Insurance or not?

[Surrealistic]

Do most of you buy cruise insurance and those that do...........is it because you book so far in advance? I've had trip insurance for only one cruise and wonder if this is risky behavior. :)

[disfan13]

get insurance.

[ratbin]

Two words for you - Hurricane Sandy.

Our travel insurance covered our flight back from Charleston (We were supposed to disembark in NYC.) and 3 days in a hotel. We had never bought travel insurance before but we were happy we had it that time. We won't book another cruise without it.

[Missileer]

We are long time cruisers and we get insurance every time--though we have used it only once because of a severe illness of my Mom in Law that caused us to debark at Puerto Vallarta and fly home. That one time the insurance was worth its weight in gold!

 

One final comment. As we worked through the process the crew of our Carnival ship could not have been more helpful or supportive!@

[Scrapnana]

Most US health care insurance companies do not cover you outside of the US. That means if you had an accident, had a medical emergency, etc. you would have to cover it out of your own pocket. With trip insurance the insurance company will pay you back for these expenses.

[mellygo]

Only had to use our insurance once - but it was only that my husband got the flu 3 days before departure, and despite Tamiflu I came down with it a day later. I didn't get as sick as he was, but it made travel impossible for us. Obviously it was after final payment, and so close to cruise departure, we would have lost airfare, cruise fare, etc. With the insurance, we got back every dime (except the doctor's visit, of course!)

[FlightMedic555]

The statement that "most" insurance companies in the US do not cover foreign travel probably is not correct. "Probably" is the best answer as there are so many insurance companies that I don't know if anyone has surveyed them all. In reality all that you need to know if if yours will cover you. Mine will. Some foreign hospitals may require you to pay and then get reimbursed from your insurance company once home.

 

I think it is interesting that many, many would not insure a land based trip but will insure a cruise. IMHO if I can afford to pay for the cruise then I can afford to flush the money away if something comes up and I can't go. I know, I know....that would really suck but it would not change my lifestyle. I also know my insurance at home will cover me overseas. The only insurance that I get, and only if the cruise is off the beaten path, is medical evacuation insurance. That flight back home on an air ambulance can be up to $250,000.

 

In my case, last month, exactly 14 days before my trip I found myself in my emergency department and had to have my gall bladder removed emergently. I did not have cruise insurance. I made the cruise without a problem and was cleared to scuba dive during the trip. Our return from Tahiti was compromised by a strike at the Tahiti airport but was cleared up the day before we were to return.

 

Bottom line financially is that our 3 week land and cruise cost us about $10,000 per person and I used miles for my air. Insurance would be have been over $1,000 for the two of us. I save the insurance $$ (basically I am self insuring the trip) and hope to go on more cruises with the savings. I did purchase an annual medical evacuation policy as we go to Africa in January.

[KBD1516]

Travel insurance is like any other insurance: you pay for it and hope you never have to use it!

[Rottenapple]

I always get insurance......Just in case

[Baseball fan]

I always get it. I would rather lose $200 to buy it versus $3000 not to. I review the coverage and pick according to what I need for that vacation.

 

 

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