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Need advice for Travel Insurance for cruise


btc1951
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My husband and I are booked in a mini suite on the NCL Escape on November 19-26 out of Port Canaveral. My husband is 81 and I am 71. My husband has had some health challenges in recent years and we feel it is necessary to get a rock solid travel insurance policy. Never having done this before, we would like some recommendations about where/from whom to purchase a policy. Are there companies that are more reputable than others? Or should we just purchase one of the travel insurance offered by NCL? With all the problems with flight cancellations and Covid, etc., not to mention if my husband or I have a medical issue either while we're traveling, or prior to travel, I want to be sure we're covered for every eventuality. I would love to hear from others who have experience in this area.

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A couple of things.

3rd party insurance prices are based on the age of the insured, so pricing could be an issue.

3rd party insurance is not going to cover pre-existing conditions probably since you are just now considering it.

Cruise line insurance policies don't cover pre-existing conditions, they are NOT based on the age of the insured, but they are woefully inadequate on max medical coverage.

Medicare, for the most part, doesn't not cover outside the US. Some add on policies do cover outside the US but are maxed at $50K lifetime.

Either way, no travel insurance policies are direct pay to the provider. YOU pay out of pocket, then file for reimbursement.

 

I recommend checking out www.tripinsurancestore.com . Steve is a broker and has been in business for many years. He also sells multiple policies and if you speak or call him he can help guide you to a policy that works for you. He also helps afterwards if there is an issue.

 

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Thanks for these responses. I thought I have searched pretty well for a specific forum and didn't find one on travel insurance. That is why I posted here. I will check that one out. And thanks, klfrodo, for your information about how travel insurance works. I will reach out to Steve at www.tripinsurancestore.com and see what he can tell me. 

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You might want to look into an annual policy that provides good medical coverage and then supplement it with the cheaper policy you can get with the cruise line.

Look at Geoblue.

 

Edited by Markanddonna
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6 hours ago, btc1951 said:

My husband and I are booked in a mini suite on the NCL Escape on November 19-26 out of Port Canaveral. My husband is 81 and I am 71. My husband has had some health challenges in recent years and we feel it is necessary to get a rock solid travel insurance policy. Never having done this before, we would like some recommendations about where/from whom to purchase a policy. Are there companies that are more reputable than others? Or should we just purchase one of the travel insurance offered by NCL? With all the problems with flight cancellations and Covid, etc., not to mention if my husband or I have a medical issue either while we're traveling, or prior to travel, I want to be sure we're covered for every eventuality. I would love to hear from others who have experience in this area.

First the easy one, never purchase insurance through a travel provider.  It's easy ... and buying insurance is hard work, so many people just take the easy way out and live to regret it.  I have full coverage with my credit card, but during the virus disaster I was concerned about all those credits out there.  Corporate insolvency was a possibility. I contacted a travel insurance broker and bought coverage for all the cruises we had booked.  It was necessary to use up my credits so I had something to cover first, of course.  We're cruising Quebec-Boston in September ... for the 'fourth time'.  This year I think it's a go.  Every time a cruise got cancelled, I just moved the insurance coverage to the new trip.  I used a broker in Omaha, but the agent bordered on incompetent.  It was like pulling teeth to get him to do anything and I'm glad I no longer feel the need for insolvency coverage. 

 

Lots of people use online brokers, so perhaps there will be some advice coming up for you.  I would also urge you to purchase an annual emergency medical evacuation policy.  I've had one for years, don't know if I'm allowed to recommend the company here on CC.  We had a chance to use it six years ago when my husband broke his hip in Paris, and they literally saved the day.  I don't scare easily, but that was a terrifying experience.  You're wise to get going on this now ... I always advise everyone to insure any non-ref cash spent on travel.  It's the only way you can emerge financially unscathed if something awful happens.

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JSN55 - Which credit card do you have that gives you full coverage? I have until July 22nd to make final payment so if I have to get another card (I only have 3 so getting another one is not a problem), I will. 

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Don't know if I can post this here, but it's not a recommendation, just information.  Chase's two top cards are Sapphire Reserve and Sapphire Preferred.  I got the Reserve the minute they launched it, maybe 6 or 8 years ago.  I've had a couple claims which were handled very well, their customer service is exemplary and their loyalty plan excellent for my purposes.   I've had MedJet emergency evac coverage for probably twenty years.

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