Cruise Line Insurance or 3rd Party

[LAWTONCRUISE]

Just booked the Sun for Alaska in July 2022 (8th NCL Cruise). First cruise since 2014. Just wonder if it's better to take the cruise line insurance or get it from a 3rd party like Travel Guard, etc. Always gotten mine from from 3rd party before so I don't know much about the cruise line insurance. With 3rd party you can include the Airline costs as well without having to get extra insurance. I'm also trying to decide if I should buy refundable airline tickets instead of insurance just to make it simpler if by some reason I had to cancel. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. 

[LAWTONCRUISE]

Just went out and checked 3rd party insurance for my trip. Super expensive (I guess because we're Seniors, very Senior. LOL) Much more cost effective to keep the Cruise Line Insurance and pay for refundable airline tickets. Guess I should have checked before posting.  Oh well. 

Edited October 14, 2021 by LAWTONCRUISE

[ggTexasGal]

7 minutes ago, LAWTONCRUISE said:

Just booked the Sun for Alaska in July 2022 (8th NCL Cruise). First cruise since 2014. Just wonder if it's better to take the cruise line insurance or get it from a 3rd party like Travel Guard, etc. Always gotten mine from from 3rd party before so I don't know much about the cruise line insurance. With 3rd party you can include the Airline costs as well without having to get extra insurance. I'm also trying to decide if I should buy refundable airline tickets instead of insurance just to make it simpler if by some reason I had to cancel. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. 

First, Thank you for your Army Service!

We have purchased NCL's and third party insurance over the years.  We've found that third party coverage tends to be less expensive and provide better coverage.  We recently did purchase refundable airline tickets with the same thoughts you stated.

Ultimately, I hope you don't NEED to make any claims, no matter how you choose to cover your trips!

[GeezerCouple]

12 minutes ago, LAWTONCRUISE said:

Just booked the Sun for Alaska in July 2022 (8th NCL Cruise). First cruise since 2014. Just wonder if it's better to take the cruise line insurance or get it from a 3rd party like Travel Guard, etc. Always gotten mine from from 3rd party before so I don't know much about the cruise line insurance. With 3rd party you can include the Airline costs as well without having to get extra insurance. I'm also trying to decide if I should buy refundable airline tickets instead of insurance just to make it simpler if by some reason I had to cancel. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. 

 

You might also want to post this on the CC Travel Insurance sub-forum:

 

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

 

There is also another sub-forum (from the above sub-forum):

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/2500-qa-cruise-insurance-with-the-tripinsurancestorecom-june-2021/

 

We have always purchased third party insurance, since reading about this back in 2013.

We have used www.TripInsuranceStore.com - and they've been wonderful helping us to get the right policies for our specific needs.  (No additional charge for the travelers.)  Our policies were through TIS with Travel Insured.  And... we've had several claims, including a few large ones.  All of them were paid without any nonsense.  (Steve, owner of TIS, was also helpful a few times when we had a medical emergency, reminding us what documentation we'd need, etc.  He runs the second sub-forum link above.)

 

We just want to keep the insurance separate from the vendor (cruise line, hotel, etc.) so there is no conflict of interest in selling a particular type of coverage or with claims.  We also want some types of coverage that may not be available through cruise line coverage.  Finally, our policies always got us cash back, NOT some sort of "credit" that needed to be used with the same travel vendor, or within some sort of deadline,

 

GC

 

 

[billslowsky]

11 minutes ago, LAWTONCRUISE said:

Just went out and checked 3rd party insurance for my trip. Super expensive (I guess because we're Seniors, very Senior. LOL) Much more cost effective to keep the Cruise Line Insurance and pay for refundable airline tickets. Guess I should have checked before posting.  Oh well. 

The insurance sold by NCL is third party; you are buying coverage from Nationwide and CareFree Travel Assistance, which are not part of NCL.

 

"Insurance coverages are underwritten by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and Affiliated Companies, Columbus, Ohio and non-insurance services are provided by CareFree Travel Assistance™. "

[LAWTONCRUISE]

Yes, I know they are also "3rd party" I guess I should have said other than Cruise Line Paid Insurance. Appreciate your input. 

[milolii]

I would still check out the insurance forum on CC and talk to an independent agent.    There are strict rules around things such as pre existing conditions  and Cancel for Any Reason.  Buying separate airfare can present problems, with regard to the two items mentioned above.  Although, if it is refundable, you may be oK. However, I  am not an expert.  

We use tripinsurancestore.com.  Steve(owner) posts frequently on the insurance forum mentioned by GeezerCouple and has hosted a Q&A for Cruise Critic. There are other recommendations on the forum as well.  

 

 

[zdcatc12]

Also, unless you are not planning on flying again for a long time, most of the airlines no longer have change fees and, if you couldn't fly, you would get a credit to use later. Kind of like how Southwest was doing it before, only now most of the majors are doing it.

