I just bought Travelex insurance instead of Princess

[GeezerCouple]

18 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

 

I was advised by the rep at Travel Insured that in addition to making the initial policy purchase within 10 days of the first payment for a cruise, each time we make a payment to Princess for the cruise (including Princess excursions and drink and celebration packages) we have to advise Travel Insured of the new amount within 10 days or we lose the pre-existing conditions waiver. 

 

Right.

Some people think (and perhaps some policies do require?) estimating the entire trip costs, and paying the premium for that full coverage right from the start is necessary.  Aside from how accurate can one be, 1-2 years in advance (!?), that would mean a lot more money tied up for a long time.

 

But it isn't necessarily 10 days.  Again, that deadline (seems to be 10-21 days) depends upon the specific policy, which I think (always?) depends upon the state of residence.  For us, we've got the 20 days, but we ALWAYS try to get it done sooner.

 

We also tend to get CFAR (Cancel For Any  Reason), and if one misses that deadline, there is another insurer who offer that up til within 24 hours of final payment (defined narrowly), but CFAR costs a lot more.  (And the other coverage is a bit less than with Travel Insured, but it's still probably satisfactory.)

 

And there is also that "insured from door to door", so if your taxi breaks down en route to the airport or some other "non-flight/ship issue"... that's covered.

We also get our own air tix, so that wouldn't be covered by (most/all?) cruise-line insurance, which would cover what you pay to the cruise line.

 

Finally, if one cancels the trip and has had no claim, then one can transfer the TI policy (with some timing constraints) to a different trip, and apply all of the premiums paid.  We've done that a few times.

 

LOTS of details to learn.  TIS folks were *so* patient with us when we kept asking, "What about this... or that..." etc. 

 

GC

 

[Magellan321]

On 10/22/2019 at 8:05 PM, Griller said:

I've been looking at the John Hancock travel insurance, does anyone have any experience with them?

They have a Primary medical, and decent amount of coverage and good evacuation/repatriation  cover too, it seems much better than Princess and about the same cost.

I just picked up a policy from John Hancock....you are right they have much higher limits then our usual Princess policy. This trip we are on Celebrity and I didn't really care for their policy available. So, after a bunch of research I bought the John Hancock policy with an added cancel for any reason policy.

 

[pileosnafu]

To touch on a few points that I saw in this thread:

 

• Travelex and Berkshire Hathaway are Primary payer, and will place a Guarantee of payment on your behalf (If they can get an invoice form the clinic) if you are disembarked, and admitted to a hospital/clinic. 
• Ships do not accept insurance.... Period.... you have to pay on your ships card
• Travel Insured Intl (USAA, WTP) policies may be Primary but are pay and cliam
• Travelex will prepay for all insured to fly back home upfront, TII and AON do not only the Patient and a medical or non medical escort (if needed)
• Medical coverage offered by the cruises lines is low, so is the EVAC for anything other than the Caribbean. 
• I cannot speak to how Allizanz works. 
• If you have insurance, other then the cruise insurance and you see the ship Doctor or have an accident on shore, let the cruise line know so they can contact them. 

My Recommendations for the Caribbean: 

• If you can pay of a day or ten of medical upfront the cruise line insurance I don't think looks at your age just cost and length, so maybe cheaper. 
• They usually offer 25k (NCL, Princess standard, HAL, RCCL, Disney, Virgin Voyages) or 30k (Carnival)  or 50k (Princess platinum) for emergency evac. 
• The Evac benefit will get you to the closest hospital if you cannot get home medically safe. Then once are you the costs to get home come from the same benefit, including if needed a nurse. 
• Most port hospitals are familiar with the various travel insurances. They know which ones will pay and which will not (usually)
• Cruise line insurance is secondary only and will only place a payment to prevent you from being held, or to secure admission. 10-25k they offer doesn't go far just like in the US for most of these hospitals

Outside of the Caribbean:

• 50k + of medical as primary, and will pay if you are inpatient (Travelex, BHTP) without question. 
• 100,000 -250,000 For evacuation benefits. An Air Ambulance from France to say I duno Kansas will be 75,000 to 150,00 roughly depending on the level of care you need. 

Viking Cruises is the only line I know of that uses a different company for their insurance, they are also secondary and excess. 

 

**The opinions here are my own and do not reflect that of my employer***  I do not sell insurance, I do not support one company over another, they all off their own services that may or may not work for you. 

[iamtrustworthy]

On 10/22/2019 at 6:40 PM, Coral said:

I read an article a few years ago and wish I could find it again. There are times when you have a large claim, that using an insurance company that is secondary is actually better. If it is a small claim, it doesn't matter. Problem is, we don't know what type of medical claim we may have in the future.

Hi Coral,

 

Primary (First Payer) isn’t better than Secondary (Excess), although it’s sold that way. The only difference is the order in which the medical claims are paid.

 

What Does Primary (First Payer) or Secondary (Excess) Medical Coverage Mean & How Do They Differ?

 

Primary (First Payer) Medical Coverage means your medical bills are paid from the first dollar. No “coordination of benefit” claim forms need to be filed. You need to know that many travel insurance plans with primary (First Payer) medical benefits will still ask on the claim forms if you have other medical insurance. If you answer “yes”, they will likely submit your claim to your other insurance first and process your claim as Secondary coverage. All our companies say the answer should be “no” if they want it processed as primary.

