Insurance

[tuzik]

I am looking to buy cruise insurance for our trip

what would cruisers recommend from their experience ?

than you

[RuthC]

I highly recommend you call (don't use the website, other than to get the phone number) Insure My Trip and speak to a representative about your insurance needs. Not everyone needs or wants the same policy, depending on their insurance that may cover them, where they are going and for how long, their medical condition, and what they want insured on any given trip. 

The representative will discuss your options, deductibles, coverage for pre-existing conditions, all the various options. Then the rep will offer options from from different companies and you can choose what you want. 

Everything is covered completely, and your questions will be answered in understandable English. 
I do it this way for every cruise, and am very satisfied. 

[vino100]

Thanks Ruth. I have not heard of insure my trip. Will check them out .

[GeezerCouple]

1 hour ago, tuzik said:

I am looking to buy cruise insurance for our trip

what would cruisers recommend from their experience ?

than you

 

There is a travel insurance section of CC:

 

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

 

Many of us strongly recommend www.TripInsuranceStore.com

 

We are among those who have actually had claims, and - unfortunately - several claims, including some large ones.

The folks at TIS helped us get policies that did indeed work as needed, when needed.

 

But CALL them.  The policy summaries cannot capture the fine print, which can matter a LOT in some cases.

GC

[sandiego1]

I highly recommend Steve at tripinsurancestore.com. He has been great to work with!!

[TiogaCruiser]

1 hour ago, sandiego1 said:

I highly recommend Steve at tripinsurancestore.com. He has been great to work with!!

Same here.

[MichiganFisherman]

Use the insurance forum .

[Ellencruise]

I’ve always purchased ins. I prefer Allianz 

[alyssamma]

11 hours ago, RuthC said:

I highly recommend you call (don't use the website, other than to get the phone number) Insure My Trip and speak to a representative about your insurance needs. Not everyone needs or wants the same policy, depending on their insurance that may cover them, where they are going and for how long, their medical condition, and what they want insured on any given trip. 

The representative will discuss your options, deductibles, coverage for pre-existing conditions, all the various options. Then the rep will offer options from from different companies and you can choose what you want. 

Everything is covered completely, and your questions will be answered in understandable English. 
I do it this way for every cruise, and am very satisfied. 

I second this (although I've never called...just downloaded the policy docs and read the fine print myself). I usually get Nationwide through them. I've had 2 claims (one cruise and one non-cruise) and both were handled quickly and painlessly.

 

[FlaMariner]

My two cents.....

 

• do check out the insurance thread on cruise critic
• we are traveling a lot now so we bought the annual BlueCross/Blue Shield global travel plan (not sure of actual name) for medical...they have two plans....annual payment...reasonable. 
• we pay for the cruise with our BofA credit card and are fine with the travel interruption/cancellation coverage (very limited but we are fine "self insuring" for whatever else

[Iamthesea]

The main point is to make sure you are covered for emergency medical evacuation.  Depending on where you are in your travels, you could be looking at thousands, if not more for evacuation and medical from a ship, or anywhere you might need to be evacuated from.  If your cruise is going overseas, you will need more coverage.  If you are in the Caribbean, evacuation and medical could be less.

 

For us, our upcoming cruise will be overseas, and our last land trip was overseas.  For both trips, we purchased TraveI Insured Travel LX.  

[alyssamma]

12 minutes ago, Iamthesea said:

The main point is to make sure you are covered for emergency medical evacuation. 

This.

[Babr]

The evacuation coverage in a comprehensive travel policy provides for hospital-to-hospital transfer if you need a higher level of care. Most often it is in the country where you became ill. You are not necessarily returned directly home by air ambulance. The transfer to another facility must be medically necessary, and the decision is made by the attending doctors and the insurance company. As you can imagine the insurance company will favor the most cost-effective alternative while still providing appropriate care. You will be flown home by commercial air when you are able to travel.

 

Evacuation coverage does not mean air/sea rescue from the ship. That service is performed by the specially trained branch of the military from the nearest country capable of providing it. There is no charge. Your transportation cost begins once the helicopter lands. Medical expenses include those on the ship as well as land-based treatment.

 

Nevertheless, medical expenses and repatriation can be costly. Just know what your insurance covers and what to expect if you have to use it.

[Suncitycruiser1925]

On 11/10/2022 at 10:28 AM, FlaMariner said:

My two cents.....

 

• do check out the insurance thread on cruise critic
• we are traveling a lot now so we bought the annual BlueCross/Blue Shield global travel plan (not sure of actual name) for medical...they have two plans....annual payment...reasonable. 
• we pay for the cruise with our BofA credit card and are fine with the travel interruption/cancellation coverage (very limited but we are fine "self insuring" for whatever else

We purchased this insurance also with an annual policy.  It is called Geo Blue.

[tupper10]

Just a heads up that on Monday November. 28th Medjets is having a black Friday sale.  It is not insurance but instead of ending up at a foreign hospital for care you will be flown to your hospital of choice. 

[CHIEFWINEMAKER]

While we have some travel coverage on our Chase Sapphire credit card, our travel agent advised us to use Allianz and we took the coverage for our upcoming cruise on the NA. As others have already mentioned, the high costs of medical evacuation is the big concern.  

[seaoma]

10 minutes ago, tupper10 said:

Just a heads up that on Monday November. 28th Medjets is having a black Friday sale.  It is not insurance but instead of ending up at a foreign hospital for care you will be flown to your hospital of choice. 

 

If you have the annual policy, they will also fly you home domestically. If I'm hospitalized away from home anywhere in the US, I can be flown home to be near family, if I'm medically able to be transported.

 

I haven't looked at this benefit in any other of their tiers, but we do a lot of domestic travel, so it's a nice benefit to us.

[Steirisch]

I had to put in a claim about 5 years ago with Allianz.  I got pneumonia on a cruise and had to be hospitalized for 10 days.  They worked with the hospital and with the airline to rebook us when we were ready to leave.  Everything went smoothly, so we get insurance with them now.  For the upcoming cruise, I paid for the premium using my AMEX and AMEX gave me a $15 credit for purchasing with Allianz--an extra perk I wasn't aware of at the time.

 

[Babr]

3 hours ago, CHIEFWINEMAKER said:

While we have some travel coverage on our Chase Sapphire credit card, our travel agent advised us to use Allianz and we took the coverage for our upcoming cruise on the NA. As others have already mentioned, the high costs of medical evacuation is the big concern.  

Chase coverage - and other credit card travel benefits - are not comprehensive enough to rely on.

Edited November 20, 2022 by Babr