Travel Insurance cruise cover.

[davemorton]

6 hours ago, Son of Anarchy said:

Probably applies more to Iona's coastal cruises, than Britannia's, I would have thought if a medical emergency arose where speed at getting someone to hospital was of the essence, they are going to use the nearest helicopter and hospital available.  Which in Iona's projected plans could include France, or in the case of the cruises to Scotland, could include Eire.

But if lifted to a hospital in France would your travel insurance not consider that a holiday outside of the UK, so the larger amount kicks in? 😉

[davecttr]

2 minutes ago, tring said:

 

A good point, but for instance, if on Iona heading for the Channel Isles (which are not UK) and the French Coast, is a ship considered outside the UK if heading out of UK waters.  If not, could that mean you would not be insured on any cruise if it had not left, or is heading back into UK waters. 

 

In an airport, you leave the UK when going through security and do not re enter the UK untill you have negotiated that queue for passport control, so is there s UK border within a port area?

P&O require you to have a passport for these cruises but do passport control consider you to have left the country?

[davecttr]

2 minutes ago, davemorton said:

But if lifted to a hospital in France would your travel insurance not consider that a holiday outside of the UK, so the larger amount kicks in? 😉

I found a quote for a UK cruise holiday with £2 million medical cover but will the price be higher if you have to include France etc

[tring]

1 minute ago, davecttr said:

P&O require you to have a passport for these cruises but do passport control consider you to have left the country?

 

The passport could just be for ID as we do not have any other identity cards.

 

However, it seems according to gov.uk, a ship's master is required to get clearance from customs before leaving a UK port if heading for a non UK port.  This is not needed if heading for another UK port.  So it would seem a ship only leaves the UK if heading for another UK port if I  correct in that assumption

 

[davecttr]

8 minutes ago, tring said:

 

The passport could just be for ID as we do not have any other identity cards.

 

However, it seems according to gov.uk, a ship's master is required to get clearance from customs before leaving a UK port if heading for a non UK port.  This is not needed if heading for another UK port.  So it would seem a ship only leaves the UK if heading for another UK port if I  correct in that assumption

 

In the case of all these summer cruises except the one to Liverpool the ship is not heading to any other port at all and even in the Liverpool case does not need clearance so we are not leaving the country, or are we 😵

[tring]

8 minutes ago, davecttr said:

In the case of all these summer cruises except the one to Liverpool the ship is not heading to any other port at all and even in the Liverpool case does not need clearance so we are not leaving the country, or are we 😵

 

That is what I am thinking. For the no port cruises, I assume the next port is Southampton.

 

[tring]

49 minutes ago, davemorton said:

But if lifted to a hospital in France would your travel insurance not consider that a holiday outside of the UK, so the larger amount kicks in? 😉

 

The Channel Isles are also outside the UK and it looks like there is not now any reciprocal arrangements for UK nationals in either Guernsey or Jersey  (which are different from each other).

 

This does not just apply to this summer's cruises, but can affect other short cruises as well, though I think P&O ones usually include a foreign port.

[yorkshirephil]

9 hours ago, tring said:

 

That is what I am thinking. For the no port cruises, I assume the next port is Southampton.

 

What if the ship goes outside territorial waters, would it be classed as then being in another country? Would an insurance company try and bend the rules to avoid a pay out? Will P&O accept the lower cover if the ship is effectively not going abroad? There are still plenty of questions and not too many answers. Hopefully all these things will be sorted before the cruises actually start.

[davecttr]

Hopefully P&O must be aware of these insurance issues which might potentially impact many thousands of passengers. However their track record in communication is not great and I hope we all don't end up having to sort it ourselves.

 

Maybe going to their preferred provider might be useful

[Stu UK]

1 hour ago, davecttr said:

Hopefully P&O must be aware of these insurance issues which might potentially impact many thousands of passengers. However their track record in communication is not great and I hope we all don't end up having to sort it ourselves.

 

Maybe going to their preferred provider might be useful

Spoke to P&O this morning who read the policy via Holiday Extras. They were also unclear as to the cover which excludes home area - the UK. Even though they are recommending their trusted partners, they could not confirm the policy was ok and suggested I rang Holiday Extras.  
 

