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What to do about cruise (travel) insurance for upcoming cruises??


Europeantraveler1
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My husband and I were supposed to cruise on a July, 2021, 17-day cruise to the Baltic’s on the Statendam.  Recently we were notified that the cruise is being postponed to a departure date of Sept.19, 2021 and now it will be a 21-day cruise instead of the 17-day cruise and on HAL’s new ship, the Rotterdam rather than the Niew Statendam. Additionally,, I believe, there are at least two other previously planned/now cancelled cruises that are combining with our (old) cruise date to the new, Sept. date.  

 

 Purchasing travel insurance as part of the equation is becoming a bit complex.  We were notified of this change of date/itinerary on August 26 (and the statement date was also Aug.26).  So because of these date/itinerary changes implemented by HAL, we are still within the time period (and the time frame varies from policy to policy but within a week or two of each other) to purchase travel insurance that contains the phrase, “cancel for any reason”.  The difference from past policy wording and now is that if you DO have to cancel down the road for any reason, the insurance companies that we have studied only refund 75% instead 100% as in the past.  

 

Have any of you also found this to be true and if so,.....has anyone discovered travel insurance companies that offer 100% refunds on policies including the “cancel for any reason” clause?  THANK YOU!!

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I decided that it would be so much simpler to just purchase the cruise line insurance next time.

 

After my Hawaii cruise was cancelled by the cruise line I got my fare back from the cruiseline but the private insurer would not return the premium ($700) even though they had insured a cruise that didn’t happen.  The insurer finally agreed to a voucher to apply to my next cruise insurance but when I applied it to a cheaper cruise I still had to pay $400 more as the price of insurance had gone up for the exact same coverage.  As I understand it in this pandemic the cruise line would have returned my premium as well as the cruise fare if I had HAL insurance.

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I normally do not take out travel insurance, but on a casino offer for Jan, 2021 got a great fare but had to pay upfront, so decided to take it out through HAL.  I took the Cancel for Any Reason policy.

 

About a month later I had second thoughts and decided to move my cruise to mid-March instead (same ship and itinerary).  At first HAL wanted to keep my insurance money from the Jan cruise, but after some negotiations my PCC was able to transfer it to the new date.

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I use USAA's travel insurance vendor,  Travel Insured.  For my cruise canceled in March, I received a full refund.  For an upcoming tour in November (cancelled by the vendor), they're just offering a credit of what I paid - only covered the deposit as final payment wasn't due until last week.  Good for 3 years from the date of my initial purchase - Nov 19.

 

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We don’t take out travel insurance and the money we have saved would more then pay for any possible loss we could incur.  On the other hand we do take out medical insurance since this is a potential unknown amount at risk.

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6 hours ago, KirkNC said:

We don’t take out travel insurance and the money we have saved would more then pay for any possible loss we could incur.  On the other hand we do take out medical insurance since this is a potential unknown amount at risk.

Would you please explain how you can take out medical insurance only for a cruise. I would like much higher limits than the HAL Platinum insurance provides.

 

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14 minutes ago, lazey1 said:

Would you please explain how you can take out medical insurance only for a cruise. I would like much higher limits than the HAL Platinum insurance provides.

 

Several online agents to purchase medical only insurance.

I use https://www.squaremouth.com/

Another is https://www.insuremytrip.com/

 

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43 minutes ago, lazey1 said:

Would you please explain how you can take out medical insurance only for a cruise. I would like much higher limits than the HAL Platinum insurance provides.

 

We use two methods.  First we are members of MedJet which is a medical evacuation company.  See 

 

https://medjetassist.com

 

Secondly we get an annual travel policy from GeoBlue, a part of BCBS.

 

https://www.geobluetravelinsurance.com

 

if we go on a cruise of more then 70 days (the limit of the GeoBlue policy) we buy an additional rider also from GB.  With GB you cab pick your coverages up to $1,000,000.

 

 

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21 minutes ago, oofroggie said:

OK I have the opposite problem I am looking for cruise insurance but I do not need medical or very little medical as my medical insurance pays out of the country. Any help for me out there?

I don’t know about that but the medical coverage with travel policies is so paltry I doubt you would save anything if you did find it.

 

I should clarify my previous comments about travel insurance, we are covered up to $20,000 by our Chase credit card but we have never bought additional insurance.

