Travel Insurance

[presioca]

I'm fortunate enough to finally go on a world cruise and wonder if anyone can answer me a question about travel insurance.  The cruise lines offer an insurance package that as far as I can understand offers cruise interruption and cruise cancellation plus a small amount of medical, lost or delayed baggage, etc.  What I want to know if I purchase that plus a medical travel and evacuation policy would that suffice.  Thanks for any answers I receive.

[GeezerCouple]

3 minutes ago, presioca said:

I'm fortunate enough to finally go on a world cruise and wonder if anyone can answer me a question about travel insurance.  The cruise lines offer an insurance package that as far as I can understand offers cruise interruption and cruise cancellation plus a small amount of medical, lost or delayed baggage, etc.  What I want to know if I purchase that plus a medical travel and evacuation policy would that suffice.  Thanks for any answers I receive.

Welcome to CruiseCritic.

 

Here is a link to the Travel/Cruise Insurance section of CC:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/499-cruisetravel-insurance/

 

As an aside (and as we've posted many times in the Travel Insurance section), we recommend contacting a travel insurance broker.

We have had excellent service from www.TripInsuranceStore.com - and through them, we've purchased policies from Travel Insured.  They PAY claims promptly, which is what matters, after all...

 

CALL them; don't rely upon the brief online summaries of policies.  The fine print really matters.

Also, the reps can help you understand the choices/types of coverage, and help you find the best policy for YOUR own needs.

 

GC

[Ashland]

3 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

Welcome to CruiseCritic.

 

Here is a link to the Travel/Cruise Insurance section of CC:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/499-cruisetravel-insurance/

 

As an aside (and as we've posted many times in the Travel Insurance section), we recommend contacting a travel insurance broker.

We have had excellent service from www.TripInsuranceStore.com - and through them, we've purchased policies from Travel Insured.  They PAY claims promptly, which is what matters, after all...

 

CALL them; don't rely upon the brief online summaries of policies.  The fine print really matters.

Also, the reps can help you understand the choices/types of coverage, and help you find the best policy for YOUR own needs.

 

GC

Agree...We have used The Trip Insurance Store for many many trips....Steve and his associates are first rate !!!!

[crystalspin]

We have an annual policy with GeoBlue (a Trekker policy if I remember correctly) for health and evacuation. The policy is printed out in a plastic folder that goes with us!

 

As far as cancellation protection, our Chase Reserve Visa covers trip-delay/luggage-lost/any reasonable reason to cancel/etc. It is not cancel for any reason "insurance", which the ship will offer. But they cover not only personal health but health of family members and even pets! And they also protect in the event of tour-operator insolvency (which can happen ask me how I know).

 

Although the last is pretty unlikely if you book directly with a major line, after losing $9000 on established Yangtze cruise operator Sinorama's loss-of-license, better to be prepared! Be sure to read the credit card's contract/coverage with a magnifying glass! Hint: the big-box travel agency's Visa card's reaction to this event was "Too bad, so sad."

 

I found GeoBlue on "InsureMyTrip". They are affiliated with BlueCross/BlueShield.

[clo]

We have all our insurance(s) possible with USAA.  Does anyone use them for travel insurance?  TIA.

[Flatbush Flyer]

For anyone relying on "credit card" provided trip insurance, note that (with very few exceptions), such coverage will NOT waive pre-existing medical conditions as a cause of trip cancellation/interruption.

[GeezerCouple]

7 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

We have an annual policy with GeoBlue (a Trekker policy if I remember correctly) for health and evacuation. The policy is printed out in a plastic folder that goes with us!

 

As far as cancellation protection, our Chase Reserve Visa covers trip-delay/luggage-lost/any reasonable reason to cancel/etc. It is not cancel for any reason "insurance", which the ship will offer. But they cover not only personal health but health of family members and even pets! And they also protect in the event of tour-operator insolvency (which can happen ask me how I know).

 

Although the last is pretty unlikely if you book directly with a major line, after losing $9000 on established Yangtze cruise operator Sinorama's loss-of-license, better to be prepared! Be sure to read the credit card's contract/coverage with a magnifying glass! Hint: the big-box travel agency's Visa card's reaction to this event was "Too bad, so sad."

 

I found GeoBlue on "InsureMyTrip". They are affiliated with BlueCross/BlueShield.

We wish we could use the travel insurance included with any of our several charge cards.

 

However, it would be too risky for us to rely upon that.  For one thing, most of our trips exceed the maximum $$$ coverage, sometimes considerably.  (Yes, we want coverage for trip costs; almost all of our claims have been for significant trip costs, rather than  medical costs, although medical events were the reason for the claim.)

 

Second, those charge card coverages do not, as far as we have thus seen, include pre-existing conditions. At our age, there is too much chance that an insurer might claim/try to claim that the loss was due to some excluded pre-existing condition.  (There are two times when they might indeed have had a valid reason to check into this, but given the waiver in the policies we get, this was a non-issue.)

 

Also, I thought that InsureMyTrip was an independent travel insurance broker, offering policies from insurers in addition to the Blues (?).

 

GC

[thinfool]

re: GeoBlue annual...there is a limit of 70 days or so for coverage.  I don't know how this would affect a world cruise...most seem to be 100 days or more.  Still...buyer beware.

[LynnTTT]

-We were looking for an annual policy to cover a river cruise in August and then a 112 day trip/cruise starting in january 2020.

We found that most companies limit any single trip to 90 days, so that wouldn't work.

