Travel Insurance: Fine Print

[OBX-Cruisers]

We have booked 2 new cruises in late 2017 and in Jan 2018 and using various sites to find appropriate insurance.

What I have found is that besides the minimums and maximums the fine print includes some interesting and challenging hurdles many others may have more experience in dealing with than we have ........so far......fingers crossed......and prayers to on high, etc.

I see that something as horrendous and traumatic as death.....requires preapproval for how the "remains" e.g., you and me............are "repatriated".....God will do a better job for less cost I presume but there is that remainder that your spouse will have to get PREAPPROVAL for or else.

Is this a single example of idiocy in insurance or is this common and pervasive in this GREEDY business??

Also, that DENTAL coverage.............fine print is that is you must have an accident that involves you "healthy natural teeth".............DUHHHHH.......this is NOT GREAT for us retired cruisers who have few of those left since crowns etc. will not be covered if you fall and knock one loose................SO.....comments on actual experiences will be appreciated as I look to book insurance for our next trip.

Thank you and don't get sick or worse on a cruise it seems.

[fishywood]

Anyone who has a "pre-need" insurance policy for the eventual day they spin off this mortal coil has already agreed to have their remains handled solely in the method dictated by the insurance provider. Should the day come while on a cruise (which wouldn't be horrendous or even overly traumatic in my book--but then as the insured it would be out of my hands :halo:) apart from the shock the family's role really wouldn't be all that different.

 

And if I were to lose a crown or have any other dental issue while on vacation, unless I am in extreme pain it can wait until I return home--where my dental insurance has no concern if it occurred at home, on a ship or in Timbuktu. Should I fall on my face with such force as to dislodge a pre-existing intact dental repair as proposed above I would certainly have other more serious injuries to deal with first!

 

Insurance is supposed to take the worry out of the possibility of an incident beyond your control. If obsession over the fine print undoes that, perhaps you should gamble on travelling without.

Edited March 3, 2017 by fishywood

[cherylandtk]

There is an entire forum here devoted to Insurance and all the ins and outs of the fine print. This is a generalization, but most people have no clue what the fine print says until they have a claim. THEN they get around to reading what is, and is not covered, and under what circumstances. Not usually a pleasant awakening...

[mom says]

I don't know about the insurance plans the OP is looking at, but ours has a pre approval clause for several things, including repatriation of remains. This doesn't mean we need to iron these things out before the trip. It means (at least with the company we deal with) that we need to contact them AT THE TIME before incurring any costs. I see no greed in that. Simple economics: they will advise the most economical way to get the body back home.

 

Pretty sure most travel dental insurance is intended to cover true emergencies. Losing a crown or breaking a denture is not that.

[6rugrats]

I am really not sure what the big deal is. Requiring authorization does not make a company "greedy."

[calliopecruiser]

We have booked 2 new cruises in late 2017 and in Jan 2018 and using various sites to find appropriate insurance.

What I have found is that besides the minimums and maximums the fine print includes some interesting and challenging hurdles many others may have more experience in dealing with than we have ........so far......fingers crossed......and prayers to on high, etc.

I see that something as horrendous and traumatic as death.....requires preapproval for how the "remains" e.g., you and me............are "repatriated".....God will do a better job for less cost I presume but there is that remainder that your spouse will have to get PREAPPROVAL for or else.

Is this a single example of idiocy in insurance or is this common and pervasive in this GREEDY business??

Also, that DENTAL coverage.............fine print is that is you must have an accident that involves you "healthy natural teeth".............DUHHHHH.......this is NOT GREAT for us retired cruisers who have few of those left since crowns etc. will not be covered if you fall and knock one loose................SO.....comments on actual experiences will be appreciated as I look to book insurance for our next trip.

Thank you and don't get sick or worse on a cruise it seems.

 

 

Doesn't sound particularly ominous to me.......contacting the insurance company to cover costs before you incur them isn't really all that unusual, whether it's for medical care or repatriating a body. It doesn't mean they won't cover the costs, only that they want to know what they are (and let you know if they are or are not covered) before you incur them. Repatriating a body is a pain in the patoot, so calling them first might actually help you get things done faster. And for true emergency (as in rushed into an ambulance and into the ER), insurance companies know that no one had time to call first anyway.

[OBX-Cruisers]

Thank you and others who answered this post. I would appreciate directions to the thread/site that you said discusses this in detail.

 

I did not mean to imply that the "pre need" as one poster put it was something we are expecting/planning. Rather, there you or your spouse are/is in a far off part of the ocean/port and didn't know that you had to get preapproval for transport/cremation or whatever.....and as someone else mentioned, there are preapprovals needed for other issues as well and I have to admit that after 25+ cruises I never looked at which items would need preapproval and HOW to get that approval.

Being on Medicare, we get travel insurance mainly for the medical coverage and evacuation aspects and do realize some emergency issues are covered 80%under our Supplemental policy.

 

I will check on that other insurance thread if you would be so kind as to direct me there if you read this message.

 

Thanks all.

 

 

 

There is an entire forum here devoted to Insurance and all the ins and outs of the fine print. This is a generalization, but most people have no clue what the fine print says until they have a claim. THEN they get around to reading what is, and is not covered, and under what circumstances. Not usually a pleasant awakening...

[sparks1093]

Thank you and others who answered this post. I would appreciate directions to the thread/site that you said discusses this in detail.

 

I did not mean to imply that the "pre need" as one poster put it was something we are expecting/planning. Rather, there you or your spouse are/is in a far off part of the ocean/port and didn't know that you had to get preapproval for transport/cremation or whatever.....and as someone else mentioned, there are preapprovals needed for other issues as well and I have to admit that after 25+ cruises I never looked at which items would need preapproval and HOW to get that approval.

Being on Medicare, we get travel insurance mainly for the medical coverage and evacuation aspects and do realize some emergency issues are covered 80%under our Supplemental policy.

 

I will check on that other insurance thread if you would be so kind as to direct me there if you read this message.

 

Thanks all.

 

 

Here you go:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=635

 

Every policy that I've purchased has come with a 24/7 telephone number and they would be one of the first ones I would call if something happened since they may be able to help arrange services etc.