trip insurance or not?

[Sarahsmom85]

I have been looking at insurance but have not gotten any. I am worried about the pre-excisting illness. Do any of you get insurance?

My husband is prone to urinary track infections (UTI's). I do plan to bring Cipro along. I also planned a dr. visit the week before we leave, not that that can make a difference.

I'm still up in the air about it.

 

Comments?

[katisdale]

Sometimes I get insurance and sometimes I don't. It depends on the cost of the cruise. Going to Europe last year, I got the insurance. If you buy it when you first book the cruise (or within 2 weeks depending on the policy) it covers pre-existing conditions. If we don't have to fly and the cruise is not expensive then I take my chances and don't get the insurance knowing that I will have to eat the cost if we need to cancel after final payment.

[montgomeryfamily]

CSA has travel insurance that will cover pre-existing conditions if purchased within 24 hours of FINAL payment. So you still may be able to get insurance.

 

Certainly travel insurance is important for concerns about cruise cancellation issues, but what concerns me even more is the costs for any potential medical treatment or evacuation. I have been on several cruises where someone was injured or became ill and had to be evacuated. One cruise, a lady fell down a flight of steps and had a head injury. On another cruise, a man had his first heart attack. A third cruise a baby became ill, running a high temperature. In all of these cases, they had to be airlifted. I have also been on several cruises where we deviated to go to a port for a medical emergency or where before we could disembark, the ship disembarked someone ill, with an ambulance meeting the ship. We have been on over thirty cruises, and in about one/third of them someone had to leave the ship ill or injured. The cost of medical evacuation and medical care in a foreign port is extremely expensive. So you should consider this aspect of travel insurance before deciding not to purchase it.

[Splinter]

We also always get insurance. Thank goodness we have never had to use it, although we have had to use the services of the ship's hospital for a UTI, or on a recent trip, a bout of cellulitis for my mother. They have antibiotics and other common drugs.

 

I was on the Grand Princess with an elderly friend who had to be in the ship's ICU for 3 days. Medicare did reimburse 80% of the bill, but this is not always the case when you are out of the USA. Fortunately she did not have to leave the cruise.

 

Having to be evacuated either due to an illness or an injury is VERY expensive. Having to cancel your cruise at the last minute for a medical problem is also expensive (and you will not get any of your money back without trip insurance). It is a small cost for much more peace of mind and can avoid a BIG expense later on.

[tinkerme1]

SarahsMom: Travel Insurance has been debated here on Cruise Critic for a very long time, but I think you will find that most of us feel that the insurance is just a necessary evil of cruising.

 

My daughter became ill on a short three-day cruise, and the doctor's bill onboard the ship was over $275.00 for a short, early morning Sunday visit, which included IV's and an injection. It is money well spent if you need it, and just a "loss" if you don't, but personally, I would NEVER cruise without it. As others have said here, if you ever need to be evacuated from the ship via LifeFlight, the cost could be over $10,000! That is a cost most of us would rather not see hit our Credit Card.

 

You may want to go to:

 

http://insuremytrip.com

 

This website is invaluable for comparing features and costs of travel insurance.

[kitty9]

You most definitely need travel insurance. Your own insurance most likely won't cover you once you're outside the country. I have plenty of pre-existing conditions, and alway purchase the insurance within 10 to 14 days of booking the cruise. That way, all my pre-existings are covered. You can get coverage if you purchase insurance at a later date, but only one company does this, CSA, and it is much more expensive than if you had purchased it at the time of booking.

 

FYI, a pre-existing is anything you've been treated for within the past 180 days and that includes taking any prescription medications. And BTW, medical evac off a ship is now in the $25,000 to $30,000 range.

[Sarahsmom85]

What if the cruise is all paid for already?

[montgomeryfamily]

Some people pay for cruises early and if that is what you did, then CSA would still likely allow you to purchase. But if the time is within the time period within which the cruise line cancellation penalty takes effect, then you would not be able to purchase it.

 

Instead you might be able to find just some insurance which covers only medical and medical evacuation on a trip. The insuremytrip.com does allow you to search for just this type of insurance. There is even a travel medical insurance that you can purchase which covers you for an entire year for all of your traveling.

 

At this late date, this is probably the best you can do. You can check your own health insurance coverage and determine what it will cover to see whether/how much additional travel medical insurance you should obtain. But you won't probably won't have the benefit of their help if something happens on your trip.

 

There are also some services you can purchase which doesn't give you insurance, but that does provide advice to you if an injury or illness occurs on a trip and helps to arrange (but not pay) for drs or other medical services.

[Queenie2]

I have great travel coverage from Amex. It costs about $149 for both my husband and I for a year (wherever we travel). It is not trip cancellation insurance, put it does pay to fly you home if you are sick or injured. It also covers $100k of medical evacuation and pays secondary to your med insurance (if you have any, if not it's primary). So it really is great coverage. Also pays for family member to come be with you if you are hospitalized. I believe it covers pre-existing conditions, or at least it did when I signed up some 6 years ago. I often joke that I have better medical coverage while I'm traveling then when at home. Considering how much time we spend on the road, it's a very wise investment. It goes into effect when you are 150 miles from home.

 

A lot of assns and companies have these yearly policies, so check them out. AAA also has one, but it’s not near as good as the AMEX one. I also tell people to check with their insurance agent, as these are the folks that really know the policies.

 

Candy

[CaptData]

Most of the time I do not use the insurance that I buy but the one time I used it when my DD became ill in the States (I'm Canadian). We had to send her home in an ambulance, with the hospital stay and transport, transport team ect it came to over $10,000.00 (US).

