Do you purchase trip insurance?

[sjde]

I have always purchased trip insurance for overseas non refundable trips , at least in the last 15 years. But I am wondering now with covid, if I should be buying the  CFAR (Cancel for any Reason) type policy. They cost more and cover less so I have never done that.  The more I look at it though, the more I think a standard policy is maybe enough. For our river cruise later this year the company told me-

 



If our guests decide to make final payment and they do not cancel their own reservations but AmaWaterways announces the sailing will not go, we have offered an incentivized credit of 115% of everything that was paid to AmaWaterways , or our guests could receive a full refund.

 

She also said- Regarding cancellations, we’ve announced them very close to the sailing like around 45 days prior. Of course this is after one makes their final payment, so what we have been doing for our March/April/May sailings is offering to move their deposits to another sail date.

 

In this case, if we had CFAR,  we’d  actually get cash back and wouldn’t have to  take a credit . However the cash back would only be 75% so we'd probably want the credit . 

 

Just wondering what others have decided. 

[SuiteTraveler]

To me, the travel insurance is more about possible medical evacuation should some accident happen or if something causes us to miss our flights or if there is a medical emergency prior to the cruise that precludes going.  However, river cruises are expensive, so it is good to have insurance in case you can't go for some reason that has nothing to do with the cruise being cancelled.  In your position, I would consider whether or not you are comfortable losing the price of the cruise if it is not cancelled but you cannot go.  For example, one of my best friends had to miss a river cruise when his dad died the day before he was to leave for the cruise and he didn't have insurance, so he lost well over $10k.  If losing that much money would bother you, get insurance.  Otherwise, take a gamble if you are comfortable with possibly losing the money.  If all you want is reassurance the cruise line will refund if they cancel, then you already have that.

[sjde]

I would get the basic in case of illness or god forbid, death, right before the trip. I don't even worry much anymore about medical expenses since I found out Medicare would cover emergencies overseas.  And not being on a cruise ship , I don't care about emergency evacuation. If I got sick there I would trust those hospitals . But the insurance is a package deal. So what I am trying to decide is do I get the basic like I usually do or get the CFAR added on? 

[sjde]

My daughter doesn't believe in purchasing it. She thinks maybe they'd have to miss 1 trip in 10 and the amount they would lose would about equal what they'd have paid had they bought insurance for 10 years, so it's a wash. Just a different way of looking at it.

[Host Jazzbeau]

33 minutes ago, sjde said:

My daughter doesn't believe in purchasing it. She thinks maybe they'd have to miss 1 trip in 10 and the amount they would lose would about equal what they'd have paid had they bought insurance for 10 years, so it's a wash. Just a different way of looking at it.

 

We did miss one trip in 10, and the insurance paid back all our premiums up to that point.  So the medical insurance was free!

[Host Jazzbeau]

Whether you buy Travel Insurance from the cruise line, third party, or rely on your credit card – I recommend supplementing it with MetJet Assist evacuation coverage.  This is very cheap [especially if you buy through the AARP website], is primary and gives YOU the decision to evacuate – and covers COVID.

https://medjetassist.com/medjet-blog/blog/2020/01/24/medjet-services-alert-coronavirus

 

[sjde]

The cruise line charges about 50% more for a policy so I would go through a 3rd party. And Chase Sapphire doesn't have as complete coverage .

The policies I usually get have $500,000 emergency evacuation coverage. But like I said above, unless we are out in the ocean on a cruise ship, I  don't see that we'd need that. (But you can't pick and choose-it's a package deal). 

 

Edited February 1, 2021 by sjde

[Host Jazzbeau]

The catch with all those policies' evacuation coverage is that the local doctor and the insurance company get to decide whether to evacuate you, and where.  Given doctors' rampant God complexes*, none ever want to admit they can't treat a patient; and given insurance companies' bottom-line focus, they will try to evacuate you to the nearest big hospital.  MetJet lets YOU decide to trigger evacuation and lets YOU decide which hospital to be sent to (and a traveling companion can accompany you) – so we would pick a big hospital near our home and not have to worry about that leg later.  [And MedJet applies even in the US as long as you are 150 miles away from home – so it covers our snow bird stays as well.]

