Recommended medical insurance for Viking Ocean Cruise

[leishirsute]

Hello,

We are taking a Viking Ocean cruise in November in the Mediterranean.

Their Tripmate insurance offers emergency $100K medical/person and $250K medical evacuation/person coverage.

I was wondering if this seems adequate coverage and, if not, what would be the recommended coverage and what insurance companies would be recommended.

 

Any suggestions?

 

Thanks

[klfrodo]

Sorry for the delay in response.

 

$100K medical and $250K in evac is sufficient in my opinion.

[leishirsute]

2 hours ago, klfrodo said:

Sorry for the delay in response.

 

$100K medical and $250K in evac is sufficient in my opinion.

Thank you.  I have no experience as this is my first ocean cruise. 

[klfrodo]

54 minutes ago, leishirsute said:

Thank you.  I have no experience as this is my first ocean cruise. 

Travel Insurance is not an easy thing to understand. I recommend that you read thru and understand the policy to the best of your ability. There are a lot of nuances when it comes to travel insurance and 1 misunderstanding or 1 misstep and your claim is denied.

 

To get you started on the misunderstandings;

a) if you find yourself needing medical attention, you will be required to pay the bill. Then you file for reimbursement. So keep copies of EVERYTHING.

b) the medical insurance from Viking is probably "Secondary". What does that mean? It means that when you get back home, you have to file for reimbursement from your Primary health insurer. Even if you know for a fact that they will deny everything, you must file and wait for the denial letter. Then, you can file with the Viking insurance carrier but include the copy of the denial letter from your primary.

 

Best Practice? Carry with you your policy number and the phone number of the insurance carrier if you find yourself in an emergent medical situation and follow their advice.

[iamtrustworthy]

On 4/17/2023 at 5:38 PM, leishirsute said:

Hello,

We are taking a Viking Ocean cruise in November in the Mediterranean.

Their Tripmate insurance offers emergency $100K medical/person and $250K medical evacuation/person coverage.

I was wondering if this seems adequate coverage and, if not, what would be the recommended coverage and what insurance companies would be recommended.

 

Any suggestions?

 

Thanks

Hi leishirsute,

 

What are your current ages?

 

Steve Dasseos

[leishirsute]

On 4/19/2023 at 12:20 PM, iamtrustworthy said:

Hi leishirsute,

 

What are your current ages?

 

Steve Dasseos

70 & 77 years old.  I read the Viking policy.  It states that it is secondary if there is other insurance otherwise it becomes primary.

[mort&fran]

As others have said, you must read and comply with policy provisions, and keep every receipt. Because I did that we received full reimbursement (or they paid on our behalf) for every one of the claims we presented to TraveGuard. However, for the one loss we had reported to the insurance company Viking recommended, their reimbursement was less than what we had incurred and the only explanation they provided was that they had paid us the correct amount.

[iamtrustworthy]

On 4/21/2023 at 8:13 PM, leishirsute said:

70 & 77 years old.  I read the Viking policy.  It states that it is secondary if there is other insurance otherwise it becomes primary.

Hi leishirsute,

 

If you have Medicare Medigap plans, you'll want Primary Medical. Here's why:

https://tripinsurancestore.com/medicare-does-not-cover-you-outside-the-usa/

 

If you have Tricare or an Advantage plans, Secondary might work for you depending on how your plan covers you outside the USA.

 

Steve Dasseos

[leishirsute]

12 hours ago, mort&fran said:

As others have said, you must read and comply with policy provisions, and keep every receipt. Because I did that we received full reimbursement (or they paid on our behalf) for every one of the claims we presented to TraveGuard. However, for the one loss we had reported to the insurance company Viking recommended, their reimbursement was less than what we had incurred and the only explanation they provided was that they had paid us the correct amount.

So you did not purchase the insurance sold by Viking?

[mort&fran]

13 hours ago, leishirsute said:

So you did not purchase the insurance sold by Viking?

No; we did use the Viking-recommended company that one time. We have another Viking cruise in July and have gone back to TravelGuard. It's more expensive, but I don't recall ever having a significant problem with them.