Travel insurance Recomendations?

[Kevin308]

So Travel Insurance.    Recommendations who to choice who to stay away from?  

[1025cruise]

There is an insurance forum that you can ask on.

I look at insuremytrip.com when I need to price out policies.

[capriccio]

Have you checked out the cruise/travel insurance forum (https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/499-cruisetravel-insurance/)?  It is dedicated to all things travel insurance related!

[Kevin308]

Thanks guys I didn't look that far down

[Flatbush Flyer]

20 minutes ago, Kevin308 said:

So Travel Insurance.    Recommendations who to choice who to stay away from?  

The only thing for sure is that travel insurance, including medical coverage making up for any missing international piece in your regular coverage, is absolutely essential.

As for which insurer/policy best fits your circumstances-- that's an often complex answer. Sites like insuremytrip can be very helpful.

Edited January 5, 2019 by Flatbush Flyer

[GeezerCouple]

We always get our policies through

www.TripInsuranceStore.com 

which we learned about here on CC just before our first major trip... and we had to cancel at the last minute, and got all of our money back.

We got policies from Travel Insured (and there was no nonsense with delays), but there are others.

 

Steve, the owner, will be answering questions here on CC on Monday:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/2441-qa-cruise-insurance-w-steve-dasseos-of-the-tripinsurancestorecom/

 

GC

 

[SRF]

One thing is, some of us only insure for medical and such, NOT the cost of the cruise.

 

It cuts down the cost of the insurance.  I pay $32 for a trip.

 

I have already paid for the cruise, so if I miss it, it will not by a large unexpected financial hit.  It will be a big disappointment.

 

Medical and med evac could run into the hundreds of thousands.

[LHT28]

10 minutes ago, SRF said:

One thing is, some of us only insure for medical and such, NOT the cost of the cruise.

 

 

that depends on your POV

when we spend 5 figures for  a cruise what is a few hundred in Insurance  for trip cancellation

we have had to use it  in the past & well worth it for us

as always

YMMV

[Flatbush Flyer]

35 minutes ago, SRF said:

One thing is, some of us only insure for medical and such, NOT the cost of the cruise.

 

I have already paid for the cruise, so if I miss it, it will not by a large unexpected financial hit. 

So, if your cruise tab exceeds $25k, you'd not consider that a large financial hit?

[ldubs]

1 hour ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

So, if your cruise tab exceeds $25k, you'd not consider that a large financial hit?

 

I agree with SRF's choice of words.  It would be a huge disappointment and an incredible waste.  I would not consider it a "financial hit", particularly an unexpected one as SRF says.   

[Go-Bucks!]

If you take multiple cruises each year, it is often more economical to get a policy that covers all travel in a year vs. a policy for each cruise.  I did that last year and saved about 66% over getting individual policies.  I usually shop at insuremytrip dot com....they have many policies to compare and purchase, but for the multi-trip policy I went to SquareMouth.

Edited January 8, 2019 by Go-Bucks!

[GeezerCouple]

8 minutes ago, Go-Bucks! said:

If you take multiple cruises each year, it is often more economical to get a policy that covers all travel in a year vs. a policy for each cruise.  I did that last year and saved about 66% over getting individual policies.  I usually shop at insuremytrip dot com....they have many policies to compare and purchase, but for the multi-trip policy I went to SquareMouth.

 

Some of this is being discussed today on the special sub-forum with the Q&A with Steve Dasseos from Trip Insurance Store.

 

My understanding was, and I think it was repeated there, that those annual policies do not cover pre-existing conditions, so for some of us, it's not a viable option.

 

GC

[Flatbush Flyer]

3 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

Some of this is being discussed today on the special sub-forum with the Q&A with Steve Dasseos from Trip Insurance Store.

 

My understanding was, and I think it was repeated there, that those annual policies do not cover pre-existing conditions, so for some of us, it's not a viable option.

