to give me my money back even though I chose not to cover myself? Shouldn't they want to keep me as a customer and be nice to me and make an exception?" Um, no. That's why insurance is an option. Buy it or don't buy it, but don't come crying to me for sympathy if your (general you, not you specifically) choice ends up costing you money.

 

beachchick

[Talisker92]

Being in our late 60's we always get insurance. Last year my DW came down with a lung infection, and had to spend 3 day in the hospital after the cruise. Trip insurance covered what Medicare did not and also covered our flight home,

This year my DW fell and broke her foot a few days before our cruise. We had to cancel and insurance paid us in full.

[FTLcruisers]

My husband and I both have pre-existing medical conditions so we get the insurance. We just had to use it last month when we were supposed to fly to Hong Kong for an Asian cruise and my husband wound up in the hospital! Had to cancel the cruise 2 days before we were supposed to leave. To get our money back for that trip was well worth the few hundred dollars we spent on insurance. This was the 2nd time we had to use the insurance - last time it was me that had the hospital stay and was unable to travel.

 

Marianne

[printingchick]

I didn't on my first couple of cruises. Then I took my 10-year-old son, along with his 18-year-old sister and her best friend, on a cruise to celebrate the girls' high school graduation. (The friend paid her own way.) It was a STRETCH for me to afford so I didn't get the insurance and we didn't fly in the day before. And yes, we were flying from New England in February. Do you see where this is going?

 

It was a LOVELY day in Connecticut when we boarded the airplane! No weather issues in sight. Our flight was delayed due to an over-booking issue...very annoying, but not a vacation-destroying event.

 

We arrived in Nashville for our connecting flight...oh...did I fail to mention we had to CONNECT??...and it was just boarding! Good! Our delay was not an issue. We were home free.

 

Then we noticed the snow flakes. Not so much falling as rather blowing around. Barely noticeable by New England standards. A big deal by Nashville standards.

 

The airport had only ONE de-icing machine. And the line was endless. The "30 minute delay" (according to frequent announcements from the captain) turned into about a three hour delay and it became very likely we would miss our ship!! No insurance. I had THREE kids with me. What was I going to do with them in Florida for five days?? And how would I pay for it? I'd spent so much $$ for the cruise!!

 

Long story short...we made it...BARELY!!

 

I've NEVER cruised without insurance again. I've flown the day of the cruise again since, but NEVER utilizing a connecting flight!

[mkmom514]

We do get travel insurance for each cruise. Our parents are elderly and having insurance gives me peace of mind. I know that if something were to happen we could change plans or come home and not have to worry about finances.

[internetwhiz]

We buy it. We know of folks who would have been SOL without it. They had a wonderful/but expensive Panama Canal cruise. He fell off a ladder two days before cruise and broke a leg in several places. They got a refund.

 

We booked a cruise for Dec 2007, knowing we had a grandchild coming in September that year. When the baby was born she had severe heart defects undetected before birth. At first we thought shed get better and we would go, but we nearly lost her in November and no way was I leaving my child. Mallory didn't go home until March 2008.

 

Neither of those cases was foreseeable. We always buy it.

[Nebr.cruiser]

When we were young and foolish, er naive, we never bought insurance. Now we do and have used it 3 times for major trips.

 

The truth is, we can afford to lose the cost of the trip, usually, though of course it wouldn't be pleasant. A regular week cruise at a couple thousand dollars or so, not too terrible; an extended cruise vacation at $6000 and up, tougher but we'd survive.

 

A bad accident or serious illness far from home (and it can happen at any age) is another whole story. Extended hospital stays, medical evacuations, etc. can go into the hundreds of thousands. Yes, it's a small, small chance, but it does happen to people every year. That would be financially horrible.

 

Also, we have elderly parents at home and 2 of our cancellations (all for cruise tours in the $5000 and up range) were for their serious health issues. Insurance paid us back every penny. The other was a trip to China scheduled during the SARS crisis.

 

We use Insuremytrip and choose based on the insurance we need at a particular time.

[SFCAcruiser]

I have an annual international medical and evacuation policy that is very inexpensive and covers all trips. I do not carry cruise and trip cancellation coverage as I self insure for that. I can afford the small losses - it is the really big ones that I can not afford.

 

DON

Your situation seems to be the same as mine - my only real concern would be for medical evacuation coverage. Like you, I self insure for the travel and cruise costs.

Could you please provide a link or point me in the right direction to obtain an annual policy for international travel and evacuation coverage?

Thank you.

[internetwhiz]

I would love to know more about annual cruise coverage as well.

[Woobstr112G]

I always get travel insurance. Wouldn't leave home without it.....:):):)

 

Bob

[icat2000]

Yes. Its a no brainer for me. I would shudder to think what would happen if i had an accident in the usa and i had no insurance. For me its part of travelling and i budget accordingly for it.

[Doug R.]

All of you who say they self-insure and wouldn't be hurt by losing a thousand dollars or more please take up a collection to pay off the $900 balance on my October cruise, sounds like you won't miss it. :p:D

[internetwhiz]

All of you who say they self-insure and wouldn't be hurt by losing a thousand dollars or more please take up a collection to pay off the $900 balance on my October cruise, sounds like you won't miss it. :p:D

 

I'm hoping their intention wasn't to sound cavalier about it. I'm like the person who says they just include it as part of their travel budget. Besides the personal experiences I mentioned above and we have had to cancel twice due to a grandchild being critically ill, a friend of ours Dad was cruising the orient, had a massive coronary and no travel insurance. Daughter had to borrow money and wire it for him to be cared for and to get Evacuated back to US when well enough. Money laid out would have happened anyway. Just no way to pay the over 30,000 it cost by the time he got home. Yes, insurance every time.

