Experience with Travel Credit Card vs Allianz Travel Insurance?

[Grambler]

So I am very confused & don’t know what to choose, The Sapphire Credit Card that comes with travel insurance and if so Preferred or Reserve? or buying a yearly Plan from Allianz and if so Premier or Prime? My brain is swirling, this is just not in my Wheelhouse. Does anyone have any experience with either? And since we already paid our deposits on 3 cruises for next year, would they still be covered? Any help or feedback would be appreciated. My husband and I usually go on 2 cruises and one other trip a year and I usually take a small trip with friends every yr. And yes I have looked at all of the plans  on line, I am not being lazy or expecting others to do research for me but I end up more confused than anything else. I know the decision has to be mine but some of you probably have experience with these plans. We usually just buy insurance through cruise or others offered for one cruise only. Thanks in advance for your time. 
 

[rkacruiser]

1 hour ago, Grambler said:

We usually just buy insurance through cruise or others offered for one cruise only.

 

I do not do this.  The insurance sold through the cruise lines is inferior in its coverage in my opinion.  I have not depended upon the insurance offered through a credit card; that, again, seems limited in comparison to a policy bought from an insurance company.

 

For my most recent cruises (2019-2020), I bought a policy issued by Allianz.  (Usually, I buy a Travel Guard policy, but, their prices were higher than Allianz for the same amount and type of coverage.)  I did have a small medical claim.  It was significantly more difficult to satisfy Allianz's claim requirements than for any such claim (which I have had a few) with Travel Guard.  Won't be an Allianz customer in the future.  

[Hlitner]

We discuss these issues on the Cruise/Travel Insurance blog.  Keep in mind that the Chase Sapphire coverage is governed by lots of restrictions/terms so one should carefully read the fine print before making a decision to rely on this policy.  I have made no secret that we do rely on a combination of the Chase coverage plus an annual Travel Medical Policy (which provides a lot more medical coverage than any of the inadequate policies sold by the cruise lines).  But the Chase policy is limited to only $10,000 per person for trip cancelation/interruption which must be for a very valid cause.  Those seeking a "cancel because I might change my mind" policy will need to look elsewhere.

 

Hank

[Flatbush Flyer]

10 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

We discuss these issues on the Cruise/Travel Insurance blog.  Keep in mind that the Chase Sapphire coverage is governed by lots of restrictions/terms so one should carefully read the fine print before making a decision to rely on this policy.  I have made no secret that we do rely on a combination of the Chase coverage plus an annual Travel Medical Policy (which provides a lot more medical coverage than any of the inadequate policies sold by the cruise lines).  But the Chase policy is limited to only $10,000 per person for trip cancelation/interruption which must be for a very valid cause.  Those seeking a "cancel because I might change my mind" policy will need to look elsewhere.

 

Hank

And many credit cards exclude PECs as claimable for trip cancel/interrupt coverage. Add to that the meager total claim allowance $ of the CC coverage as well as the total limit amounts of annual comprehensive travel policies and one cruise alone could easily wipe out your protection.

[Hlitner]

1 minute ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

And many credit cards exclude PECs as claimable for trip cancel/interrupt coverage. Add to that the meager total claim allowance $ of the CC coverage as well as the total limit amounts of annual comprehensive travel policies and one cruise alone could easily wipe out your protection.

So lets briefly talk about your post.  Many folks do not really understand PECs and that there is a big difference between simply "excluding" PECs and specifying a "look back period" where PECs are covered as long as they comply with that look back period.

 

As to using up the total limit of an annual policy I think that is a non-issue.  Assuming that a policy holder filed a claim that did use up much of their annual limit they would still have the option of purchasing another policy for a future trip.  

 

For me the true issue is the wholly inadequate medical coverage provided in many travel policies (especially those sold by cruise lines).  Most medical insurance experts (I worked in that industry for over 35 years) would say that $100,000 of medical coverage is a good minimum for most folks.  But many travel polices only provide $10,000 - $25,000 of medical which is ridiculously inadequate.  Folks need to understand that a major medical event can easily blow through those low limits.  And unlike cancellation insurance where you cannot lose more than you paid for the trip (which you were going to pay if you took the trip) your exposure for medical liability is unlimited!  A single medical event can easily put most folks into bankruptcy and, in fact, is the leading cause of personal bankruptcy in the USA.

 

Hank

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 minute ago, Hlitner said:

So lets briefly talk about your post.  Many folks do not really understand PECs and that there is a big difference between simply "excluding" PECs and specifying a "look back period" where PECs are covered as long as they comply with that look back period.