-The ww cruise company gave us a very expensive quote but I think it wouldn't cover our flights, stays before and after, so that wouldn't help.

-Our credit cards provide limited trip cancellation/baggage coverage and Accidental Death coverage (set amount for death, loss of limbs etc) but what we really need is Medical and Evacuation .  Our Medicare supplemental has confirmed it will cover us out of country, but it's an "indemnification" coverage; we pay and they reimburse.

-Watch out for a very popular Medical and "jet" transportation to home policy (I am not naming the company). When you get to the fine print, it says "hospital to hospital" but you could incur lots of expenses getting to a hospital.Doctor visits, helicopter etc.

-We did get a plan for the three week river cruise for $ 104 for medical and evacuation from a very popular US based "roadside assistance company that everyone has heard of. 

-They also gave us a good quote for the ww trip, which we will probably buy.  1/4 th the price of the cruise quote.

[TheOldBear]

11 hours ago, clo said:

We have all our insurance(s) possible with USAA.  Does anyone use them for travel insurance?  TIA.

 

For some reason, I didn't think when comparing prices - perhaps for next cruise

 

USAA travel insurance link https://www.usaa.com/inet/wc/travel-insurance 

 

The quote link [once logged on to USAA] takes you to a USAA page at 'travelinsured' 

Edited June 24, 2019 by TheOldBear
more info

[GeezerCouple]

25 minutes ago, LynnTTT said:

-We were looking for an annual policy to cover a river cruise in August and then a 112 day trip/cruise starting in january 2020.

We found that most companies limit any single trip to 90 days, so that wouldn't work.

-The ww cruise company gave us a very expensive quote but I think it wouldn't cover our flights, stays before and after, so that wouldn't help.

-Our credit cards provide limited trip cancellation/baggage coverage and Accidental Death coverage (set amount for death, loss of limbs etc) but what we really need is Medical and Evacuation .  Our Medicare supplemental has confirmed it will cover us out of country, but it's an "indemnification" coverage; we pay and they reimburse.

-Watch out for a very popular Medical and "jet" transportation to home policy (I am not naming the company). When you get to the fine print, it says "hospital to hospital" but you could incur lots of expenses getting to a hospital.Doctor visits, helicopter etc.

-We did get a plan for the three week river cruise for $ 104 for medical and evacuation from a very popular US based "roadside assistance company that everyone has heard of. 

-They also gave us a good quote for the ww trip, which we will probably buy.  1/4 th the price of the cruise quote.

 

I'm not sure shy you are being so coy about the insurers' names.
This is not like the prohibition against naming TRAVEL AGENTS.

 

It can be helpful to others to provide names, for better or worse, etc.

 

As for MedJetAssist, they are very clear about the need for the insured to already be admitted as an inpatient before their coverage kicks in.  But at that point, the PATIENT gets to decide to be medevac'd (or perhaps regular airline with nurse or such) to the hospital of one's choice in home country (for USA based insureds, anyway).

No need for beancounters to get involved and "approve".  No need for the local medical staff to be put in the possibly awkward position of needing to declare themselves not quite up to the necessary level of medical care, etc.

And with the annual plan, it also covers any travel more than 150 miles from home, to friends/relatives, business trips, or weekend getaways, etc.  

 

Indeed, we came VERY close to calling MedJetAssist to "take me home" to "my" hospital and specialists when I was in hospital overseas.  Just as we were considering "is it time?", I turned the corner.

Meanwhile, Travel Insured covered an extra week at a very nice hotel (for DH while I was in hospital; later for a few extra days of recovery, plus special transportation to recover the final week of our original trip.

GC

[LynnTTT]

Well, my coverage is thru Allianz, but not every insurer provides the same quote to every agent. My point was to warn people, especially cruisers, that MedJet will not cover every medical emergency.  Won't cover doctors on board ship or at a port or bills for ambulances or for expenses being helicoptered to a hospital.  Not saying it isn't great coverage, but it's not comprehensive.

[clo]

54 minutes ago, TheOldBear said:

 

For some reason, I didn't think when comparing prices - perhaps for next cruise

 

USAA travel insurance link https://www.usaa.com/inet/wc/travel-insurance 

 

The quote link [once logged on to USAA] takes you to a USAA page at 'travelinsured' 

Thanks for that.  My husband joined USAA over 50 years ago and they're wonderful to do business in our opinion. We don't compare prices.  The few claims we've had have been handled so well.  I'll definitely be checking with them.

[iancal]

A few years ago we needed a six month policy with the ability to extend while traveling.

 

We found a vast difference in the knowledge levels and the prices when we shopped.   We purchased from a travel insurance firm.  Best coverage, agents who actually knew what they were talking about, option to decrease the policy cost by selecting a $3K deductable and the ability (which we used) to extend the term remotely during our travels.

 

Our experience for shorter term travel insurance shopping  is that the least comprehensive and lowest coverage limits combined  with the highest cost offerings were  from travel agents, travel providers (especially cruise lines), banks, and the auto club.

 

Keep in mind though, premiums and coverage are often a function of age, medical history, and prescription use.

Edited June 24, 2019 by iancal

[trish1c]

You absolutely have to read the fine print of what's covered & by whom.  "full coverage" through fly by night insurance carrier may not be worth it.  Just because it's from American Express Travel does not mean that large corporation is backing up the policy.  

 

If you don't understand all the terms, call your regular broker, make an Appointment & get professional information.