Has anyone here (or a travel partner) had to be medically evacuated from a cruise?

[mbglib]

Hello, I have been examining insurance evacuation policies and all I have read require that the evacuation be arranged by their "agent". If you were evacuated, how did this work? Thank you.

[jlp20]

If your that concerned, I suggest you ask the insurance representative directly. Not saying you'll get a wrong answer, but if your that concerned get a legal answer

[Hlitner]

Have not been personally evacuated but can explain some of the details. Think of two types of evacuation, 1. From a ship to a shore medical facility and 2, from a Medical facility to home or another medical facility.

 

If you are evacuated from a ship by helicopter (this is actually quite rare) there will be no charge for the chopper since it will be operated by a Coast Guard or military organization (they do not charge for evacuations). Most travel and travel medical policies specify that they will only cover you for evacuation from a medical facility. And that is where it gets interesting and one should carefully review policies for the details (fine print). If you are looking for a policy designed specifically for evacuation, the Cadillac of polices is issued by MedJetAssist.

 

In most cases, if you want evacuated from a foreign medical facility to another facility or home it will be a joint decision made by patient (or their representative), the treating/admitting physician, and the insurance company.

 

Hank

[mbglib]

Thank you. That makes sense, Hlitner. Out of 21 cruises, I have been on one that had a helicopter evacuation.

 

jlp20, Yes, I should probably call the provider just to ease my mind as well.

 

Anyone, I have a credit card that has evacuation insurance, but not enough medical insurance, in my opinion. Do you know of any insurance that insures for only the medical part? Thank you

[Flatbush Flyer]

Thank you. That makes sense, Hlitner. Out of 21 cruises, I have been on one that had a helicopter evacuation.

 

jlp20, Yes, I should probably call the provider just to ease my mind as well.

 

Anyone, I have a credit card that has evacuation insurance, but not enough medical insurance, in my opinion. Do you know of any insurance that insures for only the medical part? Thank you

 

 

 

You may want to read the fine print regarding that credit card coverage. All but a very few cards have no waivers of pre-existing conditions, which would then limit your ability to make claims for trip cancellation or interruption associated with that issue. Remember that a preexisting condition is one that first appears or modifies existing treatment for chronic problems during the "look back" period of X months prior to a date related to the insurer's requirements for policy purchase.

 

 

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[mbglib]

You may want to read the fine print regarding that credit card coverage. All but a very few cards have no waivers of pre-existing conditions, which would then limit your ability to make claims for trip cancellation or interruption associated with that issue. Remember that a preexisting condition is one that first appears or modifies existing treatment for chronic problems during the "look back" period of X months prior to a date related to the insurer's requirements for policy purchase.

 

 

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Great idea. On most policies I have seen, the explanations for pre-existing conditions are (intentionally ?) vague. Thank you.

[mbglib]

You may want to read the fine print regarding that credit card coverage. All but a very few cards have no waivers of pre-existing conditions, which would then limit your ability to make claims for trip cancellation or interruption associated with that issue. Remember that a preexisting condition is one that first appears or modifies existing treatment for chronic problems during the "look back" period of X months prior to a date related to the insurer's requirements for policy purchase.

 

 

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Here is what it says about pre-existing conditions: Pre-Existing Condition – illness, disease or Accidental injury of you,your Traveling Companion, your Immediate Family Member or theImmediate Family Member of the Traveling Companion, for whichmedical advice, diagnosis, care or treatment was recommended orreceived within the 60-day period immediately prior to the purchaseof a Covered Trip. The taking of prescription drugs or medicationfor a controlled condition throughout this 60-day period will not beconsidered to be a treatment of illness or disease.

 

Seems pretty liberal to me as long as I haven't been treated within the last 60 days. What do you think?

[Flatbush Flyer]

Here is what it says about pre-existing conditions: Pre-Existing Condition – illness, disease or Accidental injury of you,your Traveling Companion, your Immediate Family Member or theImmediate Family Member of the Traveling Companion, for whichmedical advice, diagnosis, care or treatment was recommended orreceived within the 60-day period immediately prior to the purchaseof a Covered Trip. The taking of prescription drugs or medicationfor a controlled condition throughout this 60-day period will not beconsidered to be a treatment of illness or disease.

 

 

 

Seems pretty liberal to me as long as I haven't been treated within the last 60 days. What do you think?

 

 

Sounds like the standard though the duration of the lookback period varies from insurer to insurer. The one caveat in the description above regards the prescription drugs. If there is a change in medication type and/or dosage, that may be considered "treatment."

 

Also, with credit card insurance, the coverage has maximum dollar allowances and is limited to elements of your trip that are not refundable AND we're purchased with the card. Note that with some cards, you can split expenses across multiple cards of the same company (e.g., you and spouse have different account numbers) and this will effectively double the coverage limit. Even then, you may find the coverage limits insufficient to completely cover "big ticket" cruises.

 

 

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[mbglib]

Sounds like the standard though the duration of the lookback period varies from insurer to insurer. The one caveat in the description above regards the prescription drugs. If there is a change in medication type and/or dosage, that may be considered "treatment."

 

Also, with credit card insurance, the coverage has maximum dollar allowances and is limited to elements of your trip that are not refundable AND we're purchased with the card. Note that with some cards, you can split expenses across multiple cards of the same company (e.g., you and spouse have different account numbers) and this will effectively double the coverage limit. Even then, you may find the coverage limits insufficient to completely cover "big ticket" cruises.

 

 

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Thank you.

[Guest maddycat]

CC has a travel insurance board. Some of your concerns are covered in several of the threads on that board. The link is below.

