First time insurance purchaser

[clojacks]

We will be sailing "around the horn" on Celebrity in February/ March of 2016, a trip that we booked almost a year ago but did not purchase the insurance offered by the cruise line or our TA/consolidator. We have sailed about a dozen times and have never purchased insurance, but due to a couple of very elderly mothers, we feel that this time it would be wise to have it. Is there anything in particular that we should be aware of since we let the initial purchase opportunity to fly by us? Are we going to be paying significantly more having let this much time pass between booking and buying? Are there any recommendations? In case anyone is going to suggest this, I posted this in the cruise insurance thread also, but the reader traffic there doesn't appear to be as frequent as the board for the line we are sailing, so....

[cruzzzinma]

We always use Travel Guard. There are websites that let you comparison shop. Googgle "compare travel insurance plans."

 

The company we use has a "cancel for any reason" option that can only be purchased for a limited time after booking. That's the only price difference that I am aware of.

 

We did a transatlantic last year and two elderly passengers were offloaded and hospitalized in Ireland. A younger man was offloaded and hospitalized in French Polynesia last Fall on our transpacific. We travelled with friends in 2012, one of them (in her 50's) had an upper GI bleed and was almost medivaced in Panama. We've always bought insurance since then.

[DYKWIA]

Can't you just buy travel insurance from a travel insurance specialist independent of the cruise line?

 

We never travel abroad without insurance and never buy it packaged with the holiday - we look for De Facto 5 star rating insurance with modest compulsory excess.

 

We paid about £30 for the two of us for two weeks last year in the Med.

 

It's rarely more than about £80 for the two of us wherever we ago. 5 years ago my wife had to go to A&E in Santa Barbara and in a matter of minutes the bill was over $1000 on all sorts of checks they thought were worth doing (they knew we had an Amex card and insurance ;-) ). Insurance is a no brainer for us.

Edited May 23, 2015 by DYKWIA

[tangerinebunny]

When I was in your situation, I called and talked to someone at insuremytrip.com. She suggested policies that would cover family issues.

 

You might start with that and then compare policies on your own.

[Jetswdo]

If your only intent is to perhaps have to go on a different sailing, I would just use Celebrity Insurance. Worst case scenario is 75% of the value of the cruise would go back to you in the form of a voucher, good I believe up for 1 year.

 

Unfortunately, even Travel Guard, will use any excuse to not pay for a claim, due to pre- existing conditions. They used to be very good with that, but as a rule of thumb should be perchased immediately with cruise down payment, as supposedly "pre existing conditions" clause is waved.

 

Price wise, up until you are in your 50's, travel insurance costs are within reason with travel guard, and a couple of similar companies. I have studied this subject to death, and this is what to me, makes the most sense if you are an older person. I would join AARP. With that membership, you get $75 off the cost of membership for MedJet, which has an excellent reputation. I would then purchase cruiseline insurance which is very reasonable in price. Depending on which airline you use, sometimes, I will buy also at a reasonable price the airline insurance policy---

So, since you haven't purchased insurance for this trip yet, and your main purpose is your elderly parents ( similar to my circumstance) I would at least go for Celebrity insurance, where you would at least recoup 75% of your cost in the form of a voucher for another sailing date.

[BBsails]

Be sure to check the coverage provided by your credit card(s). Our Chase Sapphire Preferred provides excellent travel insurance benefits. Coupled with our employer-provided medical insurance coverage, the credit card insurance is all we need. YMMV. Some cards require the cost of your entire trip be placed on the card, others don't. Read the fine print very carefully, and phone the customer relations number associated with your credit card if you have and questions at all.

 

Bon voyage

[cynbar]

I am far from an insurance expert, but most insurance I have bought has required purchase within 2 weeks of depositing to get a waiver for pre-existing conditions. Be careful if you are worried about elderly parents ---if they were to get sick and the illness is in any way related to an ongoing condition for which they are being treated, the insurance won't pay. A friend of mine learned this lesson the hard way, she planned a trip of a lifetime to the Holy Land and then had to cancel due to her elderly mother's deteriorating health. Insurance wouldn't pay her a dime. So, before you spend the money, make sure you understand clearly what is covered and what is not.

[Jane96]

We recently had an illness in the family 2 days before we were to leave on a cruise. We had insurance with Roam Right. We had our doctor fill out the form they sent us and received our refund within a couple of weeks.

