Best options for travel insurance

[mkl55]

Hello everyone,

I just booked a 26 night Baltic Cruise for fall of 2017 (so excited!) and am considering options for travel insurance. I've read some references to annual trip insurance but it seems that it's either a medical or trip cancellation/interruption policy, not both.

 

The policy offered through my TA for just this trip does include very good coverage for both medical (evacuation too) and trip cancellation/interruption and is a good option. However we are unsure of what pre-post cruise traveling we may do and had hoped that an annual plan might be a good investment.

 

We are 61 and 68 respectively. Does what I'm looking for exist for people of our "vintage"? What's your best insurance advice..aside from get some! Thanks in advance.

[lizziebargain]

I am Canadian and just bought emergency medical coverage for 2 adults 58, 63 and our 17 year old. It allows unlimited 30 day trips for a year and has up to 5 million per person coverage, medevac if needed etc. It covers most pre-existing conditions that have been stable for 3 months. I purchased it through our local automobile association and got a family rate plus 10% off because we are members and our total cost was $380 Canadian which I thought was very reasonable. Not sure if this is available where you live-there is no trip cancellation insurance included. Good luck.

[dakrewser]

Check with your TA; you should be able to book the policy now, then expand it when you firm up the rest of your travel plans.

[iancal]

Last time my father bought travel insurance the three week rate one time only rate was the same as the annual policy up to three weeks per trip. Plus the latter had higher coverage amounts. In his case he purchased it directly from Blue Cross.

 

Our TA advised him to do this rather than buying through her agency-based on cost AND coverage.

Edited May 25, 2016 by iancal

[cabinluvn]

Google travel insurance or trip insurance. There are companies that sell packages that fit specific needs and are reasonable. Make sure you purchase it before final payment or it limits coverage. Certain credit cards offer trip insurance and even let you add and subtract so you get a specific package

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Babr]

Insuremytrip.com allows you to compare policies from many companies.

 

Getting the right policy can be a daunting task, but you can call and speak to an agent who can help you sort through the various provisions.

 

It might be helpful to know that you can insure an initial amount and increase coverage as additional costs are determined such as flights, hotels, or other non-refundable expenses.

[HELENPSL]

We have actually received the best pricing by purchasing directly with HAL. They quote the same price per person regardless of age. I just did a quick check online with various insurance companies and they were thousands of dollars higher per person. We always get the platinum coverage. I think it's worth checking with them and using that number for comparison.

 

Helen

[take us away]

Have used the previously mentioned insuremytrip.com as need both cancellation and good medical/evacuation insurance. You enter some basic information and a chart appears where you can compare different companies, prices and policies. Most companies have different levels of insurance so you can sort by that also. Interesting is that my TA also recommends Allianz, and can often save me a few dollars. Have not used HAL as medical is not what I need due to a lot of foreign / Asian travel. For years, Allianz has been the company I have used.

[drowelf]

We have actually received the best pricing by purchasing directly with HAL. They quote the same price per person regardless of age. I just did a quick check online with various insurance companies and they were thousands of dollars higher per person. We always get the platinum coverage. I think it's worth checking with them and using that number for comparison.

[/Quote]

 

Thousands of $$$ more? That just does not right. The most we've ever spent on Travel and Medical Insurance was about $1200 for the 2 of us (mid late 50's). That was for our 19-day SA and Antarctica cruise last year. And that cost was only because we choose the policy that had $1,000,000 for Medical Evacuation, since we where going to be very far south for 7-10 days of the trip.

 

I mainly use 2 sites as they give good comparison of rates and plans. Insuremytrip.com and theinsurancestore.com.

 

There are several companies/policies that will cover pre-existing conditions without having to buy the insurance at initial deposit time. Since we generally schedule these things 9-18 months out, I don't want to have to tie up hundreds of $$ that far in advance.

[Babr]

Cruiseline insurance may not be the best choice for the OP because it covers just the cruise - not independently purchased travel before or after the cruise.

 

It may be less expensive because it is not based on age, but there are other things to compare beside price such as dollar limits for medical and evacuation.

 

The only quibble I have with Allianz is that their medical limits are fairly low.

[kevingastreich]

Cruiseline insurance may not be the best choice for the OP because it covers just the cruise - not independently purchased travel before or after the cruise.

 

It may be less expensive because it is not based on age, but there are other things to compare beside price such as dollar limits for medical and evacuation.

 

The only quibble I have with Allianz is that their medical limits are fairly low.

 

Has anyone ever had to actually USE the trip cancellation insurance? If so, was it handled well by the insurance company? I don't want to go cheap and then have to fight for any reimbursement. Thanks.