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On 9/6/2020 at 6:41 PM, KirkNC said:

We use two methods.  First we are members of MedJet which is a medical evacuation company.  See 

 

https://medjetassist.com

 

Secondly we get an annual travel policy from GeoBlue, a part of BCBS.

 

https://www.geobluetravelinsurance.com

 

if we go on a cruise of more then 70 days (the limit of the GeoBlue policy) we buy an additional rider also from GB.  With GB you cab pick your coverages up to $1,000,000.

 

 

Hi Kirk, what does MedJet give you that GeoBlue lacks?

 

I thought GeoBlue did medical evaluation as well.

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1 hour ago, SempreMare said:

Hi Kirk, what does MedJet give you that GeoBlue lacks?

 

I thought GeoBlue did medical evaluation as well.

GeoBlue will pay for evacuation while MJ actually does the evacuation.  There is an element of redundancy but one advantage of MJ is that it will take you back to a local hospital where you live in one of their jets.  For $390/year it seems like a good value.

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On 9/6/2020 at 6:20 PM, oofroggie said:

OK I have the opposite problem I am looking for cruise insurance but I do not need medical or very little medical as my medical insurance pays out of the country. Any help for me out there?

Go to tripinsure or insuremytrip and get a quote.  They have filters to remove unnecessary coverages.   Also Nationwide and Allianz have different level policies on their websites.  You can get quotes for Nationwide and Allianz along with many others on the aggregator website 

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On 9/6/2020 at 5:53 PM, lazey1 said:

Would you please explain how you can take out medical insurance only for a cruise. I would like much higher limits than the HAL Platinum insurance provides.

 

Be careful.  If you are self insured as I am many medical policies will not cover you.  

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I also have cruise fare coverage through my Chase card.  I buy an AmEx travel health policy at a very reasonable rate  which includes all expenses and repatriation at the level you select..  When April cruise cancelled the premium was reimbursed in cash.  I used the coverage once for an onboard MD visit which was paid with no hassle.   Too many unknowns at this point to make a decision for October 2021 transatlantic health coverage.  

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FOR US CITIZENS.....

 

Do not make the mistake of thinking that cancellation insurance covers you in any way in the event that the cruise line cancels your cruise.  I have had 4 TOTALLY uninsured cruises canceled this year - 3 due to Covid-19 and 1 cruise where the ship was sold from under me (thanks a lot Holland) - and have not lost a dime on any of them!  (Okay, it took a while to get all of my dimes back, but, everyone experienced this.)  Frankly, those people who had cancellation insurance for these cruises got all of their money back, too...EXCEPT for their damn insurance premium money!

 

Therefore, it only makes sense to have cancellation insurance if you think that YOU might cancel your cruise.  But hey, this also means that you are paying hundreds of dollars in cancellation insurance premiums for two people for a measly 3 months of coverage.  I.e.  You're only covered between final payment date and departure date, because, you can easily cancel anytime before final payment date and pay at most a minimal amount.  If you think you'll need this 3 months of coverage, I agree with "tamsno"...make your final payment using your Chase Sapphire credit card.  You'll not only get $10,000 of cancellation insurance coverage with no deductibles at no cost, but, if you open the card 2 months before final payment date and put the final payment on this card, you will most likely earn over 50,000 points that you can then use to book a free flight!  (If you already have a Sapphire card, get some other Chase card and reap its benefits.)

 

This leaves medical insurance coverage.  I mitigate this risk by being over 65 and having medicare supplement Plan G which covers $50,000 of medical costs outside of the US.  And for those nabobs of negativism, YES...I know this doesn't cover everything.  However, it suits me fine.

 

Overall, I calculate that I've saved over $40,000 in not EVER having purchased cruise insurance and using the above scheme.

Edited by annandme
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9 minutes ago, annandme said:

FOR US CITIZENS.....

 

Do not make the mistake of thinking that cancellation insurance covers you in any way in the event that the cruise line cancels your cruise.  I have had 4 TOTALLY uninsured cruises canceled this year - 3 due to Covid-19 and 1 cruise where the ship was sold from under me (thanks a lot Holland) - and have not lost a dime on any of them!  (Okay, it took a while to get all of my dimes back, but, everyone experienced this.)  Frankly, those people who had cancellation insurance for these cruises got all of their money back, too...EXCEPT for their damn insurance premium money!