 

As for cruises, my husband passed away 8 days before our first cruise. I'm glad I had insurance. He was not ill to our knowledge when we booked it a year before. We went to the doctor's for our annual medicals he had cancer. I also seen a doctor on board once for a sudden rash. The cost with meds ect came to $172.50 (US). While there, they were perparing another person for evac. I asked out of curiousity what it would cost approx. The nurse said on average it is $30,000-$50,000.00 (this was in 2003).

 

Also on my Panama Canal cruise in 2002 a man had a fatal heart attack while on board (he was 29!!!)

[catmommy]

I'd say get the insurance. Check insure my trip and if you have questions call the providers.

 

Here is what the faq there has to say about pre-existing conditions:

 

Q.

What if I take medication for high blood pressure, for example? Would this be considered a Pre-Existing Medical Condition? ?

A.

If your medication is controlled and you see a Doctor for routine checkups, this would NOT be considered a pre-existing condition. It would only be considered a pre-existing condition if your Doctor altered your medication, had a test done, requested that a test be done, or changed your diagnosis.

 

So if you think you might not be covered check it out to make sure.

 

Also, as others have said, the cost to evacuate is really high and you don't want to have to pay that on your own.

 

DH and I are in our 40's and we always have trip insurance. You never know what might happen to you.

 

DH and I are healthy but last year we both ended up with hospital stays one week a part from each other. And there was not way to predict that either of us would end up in the hospital.

 

Good luck!

Caroline

[Sarahsmom85]

Hi

DH is a quad and uses a wheelchair, he does have several issues but most are undercontrol. His biggest is he get UTI's out of the blue. If I catch it right away and give him Cirpo he is better in a few days, if not he ends up in the hospital.

We did a lot of traveling, cruised once before, spent 16 days in Florida last yr and 2 different weeks in Vegas. HE was fine for those weeks.

Becasue it is so late, curise is payed for, I think we will forget it this time but get it right away next time.

[Arwenmark]

unfortunately most insurance companies require you to purchase the ins with a few days of booking or pre existing conditions, whether your or some other family member not traveling with you but that may get sick or die while you are gone won't be covered.

 

Everyone SHOULD get insurance on every trip. any able bodied person can fall down the stairs or whatever and require evacuation to the tune of over 200 thousand dollars.

Have you read how many posts on here have to cancel at the last min because someone got sick then are livid because the cruiseline won't refund their money or credit them etc. but they did not NEED insurance.

 

Certainly anyone with a condition or with a family member that anything could happen to needs insurance.

[EscapeCruises]

My second cruise, I did not purchase travel insurance, and although I did not have a medical problem, the entire country of Bermuda went on strike and my cruise was ruined because we were stuck in St. George and had no way to get to other ports (no tug boat operators, no taxis, no buses, etc.; plus it was year of hurricane and lots of damage!)

Had I purchased insurance, I would have had a cash reimbursement due to travel partner strike.

As for medical, you never know. Travelguard is another good one that covers pre-existing conditions if you purchase within 14 days of trip deposit. I sell this one to my clients, and purchase it for myself for all trips. It's worth the extra dollars! The prices are very reasonable, but get higher the older you are, as they are based on age and price of trip.

Hope this helps!

[cusyl]

OMG, don't leave home without it. It's a small price to pay for piece of mind. An emergency airlift from a foreign port or ship is $25,000 or more.

When we were young and foolish we never bought it, but now that we are older and wiser we wouldn't consider not buying it.

[Arwenmark]

sorry duplicate post

[O2B@C]

We just yesterday received a check for over $2,000 in proceeds from insurance for the cost of a trip (not a cruise - a prepaid flight/hotel/car package in Hawaii) that we had to cancel at the last minute due to DH's back problems. Needless to say we are now big fans of travel insurance! Word of advice: if there is any chance you may need to cancel your trip for medical reasons: (1) get your doctor to approve the trip before you book; (2) buy insurance when you book, if that will get you a pre-existing condition waiver, and then (3) if you do need to cancel, go to the doctor right away to establish that the cancellation is medically necessary.

[travelteam]

We always get trip insurance. On our last cruise 1/2/06 a 45 year old man had a heart attack and needed to have a helicopter evacuate him. Also another person was taken off the ship in a foreign port. I'm sure the costs are high for events like these. Trip insurance is just that. Insurance that covers costs out of the county not covered by US medical insurance. Unfortunately, we have had to cancel several trips in our years together, and we always got our money back, even after final payment. I consider the insurance as a necessary cost of the trip.

[RevSmith]

Yes, yes, yes....always...the time you don't get it may be the time that you need it.

[OracleBones]

I've always purchased travel insurance to cover cancellation. My out-of-country medical is covered through my employer's group benefit extended health care coverage. While I've never had to make a claim, the fear of having a claim being denied due to a pre-existing condition has always been present. A CBC TV news magazine program recently featured a story of a Toronto man being denied his claim when he cancelled a cruise. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer after booking and therefore cancelled. He did have a pre-existing history of heart problems and had seen his specialist for a routine annual review prior to booking the holiday and was just fine. His pre-existing condition was the reason given for the denial of his claim. This, along with the recent story on CNN about the victims of Hurricane Katrina who are being denied their legitimate insurance claims because their homes did not sustain "wind damage" must make us all wonder about the ethics of the insurance companies on both sides of the border. My own view is that we are all wasting our money. I believe any insurance company will go to great lengths to deny a disabled persons claim. We all have, in one way or another, a pre-existing condition that provides the company an excuse and motive.

1993 Epirotiki Odysseus

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