A Tale of Two Insurance Policies

[italianblend]

I have a somewhat weird question.

 

Let's say my wife gets pregnant right before our trip and she is having a miserable time because of morning sickness on the cruise. Will travel insurance help us at all in the event that we want to abandon the cruise because of this?

[JVilleGal]

I have a somewhat weird question.

 

 

 

Let's say my wife gets pregnant right before our trip and she is having a miserable time because of morning sickness on the cruise. Will travel insurance help us at all in the event that we want to abandon the cruise because of this?

 

 

If you bought "cancel for any reason" coverage, otherwise it just depends on the type of coverage you purchased. But CFAR is the only way I can see it working and with some companies you may only get at 75% credit. Depends on the policy!

[JVilleGal]

Curious have you booked your cruise yet.... Reason I ask is you have a very short time frame 14 (with some companies 21) days to get your Travel Insurance and cover pre-existing conditions . That from time of initial deposit!

[Guest maddycat]

I just found this thread. It contains excellent information. I've been buying our travel insurance through the Trip Insurance Store for several years.

 

I have Trave Safe insurance for our next 3 cruises. Needless to say, I wasn't happy to learn that Trip Mate processes Travel Safe claims. I will not be purchasing Travel Safe insurance in the future.

[ChucktownSteve]

I just found this thread. It contains excellent information. I've been buying our travel insurance through the Trip Insurance Store for several years.

 

I have Trave Safe insurance for our next 3 cruises. Needless to say, I wasn't happy to learn that Trip Mate processes Travel Safe claims. I will not be purchasing Travel Safe insurance in the future.

 

I wish I had read a tread like this before I purchased my TravelSafe policies. I've had a claim being stalled by TripMate for two months so far. They just this week requested confirmation of my cancelled flight from 5/11. It took them 7 weeks to confirm from TravelSafe that I did have a policy through them. I'll never buy another policy which uses TripMate for claims!!!:mad:

[klfrodo]

I have a somewhat weird question.

 

Let's say my wife gets pregnant right before our trip and she is having a miserable time because of morning sickness on the cruise. Will travel insurance help us at all in the event that we want to abandon the cruise because of this?

 

In a word,,, No

Pregnancy is not a covered illness or disease

[iamtrustworthy]

Some of you may recognize my user name as a longtime poster on these Travel Insurance boards....I say that only to restate that I know all about the fine print on Trip Insurance policies, I read them, I understand the limits, I pay attention to details as obscure as knowing "Reasonable Expenses" can be limited to Hotel and Food expenses in one policy and will be Hotel, Food, Rental Car, replacement clothing and toiletries in another.

 

Hi cherylandtk,

 

Thank you for letting us know about the delay on your claim when you did. I'm sorry that it took so very long for TripMate to pay you. I am happy we were able to speed it up.

 

Steve Dasseos

[iamtrustworthy]

Hello - once again, perchance do you know which of the 'Primary/First Payers' will pay directly to the hospital upon contacting them when the emergency occurs?

 

TIA - bo1953

 

Hi Bo1953,

 

The Primary medical (aka "First Payer") isn’t better than Secondary (aka Excess) medical coverage, although it’s often sold that way. The only difference is the order in which claims are paid.

 

In addition, many plans, but not all, can arrange payment to a medical facility if needed to secure your admission (this doesn’t mean paying your full bill).

 

Also, what I just said applies to the medical coverage, not emergency transportation. Emergency transportation is arranged by and paid for by the insurance company.

 

I hope this helps you.

 

Steve

[iamtrustworthy]

I have a somewhat weird question.

 

Let's say my wife gets pregnant right before our trip and she is having a miserable time because of morning sickness on the cruise. Will travel insurance help us at all in the event that we want to abandon the cruise because of this?

 

Hi italianblend,

 

As someone already mentioned, a Cancel for Any Reason plan could help you. The one provision in it that may rule it out is that most plans require you can change your mind and cancel at least 48 hours before you leave while others require you can change your mind and cancel at least two days before you leave.

 

Now, it may appear I am confused because at least 48 hours before you leave sounds the same as at least two days before you leave. Those deadlines may sound the same, but they are not. Here's an example based on a Friday at 9:00 am departure date & time:

 

- A plan with the 48 hour rule requires you to cancel all your trip arrangements not later than 8:59 am of the previous Wednesday

- A plan with the 2 day rule requires you to cancel all your trip arrangements not later than 11:59 pm of the previous Wednesday

 

I’ve seen many examples of where those extra hours have made a difference between someone having a covered claim or not.

 

I hope this helps,

 

Steve

[JVilleGal]

Steve thanks for dropping by and answering some questions!

[Happy2cruise]

Steve thanks for dropping by and answering some questions!

This is why we purchase our travel insurance only from tripinsurancestore;)....Steve and his staff are a wealth of knowledge.

[JVilleGal]

This is why we purchase our travel insurance only from tripinsurancestore;)....Steve and his staff are a wealth of knowledge.

 

 

Ditto!

[Former Goalie]

This is why we purchase our travel insurance only from tripinsurancestore;)....Steve and his staff are a wealth of knowledge.

 

Agreed. It helps having a team, such as the team at trip insurance store, guiding you through the maze that can be travel insurance. First bought a policy w/Steve and the folks I'm guessing 10 years ago. Knew very little, couldn't understand why I had to insure for the full amount (I believe with CFAR). I left that conversation knowing full well that I needed to insure full amount, or the policy would not help with CFAR. I've become pretty savvy (I think) since then, but still purchase from them. Purchased probably 10 policies total, one claim, which was paid in full (with some paper work) in about 2 months.