 

Therefore, it only makes sense to have cancellation insurance if you think that YOU might cancel your cruise.  But hey, this also means that you are paying hundreds of dollars in cancellation insurance premiums for two people for a measly 3 months of coverage.  I.e.  You're only covered between final payment date and departure date, because, you can easily cancel anytime before final payment date and pay at most a minimal amount.  If you think you'll need this 3 months of coverage, I agree with "tamsno"...make your final payment using your Chase Sapphire credit card.  You'll not only get $10,000 of cancellation insurance coverage with no deductibles at no cost, but, if you open the card 2 months before final payment date and put the final payment on this card, you will most likely earn over 50,000 points that you can then use to book a free flight!  (If you already have a Sapphire card, get some other Chase card and reap its benefits.)

 

This leaves medical insurance coverage.  I mitigate this risk by being over 65 and having medicare supplement Plan G which covers $50,000 of medical costs outside of the US.  And for those nabobs of negativism, YES...I know this doesn't cover everything.  However, it suits me fine.

 

Overall, I calculate that I've saved over $40,000 in not EVER having purchased cruise insurance and using the above scheme.

Many insurance companies are refunding or applying the premium to the next cruise.  Their initial reaction was to take the premium but they reassessed.

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14 minutes ago, annandme said:

 

 

This leaves medical insurance coverage.  I mitigate this risk by being over 65 and having medicare supplement Plan G which covers $50,000 of medical costs outside of the US.  And for those nabobs of negativism, YES...I know this doesn't cover everything.  However, it suits me fine.

 

 

Noted below are the specifics related to Plan G Medicare supplemental insurance. Note, reimbursement is 80% after a $250 deductible, coverage is only applicable to trips of 60 days or less, and the $50k is a lifetime maximum.

 

EMERGENCY CARE IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES
The benefit is 80% of actual charges after you pay the $250 emergency medical care deductible each calendar year. Applies only to medically necessary emergency care that is sudden and unexpected. Care must begin during days 1 - 60 of a trip period. The care must have qualified as Medicare eligible expenses if it were received in the United States. There is a maximum benefit of $50,000 per lifetime.

Edited by Lido - Lanai
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5 minutes ago, Lido - Lanai said:

Noted below are the specifics related to Plan G Medicare supplemental insurance. Note, reimbursement is 80% after a $250 deductible, coverage is only applicable to trips of 60 days or less, and the $50k is a lifetime maximum.

 

EMERGENCY CARE IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES
The benefit is 80% of actual charges after you pay the $250 emergency medical care deductible each calendar year. Applies only to medically necessary emergency care that is sudden and unexpected. Care must begin during days 1 - 60 of a trip period. The care must have qualified as Medicare eligible expenses if it were received in the United States. There is a maximum benefit of $50,000 per lifetime.

 

Correct!  (I got tired of typing midway through my missive and decided to skip every gory detail.)  I still stand by my $40,000 savings calculation, though.

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10 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

Many insurance companies are refunding or applying the premium to the next cruise.  Their initial reaction was to take the premium but they reassessed.

 

I have to admit I stopped following all of the cruisecritic entries pertaining to this issue...too depressing.  I'm glad that you didn't lose any money...like me.

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15 minutes ago, annandme said:

 

Correct!  (I got tired of typing midway through my missive and decided to skip every gory detail.)  I still stand by my $40,000 savings calculation, though.

Yea but $50k in medical coverage is waaaaaay to low.  God forbid but you could burn through that in no time.  Just an evac off a ship could run $50-100k depending on who comes to get you.  We have $250k medical with $500k evac coverage at a cost of a few hundred bucks a year.

Edited by KirkNC
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13 minutes ago, annandme said:

 

I have to admit I stopped following all of the cruisecritic entries pertaining to this issue...too depressing.  I'm glad that you didn't lose any money...like me.

I usually use Chase insurance also. The only time I buy a supplement is if I am going to a country with poor healthcare.  I assume I would need to seek private physicians.  If I go to Europe, Canada, parts of Asia or the US I am self insured plus what Chase offers

Edited by Mary229
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5 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

I usually use Chase insurance also. The only time I buy a supplement is if I am going to a country with poor healthcare.  I assume I would need to seek private physicians.  If I go to Europe, Canada, parts of Asia or the US I am self insured plus what Chase offers

I am not aware that Chase covers medical claims, only trip cancellation or interruption.

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