Purchasing Carnival's Insurance

[elliair]

And as far as it being a benefit to go with Carnival insurance, I know we had to contact them for months with nothing but runarounds until we actually filed a lawsuit.

 

With getting hosed by Carnival, that would have been my last cruise with them. Your experience is a good reason NOT to get your travel insurance through Carnival, Princess, etc. Heck, I don't even get transfers with them - they can't be trusted, they're great at spinning facts.

Edited June 14, 2016 by elliair

[dominichunter]

We always used insuremytrip until we reached 70 (they use age in calculating rate). Now Carnival is a lot cheaper @ $95pp.

[firemanbobswife]

We always used insuremytrip until we reached 70 (they use age in calculating rate). Now Carnival is a lot cheaper @ $95pp.

 

 

Have you thought about an annual medical plan? I know people that do that and they like it. Of course it doesn't cover trip delays and things like that usually, but at least your medical will be covered. Let's face it, the older we get the more likely something is to go wrong and Carnival's coverage is pathetic. While it may be cheaper, it can be financially devastating should you have a true medical emergency in port or onboard.

[cruzelover55]

With getting hosed by Carnival, that would have been my last cruise with them. Your experience is a good reason NOT to get your travel insurance through Carnival, Princess, etc. Heck, I don't even get transfers with them - they can't be trusted, they're great at spinning facts.

 

As I said, I am embarrassed to admit that I still get C's insurance. I do plan on trying lolavix's suggestion to try tripinsurancestore. com. Maybe I'll be able to do a better job of comparing options. But, as far as not cruising again with them, we took into account that out of about 10 cruises that we had a wonderful time on, only ONE was terrible. I feel we would be only denying ourselves a nice vacation by not cruising with them again. We certainly wouldn't be hurting Carnival by boycotting them. Our slot would be filled easily. They made my husband sign a confidentiality agreement as to not to speak of the whole mess. Then said I had to also, as I was present. I told them, no, we got screwed (though I didn't put it that nicely) and I will tell anyone I choose to.

[ryano]

As I said, I am embarrassed to admit that I still get C's insurance. I do plan on trying lolavix's suggestion to try tripinsurancestore. com. Maybe I'll be able to do a better job of comparing options. But, as far as not cruising again with them, we took into account that out of about 10 cruises that we had a wonderful time on, only ONE was terrible. I feel we would be only denying ourselves a nice vacation by not cruising with them again. We certainly wouldn't be hurting Carnival by boycotting them. Our slot would be filled easily. They made my husband sign a confidentiality agreement as to not to speak of the whole mess. Then said I had to also, as I was present. I told them, no, we got screwed (though I didn't put it that nicely) and I will tell anyone I choose to.

 

The OP telling you to boycott Carnival is just anti Carnival and must not know how insurance works that is provided through the cruiselines. To boycott Carnival over an insurance problem is just absurd to me. As pointed out above, there is no such thing as Carnival insurance. They use a third party company and you have to go through that company for claims. Calling Carnival over an insurance claim or problem is just a waste of time. If there is a problem in the claim filing process or getting paid, that has to be taken up with the insurance company, NOT Carnival :)

 

Id suggest looking at http://www.insuremytrip.com and checking out the Nationwide Choice Cruise plan. It offers a lot more medical coverage and medivac coverage than the insurance you buy through Carnival and its very reasonable priced.

Edited June 14, 2016 by ryano

[cruzelover55]

The OP telling you to boycott Carnival is just anti Carnival and must not know how insurance works that is provided through the cruiselines. To boycott Carnival over an insurance problem is just absurd to me. As pointed out above, there is no such thing as Carnival insurance. They use a third party company and you have to go through that company for claims. Calling Carnival over an insurance claim or problem is just a waste of time. If there is a problem in the claim filing process or getting paid, that has to be taken up with the insurance company, NOT Carnival :)

 

Id suggest looking at http://www.insuremytrip.com and checking out the Nationwide Choice Cruise plan. It offers a lot more medical coverage and medivac coverage than the insurance you buy through Carnival and its very reasonable priced.

