MEDICAL TRAVEL INSURANCE

[GeriatricNurse]

If I were to choose one of three insurance companies, as follows, for Medical Travel Insurance, what would be your advice for me, based upon your experiences related to cost & claims?

 

1.   Allianze

 

2.   CAA

 

3.   Manulife

[LHT28]

Depends on what coverages you  need/want 

What is  the look back periord  if you have pre existing conditions

 

Check if they cover covid  related issues

I hear Manulife  does

 

We buy Trip cancelations/interuption  with TIPS or RSA  they also offer  all inclusive packages  I believe (medical )

 

[cruisefan123]

We have used Manulife in the past.  Will be using again for upcoming cruise.

[CDNPolar]

A very close and good friend is an insurance agent that works in a brokerage.

 

Her personal advice to us - as a friend and not as someone that is making money from us - is go with Manulife as they turn claims around very fast.

 

Her other advice is to go through a broker as they can act as your advocate to the insurance company if you have a claim to speed up the processing of the claim.

 

We have personally used many different companies - CAA, Manulife, TD, and others, but now based on our friends advice are using Manulife only.  Fortunately for us we have never had to claim on any trip.

[LHT28]

You can buy any insurance  but  it is when you have to make  a claim  that counts  😉

 Read & understand the fine print  before you buy

 

[Minnitub]

Manulife always, even after our trip was cancelled because of Covid and it took almost a year for full reimbursement, they still have the best coverage.

[CDNPolar]

The other element is WHEN do you buy your trip cancellation insurance?  We have been led up and down the garden path on this question many times.

 

Some insurance packages offer "Cancel for any reason" if you buy within hours or days of booking your trip.  Be careful of these because until you have made a significant or full payment, you may only lose your deposit if you cancel.

 

We have a significantly expensive trip coming up that we pay for in full in one week's time.  To this point we have only paid a deposit of $1,000.00 USD.  The deposit is non-refundable.  However, cancelation insurance would have cost us almost $1,000.00 CAD to cover the loss of the deposit, so we did not purchase cancelation insurance.

 

We pay in full in one week, but the first penalty on that full payment is not for 30 days.  So, we are not buying cancelation insurance for another 30 days.  In the next 30 days we can cancel and receive full refund from the cruise line.

 

We have talked to insurance brokers and companies individually.  Our current and most trusted advice is not to purchase cancelation insurance until the first penalty kicks in.

 

When you purchase cancelation insurance, it is effective immediately, so even if you have no money to lose from the cruise line, you cannot get your insurance premium back.  That is gone.  So, unless you have money to lose, don't buy the insurance until a penalty is in place.

[LHT28]

We  buy  ins the same day we book the cruise   as we buy trip cancellation ins  & have pre existing conditions  I want to be covered

 

Of course you could wait  but  as always  READ THE FINE PRINT

 We have been able to transfer  a policy to another trip  when we canceled a cruise before  final payment

 We book hotels/air / private tours (some require deposits) ahead of time 

Personal choice

 

[CDNPolar]

20 hours ago, LHT28 said:

Of course you could wait  but  as always  READ THE FINE PRINT

 We have been able to transfer  a policy to another trip  when we canceled a cruise before  final payment

 

 

Read the fine print is the key to this member's message.  We have NOT been able to transfer to another trip in the past and lost the full premium.  This may be different with each insurance company.

 

The pre-existing condition clause is also interesting and I have had many a long conversation with an agent about this.  This also may be different with each insurance company.  Confusing for sure.

 

A good example of this might be...

 

• I severely break a leg in January and have surgery and all is good
• I book a cruise in February and buy my insurance that covers pre-existing conditions
• A few weeks before the departure something happens with my leg that prevents me from going on the cruise - I am covered

 

A bad example of this might be...

 

• I book a cruise in January, and buy insurance that covers pre-existing conditions - all is good, or so I think
• I severely break my leg somewhere between when I bought the insurance and when we depart for the trip.
• I need to cancel because of a complication of my leg - I am NOT covered - because this is not a pre-existing condition?

 

The two examples above have been a thorn in my side when choosing when to buy insurance for years now as I get different responses from different people.  This is where I am convinced that all insurance policies are written to trip you up and not pay...

 

I have been explicitly told by both stories by different insurance companies.  There is also the question of any pre-existing condition and the length of time that condition has been STABLE.  Stable can be a different time frame depending on the insurance company and your age.  Stable also gets into medication - dosage increase, AND dosage decrease or stoppage of medication.  Adding medication.  

 

What this means is you also have to recognize the stable nature of your pre-existing condition between when you buy the insurance and when you travel.

