Using CAA for Travel Insurance.

[Barb1963]

Hi all

 Traveling mid Feb on the Mardi Gras...CANT WAIT!!!   I am wondering if anyone has used CAA for their cruise insurance?  Any thoughts are welcome on CAA or other insurance companies.  I did purchase the Carnival insurance when I booked but figured I would need more especially due to Covid

 

TIA

Barb

[If only]

11 minutes ago, Barb1963 said:

Hi all

 Traveling mid Feb on the Mardi Gras...CANT WAIT!!!   I am wondering if anyone has used CAA for their cruise insurance?  Any thoughts are welcome on CAA or other insurance companies.  I did purchase the Carnival insurance when I booked but figured I would need more especially due to Covid

 

TIA

Barb

We had a year policy before the pandemic & because of it we had put in a claim,  the good news is we did get all our money back, it took 6 months.  The bad news is we never ever spoke to a claims agent on the phone, everything was done by email & it was always initiated by us, so I was definitely not impressed.  Every time they promised to call us back but never did.  How would they be with a medical claim I have no idea.  

Edited January 18, 2022 by If only

[pistnbroke]

Last time I checked they did not cover cruises

[BoopTheSnoot]

We used CAA travel insurance for a private safari we booked in 2019 for July 2020 and, as you can imagine, had to cancel. Eighteen month wait for a small partial payout with sparse communication throughout. It’s basically a hard handoff to their insurance carrier and we got zero support from CAA itself in pursuing the claim. We have since canceled our CAA memberships and will shop elsewhere for future insurance needs. 

[sun~]

I personally would not purchase CAA insurance. A colleague of mine slipped and broke her leg and required surgery while in England. She had called CAA about the emergency treatment/surgery while in the hallway after being prepped for surgery in the hospital in London. The rep from CAA insurance asked to speak with the surgeon. Apparently the CAA rep asked the surgeon was she stable enough to put off the surgery for a day. He said "I guess so" WRONG FRIGGIN' ANSWER. CAA told the surgeon that the insurance would not pay for surgery. 

 

My dear colleague had to leave the hospital in extreme pain, with her 90 year old father, and flew back to Canada. In agony. Another friend got her from the airport and took her directly to the emergency room. The surgery was performed that night. She was off her feet for several weeks. The jostling around in transport with a broken leg that required surgery made it worse, and made her recovery longer.

 

I will never, ever purchase CAA insurance. I have in the past, but no more.

 

Edited January 18, 2022 by sun~

[Fouremco]

4 minutes ago, sun~ said:

I personally would not purchase CAA insurance. A colleague of mine slipped and broke her leg and required surgery while in England. She had called CAA about the emergency treatment/surgery while in the hallway after being prepped for surgery in the hospital in London. The rep from CAA insurance asked to speak with the surgeon. Apparently the CAA rep asked the surgeon was she stable enough to put off the surgery for a day. He said "I guess so" WRONG FRIGGIN' ANSWER. CAA told the surgeon that the insurance would not pay for surgery. 

 

My dear colleague had to leave the hospital in extreme pain, with her 90 year old father, and flew back to Canada. In agony. Another friend got her from the airport and took her directly to the emergency room. The surgery was performed that night. She was off her feet for several weeks. The jostling around in transport with a broken leg that required surgery made it worse, and made her recovery longer.

 

I will never, ever purchase CAA insurance. I have in the past, but no more.

 

Incredible. It's one thing to be sufficiently stable to postpone the surgery till the following day, presumably remaining in the hospital overnight, and an entirely different thing to fly back to Canada for the surgery. I'd suggest that the CAA rep was very inexperienced and wasn't thinking. In any event, I definitely would have gone after the insurance company for full payment.

 

By way of comparison, my DW had a medical issue that resulted in her going from the Nieuw Statendam's medical centre by ambulance to a hospital in Amsterdam upon disembarkation. After the better part of a day, the hospital released her but advised her that it would be better for her to not fly home for several days due to possible discomfort. Our insurance didn't even blink, covering changed flight tickets as well as accommodation, meals, etc., for the extra days in Amsterdam. The only thing they wouldn't cover was the bill for our dog's extra days at his boarding kennel!

[Barb1963]

Wow Thank you so much for all the replies, I will definitely not buy CAA and will look elsewhere.  Any recommendations?