[GTO-Girl]

Always buy it.......and pray I never need it......;)

[Warm Breezes]

We never do. Cruises seem to sail regardless of the conditions or situation. Yes, I realize I could be injured or become so ill on a cruise that I would need to be airlifted out but what are the chances of that happening?

 

We get it because it covers a lot of things that could very likely happen vs very little cost. We have used it when DGM passed away the day before our cruise and we cancelled. We didn't get it for our first 3 cruises but we had so many close calls that insurance would have covered had those incidents caused us to cancel a cruise that we decided it would be wise for us to start getting it. It was a wise decision for us as it turned out.

[Warm Breezes]

I didn't on my first couple of cruises. Then I took my 10-year-old son, along with his 18-year-old sister and her best friend, on a cruise to celebrate the girls' high school graduation. (The friend paid her own way.) It was a STRETCH for me to afford so I didn't get the insurance and we didn't fly in the day before. And yes, we were flying from New England in February. Do you see where this is going?

 

It was a LOVELY day in Connecticut when we boarded the airplane! No weather issues in sight. Our flight was delayed due to an over-booking issue...very annoying, but not a vacation-destroying event.

 

We arrived in Nashville for our connecting flight...oh...did I fail to mention we had to CONNECT??...and it was just boarding! Good! Our delay was not an issue. We were home free.

 

Then we noticed the snow flakes. Not so much falling as rather blowing around. Barely noticeable by New England standards. A big deal by Nashville standards.

 

The airport had only ONE de-icing machine. And the line was endless. The "30 minute delay" (according to frequent announcements from the captain) turned into about a three hour delay and it became very likely we would miss our ship!! No insurance. I had THREE kids with me. What was I going to do with them in Florida for five days?? And how would I pay for it? I'd spent so much $$ for the cruise!!

 

Long story short...we made it...BARELY!!

 

I've NEVER cruised without insurance again. I've flown the day of the cruise again since, but NEVER utilizing a connecting flight![/quote]

 

Don't always count on a direct flight....We had a direct flight from MI to FL and had to make an emergency landing in TN where we were grounded for 5 hours. Luckily we were flying in the day before our cruise. We got into FL extremely late but we had no problem getting to our ship the next day.

[Warm Breezes]

All of you who say they self-insure and wouldn't be hurt by losing a thousand dollars or more please take up a collection to pay off the $900 balance on my October cruise, sounds like you won't miss it. :p:D

 

I know I keep thinking the same thing....even though it wouldn't set us back financially, it just hurts my stomach to think of that much money basically wasted on nothing. Having insurance made the decision to go home when DGM passed away the day before our cruise so much easier knowing we would get our money back and would be able to reschedule at a later date.

[mount lefroy]

cannot imagine the travesty that the medical bills would produce. just about everyone I talk to says its a good idea.

[sbfaninwy]

In the end just like all insurance it comes down to the cost of the insurance versus the risk of not having insurance.

 

For us one of the major concerns is having the health portion of the insurance because without the insurance should one have a medical issue at sea it can run tens of thousands.

 

And age is not the only issue nor past health.

 

Keith

 

I agree. I usually skip insurance (especially if my kids are travelling with me) but this time I've decided to buy it for these reasons:

 

1. We are travelling so FAR away(to Europe) and though I could afford the price of a suddenly-needed ticket home if someone was sick enough to warrant me cutting the trip short, I'd rather have the insurance pay for it. I don't ever want to be in a position of wondering if it's "worth" the cost to get home to my babies if they need me...

 

2. Our health insurance is worthless overseas, and we're travelling for two weeks. We are healthy, but one need of an anitbiotic, or one broken bone, and we're ahead money-wise.

 

3. The policy I'm buying has a missed-connection coverage (many do not) and baggage replacement (which all seem to). Either one of those, if used, would more than pay for the policy.

 

As stated above, it's all about risk and what you are willing to risk. For me it's worth it this time.

[sbfaninwy]

Your situation seems to be the same as mine - my only real concern would be for medical evacuation coverage. Like you, I self insure for the travel and cruise costs.

Could you please provide a link or point me in the right direction to obtain an annual policy for international travel and evacuation coverage?

Thank you.

 

I leaned a clever trick today from a nice sales agent at Insure My Trip.com If you put the cost of your trip at $0 in the search engine, you can pull up policies that will cover all of the things we have been talking about but not insure the actual price of the trip. Most of us seem willing to "risk" the price of the cruise...it's the medical evac or trip interruption and medical coverage that concern us more. My trip will be $70 to insure this way, for two of us. Totally worth it.

[SFCAcruiser]

I leaned a clever trick today from a nice sales agent at Insure My Trip.com If you put the cost of your trip at $0 in the search engine, you can pull up policies that will cover all of the things we have been talking about but not insure the actual price of the trip. Most of us seem willing to "risk" the price of the cruise...it's the medical evac or trip interruption and medical coverage that concern us more. My trip will be $70 to insure this way, for two of us. Totally worth it.

Thanks for the tip. I took a brief look at it and it looks as if it could be useful.

[sail7seas]

All of you who say they self-insure and wouldn't be hurt by losing a thousand dollars or more please take up a collection to pay off the $900 balance on my October cruise, sounds like you won't miss it. :p:D

 

 

We are not the least cavalier about losing money if we had to cancel a cruise. We worked way too hard for that money.

 

We made an educated, studied, calculated choice years ago to begin self-insuring cancellation and it worked out well for us. It might not have but the risk really only lays in the first 4 or so cruises. After you get past that, you are then ahead in unpaid premiums.

 

We never cruised without emergency evacuation and medical coverage.

Repatriation can be hugely costly. Be sure you are covered for that most awful circumstance.