[GlennG]

Has anyone ever had to actually USE the trip cancellation insurance? If so, was it handled well by the insurance company? I don't want to go cheap and then have to fight for any reimbursement. Thanks.

 

Several years ago, we had a family emergency and had to cancel our cruise. Fortunately, we had purchased HAL's Platinum insurance. We had no problem and no hassles with being reimbursed by Holland America Line. We were really quite surprised and pleased. Since experiencing this emergency, we have always purchased the Platinum insurance.

[Bowie MeMe]

Being of your vintage plus just a little! Here are my beliefs for travel insurance.

 

1. Travel insurance for a year -- I wish for US. I have not found any that include travel cancellation/medical evacuation/medical care/ etc.

 

2. Possessions might already be under home owner's insurance (camera lost/suitcase gone/jewelry stolen etc).

 

3. I follow the idea that I do not want to insure my travel expenses with the same company that is providing those travel items. -- If the whole company goes under -- you are not getting back your cruise money (nor will they get you back home -- flat out busted like with Renisance Cruises and some travel agencies that left people stranded all over the world on their own dime)

 

4. Medical evacuation insurance can be one of the most needed insurances ever. If you have your heart attack or major fall somewhere really inconvenient like in the middle of Peru. It is really expensive. Helicopter. Ambulance from helicopter. Even relative minor -- my sister broke her leg in Oregon national park -- slipped on a gravel road. Ambulance out. Hospital. Then medical transport to airport and walk up first class air ticket back to Florida because leg in big old cast that can't fit economy. And as I said that is nothing compared to plucking you off a ship at sea. Travel insurance can do evacuation but they won't get you home. MedJet Assist gets you from one hospital to another. (Also if you don't make it -- brings body home:eek: I hate to think about these things but yeah it happens that you don't die at home. )

 

5 Medical Insurance -- when on US Medicare it stops at border. Need policy for hospital and doctor. Ship doctor also does not get paid by medicare.

 

 

6. Travel insurance-- I buy at beginning for pre-exsisting conditions and cancellation and this also does trip interruption. I guesstimate the cost of things I won't get back if cancel such as airline tickets and deposits non-refundable. I use Allianz now but more than one company. I add more insurance if the cost goes over what I estimated -- add it at later date.

 

7. Car Insurance --for rental car. I can't figure it out -- Nobody wants to pay if accident. Each country different. Each company different. Sometimes I add insurance at the counter. Mostly I don't. I leave in 2 weeks for a 2 week pre-cruise drive through France. YIKES let you know.

 

Translation: Think long and hard about it. It is lots of money or the possibility of lots of money. Of course you can always "self-insure" say you take care of it if something comes up. That is certainly valid if you think you are a lucky one. If I can help. Glad to. This is just what I have figured out in my 50 years of travel (most of which I didn't even think about the topic!)

[Hlitner]

Color me skeptical of most insurance, but that comes from having spent over 30 years working in the healthcare insurance industry. So lets chat :). For starters, I strongly dislike HAL's policy and the similar policies offered by most cruise lines. Why? Because they only include $10,000 of medical insurance, which these days may not even cover the cost of the first day of a major medical emergency! For those with no other medical coverage outside their country (such as with US Medicare) we think that $100,000 of major med is the minimum acceptable amount (for peace of mind) and $250,000 is even better (but not always available).

 

Keep in mind that your liability for trip cancellation is the cost of the trip! While this can be a lot of money, it is not going to put you in the poor house (or you would not be booking the cruise). But a major medical problem can potentially wipe out many folks (medical bills are the leading cause of personal bankruptcy in the USA).

 

Since we travel about 6 months a year, we long ago decided to self-insure (cover out of our own pocket) trip cancellation/interruption. But for medical, we purchase an annual travel med policy (with $250,000 of major med coverage and a ridiculous $500,000 of medical evacuation) from GeoBlue (an arm of Blue Cross/Blue Shield). The policy now costs us about $450 a year (total cost for two) and covers the first 70 days of any trip we take during the year. You only need to be home 1 day and then the coverage begins again. So this policy actually covers our 6-7 months (per year) of international travel...including the 10 weeks we spend as snow birds in Puerto Vallarta.

 

For those that travel less often, or who want a policy that also covers cancellation, we suggest doing some online shopping. Two decent web sites are insuremytrip.com and squaremouth.com. There is another popular insurance web site, often mentioned on TA (it is operated by a guy named Steve) that we do not reference because we have no personal experience with this company.

 

A few more thoughts on buying insurance. Before you shop around, sit down and get a handle on your personal needs (what kind of insurance, how much, do you have pre existing conditions, etc) so that you can look for a product that meets your personal needs...rather then get sold a travel policy that meets the needs of the salesman more then the customer :).

