Where to buy trip insurance from?

[sparks1093]

I would be unhappy too but since it's not that much more to buy a full coverage policy I figure I might as well cover it all. It would be nice to have that $2k back so I can plan another trip. It is easy enough to compare the cost of the various coverage options on a site like www.insuremytrip.com.

Edited October 25, 2018 by sparks1093

[sparks1093]

47 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

I would be unhappy too but since it's not that much more to buy a full coverage policy I figure I might as well cover it all. It would be nice to have that $2k back so I can plan another trip. It is easy enough to compare the cost of the various coverage options on a site like www.insuremytrip.com.

I just checked for our upcoming trip and medevac coverage only starts at $249, whereas comprehensive plans start at $80 and top out at $255.

[SRF]

5 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

I would be unhappy too but since it's not that much more to buy a full coverage policy I figure I might as well cover it all. It would be nice to have that $2k back so I can plan another trip. It is easy enough to compare the cost of the various coverage options on a site like www.insuremytrip.com.

 

How much did your full coverage cost for your last cruise?

 

My insurance for a 9 night cruise in a full suite was $32. 😄

 

 

[sparks1093]

2 hours ago, SRF said:

 

How much did your full coverage cost for your last cruise?

 

My insurance for a 9 night cruise in a full suite was $32. 😄

 

 

Good for you! My upcoming trip cost $100, can't remember what I paid for the last trip but it was around that. Who do you insure through? I'll have to check them out.

[SRF]

I am with USAA, and they have a deal with a specialty travel insurer.

 

I go through USAA site and get different rates and deals than non-USAA members get.

 

The actual company insuring is Travel Insured International.

 

[sparks1093]

32 minutes ago, SRF said:

I am with USAA, and they have a deal with a specialty travel insurer.

 

I go through USAA site and get different rates and deals than non-USAA members get.

 

The actual company insuring is Travel Insured International.

 

All I was able to find were general full coverage travel insurance plans, I didn't see any offering only medical and medevac coverage.

[SRF]

You just put in $0 for the trip cost.

 

Then you get no coverage for cancellation and such.

 

Or technically you are covered, but for no money. 😄

 

After I posted, I called them with a different question, and asked again about $0 trip coverage, and the rep said sure.

 

It seems the prices are pretty fixed for reasonable length trips without covering the trip.  I just paid $32 for 24 days, and previously paid $32 for 9 nights.   

 

The top plan adds rental car coverage.

[sparks1093]

2 hours ago, SRF said:

You just put in $0 for the trip cost.

 

Then you get no coverage for cancellation and such.

 

Or technically you are covered, but for no money. 😄

 

After I posted, I called them with a different question, and asked again about $0 trip coverage, and the rep said sure.

 

It seems the prices are pretty fixed for reasonable length trips without covering the trip.  I just paid $32 for 24 days, and previously paid $32 for 9 nights.   

 

The top plan adds rental car coverage.

Ingenious! ETA that I checked both the USAA site and www.insuremytrip.com and it does reduce the premium by a bit, although I didn't get the same result that you received. The policy I would have chosen through USAA/TII was $65. The policies that cost less only had $10k in medical coverage. Still this is a method that I will have to remember.

Edited October 26, 2018 by sparks1093

[Hlitner]

The biggest mistake folks make it to first look at the cost of insurance!   What you need to do is carefully consider your own situation, your current medical insurance and its coverage, your financial situation, your financial exposure (how much can you lose?), and your willingness (or not) to assume some risk (self insure).  Once you have some idea of what insurance you need and want, then you can look for what best fits your criteria.  Perhaps it will be the cruise line's offering, but it is more likely to be some kind of private insurance.   I always toss out this relatively simple thought.  The most you can lose by cancellation is what you paid for the trip (which you were going to pay anyway).  But your potential liability for a major medical emergency is nearly unlimited!  We live in an age when one can quickly amass 10s of thousands of dollars of medical bills in a single instance.  And the cost of emergency medical evacuation (when medically necessary) can easily run into the 10s of thousands of dollars.  

 

Having spent over thirty years working in the medical insurance industry (government) my problem with most cruise line policies is the very low limits on medical coverage.  In an era when $100,000 of medical is considered not much....the cruise line's sell policies with as little as $10,000 of medical (you can blow through this in less then 1 day in a hospital).  Some of your own policies might give you coverage when traveling, but other policies will give little or nothing (Medicare generally gives zero).  If you do not know what kind of coverage you have, call your insurance company (their number is on your insurance card) and ask.  And if they tell you that you have coverage ask where you can find that info in writing!

 

Hank

[SRF]

On 10/26/2018 at 11:20 PM, sparks1093 said:

Ingenious! ETA that I checked both the USAA site and www.insuremytrip.com and it does reduce the premium by a bit, although I didn't get the same result that you received. The policy I would have chosen through USAA/TII was $65. The policies that cost less only had $10k in medical coverage. Still this is a method that I will have to remember.

 

Hmm, when I log into USAA, and search travel insurance, I get to the Travel Insured site, but it is a special page for USAA members.

 

The mid level policy ($32) is $100,000 medical, $1 million evac.  The top program ($50), is $150,000 medical, $1 million evac.

[sparks1093]

42 minutes ago, SRF said:

 

Hmm, when I log into USAA, and search travel insurance, I get to the Travel Insured site, but it is a special page for USAA members.

 

The mid level policy ($32) is $100,000 medical, $1 million evac.  The top program ($50), is $150,000 medical, $1 million evac.

I go to the TI site from my USAA member page. I know that how far from your trip you buy the insurance can affect the price. We normally buy insurance when we book which is typically a year/year and a half from the trip and when I've checked insurance prices once we're closer to the trip date they've gone up. If I have time later I'll go in and put in the trip dates for a year and a half from now instead of April 2018 to see if that makes a difference. (And for the numbers you give I'd probably spend the extra $18 for $50k more in medical).

[sparks1093]

1 hour ago, sparks1093 said:

I go to the TI site from my USAA member page. I know that how far from your trip you buy the insurance can affect the price. We normally buy insurance when we book which is typically a year/year and a half from the trip and when I've checked insurance prices once we're closer to the trip date they've gone up. If I have time later I'll go in and put in the trip dates for a year and a half from now instead of April 2018 to see if that makes a difference. (And for the numbers you give I'd probably spend the extra $18 for $50k more in medical).

I did a search for 8/19 and it didn't make a difference. It's probably 1) I am a USAA member but don't have any of their products or 2) it's based on my state of residence.

[missyflov]

I book through USAA and they use Travel Insured. They have their own USAA reps that deal exclusively with their members which makes it easier to deal with when making a claim. There is usually an extra $25 fee to make the medical primary. It is not always the cheapest, but when I had to make a claim, they walked me through all the paperwork so I could make sure to get reimbursed for everything I could. Even little stuff I didn't think about, like laundry expenses. I love USAA. 

[SRF]

On 10/29/2018 at 1:22 PM, sparks1093 said:

I go to the TI site from my USAA member page. I know that how far from your trip you buy the insurance can affect the price. We normally buy insurance when we book which is typically a year/year and a half from the trip and when I've checked insurance prices once we're closer to the trip date they've gone up. If I have time later I'll go in and put in the trip dates for a year and a half from now instead of April 2018 to see if that makes a difference. (And for the numbers you give I'd probably spend the extra $18 for $50k more in medical).

 

Last cruise, I purchased it the day before the cruise.

 

Rates may also change based on your membership status.