I did that and they said that on reading the policy it did not cover UK repatriation unless the ship went abroad. They then referred to a manager who said they thought it would be ok but could not confirm. It has now been referred to the underwriters by Holiday Extras so awaiting more info. 
 

I asked the call handler at P&O to escalate internally - hopefully they will. 
 

The other matter is that the policy has a separate repatriation limit of £200,000 not the £2m P&O are seeking albeit the medical cover is over £2m which I guess is the important figure. 
 

If I get more info I will post but think it’s worth others contacting P&O to show there is concern / confusion. 

[Stu UK]

Take care on insurance - it’s the exclusions that are key. If it says in the small print it excludes home area please check with insurer that repatriation / medical treatment from a ship in the UK waters is covered. 

[MX-Drew]

I would suggest sending your policy to P&O asking the direct question "does this policy fulfil P&O's requirements?"

Then keep the reply (hopefully being positive) so if question when boarding you have something to fit back with. 

[Harry Peterson]

Some serious issues here - as much on the question whether you have adequate cover as whether policies will satisfy P&O.

 

The NHS will always be within reach on these cruises, but not in the way that it is onshore.  Onshore the £10,000 cover is perfectly adequate, but offshore it may well not be, and if an insurance policy doesn't cover the cost of getting someone from ship to shore it could prove expensive.

 

Not just the policies mentioned, though - quite possibly most of them. The extract below is from Staysure, and it's fairly typical:

 

We will pay up to the amount shown on the table of benefits for each insured person who suffers sudden and unforeseen bodily injury, or illness, or who dies during a trip outside your home country for the following: a) medical expenses (including transportation to the nearest suitable hospital) for the immediate needs of an unforeseen medical emergency, when deemed necessary by a recognised doctor and agreed by our medical officer.

 

Whether these trips are 'outside your home country' is arguable, but it's not an argument I'd want to be having with an insurance company bent on not paying out for an air ambulance!

[Stu UK]

Been making some calls to providers today. There is general confusion and few clear answers. They are all clear that out of UK waters you get £m’s of cover. 
 

The one who runs cruise ships that focuses on the over 50’s and has an insurance company said it did cover medical helicopter evacuation but only up to a limit of £5,000. The UK medical cover was also £5,000 well below the £2m asked for by P&O. They said due to the medical care being via the NHS which is logical. 

[kalos]

14 hours ago, davecttr said:

P&O require you to have a passport for these cruises but do passport control consider you to have left the country?

A few years ago when we did our cruise around UK we needed our passports but we

only went to Dublin outside the UK. Once using a ferry to Dublin we could have done

that with just photo id, yet had we flown it was passport needed. So different requirements

for each situation . 

I remember asking about cruise cover as my insurance only covered Europe and not the UK,

so I added UK cover to our insurance that year . I cannot remember how much the cover was

for UK but I would not have needed 2m+ to get me off a cruise ship in UK waters anyway .

I think P&O need to be specific about where they intend to sail to .

I think this is a good call by Stu as most peoples bank insurance policy's will not have cover 

for sailing in UK waters anyway. I would check with the bank to make sure they do cover this .

[Harry Peterson]

Thinking a little more about the 'UK or not' medical insurance aspects of this, maybe there's no problem with potential airlifts in that in an emergency HM Coastguard would probably provide the necessary helicopter trip to the nearest hospital.

 

Unless they bill you for it!

[AnnieC]

1 hour ago, Harry Peterson said:

Thinking a little more about the 'UK or not' medical insurance aspects of this, maybe there's no problem with potential airlifts in that in an emergency HM Coastguard would probably provide the necessary helicopter trip to the nearest hospital.

 

Unless they bill you for it!

I thought it was a free (well, included in the tax we all pay) service, along with repatriation within the UK, if required, presumably by ambulance to your home/local hospital. 

[Harry Peterson]

7 minutes ago, AnnieC said:

I thought it was a free (well, included in the tax we all pay) service, along with repatriation within the UK, if required, presumably by ambulance to your home/local hospital. 