 

If you have a heart condition that is stable, but 45 days before departure your medication changes, and while on the trip, you have complications that can be tied back to the medication change, then you would be deemed NOT stable and they may not pay your claim.

 

All this has confused the heck out of me and I still don't know who to believe and who to listen to.  With that in mind, this is my rambling and understanding and it may or may not be accurate with your insurance company and your medical situation.

 

All I can say is good luck to all when buying your insurance.  First I hope you never need it, but if you do I hope it works as it should for you.

 

 

[LHT28]

We have had to use insurance  a couple of times  on pricey cruises 

We got  most back  except for the ins premium of course

Better to have some insurance  these days 

YMMV

 

[senorjim]

On 9/13/2022 at 4:24 AM, GeriatricNurse said:

If I were to choose one of three insurance companies, as follows, for Medical Travel Insurance, what would be your advice for me, based upon your experiences related to cost & claims?

 

1.   Allianze

 

2.   CAA

 

3.   Manulife

Whoever you choose I suggest you read the fine print and especially the exclusions. Some insurance providers may exclude medical evacuation from sea. A helicopter lift from the ship could cost you +- $50,000

Jim

 

[gubby]

2 hours ago, senorjim said:

Whoever you choose I suggest you read the fine print and especially the exclusions. Some insurance providers may exclude medical evacuation from sea. A helicopter lift from the ship could cost you +- $50,000

Jim

 

I am not questioning the fee-I just wonder where you found it. These are fees that many would like to know. Is the 50K in US or Can dollars. What country is the pickup?

[senorjim]

1 hour ago, gubby said:

I am not questioning the fee-I just wonder where you found it. These are fees that many would like to know. Is the 50K in US or Can dollars. What country is the pickup?

We did a behind the scenes tour on a Princess ship and the Medical Doctor suggested to check our travel health insurance to see if we are covered for evacuation from sea. HE is the one that quoted the $50,000 for a helicopter evacuation. Likely just a ballpark and I have no idea what currency. At the time we used Blue Cross Travel Health and our policy at that time there was an exclusion.

 

Jim

 

[gubby]

Thanks Jim. I had been looking for this info, so your post was quite timely. I have added the question to my list to our insurance company as that is  huge cost if one doesn't have coverage. We were covered by Gobal Excel on our last  cruise, and were so happy and impressed with the way our medical emergency was handled. No helicopter evacuated though.

[GeriatricNurse]

4 hours ago, gubby said:

Thanks Jim. I had been looking for this info, so your post was quite timely. I have added the question to my list to our insurance company as that is  huge cost if one doesn't have coverage. We were covered by Gobal Excel on our last  cruise, and were so happy and impressed with the way our medical emergency was handled. No helicopter evacuated though.

In the end, I choose 'ALLIANZE', (which does INCLUDE 'MediVac', Ship to Shore)!  Also, their coverage limit is $10,000,000; (same as 'Manulife'), whereas CAA is (only) $5,000,000!

[gubby]

We have used Alliance before. Their  coverage was good for cancellation, but they were very slow with payments. However, it is coverage we most want, and in the end, they did pay. At one time, our medical Insurance was also with them, and they covered ALL my spouse's hospital expenses in a private heart institute in Naples, Italy. No complaints with Alliance.

[CDNPolar]

On 9/16/2022 at 8:05 AM, senorjim said:

Whoever you choose I suggest you read the fine print and especially the exclusions. Some insurance providers may exclude medical evacuation from sea. A helicopter lift from the ship could cost you +- $50,000

Jim

 

I have asked Canada Life many times about medical evacuation insurance, and all I get is a very generic:

 

"If after receiving emergency medical treatment a person remains hospitalized and requires continued care, Canada Life may arrange for the person's return to Canada where the person's health permits a medical transfer."

 

I have again asked for more specific information as we are leaving later this year for Antarctica and it is definitely suggested that you have evacuation insurance for Antarctica.

 

Does anyone else know anything about Canada Life's policy on this?

[LHT28]

Most policies  will only evacuated you  IF your condition is stable  & the attending physician deems you fit  to travel

 

[CDNPolar]

Has anyone used "World Nomads" insurance?

[LHT28]

27 minutes ago, CDNPolar said:

Has anyone used "World Nomads" insurance?

I always look at the underwriter   in their case it is AIG

Then check how well they pay out

[GeriatricNurse]

13 hours ago, gubby said:

We have used Alliance before. Their  coverage was good for cancellation, but they were very slow with payments. However, it is coverage we most want, and in the end, they did pay. At one time, our medical Insurance was also with them, and they covered ALL my spouse's hospital expenses in a private heart institute in Naples, Italy. No complaints with Alliance.

Allianze had the the lowest quote, (for the best coverage), as compared to Manulife & CAA!