[milolii]

I see the thread has been moved to the insurance forum by the moderators.  Some of the experts should respond. Steve and others give good advice. 

Edited October 14, 2021 by milolii

[klfrodo]

Myself? I would self insure this trip.

 

Your regular medical insurance is going to cover you for all medical needs as if you were at home since you are in the US after all. Tri-Care and VA Champs works in Alaska as well.

Evacuation will be done by the US Coast Guard and is at no costs.

Travel Insurance won't do you any good for airfare because the airlines will give you a future travel voucher which the travel insurance will consider you to be reimbursed by the airline.

 

So, what do we have left? Cancellation, trip delay, trip interruption? I self insure those things and if I'm uncomfortable with that, I have some travel coverage with my credit card.

Edited October 15, 2021 by klfrodo

[LAWTONCRUISE]

Thanks for the tips, I had not even thought of most of them. After some research...Yes, we have MEDICARE and Tri-Care for Life for Medical. Our Credit Card will cover up $6000 (trip cancelation, delay etc), about the cost of the cruise and Yes, the Coast Guard will provide evacuation if necessary. I can take the costs of the Cruise insurance to upgrade the flights to refundable thus solving that little problem. Self Insure certainly looks like the way to go. Appreciate your help.

[Ashland]

If we have an annual policy that doesn't cover trip interruption or cancellation should we take the cruiseline offered ins for this as well?

[iamtrustworthy]

On 10/26/2021 at 1:10 PM, Ashland said:

If we have an annual policy that doesn't cover trip interruption or cancellation should we take the cruiseline offered ins for this as well?

Hi Ashland,

 

It depends on your ages. For example, if you are on Medicare which doesn't cover outside the USA, it's likely the cruise line plan only has Secondary medical and you would want Primary medical.

 

There are other reasons to not get the cruise line plan, but that's an important reason.

 

Steve Dasseos

[Ashland]

We are on Medicare. Considering getting a GeoBlue Trekker Choice for our medical...Med Jet Assist to get us back to our home/hospital....Cruiseline ins to cover our cruise cost.

 

Also would want hotel etc. etc. cost covered for spouse if one of us was admitted or once released and they couldn't travel yet.

 

Is there any concern having so many ins involved?

 

Am I overdoing this all.... help!!!!

Edited October 28, 2021 by Ashland

[klfrodo]

15 minutes ago, Ashland said:

We are on Medicare. Considering getting a GeoBlue Trekker Choice for our medical...Med Jet Assist to get us back to our home/hospital....Cruiseline ins to cover our cruise cost.

 

Also would want hotel etc. etc. cost covered for spouse if one of us was admitted or once released and they couldn't travel yet.

 

Is there any concern having so many ins involved?

 

Am I overdoing this all.... help!!!!

In my opinion, You're over doing it. To me, it sounds like you are trying to insure every possible contingency that exists. That, once again my opinion, is not conceivable. 

Insurance should be to help share an unbearable loss. Of course, what is considered unbearable to 1 is different to another. For me, catching the cost of a hotel and meals for a few days, might be painful, it's not going to put me into bankruptcy. While a $150,000 hospital bill will cause a major problem.

I don't insure my cruise cost. If I take the cruise and something happens midway, I only spent disposable income. I can recover from that. If I have to cancel the cruise and lose half the money, it was disposable money that I lost. After 15 cruises, I've never cancelled so what is the risk?

It's all risk management.

Edited October 28, 2021 by klfrodo

[Ashland]

7 minutes ago, klfrodo said:

In my opinion, You're over doing it. To me, it sounds like you are trying to insure every possible contingency that exists. That, once again my opinion, is not conceivable. 

Insurance should be to help share an unbearable loss. Of course, what is considered unbearable to 1 is different to another. For me, catching the cost of a hotel and meals for a few days, might be painful, it's not going to put me into bankruptcy. While a $150,000 hospital bill will cause a major problem.

I don't insure my cruise cost. If I take the cruise and something happens midway, I only spent disposable income. I can recover from that. If I have to cancel the cruise and lose half the money, it was disposable money that I lost. After 15 cruises, I've never cancelled so what is the risk?

It's all risk management.

So you have MJA and what medical/evacuation policy? Thank you so much for adding your opinion to this very confusing decision I need to make to cover the seven cruises we have for 2022.

[Babr]

You already have good input here. May I just add that I, too, think you are overdoing it to buy three different policies. It is time to step back and rethink what it is you want insurance to do for you. It is probably a good idea to talk to a broker like Steve, who has been recommended here. Use what you’ve learned in this discussion to clarify your expectations and ask the right questions. 

