Some thoughts on cruise insurance pricing

[waterjock]

Will cruise insurance for 65 and older cruisers double in price do two the virus.Or will more people buying insurance because of the virus keep prices the same.Also will they change the wording in polices to make li harder to cancel for medical reasons.

[BirdTravels]

All depends if anyone is claiming on the policies. When the cruise lines all gave refunds for cancelled cruises, the insurers did a happy dance. No money lost. No claim. 

[julig22]

Last year I changed my Medicare plan to include worldwide coverage.  I'm fortunate to have that option, not everyone does.  But I would suggest looking into it when re-enrollment  comes around.  As to whether or not the can charge more because of age, not sure if that's legal?

[casofilia]

Would love a policy at a reasonable price that didn't include the pandemic exclusion.

[ColeThornton]

Here is the link for the Cruise/Travel insurance forum:

 

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

[PelicanBill]

8 hours ago, julig22 said:

Last year I changed my Medicare plan to include worldwide coverage.  I'm fortunate to have that option, not everyone does.  But I would suggest looking into it when re-enrollment  comes around.  As to whether or not the can charge more because of age, not sure if that's legal?

 

Insurance is already underwritten and priced using age... notice when you ask for a price quote it asks for your age or birthday?  We pay more as we get older.  The fixed price policies you get from the Cruise line are very low end in benefits which is why they can exclude age from that pricing.

 

5 hours ago, casofilia said:

Would love a policy at a reasonable price that didn't include the pandemic exclusion.

Oh that seems quite possible... and unfortunate. Let's hope conditions change before long to reduce the higher risks. They might start asking you for existing conditions that make you higher risk too.

[PelicanBill]

2 hours ago, ColeThornton said:

Here is the link for the Cruise/Travel insurance forum:

 

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

 

I hope we can let this discussion live for a day or two before moving it. When threads move to the general topic boards they die early as few people frequent those unless they are specifically looking for information.  I wish there were an ability to see a summary of new threads across a wider number of boards a person is interested in.  Does anyone know if that's possible?

 

Edit: Answered my own question reading the Help Forum here. Will try this.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2630011-how-to-follow-topics-forums-subscribed-threadsforums-info/

 

Edited August 4, 2020 by PelicanBill

[sanger727]

I think that it's far more likely that they will exclude coronavirus related illness coverage than that they will increase the price. 

[Gershep]

On 8/4/2020 at 12:07 AM, julig22 said:

Last year I changed my Medicare plan to include worldwide coverage.  I'm fortunate to have that option, not everyone does.  But I would suggest looking into it when re-enrollment  comes around.  As to whether or not the can charge more because of age, not sure if that's legal?

I didn't know that some Medicare plans include worldwide coverage.

[Markanddonna]

12 hours ago, Gershep said:

I didn't know that some Medicare plans include worldwide coverage.

Can you give us more information or the names of the companies that provide worldwide coverage?  I believe that mine does, but also am guessing the wording on the policies will change dramatically when cruising starts up again.

[julig22]

5 hours ago, Markanddonna said:

Can you give us more information or the names of the companies that provide worldwide coverage?  I believe that mine does, but also am guessing the wording on the policies will change dramatically when cruising starts up again.

My policy is through my previous employer and as such is negotiated specifically for retirees and isn't available to the general public.  There isn't any specific wording with respect to cruising,  just travel within/outside the US.  Medicare will not pay for services outside the US, so the only way to get coverage (outside of a travel policy) is to have a supplemental or advantage plan with those provisions.  While I think it's a common coverage, many also have a lifetime cap.  Currently, mine does not.

 

The terms of the 2021 plans will be available soon - hopefully it won't have exclusions!

[Kaitlyn2]

On 8/7/2020 at 11:06 AM, julig22 said:

My policy is through my previous employer and as such is negotiated specifically for retirees and isn't available to the general public.  There isn't any specific wording with respect to cruising,  just travel within/outside the US.  Medicare will not pay for services outside the US, so the only way to get coverage (outside of a travel policy) is to have a supplemental or advantage plan with those provisions.  While I think it's a common coverage, many also have a lifetime cap.  Currently, mine does not.

 

The terms of the 2021 plans will be available soon - hopefully it won't have exclusions!

We have a medicare advantage plan thru aetna and it includes worldwide coverage - might be offered only in certain states.