 

Hank

[iancal]

I agree completely.

 

When I was first told that the cruise line medical coverage was so low I could not understand it. I thought that I was misunderstanding something basic. It seems to me many people think cruise line insurance is good. Maybe for cancel for any reason. But that is all.

 

We actually view a 10K medical limit as self insuring. We do not care about

10K, we care about the larger amounts. Indeed, we always select a 5K deductible on medical if it is available and if it will substantially reduce our premium.

 

I strongly suspect that many people do not really know what they are buying and how competitive their policy is when it comes to this type of coverage.

[Babr]

Has anyone ever had to actually USE the trip cancellation insurance? If so, was it handled well by the insurance company? I don't want to go cheap and then have to fight for any reimbursement. Thanks.

 

Reputable companies offer policies at various price points largely determined by what is covered and the dollar limits allowed. It is not so much about going cheap as it is about knowing what is covered - and what isn't! Buy from one of the major underwriters, and be sure you understand your coverage.

 

Posts that I've read complaining about reimbursements are usually from people who didn't understand their policy. Be sure to read the list of covered reasons for cancellation. Also be sure you understand what constitutes a pre-existing condition. Even a doctor visit that reveals something like a gall bladder problem can trigger a denial if you have to cancel later for emergency gall bladder surgery.

[cargo13]

1 (800) 874-2442 for CSA Travel Protection. They will quote you an annual policy via phone.

 

But CSA's single trip policy for your cruise is very affordable. It depends on what level of coverages you want. CSA's policies have identity theft protection for 180 days from departure so if your ATM is skimmed or your email is hacked on public wi fi, they remediate for 6 months. Its a great benefit that we had to use unfortunately.

[dolfndreams]

Has anyone ever had to actually USE the trip cancellation insurance? If so, was it handled well by the insurance company? I don't want to go cheap and then have to fight for any reimbursement. Thanks.

 

I just had to use the trip insurance. My sister had a heart attack on our Journey cruise of the Southern Caribbean in Dominica and had to leave the ship to their "medical facility which was rather awful 3rd world care, wishing all the time we could have stayed under care of ship or medivaced home but in that window of too sick to stay on ship but not sick enought to medivac. The ship care was fantastic but no option to stay and had to get off with all our luggage by a rickety car to their care center. We did have a port agent assigned, but definitely something I hope doesn't happen again.

 

I had actually added her later so had trip insurance on both of us through different insurance (Through insuremytrip she had Travelex and I had Travelsafe) After gathering paperwork which was rather mind boggling and gathering all receipts etc etc etc they both came through for both of us. I had worried since we were under different policies but her doctors write a letter stating I had to stay with her.

 

Almost wish they had medivac instead of leaving us in Dominica which was a pretty awful medical experience with a adventure of 3 days getting home because of limited flights etc.

 

All in all highly recommend trip insurance all expenses were covered for us; and I have to say Carnival also came through (day two of the cruise when it happened so even without contacting them to ask they allowed the price of cruise to be applied to future cruise) had a very helpful agent they assigned to us etc

 

Highly recommend both trip insurance and being sure you have a credit card with a reasonably high limit. I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't had enough on my card for the $2100 in flights, $300 night in hotel costs since it was Carnival and the lower end hotels were in a insanely noisy part of town, along with 3 flights of stairs there was no way she was climbing, food and ability to get more cash for tips, taxi etc .

 

Good experience all in all and thank God sister was ok and we made it home. Dominica thought it was possibly pneumonia so although worried I had no idea it was a heart attack until we made it home and she ended up in the hospital (a real one in this case)

Edited May 26, 2016 by dolfndreams

[alwaysfrantic]

Has anyone ever had to actually USE the trip cancellation insurance? If so, was it handled well by the insurance company? I don't want to go cheap and then have to fight for any reimbursement. Thanks.

 

I have filed claims multiple times with various companies after choosing a policy at insuremytrip.com. They have all paid promptly with no problems.

 

On the website I put in total cost, select 5 or 6 options for policies to compare, then go down the chart and deselect until one policy remains and I buy that one.

 

It has always been less for 2 or a full family than one of HALs policies, with much better coverage. I'm not swayed by the cancel for any reason provision; if I booked it I want to go.

[Hlitner]

The post about wanting "medivac" at Dominica raises another very important issue. Most folks do not read the fine print when it comes to Medical Evacuation. In nearly all policies that include Med Evac, the language says that the decision must be pre approved by the insurance company....usually in conjunction with the recommendation of the physician at a hospital. In other words, you must first be admitted to a local hospital, and then the local physician and insurance company must both agree that med evac is necessary. And even at that point, you will generally be evacuated to the nearest decent hospital....not to your home town.