 

It seems to me that you would be better served by a good comprehensive policy with high dollar limits for medical an evacuation because such a policy would also cover cancellation and other travel related risks that concern you. Some of the policies will also forward payment if it is necessary for you to receive treatment, but be prepared to pay out of pocket and file for reimbursement. The advantage of having primary coverage is that it pays without your having to file with Medicare first. It simplifies the claims process.

 

Buying an annual policy for medical does not make sense to me if you are still going to buy a comprehensive policy to cover travel risks. Using credit card travel benefits to pair with an annual medical policy may or may not work for you. Chase Sapphire is considered to the best travel card, but its annual fee is $550 plus $75 for a second user. It does not cover pre-existing conditions, and the limit is $10,000 per person per trip. 
 

You could buy MedJet to supplement a comprehensive policy for a reasonable amount if it would give you additional peace of mind.

[klfrodo]

3 hours ago, Ashland said:

So you have MJA and what medical/evacuation policy? Thank you so much for adding your opinion to this very confusing decision I need to make to cover the seven cruises we have for 2022.

For the life of me, I was trying to figure out what MJA was. Then I figured it out.

 

7 cruises? Depends on various factors. Are any of them B2B? If so, that is one trip. B2B2B, 3 cruises but still 1 trip. Travel insurance starts the day you walk out the door and ends when you walk back into your house.

Is Alaska involved? Or Hawaii? These cruises I would self insure completely because Medicare and/or regular medical insurance is good.

Are a couple of these European cruises. These involve more money so I might adjust my thinking on what my needs are.

 

But let's just say these are 7 individual trips to the Caribbean. I would self insure the cruise, cancellation, trip delay, etc and just purchase the medical and evac. $70 for both of us at 7 trips =$490 for $100K medical (Primary) and $1M Evac and repatriation for each trip..

Total cost would be less if any of the cruises are B2B.

(I'm using a total Trip Cost of $500pp since all I want is the medical and evac. AND since I'm using the $500 number as trip cost, if something should happen and I need a hotel room and a few meals,,, I have 150% of that $500 trip cost to help offset some of my costs)

((Travel Insurance costs start at $0 trip cost up to $500 trip cost at a certain price. Then $501 to $1000. Then $1001 to $1500, and so on and so on. That's why I use $500.))

Edited October 28, 2021 by klfrodo

[Ashland]

1 hour ago, klfrodo said:

For the life of me, I was trying to figure out what MJA was. Then I figured it out.

 

7 cruises? Depends on various factors. Are any of them B2B? If so, that is one trip. B2B2B, 3 cruises but still 1 trip. Travel insurance starts the day you walk out the door and ends when you walk back into your house.

Is Alaska involved? Or Hawaii? These cruises I would self insure completely because Medicare and/or regular medical insurance is good.

Are a couple of these European cruises. These involve more money so I might adjust my thinking on what my needs are.

 

But let's just say these are 7 individual trips to the Caribbean. I would self insure the cruise, cancellation, trip delay, etc and just purchase the medical and evac. $70 for both of us at 7 trips =$490 for $100K medical (Primary) and $1M Evac and repatriation for each trip..

Total cost would be less if any of the cruises are B2B.

(I'm using a total Trip Cost of $500pp since all I want is the medical and evac. AND since I'm using the $500 number as trip cost, if something should happen and I need a hotel room and a few meals,,, I have 150% of that $500 trip cost to help offset some of my costs)

((Travel Insurance costs start at $0 trip cost up to $500 trip cost at a certain price. Then $501 to $1000. Then $1001 to $1500, and so on and so on. That's why I use $500.))

January...Mexico

March...B2B southern caribbean

April...eastern caribbean

July...Arctic Circle

Sept...Alaska

Oct...Panama Canal

 

I appreciate you taking the time to offer me some advice.

 

[Hlitner]

With that many cruises you might want to look at the various options for an annual travel medical policy or annual trip policy.  This can be less expensive then insuring each cruise separately.  So, for example, the Annual GeoBlue Trekker policy will cover the first 70 days of every trip you take throughout the entire policy year.  That plan provides lots of medical coverage (at least $100,000) plus also has lots of medical evacuation coverage.  There are other annual policies with different limits including some policies that will also cover trip cancelation/interruption.

 

Hank

[Ashland]

On 11/5/2021 at 9:04 PM, Hlitner said:

With that many cruises you might want to look at the various options for an annual travel medical policy or annual trip policy.  This can be less expensive then insuring each cruise separately.  So, for example, the Annual GeoBlue Trekker policy will cover the first 70 days of every trip you take throughout the entire policy year.  That plan provides lots of medical coverage (at least $100,000) plus also has lots of medical evacuation coverage.  There are other annual policies with different limits including some policies that will also cover trip cancelation/interruption.

 

Hank

Yes...GeoBlue Trekker Choice is the one we're considering. Thanks so much.