 

GC

Not only are there no PEC waivers (a lot can happen to geezers in those look back periods), the coverage limits are woefully low if you do long and/or expensive cruises. In fact, those policies are primarily meant for folks who regularly travel back and forth across US borders.

Of course, to each his/her own. 

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, Go-Bucks! said:

If you take multiple cruises each year, it is often more economical to get a policy that covers all travel in a year vs. a policy for each cruise.  I did that last year and saved about 66% over getting individual policies.  I usually shop at insuremytrip dot com....they have many policies to compare and purchase, but for the multi-trip policy I went to SquareMouth.

are your annual policies for medical only or do they cover trip cancellation

say you get sick or injured the  day before your cruise ?

will you get the cruise fare back through insurance ?

[wwcruisers]

Today's Q&A sub-forum (referenced by GeezerCouple) was very informative. There were a bunch of great questions, and Steve had some very good answers! 😇

[SRF]

11 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

So, if your cruise tab exceeds $25k, you'd not consider that a large financial hit?

 

It is already budgeted and paid.

 

It is not comfortable, but I will survive.

 

And I don't book $25K cruises. 😄  I can't afford them even if I do go.

 

And it will depend on the cost of insurance.  You will not insure the cancellation of a $25K cruise for a few hundred.  And with 3rd party insurance, age plays a big part.

 

Also, a cruise is NOT a necessity.  If you cannot afford the cruise, you will not book it.  If you book it, and cannot go, you have lost a nice vacation, but you are not (or SHOULD NOT be) at risk of losing your house, car, etc.

Edited January 8, 2019 by SRF

[Joebucks]

15 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

So, if your cruise tab exceeds $25k, you'd not consider that a large financial hit?

 

A $25,000 cruise is far from an average scenario. It is far more common that people are paying ridiculous premiums to be able to cancel their cruise for any reason for a 75% refund. 

 

An annual premium can be a great idea if you travel enough. I also like travel credit cards. You may not need to pay anything extra as long as the coverages meet your needs. It's always best to weigh your options.

[Flatbush Flyer]

10 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

 

A $25,000 cruise is far from an average scenario. It is far more common that people are paying ridiculous premiums to be able to cancel their cruise for any reason for a 75% refund. 

 

An annual premium can be a great idea if you travel enough. I also like travel credit cards. You may not need to pay anything extra as long as the coverages meet your needs. It's always best to weigh your options.

$25K isn't as uncommon as you may think for a longer premium/luxury cruise w/international air tacked on.

 

BTW, few folks who take those cruises would opt for "cancel for any reason" costs.

 

And, as aforementioned, "annual" polices are woefully limited in coverage and are really meant for frequent border crossers.

 

CC provided travel insurance is nice for some incidental items (luggage et al.). But their coverage limits are very low and you'd be hard pressed to find one that waives PECs for trip cancel/interrupt.

 

Finally, even wealthy people (at least, all the ones I know) would not assume the risk of tossing $25k away when an 8-10% insurance premium covers the cost of both the trip expenses AND the potential loss of far more due to medical concerns not covered by their domestic policy (particularly if related to PECs).

 

Maybe self-insuring (or rather the fallacy of "self-insuring") is not so bad for a few hundred/thousand bucks one week cruise (In fact, we'll probably do that for a one week coastal California cruise this coming December). But, not insuring a $25K +\- cruise would be the poster child for "pennywise and pound foolish."

[SRF]

10% per cruise, means if you make 10 cruises, and miss one, you are even.

 

And for older people, the costs can be well above that.  I just ran the numbers for an upcoming cruise, but for 2x pax at 87 years old.  For a $6000 trip cost, the quotes for 3rd party ran from $1000 - $1500.  So 17 - 25%.  So 4 to 6 cruises to pay for the insurance.  

 

I have never said to not insure for medical and med evac.  

 

Also, not all credit cards are that limited.  AMEX Platinum is $100K evac, $20K medical.  Not the highest, but better than some paid insurance.  But you need to check what coverages you have through other means.