 

But there is a Med Evac policy sold by "Medjetassist" which gives the patient much of the decision making power. And Medjetassist also allows one to be evacuated to a hospital near their home (assuming this is possible and reasonable). We have often referred to the Medjetassist policy as the Cadillac of evacuation insurance. They sell both single trip andannual policies which are not inexpensive....but many argue that you do get what you pay for. Just keep in mind this is not Trip Insurance...but simply trip medical evacuation insurance. However, even Medjetassist requires that a cruiser first be admitted to a local hospital...before they will start the evacuation process.

 

Hank

Edited May 26, 2016 by Hlitner

[cptlapcat]

I just had to use the trip insurance. My sister had a heart attack on our Journey cruise of the Southern Caribbean in Dominica and had to leave the ship to their "medical facility which was rather awful 3rd world care, wishing all the time we could have stayed under care of ship or medivaced home but in that window of too sick to stay on ship but not sick enought to medivac. The ship care was fantastic but no option to stay and had to get off with all our luggage by a rickety car to their care center. We did have a port agent assigned, but definitely something I hope doesn't happen again.

 

I had actually added her later so had trip insurance on both of us through different insurance (Through insuremytrip she had Travelex and I had Travelsafe) After gathering paperwork which was rather mind boggling and gathering all receipts etc etc etc they both came through for both of us. I had worried since we were under different policies but her doctors write a letter stating I had to stay with her.

 

Almost wish they had medivac instead of leaving us in Dominica which was a pretty awful medical experience with a adventure of 3 days getting home because of limited flights etc.

 

All in all highly recommend trip insurance all expenses were covered for us; and I have to say Carnival also came through (day two of the cruise when it happened so even without contacting them to ask they allowed the price of cruise to be applied to future cruise) had a very helpful agent they assigned to us etc

 

Highly recommend both trip insurance and being sure you have a credit card with a reasonably high limit. I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't had enough on my card for the $2100 in flights, $300 night in hotel costs since it was Carnival and the lower end hotels were in a insanely noisy part of town, along with 3 flights of stairs there was no way she was climbing, food and ability to get more cash for tips, taxi etc .

 

Good experience all in all and thank God sister was ok and we made it home. Dominica thought it was possibly pneumonia so although worried I had no idea it was a heart attack until we made it home and she ended up in the hospital (a real one in this case)

 

Just got off 12 day cruise to Caribbean April 30th. My son-in-law had a heart attack on the 5th day as we arrived in St Maarten. He was evacuated to the St Marteen Medical Center where he spent 2 days in intensive care and 11 additional days stuck in St Marteen before they would release him to fly home (they almost medievaced him).I immediately called my travel insurance the minute the incident happened and they were fantastic. They took over and handled almost every situation (hospital, air line reservations home etc}.

 

My takeaway from this traumatic situation.

 

1. Get travel insurance as I guarantee it could happen to you.

2. Take a high balance credit card if you have one.

3, Contact the travel company as soon as possible. I was lucky that I had contacted the travel company the minute the incident happened.They were able to pay the hospital bill. A few hours later then I would have to come up with thousands of dollars.

4. Keep every receipt as travel company requires them to be reimbursed.

5. If you have a preexisting condition be sure to get insurance within the time period (usually 14 days after booking the cruise}.

 

Here is a tip that a lot of people do not know.

 

When you first purchase travel insurance you only have to purchase insurance on the amount of the deposit not on the entire amount of the cruise. For example if you purchase a cruise that cost $14000 your deposit would be about $1200. You buy travel insurance for the $1200 which would cost about $350. As the days go buy you add a non refundable hotel, airline fee you would call the travel company and add that amount. Right before final payment you would add the remainder of the cruise.

 

My final thought is that I am glad I bought travel insurance and am happy with the way we were treated by them.

[mkl55]

What a wealth of great information! Many points raised were things I had not considered and will certainly consider now. I reread the policy offered by my TA with better informed eyes. So far I find that I can't beat it with my online research. There's always some important piece missing in terms of coverage, packaged with a lot of things that I'm not interested in as credit cards, etc. provide that coverage.

 

Thank you for sending me to those websites. I have some calls in to agents and can better assess the information they will hopefully provide. Exactly what I was looking for doesn't seem to exist without a heftier price tag than is reasonable.

 

Many thanks for your thoughtful responses. It's so helpful to learn other people's thought processes and "travel adventures".

[mkl55]

I also wanted to add my sympathies for the frightening health challenges. I'm so happy to hear that your loved ones received good care and were able to return to health. So traumatic for everyone involved, I'm sure. Best wishes for less eventful journeys in the future.