[Happy2cruise]

Agreed. It helps having a team, such as the team at trip insurance store, guiding you through the maze that can be travel insurance. First bought a policy w/Steve and the folks I'm guessing 10 years ago. Knew very little, couldn't understand why I had to insure for the full amount (I believe with CFAR). I left that conversation knowing full well that I needed to insure full amount, or the policy would not help with CFAR. I've become pretty savvy (I think) since then, but still purchase from them. Purchased probably 10 policies total, one claim, which was paid in full (with some paper work) in about 2 months.

Also, what I like about them besides their wealth of knowledge is that if you ever need to file and/or have trouble with a claim they will help and go to bat for you if needed:):)

[newsbob]

Thanks so much for your post. Very informative.

 

We cruise a lot and use InsureMyTrip.com for our policies. I like their side-by-side comparison capabilities. They are also very helpful on the phone. Luckily we haven't needed to file any claims (knocking on wood) but I feel that they would assist if we had trouble with an insurance company.

 

This is not intended as a negative against tripinsurancestore.com in any way. Just a second opinion.

 

We have witnessed two separate helicopter evacuations from ships while on cruises. One was a U.S. Coast Guard chopper out of Juneau in terrible weather conditions. I've always wondered if they charge for their services. That's why we always opt for the highest possible evacuation coverage.

[Barry ATL]

We have an upcoming cruise on 12/13/15. I purchased the travel insurance form Global Alert back in April. After reading this, I am now concerned. My husband is paraplegic so I am always concerned about medical issues on the trip.

 

The first time I purchased Global Alert was through one of the two broker sites mentioned. I chose Global Alert because their medical coverage seemed to be better and had a few more choices. For this trip I purchased directly from the Global Alert website.

 

What precautions should I take before going on the trip in regards to the Global Alert travel insurance?

[jgawne]

I am just curious why no one has mentioned Berkely, or TravelGuard, two of the biggest companies, and who are the insurer offered by many of the cruise and river cruise lines and travel agents.

[JVilleGal]

Do NOT buy insurance offer by the cruise line when you book!!!

Berkely is typically offered by the cruise lines. TravelGuard has hundreds of different policies with varying degrees of coverage.

[codie902]

Does anyone know a good company to buy travel insurance from in Canada? My mother is 82 no health problems. Thanks.

[klfrodo]

Does anyone know a good company to buy travel insurance from in Canada? My mother is 82 no health problems. Thanks.

 

Here is a 5 page thread dedicated to our Canadian friends.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1390788

[JVilleGal]

Does anyone know a good company to buy travel insurance from in Canada? My mother is 82 no health problems. Thanks.

 

 

Age 75 and older is completely different and one of the reasons to consider the Cruiselines insurance offer as that insurance is usually not age driven vs third party offerings that is age driven. Sense you are not a U.S. Citizen your answers may be completely different....

[cherylandtk]

...What precautions should I take before going on the trip in regards to the Global Alert travel insurance?

Read your policy to become familiar with the specific coverages; that includes reading the definitions in Capital Letters mentioned in the policy. Be sure you feel like you have a good grasp of what is and is not covered.

 

Do not worry too much, but if you do experience a coverable event, be certain to get all the receipts for everything you spend. Document everything; ask for written confirmations of delayed or cancelled flights, take pictures of the departure boards, take a small journal and ask for and write down the names of people you speak with, dates, times, as well as a short summary of the conversation. If you do need to file a claim, having as much documentation as you can will support your claim. After you file, be sure to follow up on a weekly basis. Most of all, remember that most times you won't need to use the policy.

[MaisonRose]

Some of you may recognize my user name as a longtime poster on these Travel Insurance boards....I say that only to restate that I know all about the fine print on Trip Insurance policies, I read them, I understand the limits, I pay attention to details as obscure as knowing "Reasonable Expenses" can be limited to Hotel and Food expenses in one policy and will be Hotel, Food, Rental Car, replacement clothing and toiletries in another.

 

Several times a week the regulars on this board are asked "which insurance policy is best"....and the usual (and correct) reply is "it depends". The specific amounts and types of coverages will depend on what you need..

 

If you have managed to get through all of this, my thanks to you for reading it. I only hope our experience will serve to steer future purchasers to those policies that deserve your business. There may be other policies out there besides the ones that I list above that are worthwhile, but that is my short list for the time being.

 

Cheryl's post got me involved in a 3 day search for insurance that was eye opening and effective. Here are the parameters of my situation:

1. Elderly mother. Needed cancellation. (Not available in ANNUAL insurance)

2. No pre existing conditions.

3. Departing for cruise from our second home in France, essentially negating almost all policies issued in the States since travel must originate from your US residence.

After reading just about every post, I encouraged my husband to sign in to his USAA account ( most ex military deal with this wonderful company).

 

USAA forwarded us to the Travel Insured site, where the prices were slightly lower but also PERMITTED US TO ORIGINATE OUR JOURNEY ANYWHERE. Our highest level policy has a higher med evac than most, no age restriction, and no pre existing conditions. I booked by phone using our USAA membership number.

 

Note: I checked with European insurance companies and April International was the best to meet our needs until I discovered that I was excluded by being age 75.

 

I hope.this helps anyone with special situations like us "ex-pats".

 

Susan

[tew060]

So....does the cruise line insurance totally suck then?

Edited August 12, 2015 by tew060

[ChucktownSteve]

So....does the cruise line insurance totally suck then?

 

Did you read the provisions very carefully in the policy? It only sucks if that's not all that you want covered or not covered because of the exclusions.