It probably is, Annie.  I was just musing as to whether it was one of those services that used to be free, such as garden waste disposal and rodent control, that used to be free until government cutbacks forced charges to be made.

[tring]

39 minutes ago, AnnieC said:

I thought it was a free (well, included in the tax we all pay) service, along with repatriation within the UK, if required, presumably by ambulance to your home/local hospital. 

 

I agree an ambulance would take you to a hospital near where you enter the UK for medical treatment, but do not believe you are entitled to be taken to one near your home if that is further away.  Once well enough to travel it is then up to you or your relatives to arrange travel home, possibly by consultation with doctors if still not completely well.

 

Likewise an air ambulance or other vehicle would take you to the nearest place where you can have treatment for your condition.

Edited March 23, 2021 by tring

[Castle25]

Maybe someone who has actual booked one of these cruise can ask P&O if there current UK/Europe cover is enough. 

[Snow Hill]

Article from the Independent today on the minefield in respect of travel insurance during the pandemic

 

https://www.independent.co.uk/money/travel-insurance-cancelled-covid-refund-red-list-quarantine-b1821518.html?utm_content=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1616656711

 

 

[Old_tilly_billy]

Reading the terms of Nationwides Flex Account Travel Insurance are the cruises covered at all because they don’t include port calls. 
 

Cruise
A pre-booked trip of at least 48 hours organised by a Cruise Lines International Association member on a boat or ship with a documented schedule including at least one port stop.

[Snow Hill]

1 hour ago, Old_tilly_billy said:

Reading the terms of Nationwides Flex Account Travel Insurance are the cruises covered at all because they don’t include port calls. 
 

Cruise
A pre-booked trip of at least 48 hours organised by a Cruise Lines International Association member on a boat or ship with a documented schedule including at least one port stop.

Guess you need to ask them

[Stu UK]

I’ve had a detailed reply from P&O. I’m now reassured as I have this, but still nothing from Holiday Extras. But as P&O are recommending them I’m happy. This is what they have said. 
 

“We have been in contact with Holiday Extras who have ensured us that the policies they are offering offer the sufficient cover for our cruises. 

The insurance will pay to get you back to your home country I.e the UK but then from that point onwards all medical treatment etc will have to be picked up by the NHS and not paid for with travel insurance. So in the case of a UK cruise if passengers get sick at sea the insurance would cover repatriation back to the mainland and transfer to a hospital but then after that it is up to the NHS or your own private medical cover to treat the condition. 

All of the policies (Bronze, Silver & Gold) provide cover for repatriation as a result of emergency and necessary medical treatment if it is medically necessary and safe to do so including but not limited to evacuations form the ship by helicopter to a local medical facility. 

Finally £2 million is the total combined amount for medical coverage and repatriation and does not need to be valued separately. 

I hope this information provides you with some assurance you will be covered with everything needed to travel on one of our cruises when purchasing holiday insurance through Holiday Extras, if there is anything else I can help with at all please do not hesitate to contact me. ”

[Stu UK]

Nothing yet from Bank in writing to change what they said that UK waters repatriation is not covered. I have this afternoon received the following from P&O re their recommended policy via Holiday Extras which gives me comfort. The person at P&O went the extra mile to clarify. 

“We have been in contact with Holiday Extras who have ensured us that the policies they are offering offer the sufficient cover for our cruises. 

The insurance will pay to get you back to your home country I.e the UK but then from that point onwards all medical treatment etc will have to be picked up by the NHS and not paid for with travel insurance. So in the case of a UK cruise if passengers get sick at sea the insurance would cover repatriation back to the mainland and transfer to a hospital but then after that it is up to the NHS or your own private medical cover to treat the condition. 

All of the policies (Bronze, Silver & Gold) provide cover for repatriation as a result of emergency and necessary medical treatment if it is medically necessary and safe to do so including but not limited to evacuations form the ship by helicopter to a local medical facility.”

Finally £2 million is the total combined amount for medical coverage and repatriation and does not need to be valued separately. 

I hope this information provides you with some assurance you will be covered with everything needed to travel on one of our cruises when purchasing holiday insurance through Holiday Extras, if there is anything else I can help with at all please do not hesitate to contact me.