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Travel insurance...need it?


kjwinston2019
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Hi all you experts.

 

We are looking to go on our 6th cruise (5 on Celebrity, 1 RCL) In these times of COVID is it wise to get the insurance? We are going from Hawaii to Vancouver BC mostly at sea. We love this? I was looking to see if the insurance covers Covid 19 at this moment and It look like it does not? I was wondering if you experts actually get insuance at all? We have never got insurance before, we are Vacinated, most likly we will get the boosters. I was wondering, for i hate handing over $648 to the cruise line for nothing. Just wanted to hear from you your opinions. Thanks ahead of time. 

 

KJ

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5 minutes ago, kjwinston2019 said:

Hi all you experts.

 

We are looking to go on our 6th cruise (5 on Celebrity, 1 RCL) In these times of COVID is it wise to get the insurance? We are going from Hawaii to Vancouver BC mostly at sea. We love this? I was looking to see if the insurance covers Covid 19 at this moment and It look like it does not? I was wondering if you experts actually get insuance at all? We have never got insurance before, we are Vacinated, most likly we will get the boosters. I was wondering, for i hate handing over $648 to the cruise line for nothing. Just wanted to hear from you your opinions. Thanks ahead of time. 

 

KJ

Any insurance I buy covers Covid medical issues but not cancellation. However I will only book with cruise lines that offer their own policy on this. I personally choose to buy insurance in these fluid times. 

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Been on 25 cruises never bought it. Have Kaiser. They  will airlift you out and pay for hospital. At age 73 it is so expensive and most likely not covering covid. People have reported X paying for evacuation flight. F you dont buy it with initial booking you cant buy later with cruise line. 

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For more info you can go here to read what other CC posters are asking and finding out about purchasing travel insurance.

 

We always get it, as insurance is for unexpected events and not known/anticipated in advance..

 

Unless you can afford potential unlimited medical bills and medical transport home from a foreign country, skip it.

 

In health and bon voyage

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When we were younger, we self-insured and didn't bother purchasing travel insurance. When we hit our mid-sixties, we decided that we were more vulnerable, on the one hand, and that our trip costs were far higher, so it would be financially prudent to start buying insurance. Consequently, since then we have purchased annual coverage. 

 

Is it worth it? Absolutely, IMO. On our last cruise pre-Covid, my DW suffered an issue that resulted in medical and related costs totalling just under $11,000 that were paid in full by the insurance company. That would have been a big hit on the pocket book compared to the few hundred dollars for the insurance premium.

 

Like all forms of insurance, those who have never faced the need to claim are less likely to see it as necessary, but those of us who have experienced totally unexpected issues and resulting claims will tell you otherwise. If you are bullet proof, don't bother, but...

 

As for COVID, those Canadian travel insurance companies that will provide COVID insurance will cover medical expenses but will not cover COVID-related cancellation or trip interruption expenses. I've no idea whether US companies are following this approach.

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2 years ago I fell on the Epic and broke my shoulder in 3 places. NCL did not charge me but I had to go to a clinic in Naples and had x-rays and a ct scan which my insurance covered. I had also booked 3 independent tours in Italy and since I  was within 72 hours of the trip I did not get a refund. The tour company did write a letter that I also submitted to my insurance company for a full refund.  
Accidents can happen to anybody, any age, 

 

Edited by kelib
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Covid is likely to continue to present obstacles to travel for a while, including positive tests among fully vaccinated cruisers. Depending on when you booked and when you travel, you may not be covered by the Celebrity assistance plan. It expires Oct. 31. In that case, if you test positive before the cruise, you’d have to absorb all costs for cruise, air, and hotels. If it happens during the cruise, you’d be responsible for medical care on board and possibly quarantine upon disembarkation along with additional costs for onward travel. 

 

It goes without saying that travel insurance provides protection for any emergency, but if you are specifically interested in Covid, yes there are policies available in the US that cover Covid as any other illness. You can find them on travel insurance websites such as insuremytrip or squaremouth by using the search filters for Covid-friendly or pandemic coverage.

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57 minutes ago, kjwinston2019 said:

Hi all you experts.

 

We are looking to go on our 6th cruise (5 on Celebrity, 1 RCL) In these times of COVID is it wise to get the insurance? We are going from Hawaii to Vancouver BC mostly at sea. We love this? I was looking to see if the insurance covers Covid 19 at this moment and It look like it does not? I was wondering if you experts actually get insuance at all? We have never got insurance before, we are Vacinated, most likly we will get the boosters. I was wondering, for i hate handing over $648 to the cruise line for nothing. Just wanted to hear from you your opinions. Thanks ahead of time. 

 

KJ

 

I wonder whether you insure your house & contents, car, health at home?

 

We insure all the above and have never contemplated traveling without a comprehensive travel insurance policy.

 

In all the above scenarios it is the unexpected against which one insures.

Edited by Baynanno1
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4 minutes ago, Baynanno1 said:

 

I wonder whether you insure your house & contents, car, health at home?

 

We insure all the above and have never contemplated traveling without a comprehensive travel insurance policy.

 

In all the above scenarios it is the unexpected against which one insures.

You posted before i had a chance. We've paid for car, health, rental and home insurance since 1970  but would not be without it. Same with travel insurance which we used once and it was worth it.

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Insurance is something you kind of hope you "waste" your money on. It's a hedge, and you hope to lose your hedge, because that means you made out very well on your primary.