 

* of course this doesn't apply to our resident front-line heroes here on River Cruising!

[gnome12]

Because the cost of treating someone in Canada is generally considerably lower (as Medicare is then the primary payor) than out of country (particularly the US) Canadian insurers have an incentive to bring you home.

[Shmoo here]

1 hour ago, SuiteTraveler said:

To me, the travel insurance is more about possible medical evacuation should some accident happen or if something causes us to miss our flights or if there is a medical emergency prior to the cruise that precludes going.

That's exactly why we purchase travel insurance also.  The medical costs (if needed) during travel could seriously bankrupt people.

 

 

[FloridaHockeyGuy]

1 hour ago, sjde said:

I would get the basic in case of illness or god forbid, death, right before the trip. I don't even worry much anymore about medical expenses since I found out Medicare would cover emergencies overseas.  And not being on a cruise ship , I don't care about emergency evacuation. If I got sick there I would trust those hospitals . But the insurance is a package deal. So what I am trying to decide is do I get the basic like I usually do or get the CFAR added on? 

Are you 100% of this? This is not what I have been told at all. They will cover in certain cases, but in any event, you will have to pay and then try to get reimbursement. When you read the details on Medicare's site (https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/travel) there are just a very few specific instances of when they will pay.

I have to confess that I begrudgingly buy the travel insurance, but without too many frills. Having spent several days in a Croatian hospital and being prepped for surgery there, several MRIs and ultrasounds (although a joke of a price compared to US), as well as countless time in a cruise ship's sick bay,  it was good to know my expenses were being covered or to be reimbursed.

 

[sjde]

That may be true prior to age 65 , but Medicare will cover emergency care overseas.

[FloridaHockeyGuy]

26 minutes ago, gnome12 said:

Because the cost of treating someone in Canada is generally considerably lower (as Medicare is then the primary payor) than out of country (particularly the US) Canadian insurers have an incentive to bring you home.

Good point. When my mother was alive she broke her hip while visiting me in Florida. She had to have surgery down here, but then the insurance company flew her back to Canada- only people in the jet were her, me, two pilots and two medical personnel...all because they did not want to pay for her rehab down here. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

5 minutes ago, sjde said:

That may be true prior to age 65 , but Medicare will cover emergency care overseas.

 

Not according to Medicare:

"Medicare usually doesn’t cover health care while you’re traveling outside the U.S. Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands are considered part of the U.S." [it goes on the list the exceptions, which are very narrow and wouldn't cover most travel]

https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/travel

[FloridaHockeyGuy]

5 minutes ago, sjde said:

That may be true prior to age 65 , but Medicare will cover emergency care overseas.

Can I respectfully ask you where you found that information? Have you actually used Medicare in Europe? When I read their website, that is not something they cover under their very few conditions of coverage outside the U.S. 

Again, NOT trying to be argumentative, but trying to validate this to be a smarter consumer.

 

Thanks.

[sjde]

I couldn’t remember where I read it so I called them . 
 

She was no help . So I got on their site. Apparently it’s our supplemental policy that covers it ( but just at 80%). Which is strange because usually if Medicare doesn’t  cover something, the supplement  won’t. 
 

I don’t know about Medicare Advantage plans. 

 

But  either way , travel insurance covers a lot more than medical and that’s why I get it. 
(And I believe your drug plan is no good overseas. ) 

[FloridaHockeyGuy]

1 hour ago, sjde said:

I couldn’t remember where I read it so I called them . 
 

She was no help . So I got on their site. Apparently it’s our supplemental policy that covers it ( but just at 80%). Which is strange because usually if Medicare doesn’t  cover something, the supplement  won’t. 
 

