Pre-existing condition waiver

[CruiserN1]

My husband was in the hospital for a heart issue recently and has a number of medical tests and possibly procedures coming up in the next few months. We have a cruise to Alasks planned for late July 2023 on Oceania. We haven't made final payment yet. It's due mid-April. His cardiologist thinks the Alaska cruise should not be a problem, but never know so we need trip insurance. He is considered healthy enough to travel right now, so I'm thinking I should get a plan with a pre-existing condition waiver now. Any advice on this? I am also wondering if we buy the plan now and cancel prior to final payment if we would get a refund on the insurance or not. I know he has to be well enough to travel when we buy the policy in order to qualify for the waiver, so I don't want to wait.

[Babr]

There are a number of plans that allow a waiver for pre-existing conditions if purchased by final payment. There can be other requirements such as being fit to travel, as you know, and some policies require you to insure all prepaid nonrefundable expenses.

 

Once purchased, the plan is nonrefundable after the 10-day examination period; however, you might be able to transfer it to another sailing at a later date if you have to cancel before final payment.

 

To be sure you get the right information for your situation, I recommend that you call Steve Dasseos at Trip Insurance Store. Be sure to disclose the details of your husband’s treatment and current condition. Steve can recommend an appropriate policy if he determines that you meet the requirements.

[klfrodo]

I'll ask the question.

Why buy insurance now? 

For the cancellation part? Question I would ask myself would be if I wasn't concerned before then why now? If you did have to cancel, how much are you going to lose, and would it financially debilitate you if you lost that money?

 

For the medical? Alaska has very good hospitals should something happen. Since it's in the US, your medical insurance works as well in Alaska as it does in Texas. If you need to be evacuated from the ship, that is free because it would be done by the US Coast Guard. If you then needed to be evacuated again, then your medical insurance would cover just as if you needed an ambulance.

 

These are just some questions I would ask myself this late in the game. Personally, I don't insure Alaska trips. Caribbean, European, Mexico? Yes. Alaska? No.

[CruiserN1]

The "why now" reason is that he is fit to travel right now. He might need surgery between now and final payment and right after surgery he wouldn't be fit to travel. I don't want to get stuck not being able to buy a policy with a waiver because he isn't fit to travel at the time we need to buy it. We expect him to be able to travel in July but you never know what might happen between April and July. We'd lose over $7K if we canceled after final payment. I'm not concerned about medical or evacuation, but I don't want to lose the $7K. We just lost $3500 on a vacation rental in Maui when we had to cancel because he was in the hospital. I thought we had coverage through our credit card but they're saying it was preexisting because he had a history of high blood pressure and abnormal heart rhythm. 

[klfrodo]

Here's a link that may help you decide if your husbands current and future health concerns are insurable under a waiver for pre-existing conditions.

How Travel Insurance Pre-Existing Medical Condition Coverage Works « Get the Best Trip Insurance Details, Advice (tripinsurancestore.com)

 

Here is some more information

Will Travel Insurance Cover My Scheduled Surgery? (tripinsurancestore.com)

Hope this helps and we all wish nothing but the best for your husband.

[CruiserN1]

Thanks @klfrodo It sounds like we need to wait and see if he ends up needing surgery before buying trip insurance. We should have that answer before final payment.

[CruiserN1]

On 1/25/2023 at 11:13 AM, klfrodo said:

Here's a link that may help you decide if your husbands current and future health concerns are insurable under a waiver for pre-existing conditions.

How Travel Insurance Pre-Existing Medical Condition Coverage Works « Get the Best Trip Insurance Details, Advice (tripinsurancestore.com)

 

Here is some more information

Will Travel Insurance Cover My Scheduled Surgery? (tripinsurancestore.com)

Hope this helps and we all wish nothing but the best for your husband.

Thanks, this was really helpful to read over.

 

I ended up deciding to cancel our cruise with Oceania now (while my deposit was still refundable) and book a similar cruise on Princess. We bought the Princess Vacation Protection, which would provide a 75% future cruise credit if we need to cancel for any reason or a refund if my husband was too ill to travel and they decided his current condition wasn't a pre-existing condition (which it probably is, I'm not banking on that). The cost of the CFAR with Princess is worth it to protect the trip cost, especially since the mini-suite we booked on Princess was less expensive than our window cabin on Oceania even with the CFAR policy. And it's one less thing to worry about during an uncertain time in our lives.

[klfrodo]

39 minutes ago, CruiserN1 said:

Thanks, this was really helpful to read over.

 

I ended up deciding to cancel our cruise with Oceania now (while my deposit was still refundable) and book a similar cruise on Princess. We bought the Princess Vacation Protection, which would provide a 75% future cruise credit if we need to cancel for any reason or a refund if my husband was too ill to travel and they decided his current condition wasn't a pre-existing condition (which it probably is, I'm not banking on that). The cost of the CFAR with Princess is worth it to protect the trip cost, especially since the mini-suite we booked on Princess was less expensive than our window cabin on Oceania even with the CFAR policy. And it's one less thing to worry about during an uncertain time in our lives.

I believe that Princess offers a Platinum plan that has 100% cruise credit if claim is CFAR.

[CruiserN1]

11 hours ago, klfrodo said:

I believe that Princess offers a Platinum plan that has 100% cruise credit if claim is CFAR.

Yes. We bought the standard. It was around $225 for the upgrade to platinum to insure an additional $1000 of cruise cost. I'm willing to gamble on that. Husband's docs expect that he will be absolutely fine to travel in July, and final payment isn't until April, so it felt like an educated wager.