Kudos to HTH -Gold

[Hlitner]

Thought it would be good to say something nice about an insurance company. We do a lot of traveling (over 5 months a year) so have little interest in Trip Cancellation Policies (they are expensive and if we can afford the trip we can afford to self-insure). But we do purchase an annual Travel Medical Policy which we recently changed (about 2 years ago) from AMEX to HTH-Gold. This policy provides $250,000 or secondary med coverage and $500,000 of trip evacuation coverage to DW and myself for a total cost of $349 per year. Up until recently, we have never filed a travel med claim...but it finally happened.

 

On a recent HA cruise DW needed to go to the ships doctor for a respiratory illness. The doctor charged her $130.00 for the visit. Upon returning home we submitted a claim to our primary insurer (a PPO) and they allowed the claim but paid us zero since it was out of network. We then submitted a claim (on a simple one page claim form) to HTH with a copy of our primary insurance denial of payment. It took about 75 days, but HTH did pay us the full $80 (the $130 claim less an annual $50 deductible) without any question. In the world of medical insurance (where I worked for over thirty years) a claim settlement with no hassles is something to behold :)

 

Hank

Edited September 3, 2013 by Hlitner

[Scrapnana]

It's good to hear that you were able to get a claim paid without any issues.

 

Is there a maximum number of consecutive travel days on the policy?

[Hlitner]

It's good to hear that you were able to get a claim paid without any issues.

 

Is there a maximum number of consecutive travel days on the policy?

 

Yep. It is 70 days per trip which works for us. It does appear that they will give you coverage for the first 70 days of a longer trip (I would want to verify this via a phone call). They also have language which says that if you are hospitalized towards the end of those 70 days they will extend coverage for the term of your hospitalization up to an additional 31 days. There are no restrictions for pre-existing conditions which is a real plus.

 

Like most policies this one from HTH is far from perfect. Their language on Trip Evacuation leaves much to be desired since the decision on whether to pay is based on the attending physician's recommendation in conjunction with the insurance company. The bottom line is that none of these comprehensive plans offer anything as good as Medjetassist when it comes to Med Evac.

 

Hank

[Scrapnana]

Yep. It is 70 days per trip which works for us. It does appear that they will give you coverage for the first 70 days of a longer trip (I would want to verify this via a phone call). They also have language which says that if you are hospitalized towards the end of those 70 days they will extend coverage for the term of your hospitalization up to an additional 31 days. There are no restrictions for pre-existing conditions which is a real plus.

 

Like most policies this one from HTH is far from perfect. Their language on Trip Evacuation leaves much to be desired since the decision on whether to pay is based on the attending physician's recommendation in conjunction with the insurance company. The bottom line is that none of these comprehensive plans offer anything as good as Medjetassist when it comes to Med Evac.

 

Hank

 

Thanks for the information. Now that I am retired I will be cruising more often and was interested in these yearly policies and possibly saving some money on travel insurance.

[Hlitner]

Thanks for the information. Now that I am retired I will be cruising more often and was interested in these yearly policies and possibly saving some money on travel insurance.

 

Ahhh, you used the "travel insurance" term which can confuse many travelers. Keep in mind that the Travel Medical policies (such as the HTH policy and AMEX policy we have mentioned) are only for Medical coverage. They do not reimburse any of the costs of a cancelled or interrupted trip/cruise.

 

Hank

[susierailroad]

Hank:

 

My "sweetie" is pressing in on the age where MedJet Assist is not going to cover him any longer under the standard policy, requiring an upgrade to a more expensive policy. Also, we were recently told by AmEX that they were no longer providing this type of policy. (Amex had been the company I was going to go to when we no longer qualified for MedJet.) Thanks for the tip on HTH-Gold as I will check it out, but the caveat that the decision for evac and subsequent payment rests with the attending physician and the insurance company gives me cause for pause. As you know, MedJet makes it "your choice/decision", not dependent upon the physician/ins. company. Ah, the decisions are tough.

 

BTW, I love reading your input on various destinations. Thanks.