 

I did not get the impression that anyone was anti Carnival. This thread will turn ugly fast if people start making it personal.

Also, there was more to it than just problems with the insurance company. We dealt with them and they paid off, but it took over a year. But, we had a lawsuit with Carnival as to how the injury was handled, the severity of it, time lost from work,etc... And I feel they did have something to do with the reason the insurance company drug their feet so long in paying off medical bills. Medical bills were not paid until suit was settled. We lived on savings for over 3 months, until he could return to work, I can't imagine the financial hardship it would have caused for someone that didn't already have medical insurance (they paid 80%) the surgery would not have been done.

 

To you and all others with advise as to where to look for alternate insurance, thanks, this thread has made me finally realize I need to get off my duff and find something else instead of just taking the easy way out. :o:)

[crooooze]

Several folks have identified Nationwide Cruise Choice. I would recommend TravelSafe Classic.

 

Most of the plans offered on InsureMyTrip are secondary, which means you need to submit first to your primary insurance for reimbursement. Then, submit to the trip insurance plan to pick up the difference.

 

First, submitting and tracking down two claims is a hassle. Second, the trip insurance is not paying out as much, which makes the premium relatively more expensive. Third, if you have a healthcare account setup with your employer, where you put aside pre-tax dollars for medical bills, your primary insurance will automatically tap into that fund to pay you for your claim. So, essentially, you get a check for the full amount, but it leaves nothing for your trip insurance to payout. The result is you got zero value out of the trip insurance and you wound up paying a portion of the vacation medical bill out of your own pocket (via healthcare account payroll deduction). I am speaking from experience.

 

If I am going to fork over a few hundred dollars for vacation insurance, I make sure it is primary. Travelsafe classic fits my needs pefectly.

Edited June 15, 2016 by crooooze

[firemanbobswife]

Several folks have identified Nationwide Cruise Choice. I would recommend TravelSafe Classic.

 

Most of the plans offered on InsureMyTrip are secondary, which means you need to submit first to your primary insurance for reimbursement. Then, submit to the trip insurance plan to pick up the difference.

 

First, submitting and tracking down two claims is a hassle. Second, the trip insurance is not paying out as much, which makes the premium relatively more expensive. Third, if you have a healthcare account setup with your employer, where you put aside pre-tax dollars for medical bills, your primary insurance will automatically tap into that fund to pay you for your claim. So, essentially, you get a check for the full amount, but it leaves nothing for your trip insurance to payout. The result is you got zero value out of the trip insurance and you wound up paying a portion of the vacation medical bill out of your own pocket (via healthcare account payroll deduction). I am speaking from experience.

 

If I am going to fork over a few hundred dollars for vacation insurance, I make sure it is primary. Travelsafe classic fits my needs pefectly.

 

 

They have that plan on InsureMyTrip. I just looked it up. It does appear to be a very good plan as well. It is primary coverage like you said which I like but I don't have a healthcare account like you mentioned so wouldn't have to worry about that part. While we're talking about that, you said you would receive a check from the insurance company for the full amount so how is it then that it would cost me anything when I am getting reimbursed in full say if my regular insurance didn't pay anything because they don't cover claims outside of the country? Or even if they did? I'm just not clear about that part.

 

The only couple of things I like the Nationwide plan better for are the option to add Cancel for any reason and the fact that preexisting conditions are covered up until final payment date as opposed to within 21 days of initial trip deposit. However the latter is easily overcome by just getting everything at once. Only downside is if you're really far out and then you get airfare later, you have to call back and add it then pay the additional funds for increased coverage. But it's pretty easy and straightforward. Just another step to go through. No big deal, really.

 

Thanks for bringing this one to my attention. I may try it out on a future cruise even if it is a few bucks higher.

[Fla Mike]

I have always had luck with Travel Guard.

As a matter of fact, for our trip on 9-1-16, I just purchased insurance today, as I neglected to purchase same day as is usual for me.

 

The price was actually $8.50pp higher than Carnival, but the coverage was far superior. This was for the "My Travel Guard" policy where you can customize coverage. The travel Guard basic policy was less than Carnival for similar coverage.