I don’t know about Medicare Advantage plans. 

 

But  either way , travel insurance covers a lot more than medical and that’s why I get it. 
(And I believe your drug plan is no good overseas. ) 

Thanks for the update. You are really brave to get on the phone with them! I would need a drink after that!
 

Like you, I get a decent travel policy, because the peace of mind is worth it.

Happy travels!

[TFree]

1 hour ago, sjde said:

I couldn’t remember where I read it so I called them . 
 

She was no help . So I got on their site. Apparently it’s our supplemental policy that covers it ( but just at 80%). Which is strange because usually if Medicare doesn’t  cover something, the supplement  won’t. 
 

I don’t know about Medicare Advantage plans. 

 

But  either way , travel insurance covers a lot more than medical and that’s why I get it. 
(And I believe your drug plan is no good overseas. ) 

RIght, Medicare does not cover foreign travel, or anyway not to any significant extent.  Medicare Supplement plans do (or anyway mine does, too), but the circumstances need to be pretty dire, and you still have to pay 20%, which could add up.  You are right that generally Supplement plans only pays for what Medicare agrees to cover.  This is a very conscious departure from that, presumably as a marketing tool to buy one.  I don't know about Medicare Advantage plans, but my hunch is that they provide the same type of emergency coverage.  (Always check for yourself.)

We have been buying travel insurance on foreign travel ever since we took a land tour almost 8 years ago where a guy on the tour got sick, almost died, and spent a month in a Portuguese hospital before being airlifted back to the US.  That would have been a crushing expense, but fortunately they had travel insurance that covered it.

 

Tom & Judy

[Coral]

I buy trip insurance (usually Allianz) and Medjet Assist.

 

I won't go out of the country with out either.

[sjde]

I usually get Allianz or Travel Guard but I see John Hancock has a good policy too. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

Travel Agents are able to see an Allianz policy that waives the 'pre-existing condition' clause even if you only buy at final payment.  And our two claims (one minor, one for the entire trip) were paid quickly and without fuss – so I'm a big Allianz fan.

 

And when cruises get cancelled – either by the cruise line or by us – they will transfer the payment to the next cruise so we don't lose anything.

[Coral]

5 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Travel Agents are able to see an Allianz policy that waives the 'pre-existing condition' clause even if you only buy at final payment.  And our two claims (one minor, one for the entire trip) were paid quickly and without fuss – so I'm a big Allianz fan.

 

And when cruises get cancelled – either by the cruise line or by us – they will transfer the payment to the next cruise so we don't lose anything.

Allianz refunded my premiums on my April cruise that was cancelled. I just had to ask for a refund.

 

My policy with Allianz also waives pre-existing conditions at final payment.

[sjde]

Are you saying that if I buy through a TA , I can  get coverage for pre- existing conditions when I purchase at final payment? But otherwise,  if I buy direct, in order to get that  coverage I have to purchase when I make the first deposit payment  ( or shortly after)?

[sjde]

Thanks to you Coral , I asked Allianz to refund my premium for my Aug cancelled trip and they agreed. Prior to that  they had told  me I had a credit.

 

For our other trip in Nov , we cancelled before the tour company did, so we only get a credit on the Allianz premium. I may use that for my Nov trip this year, unless I want  to go with a CFAR policy. Allianz doesn’t offer that , at least not on this trip. 

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

9 minutes ago, sjde said:

Are you saying that if I buy through a TA , I can  get coverage for pre- existing conditions when I purchase at final payment? But otherwise,  if I buy direct, in order to get that  coverage I have to purchase when I make the first deposit payment  ( or shortly after)?

 

That's what I had been told, but apparently @Coral was able to get this booking directly with Allianz.  I'm not sure if the prices are different – with all the business she's lost this year I'm happy to throw these small commissions to my TA [she's even handled Allianz policies for two cruises I booked direct with the cruise line!]