[Cruising Is Bliss]

We will be sailing "around the horn" on Celebrity in February/ March of 2016, a trip that we booked almost a year ago but did not purchase the insurance offered by the cruise line or our TA/consolidator. We have sailed about a dozen times and have never purchased insurance, but due to a couple of very elderly mothers, we feel that this time it would be wise to have it. Is there anything in particular that we should be aware of since we let the initial purchase opportunity to fly by us? Are we going to be paying significantly more having let this much time pass between booking and buying? Are there any recommendations? In case anyone is going to suggest this, I posted this in the cruise insurance thread also, but the reader traffic there doesn't appear to be as frequent as the board for the line we are sailing, so....

 

I think travel insurance is still worth it even if it doesn't cover pre-existing conditions. If you haven't paid any non-refundable money yet to anyone, it may even still be possible to get coverage that includes pre-existing conditions. That would cover you for trip cancellation or interruption if a non-traveling family member got injured or sick. Also, if you cancel a trip with no money loss, you can generally transfer outside coverage to any future trip. I do Travel Guard for trip cancelation and medical expenses (bumping up the base coverage) plus MedJet for medical transport. I've been on 11 cruises and on 2 of them someone had to be medically evacuated which is horrendously expensive.

 

A friend who lives in Australia got an a tiny cut while vacationing in Spain. Her travel insurance paid for all expenses from the resulting flesh eating bacteria. More than a month in a Spanish hospital, travel to England to stay with a family member for an additional month recuperating under the care of a doctor there, and they also paid for first class airfare for the long haul back to Oz as soon as her doctor in England approved travel in a lie flat seat.

[Jetswdo]

regarding certain credit card coverage--and what I didn't do a very good job conveying, regarding "pre existing conditions" in your elderly parents. Travelguard isn't of late much different from the other carriers-- They will find any loophole to get out of paying. But at least, by combining medjet with cruise ship insurance, you will at the very least be able to salvage 75% of money. Both Celebrity and Princess explained to me, that once their insurance policy rejects your claim for cancelation (which they usually do) then the cruiseline will issue a voucher, less 25% of the price of the cruise.

 

I will say though, that a friend of mine 2 years ago was supposed to go on an Oceania cruise, all paid up. She had to get an emergency mastectomy- had doctor's note immediately sent to Travel Guard Claims dept. They were very good in handling the situation. Now the policy was around $775 for her and her husband- in their mid 70's. So they were out $775 for the policy. They did not want to insure their non refundable air fare-- American Airlines charged $400 change fees and issued them a voucher for the full fare, good for one year. But I should say, Travel Guard did scrutinize to make sure that she did not have a pre existing condition- once they were satisfied, they did do a terrific job in a fast reimbursement for the very expensive cruise fare.

Edited May 23, 2015 by Jetswdo

[GottaKnowWhen]

We will be sailing "around the horn" on Celebrity in February/ March of 2016, a trip that we booked almost a year ago but did not purchase the insurance offered by the cruise line or our TA/consolidator. We have sailed about a dozen times and have never purchased insurance, but due to a couple of very elderly mothers, we feel that this time it would be wise to have it. Is there anything in particular that we should be aware of since we let the initial purchase opportunity to fly by us? Are we going to be paying significantly more having let this much time pass between booking and buying? Are there any recommendations? In case anyone is going to suggest this, I posted this in the cruise insurance thread also, but the reader traffic there doesn't appear to be as frequent as the board for the line we are sailing, so....

 

 

From your post it seems that the primary risk that concerns you is Trip Cancellation given the possible need to cancel to deal with elderly. Some of the comments here hit on medical evacuation, medical care, etc. I am following the Trip Cancellation suggestions with interest, we have a similar circumstance. But for sure I do NOT need to give much thought to the medical side as our BCBS coverage follows us overseas and includes medical evacuation. I suggest you double check to see what coverages you may already have before buying a policy that is so all inclusive that it provides redundant coverage. Just a thought...

[Cruising Is Bliss]

But for sure I do NOT need to give much thought to the medical side as our BCBS coverage follows us overseas and includes medical evacuation. I suggest you double check to see what coverages you may already have before buying a policy that is so all inclusive that it provides redundant coverage. Just a thought...

 

So do I and add MedJet anyway. When hospitalized more than 150 miles from home, they transport you to the hospital of your choice without regard to medical necessity. They will also transport if needed to the nearest suitably equipped hospital wherever you are, and then when you're stable enough for a longer trip they transport to whichever hospital you choose.

[ghstudio]

There is a great deal of information on medjet, pre-existing conditions and the amount of evacuation insurance you really need in the travel insurance section of CC. You really need to understand those three topics.