 

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

[mbglib]

CC has a travel insurance board. Some of your concerns are covered in several of the threads on that board. The link is below.

 

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

Thank you. I hadn't noticed this board before.

[kimjohansen]

Check out World NOMADS travel insurance. I have taken 12 cruises and always obtain their policy which covers you for your entire trip, not just the cruise. I submitted one claim with the required documentation and it was paid in a timely manner without question.

[Hlitner]

Regarding Medical (and evacuation) insurance only (no trip cancellation insurance) you might want to check out GeoBlue. They are part of the BC/BS Network (which actually has foreign providers) and sell bot single trip and annual trip medical policies. An annual med policy ($250,000 or medical) will cost most couples less than the cost of trip insurance for a single trip. And that annual policy will give you medical coverage for the first 70 days of EVERY trip you take during an entire year.

 

Hank

[mbglib]

Check out World NOMADS travel insurance. I have taken 12 cruises and always obtain their policy which covers you for your entire trip, not just the cruise. I submitted one claim with the required documentation and it was paid in a timely manner without question.

Thank you.

[mbglib]

Regarding Medical (and evacuation) insurance only (no trip cancellation insurance) you might want to check out GeoBlue. They are part of the BC/BS Network (which actually has foreign providers) and sell bot single trip and annual trip medical policies. An annual med policy ($250,000 or medical) will cost most couples less than the cost of trip insurance for a single trip. And that annual policy will give you medical coverage for the first 70 days of EVERY trip you take during an entire year.

 

Hank

Thank you.

[kitty9]

My mom had to be evacuated after falling and breaking her hip on a ship. Even though we had insurance, we had to pay for everything up front, and then be reimbursed by the insurance company. The cruise line handled everything---they didn't even want to hear one word about insurance, so we had to let them handle everything about the evac. We had to call our credit card company and get their approval for upwards of $250K for any expenses incurred for mom's bills. Now, we didn't need anything near that amount, but we wanted to be safe. This was over 10 years ago, but Mom's 1/2 hour flight was $9000. The ambulance ride had to be pre-paid along with other costs. We submitted the bills to insurance and was reimbursed within two weeks.

[gooch47]

Who could say what a helicopter evacuation would cost in a country outside the US or even if it would be available?

[Flatbush Flyer]

Who could say what a helicopter evacuation would cost in a country outside the US or even if it would be available?

 

 

 

As aforementioned, most Coast Guards of, at least, developed countries will not charge for a medically necessary helicopter evacuation from within their normal patrol area range to a nearby medical facility providing emergency services. The usual "big" transport (evacuation) expense is the cost of transferring from that emergency facility to another facility for continuing treatment (agreed upon by physician and the insurance company. Of course, with the exception of Medicare's non-coverage outside the US, it may be possible that your regular health insurance (or some Medicare supplements) will cover any potential charge of "ship to emergency room" as a necessary "ambulance" ride. Even then, however, there's the issue of whether further evacuation to the next facility (by air back to the US or otherwise to another location) is covered.

 

Check your regular AND additionally purchased insurance benefits carefully!!!

 

BTW, I am reminded of a time in my youth when I spent some time as an alpine ski instructor on an exchange between my home base at Lake Tahoe and Kitzbühel, Austria. At the base of their main mountain lift complex, there was a ski patrol helicopter and I always had to smile when I passed by and saw a Red Cross emblem with the Visa and Master Card logos under each horizontal side of the cross.

 

 

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[Underwatr]

DW spent a few days in the hospital in St. Lucia a few years ago and needed to be medically cleared to fly home. Her flight home (including a medical escort, in first class) was paid under the medical evacuation clause of the insurance contract, while mine (coach class, on a reimbursement basis) was under trip interruption. I was in daily contact with the insurance company and the cruise line. All travel arrangements were made by the insurance company and as I said I had to provide a credit card number for my flight but my wife's travel from the hospital to the airport, flights and limo from the airport to home was paid upfront by the insurer.

 

I tried to claim the cost to retrieve the rest of our luggage and the car when the ship returned to New York but they pointed to a clause that stipulated my trip ended and their coverage ceased as soon as my wife and I got home and they were very inflexible. I had about $150 in transportation expenses denied due to that but eventually everything else was reimbursed either by her health insurance or the travel insurance policy.

 

Oh, there was one other expense that never did get paid - the ambulance from the dock to the hospital cost 50 EC or $20. The driver put the wrong month on the receipt and I never did manage to straighten that out.

 

Read the policy closely and understand it before spending money.

[mbglib]

DW spent a few days in the hospital in St. Lucia a few years ago and needed to be medically cleared to fly home. Her flight home (including a medical escort, in first class) was paid under the medical evacuation clause of the insurance contract, while mine (coach class, on a reimbursement basis) was under trip interruption. I was in daily contact with the insurance company and the cruise line. All travel arrangements were made by the insurance company and as I said I had to provide a credit card number for my flight but my wife's travel from the hospital to the airport, flights and limo from the airport to home was paid upfront by the insurer.

 

I tried to claim the cost to retrieve the rest of our luggage and the car when the ship returned to New York but they pointed to a clause that stipulated my trip ended and their coverage ceased as soon as my wife and I got home and they were very inflexible. I had about $150 in transportation expenses denied due to that but eventually everything else was reimbursed either by her health insurance or the travel insurance policy.

 

Oh, there was one other expense that never did get paid - the ambulance from the dock to the hospital cost 50 EC or $20. The driver put the wrong month on the receipt and I never did manage to straighten that out.

 

Read the policy closely and understand it before spending money.

 

Thank you for sharing. I have been trying to read and understand, but they don't make it easy.:)