 

As to using up the total limit of an annual policy I think that is a non-issue.  Assuming that a policy holder filed a claim that did use up much of their annual limit they would still have the option of purchasing another policy for a future trip.  

 

For me the true issue is the wholly inadequate medical coverage provided in many travel policies (especially those sold by cruise lines).  Most medical insurance experts (I worked in that industry for over 35 years) would say that $100,000 of medical coverage is a good minimum for most folks.  But many travel polices only provide $10,000 - $25,000 of medical which is ridiculously inadequate.  Folks need to understand that a major medical event can easily blow through those low limits.  And unlike cancellation insurance where you cannot lose more than you paid for the trip (which you were going to pay if you took the trip) your exposure for medical liability is unlimited!  A single medical event can easily put most folks into bankruptcy and, in fact, is the leading cause of personal bankruptcy in the USA.

 

Hank

Agreed that the Insurance PEC is not the same as the healthcare PEC and the lookback period is a key factor in the mix.

Also agree that many comprehensive travel policies are woefully inadequate for med coverage. 
We are so very fortunate that our retirement health benefits are provided by CalPERS (California Public Employees Retirement System). Our Medicare supplements convert to excellent Blue Cross coverage (including Geo Blue coordination) as soon as we’re outside of the US. We add a MedJet annual policy for evac (though we’re currently looking at the Emergency Assistance+ deal from United Airline’s FF program). 
But, of course, none of that addresses trip cancel/interrupt and try and find a policy just for that with limits that cover “expensive” cruises.

So, we hunt down inexpensive comp policies that covers the trip costs adequately ( the rest of the policy is of less interest to us save med copay help if needed.

[aungrl]

5 hours ago, Grambler said:

So I am very confused & don’t know what to choose, The Sapphire Credit Card that comes with travel insurance and if so Preferred or Reserve? or buying a yearly Plan from Allianz and if so Premier or Prime? My brain is swirling, this is just not in my Wheelhouse. Does anyone have any experience with either? And since we already paid our deposits on 3 cruises for next year, would they still be covered? Any help or feedback would be appreciated. My husband and I usually go on 2 cruises and one other trip a year and I usually take a small trip with friends every yr. And yes I have looked at all of the plans  on line, I am not being lazy or expecting others to do research for me but I end up more confused than anything else. I know the decision has to be mine but some of you probably have experience with these plans. We usually just buy insurance through cruise or others offered for one cruise only. Thanks in advance for your time. 
 

You might try contacting Steve Dasseos at TripInsuranceStore.com.   He's an expert at explaining trip insurance coverage options in plain language, there are no fees involved, and in my experience, he - or any of his team, really - have been more than happy to answer questions, and to keep answering them until I actually understand.

[Grambler]

12 minutes ago, aungrl said:

You might try contacting Steve Dasseos at TripInsuranceStore.com.   He's an expert at explaining trip insurance coverage options in plain language, there are no fees involved, and in my experience, he - or any of his team, really - have been more than happy to answer questions, and to keep answering them until I actually understand.

Thank you so much, I will contact him

[Babr]

You probably have an answer from Steve by now, but for anyone else who might stop by - credit card insurance and comprehensive travel policies are two different animals not to be considered equivalent.

 

Depending on which card you get, medical is minimal to non-existant.  Trip interruption covers only unused portions of the trip. There is no provision for return transportation. Trip delay is only $500. Evacuation requires that Chase make the arrangements even though it is secondary to any other insurance you may have.

 

There are a few odds and ends such as rental car coverage or baggage delay; but for the most part consider credit card coverage for what it is - a perk included in the cost of the annual fee and  designed as an incentive to use the card not to replace a comprehensive travel policy.

[Grambler]

On 5/25/2022 at 8:57 PM, Babr said:

You probably have an answer from Steve by now, but for anyone else who might stop by - credit card insurance and comprehensive travel policies are two different animals not to be considered equivalent.

 

Depending on which card you get, medical is minimal to non-existant.  Trip interruption covers only unused portions of the trip. There is no provision for return transportation. Trip delay is only $500. Evacuation requires that Chase make the arrangements even though it is secondary to any other insurance you may have.

 

There are a few odds and ends such as rental car coverage or baggage delay; but for the most part consider credit card coverage for what it is - a perk included in the cost of the annual fee and  designed as an incentive to use the card not to replace a comprehensive travel policy.

That was very helpful information, appreciate it