 

We do not travel out of the USA without, at least, medical evacuation insurance. One cause to use it could very well pay for a lifetime of premiums (not to mention having someone handle logistics for you). It's just part of our budget. 

 

Considering how much we intend to travel, we're looking at a Kaiser travel medical plan

 

As for cancellation/delay, that's a much more straightforward decision and purely a matter of how much of your trip cost you would and are willing to lose should you need to cancel. We get it for some things and pass on it for others. 

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16 hours ago, kjwinston2019 said:

Hi all you experts.

 

We are looking to go on our 6th cruise (5 on Celebrity, 1 RCL) In these times of COVID is it wise to get the insurance? We are going from Hawaii to Vancouver BC mostly at sea. We love this? I was looking to see if the insurance covers Covid 19 at this moment and It look like it does not? I was wondering if you experts actually get insuance at all? We have never got insurance before, we are Vacinated, most likly we will get the boosters. I was wondering, for i hate handing over $648 to the cruise line for nothing. Just wanted to hear from you your opinions. Thanks ahead of time. 

 

KJ


Yes, you need it...Hopefully you never use it but you do need it!

Edited by chemmo
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1 hour ago, cruzzzinma said:

In 2018, I had pneumonia on an Oceania B2B on med and  and transatlantic cruises. Medical bills were just under $20,000 and included an ER visit in Spain to see if I was fit to travel. We had to pay it before we disembarked. 

Heck, that would have been a good reason to stay aboard... LOL

 

I cannot afford to pay this.... Held hostage aboard a cruise ship for another four or five months...

 

Happy to know that you made it through, regardless....

 

In health and bon voyage

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So first question is what insurance do you have now?  Between your health coverage, credit card, homeowner's etc.?  What possible costs do you need to protect?  What are you comfortable with, for example do you have to be transported back to your home or can you stay in hospital that is on your route?

 

These are questions only you can answer.  Others tell you sometimes quite emphatically what they do.

 

The devil is in the details.  We often do different policies in different circumstances.

 

FOR US, looking at your itinary and since we have med coverage i.e not medicare.  We probably would go with the cruise line policy.  But someone else will pick something else.

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Insurance is like having something that's been lying around in your junk drawer for years. If you get rid of it, you will find yourself in desperate need of it a week later. 

 

I have an annual policy with Allianz that covers my wife and self.  About $700. This amount is small compared to the cost of buying individual cruise insurance coverage from the cruise lines for each passenger/for each cruise. 

 

We have been on two cruises and have a third booked for this Fall. Excellent coverage for all of them. One rate. Allianz works for us but several other companies offer good coverage at a reasonable rate. Safe Travels.

 

 

 

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On 9/20/2021 at 5:31 PM, Baynanno1 said:

 

I wonder whether you insure your house & contents, car, health at home?

 

We insure all the above and have never contemplated traveling without a comprehensive travel insurance policy.

 

In all the above scenarios it is the unexpected against which one insures.

Yes I do, but it is much cheaper than Celebrity insurance. All of them.

 

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10 minutes ago, kjwinston2019 said:

Yes I do, but it is much cheaper than Celebrity insurance. All of them.

 

Then find private insurance, options have been posted all over the place here.  IMO of course need insurance,  more so now than ever.

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On 9/20/2021 at 3:34 PM, kjwinston2019 said:

Hi all you experts.

 

We are looking to go on our 6th cruise (5 on Celebrity, 1 RCL) In these times of COVID is it wise to get the insurance? We are going from Hawaii to Vancouver BC mostly at sea. We love this? I was looking to see if the insurance covers Covid 19 at this moment and It look like it does not? I was wondering if you experts actually get insuance at all? We have never got insurance before, we are Vacinated, most likly we will get the boosters. I was wondering, for i hate handing over $648 to the cruise line for nothing. Just wanted to hear from you your opinions. Thanks ahead of time. 

 

KJ

Oddly enough I was just pondering the same question for the same cruise.  We have always traveled with medical coverage, even beyond what is offered through my extended health plan at work.  Funny enough the one and only time I ever bought trip cancellation was for a deluxe trip over Y2K, woke up the departure morning with an actual real flu.  8 days later finally got out of bed.  Got all our money back, maybe short of $400. Be interesting to see some more feedback, but definitely have medical.  Hope to see you on board, we did the same cruise in reverse just before covid and it was the best

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1 hour ago, lobsternight said:

Oddly enough I was just pondering the same question for the same cruise.  We have always traveled with medical coverage, even beyond what is offered through my extended health plan at work.  Funny enough the one and only time I ever bought trip cancellation was for a deluxe trip over Y2K, woke up the departure morning with an actual real flu.  8 days later finally got out of bed.  Got all our money back, maybe short of $400. Be interesting to see some more feedback, but definitely have medical.  Hope to see you on board, we did the same cruise in reverse just before covid and it was the best


Covid presents new risks, most notably the chance that one might have to quarantine at some point during the trip. When the cruise line assistance plans expire, then passengers will have to take care of themselves. Travel protection with generous trip delay/interruption benefits could prove useful.

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2 hours ago, kjwinston2019 said:

Yes I do, but it is much cheaper than Celebrity insurance. All of them.

 


If this discussion has not convinced you that insurance is worthwhile, then at least you have a clearer idea of what new risks you face with Covid. If you are willing to accept that, then you can continue to self-insure.

 

I don’t know that third-party insurance would be any less expensive because it is based on age as well as amount insured. You could do some comparison shopping  before deciding what to do, but only you can determine what makes you comfortable.

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