[Budget Queen]

It isn’t enough to just look for “world wide “  coverage.    A whole lot more needs to be considered.    Exclusions is big.  Repatriation- which some don’t even know what it is.    Medical limits- which sometimes are way too low.    Medical evacuation-  limits of cost and frequency?
 

Some -add on plans are pretty worthless.    

[Trimone]

Just had our annual renewal, it doesn’t cover Covid-19 on cruise ships.

[seaman11]

On 8/4/2020 at 10:54 AM, sanger727 said:

I think that it's far more likely that they will exclude coronavirus related illness coverage than that they will increase the price. 

Places like dubai , and the dominican republic, have an incentive to travel there by covering all corona related expenses that could come up.   perhaps the ports could do the same to encourage cruise passengers to book, 

 

 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/23438-dominican-republic-to-pay-for-travel-assistance-for-international-visitors.html

[casofilia]

It is probably impossible for us in New Zealand to find a policy that includes a pandemic.   We missed out last time due to the small print!!!

[Sue Do-Over]

Original/Traditional Medicare (Part A&B) do not have any coverage outside the USA.

 

Medicare Advantage (Part C) may or may not have travel benefits.  Each plan has a different combination of dental, vision, travel, OTC and other benefits, so don't assume anything.

 

Repatriation: returning your body to the US in the event you die while travelling.  Has to be coordinated in conjunction with a morgue or funeral home ready to accept (lots of licensing required), which is why not all plans will cover those costs.

 

Medicare plans haven't yet determined how (or if) to cover medication and vaccines for COVID, since we have no idea how much they'll cost, how many doses, or even whether they'll be oral, injection, or in some other format.  Remember that insurance carriers have to submit their plan designs in March to be approved by CMS by late May, so that they can create all the marketing materials and train agents before Annual Enrollment (AEP) opens in October.  Carriers MIGHT decide to cover a vaccine with a copay, for free, or not at all.  

[sanger727]

20 hours ago, seaman11 said:

Places like dubai , and the dominican republic, have an incentive to travel there by covering all corona related expenses that could come up.   perhaps the ports could do the same to encourage cruise passengers to book, 

 

 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/23438-dominican-republic-to-pay-for-travel-assistance-for-international-visitors.html

 

MSC is offering COVID insurance to their cruisers. I think this is what will have to be done. Cruise lines and destinations offering specialty insurance for booking. I can't see traditional insurers being willing to cover this.

[julig22]

It also may pay to look into using a travel card.  They usually have an annual fee but might be worth it (sadly, Costco dropped travel insurance a couple of years ago - that was a sweet deal!).  Currently, the insurance they include covers a lot of what you would get through a travel policy, like lost luggage, delays, as well as emergency evacuation and repatriation. 

 

[seaman11]

8 hours ago, sanger727 said:

 

MSC is offering COVID insurance to their cruisers. I think this is what will have to be done. Cruise lines and destinations offering specialty insurance for booking. I can't see traditional insurers being willing to cover this.

is there a fee? i meant provide it free. 

[sanger727]

7 hours ago, seaman11 said:

is there a fee? i meant provide it free. 

there is an extra fee. Believe they charge Approx $20, so would be well worth it. I think asking for it to be free may be unrealistic. Just having the option offered would be worthwhile to me. As opposed to being stuck with traditional insurance options that exclude Covid related expenses.

[seaman11]

On 9/1/2020 at 3:57 AM, sanger727 said:

there is an extra fee. Believe they charge Approx $20, so would be well worth it. I think asking for it to be free may be unrealistic. Just having the option offered would be worthwhile to me. As opposed to being stuck with traditional insurance options that exclude Covid related expenses.

offering it free like some countries are doing, will increase bookings,

[hamrag]

10 hours ago, seaman11 said:

offering it free like some countries are doing, will increase bookings,

 

Good to see you back on them cc threads! When is your next cruise?

[sanger727]

11 hours ago, seaman11 said:

offering it free like some countries are doing, will increase bookings,

when is the last time NCL offered something for free that they could have charged for? It’s a nice idea, but I think unrealistic.

[bobsfamily]

On 8/3/2020 at 10:23 PM, BirdTravels said:

All depends if anyone is claiming on the policies. When the cruise lines all gave refunds for cancelled cruises, the insurers did a happy dance. No money lost. No claim. 

The 2 cruises I had cancelled all money I paid for insurance was refunded as well... so there would be no happy dance from those cruises as the insurer had no money.