 

[Atlantic Girl]

We have had Johnsons Medoc for  years and have been very pleased at their quick turn around time on paying a claim. We have used them for several small medical incidents and when we called them they told us where to go for medical attention. They had the paperwork done with the medical provider by the time we got there. We never even saw the  bill, as Johnsons paid directly. Also no deductible on Medical or on Trip Cancellation and Interruption. They always paid for hotels and meals  when we had a missed or delayed flight. We have had to use them for Trip Cancellation and Interruption for cruises and land vacations and have always been paid out the full claim. We buy the yearly plan which covers us for unlimited number of trips as long as they are 40 days or less. Also the same coverage for out of province. Out of province is important because every province has different fee schedules and if you have a major medical bill in another province, you might be in for a surprise. Here in Nova Scotia Emergency air flight is a covered expense for residents only. Couple of years ago a woman was visiting from Ontario and had to be airlifted to Halifax for emergency care. She got a $20,000 bill for that. Johnsons would have paid that for her.

[thon]

4 hours ago, Atlantic Girl said:

We have had Johnsons Medoc for  years and have been very pleased at their quick turn around time on paying a claim. We have used them for several small medical incidents and when we called them they told us where to go for medical attention. They had the paperwork done with the medical provider by the time we got there. We never even saw the  bill, as Johnsons paid directly. Also no deductible on Medical or on Trip Cancellation and Interruption. They always paid for hotels and meals  when we had a missed or delayed flight. We have had to use them for Trip Cancellation and Interruption for cruises and land vacations and have always been paid out the full claim. We buy the yearly plan which covers us for unlimited number of trips as long as they are 40 days or less. Also the same coverage for out of province. Out of province is important because every province has different fee schedules and if you have a major medical bill in another province, you might be in for a surprise. Here in Nova Scotia Emergency air flight is a covered expense for residents only. Couple of years ago a woman was visiting from Ontario and had to be airlifted to Halifax for emergency care. She got a $20,000 bill for that. Johnsons would have paid that for her.

Do you have this policy as part of a group, such as the federal retirees association or can anyone ‘off the street’ get it?’ 

[Fouremco]

4 minutes ago, thon said:

Do you have this policy as part of a group, such as the federal retirees association or can anyone ‘off the street’ get it?’ 

I've been a member for years under the National Association of Federal Retirees group, and as far as I know, you do have to belong to a group. However, I've not seen a list of all the eligible groups. Take a look at this page, as there is a number listed to help you determine whether or not you belong to an eligible group:

 

https://travel.johnson.ca/jwb_medoc_equote_external/travel/medoc/groupsearch.faces

[REDSTRIPETYPE]

Just went to AMA yesterday for Travel insurance.

They will not cover cruises as they are level 4.

[Atlantic Girl]

Yes I am National Associations of Federal Retirees but they have other groups which would qualify. The phone # to call and inquire about their travel insurance is 1-866-606-3362. It might be worth a call. 

[iancal]

Any time we have compared pricing and features CAA insurance has not compared well.  No idea about claims.

[Florida_gal_50]

4 hours ago, Atlantic Girl said:

Yes I am National Associations of Federal Retirees but they have other groups which would qualify. The phone # to call and inquire about their travel insurance is 1-866-606-3362. It might be worth a call. 

I purchased a yearly policy in November 2021 for medical.  I am not part of a group.  She called it the no group group.  I did have to call.  I saw no way to do it on the website.

[GeriatricNurse]

On 1/18/2022 at 5:08 PM, Fouremco said:

Incredible. It's one thing to be sufficiently stable to postpone the surgery till the following day, presumably remaining in the hospital overnight, and an entirely different thing to fly back to Canada for the surgery. I'd suggest that the CAA rep was very inexperienced and wasn't thinking. In any event, I definitely would have gone after the insurance company for full payment.

 

By way of comparison, my DW had a medical issue that resulted in her going from the Nieuw Statendam's medical centre by ambulance to a hospital in Amsterdam upon disembarkation. After the better part of a day, the hospital released her but advised her that it would be better for her to not fly home for several days due to possible discomfort. Our insurance didn't even blink, covering changed flight tickets as well as accommodation, meals, etc., for the extra days in Amsterdam. The only thing they wouldn't cover was the bill for our dog's extra days at his boarding kennel!

What insurance company?

 

[Fouremco]

1 minute ago, GeriatricNurse said:

What insurance company?

 

MEDOC Travel Insurance from Johnson.