 

Primary (First Payer) Medical Coverage works best if your medical claim is less than the coverage amount. That’s because your travel insurance will pay the claim up to its limit. But, when the Primary travel insurance benefits are exhausted, your other insurance won’t count your deductibles and co-pays as paid.

 

Secondary Medical Coverage means your medical bills are paid after any other coverage you have pays its share. This means that Secondary coverage will pay all deductibles, out-of-pocket expenses and co-pays up to its coverage limit. The only real drawback to a Secondary Medical plan is that it can be a lot of extra time-consuming paperwork, made worse by complicated prescription benefits.

 

If you are old enough to be on Medicare and you have a supplement policy C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M or N, you are better off getting a policy with Primary (First Payer) Medical Coverage.

 

I hope this helps clarify the coverages.

 

Steve

Edited November 5, 2019 by iamtrustworthy
typo

[LDVinNC]

We have just booked a long trip on Princess and, due to our ages (72 and 78) the least expensive insurance we can find is over $2500 without cancel for any reason.  The Princess plan is about $1250, but the medical and evac coverage is skimpy.  I wonder if we could buy a primary medical only policy - that would be under $150 - and stack it above the Princess plan. We'd save over $1000.  Would appreciate any thoughts.

[klfrodo]

4 hours ago, LDVinNC said:

We have just booked a long trip on Princess and, due to our ages (72 and 78) the least expensive insurance we can find is over $2500 without cancel for any reason.  The Princess plan is about $1250, but the medical and evac coverage is skimpy.  I wonder if we could buy a primary medical only policy - that would be under $150 - and stack it above the Princess plan. We'd save over $1000.  Would appreciate any thoughts.

During the process of getting a quote, put the cost of travel per person at $499.

The medical will stay the same coverage, however, the comprehensive portion (cancellation, trip delay, trip interruption, etc) will be limited to the cost of the trip (499).

 

I do this all the time for my short Caribbean cruises. I can afford the loss if I have to cancel, but I still get the medical benefits.

 

Why $499 per person cost trip?

Insurance companies price out their policies based on the cost of the trip. $0 - $500 is one price, $501 - $1000 is the next level, $1001 - $1500, and so on. Therefore if you put $499, the price is the same as if you put $1. Should you need to change flights or grab a hotel room,,, the $499 will cover it.

[Jersey42]

5 hours ago, klfrodo said:

During the process of getting a quote, put the cost of travel per person at $499.

The medical will stay the same coverage, however, the comprehensive portion (cancellation, trip delay, trip interruption, etc) will be limited to the cost of the trip (499).

If the OP does not need coverage for pre existing conditions, this is an excellent approach that should give them some good choices. If pre existing conditions are a concern, they should take a look at the GeoBlue policies. The ones that cover pre existing conditions require you have a health insurance plan at home, but the GeoBlue coverage is primary. The plans are not available in a few states.  The annual policy has a reduced limit once you reach a certain age, that I believe is 75. The limit may still be OK for them. I don't believe there is such a limit on the single trip policy. The premiums are all age dependent.

[LDVinNC]

12 hours ago, Jersey42 said:

If the OP does not need coverage for pre existing conditions, this is an excellent approach that should give them some good choices. 

I am not sure if I am the OP referred to here, but I called tripinsurancestore and they told me there is one insurer who will cover pre-existing conditions using the approach klfrodo mentions.  The coverage will be primary.  We plan to buy this coverage as well as the Princess plan, which gives us cancel for any reason coverage (unfortunately in credits, not cash), but we are willing to go that route.

[4cats4me]

On 10/22/2019 at 2:04 PM, Oak City Man said:

 

Well, the airfare and the cruise is pretty much the entire trip for us.  I'm not sure what you mean by "shuttle".  

 

BTW, I hope you realize the agent was "selling" you a policy.  What would you expect her to say?  I suppose what the agent was referring to about the car getting in an accident is trip delay coverage.  Princess also covers this, as do most (all?) vacation insurance policies.

 

I also just checked, Princess is cheaper than Travelex for my next cruise.  So if you prefer Travelex go right ahead.  Just do not act like the Princess coverage is somehow inferior.  It's actually quite similar.

 

We’v found that Princess's coverage isn’t nearly as comprehensive as private insurers like Travel ex.   My big concerns are  itinerary and cost of helicopter airlift.    Princess insurance caps out at 50,000 or at least that’s what it used to be and that’s not nearly enough if you get stranded overseas and then need a helicopter evacuation plus surgery.  

 

 Helicopter airlift alone is minimum  $25,000, so that only leaves $25,000 to cover remaining medical costs, and if you need open heart surgery or something major, it might not cover.   One never knows what can happen on vacation and I’ve seen it over and over where the helicopter  had  to come in and take people off the ship OR  people have to be taken off because they have appendicitis attack or kidney stones, et cet.    

 

 It depends on people‘s comfort level and a lot of different factors that we’ve always found travel ex to be the cheapestfor us, ages 55/60 , but for my mother, who is elderly , we have found princess insurance to be cheaper than Travelex 

Also, by purchasing  A different policy tham princess we can add on our airfare later, with Travelex  versus having to buy two separate policies, one for air and one for cruise because 

We never purchase air through Princess for Europe, et cet.  

 

 

Edited January 15, 2020 by 4cats4me