 

Medjet is almost a must have...it's very possible that what you think is a pre existing condition really isn't according to the definition on the policy....and depending on where you are cruising, you probably should have $100k of evacuation insurance PLUS medjet.

[ghstudio]

So do I and add MedJet anyway. When hospitalized more than 150 miles from home, they transport you to the hospital of your choice without regard to medical necessity. They will also transport if needed to the nearest suitably equipped hospital wherever you are, and then when you're stable enough for a longer trip they transport to whichever hospital you choose.

 

 

Medjet does not cover evacuation from where you have your medical problem to the first hospital....which is why you still need evacuation insurance.

[clojacks]

Thank you all for the very helpful responses. I would not have been aware of some of these issues otherwise.

[teacherman]

We had a similar situation before a European trip. I used SquareMouth (an on-line consolidator). I spoke with someone at the web site, and they suggested 3 companies that would cover us as long as we purchased it BEFORE our FINAL payment. We ended up with a claim, which was promptly paid.

[ptrpanpens]

I always contact Steve at Tripinsurancestore with all insurance questions. Even though I have alot of experience with insurance you would be surprised with the nuances on certain policies. He is by far the most knowlegable person I have come across and will be able to answer any question you have no matter how obscure. I know many others on these boards have also used him and can confirm this.

 

After a certain age, not having adequate insurance, especially medical and evacuation, is just plain stupid IMO. All it takes is one time and you can find yourself in a horrible situation without it, especially when traveling overseas.

 

I am always amazed when people say they dont get insurance because they can afford to forfeit the cost of a trip if they have to cancel. The bigger issues by far are medical costs (not paid by Medicare BTW), and the need to be evacuated to a good hospital when you are far away from home and dont speak the language. Cancellation insurance is only a small part of it.

[BBsails]

Agree that Steve and his staff at tripinsurancestore.com are knowledgeable and helpful. I have no connection to his business other than satisfied customer.

 

Our Senior Advantage Medicare plan covers us worldwide. In addition, the evidence of coverage indicates that covered ambulance services include fixed wing, rotary wing, and ground services to the nearest appropriate facility. They also cover the services of a licensed ambulance worldwide without prior authorization if one of the following is true 1) You reasonably believe you have an emergency medical condition and reasonably believe that your condition requires the clinical support of ambulance transport services 2) Your treating physician determines that you must be transported to another facility because your emergency medical condition is not stabilized and the care you need is not available at the treating facility.

 

Would appreciate input from you, ghstudio, regarding the paragraph above. Do you think Medjet, or other evac insurance is necessary? Not asking for a recommendation, but welcome any comments you may have.

[SFO-F/A]

We will be sailing "around the horn" on Celebrity in February/ March of 2016, a trip that we booked almost a year ago but did not purchase the insurance offered by the cruise line or our TA/consolidator. We have sailed about a dozen times and have never purchased insurance, but due to a couple of very elderly mothers, we feel that this time it would be wise to have it. Is there anything in particular that we should be aware of since we let the initial purchase opportunity to fly by us? Are we going to be paying significantly more having let this much time pass between booking and buying? Are there any recommendations? In case anyone is going to suggest this, I posted this in the cruise insurance thread also, but the reader traffic there doesn't appear to be as frequent as the board for the line we are sailing, so....

 

 

One month before we to leave on our New Zealand adventure, my elderly mother fell and broke her pelvis. Being the only child, I had to fly to where she lives and ready the house for her return from rehab, plus stay with her for 2 months until she was strong enough to be independent.

 

We ALWAYS take out travel insurance because of my 92 year old mother. That it covers us as well, that's an added bonus.

 

We bought the insurance from a private company the day we made the FINAL payment on our cruise, not a year before when we initially booked the cruise. We made sure the coverage would pay if anything happened to an immediate family member. We had to fill out many forms, have doctors written notes and signatures, have medical records......but we got the whole thing back.

 

Good luck with your parents, I hope they stay well for your cruise.

[Cruising Is Bliss]

Medjet does not cover evacuation from where you have your medical problem to the first hospital....which is why you still need evacuation insurance.

 

I re-read my comment and wow, I was not at all clear that I meant combined evacuation benefits of travel insurance and MedJet when you have both. I was responding to someone questioning why he needed anything but the medical and evacuation coverage provided by his usual medical insurance.

 

Upstream in this thread I posted that I use both Travel Guard and MedJet.

Edited May 27, 2015 by Cruising Is Bliss

[Boo's Mom]

look at insure my trip dot com.

 

It is a great tool to compare many different policies at one time.