Insurance required

[Maritine]

Hello all!
 

We are booked on a transatlantic crossing from Southampton to NYC with QM2 for the very first time in a few weeks.

We understand there is an insurance requirement (as you always should have when traveling). We are from Sweden and have booked via Cunard's website and are a bit unsure if the requirement of the £2 million minimum that should cover emergency evacuations, etc are only required for UK residents which I think I read somewhere.

 

Of course an evacuation mid-ocean is costly to put it mildly, but it is almost impossible to get min/max limit of cover from our swedish insurance company. All they state is that they cover any necessary and reasonable medical expenses, hospitalization and repatriation in case of illness or injury.

 

The only problem we have is to have a statement with that particular sum of 2 million and now I ask you here if anyone has had the same experience or know more of how to deal with this. I now there is some tailor made insurances that Cunard recommends but it is also an extra cost.

 

Best regards and calm seas

 

Martin

[Bell Boy]

If your particular Cruise Travel insurance covers "Repatriation' - ie from ship to shore , to hospital , to home then that is all you need . 

 

When choosing travel insurance one needs to be looking at CRUISE specific. 

[exlondoner]

Please don’t think I am encouraging you to take inadequate insurance, because, obviously, nothing could be more stupid, but they won’t check on embarkation. In fact, on a crossing, for most of the way, you are out of reach of air evacuation, so they would have to cope. However I would check your insurance specifically covers air evacuation.

[chengkp75]

First off, no one is getting evacuated "mid-ocean".  Just isn't going to happen, unless someone's Naval vessel is in the area, and then it would still take days to get to land.  Second, no cruise line that I'm aware of would permit a non-government agency to attempt to land a helicopter, or attempt a winch evacuation anywhere near their ship.  Only government agencies train for working around moving ships, and they assume the responsibility if things go sideways. And, only a very few government agencies have the ability to in-flight refuel a helicopter, further reducing the distance offshore that any evacuation would happen.  "Evacuation" insurance is not for getting you from the ship to land, it is to get you from whatever hospital, in whatever country you were disembarked in, to a hospital in your home country.

[D&N]

I doubt if this will be terribly helpful.

Cunard's official French site links to an insurance that does not show a £2 million minimum or equivalent in other currency: https://www.cunard-france.fr/informations-generales/assurances

It's in French. Click on the link [Télécharger l'intégralité des garanties Assurever pour toute souscription faite aprés le 01/01/2023]. It will download a pdf in French. If you don't read French there are online tools that will be able to translate.

The maximum sum shown is €150,000 per person for medical fees, which I don't imagine would last very long if hospitalised in New York with a serious condition.

Transport/Repatriation is shown as "Real Costs".

 

We are British Ex-Pats living in France. We booked through Cunard UK via a UK Travel Agent. Luckily for us there is a company, Staysure, who cover Brits living in France, Portugal and Spain and their partners of any nationality with UK style levels of guarantee. I don't think they cover any other nationalities or countries of residence.

 

I originally researched established French/European insurers but like you couldn't find anything with a £2 million guarantee or better.

 

As exlondoner stated, we were not asked to present the detail of our insurance at any point. Only the name and contact details in My Cunard.

 

Perhaps some of the frequent German Cunard passengers could comment on what cover they take?

 

Edit to add: I did find a few companies online that I'd never heard of that claimed to offer cover but all the feedback from anyone who had been unlucky enough to try and claim from them was frightening!

Edited April 17 by D&N

[BigMac1953]

Isn't US/Canadian/British Coastguard free of charge?

[chengkp75]

6 minutes ago, BigMac1953 said:

Isn't US/Canadian/British Coastguard free of charge?

All international SAR is free of charge.

[BigMac1953]

13 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

All international SAR is free of charge.

 

Thanks, but I was specifically referring to a transatlantic crossing.

 

It's not the evacuation that you have to worry about, it's the on-going and aftercare. Plus the repatriation costs.

[TheOldBear]

3 hours ago, BigMac1953 said:

 

Thanks, but I was specifically referring to a transatlantic crossing.

 

It's not the evacuation that you have to worry about, it's the on-going and aftercare. Plus the repatriation costs.

You would need to be able to pay the 'out of network' costs [e.g. US hospitals and doctors are not part of UK National Health] and transportation expenses. Since available policies and coverage options vary by residence / citizenship you would need someone with proper local knowledge [just as for US folks, we recommend the 'trip insurance store'].

[Colin_Cameron]

15 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

"Evacuation" insurance is not for getting you from the ship to land, it is to get you from whatever hospital, in whatever country you were disembarked in, to a hospital in your home country.

This Quote from Cunard at least implies that 'Repatriation', and 'Emergency Evacuation' are not the same thing. 

 

"When travelling with us, your insurance must include medical and repatriation cover for not less than 2 million GBP minimum, including cover for emergency evacuations and full cover for pre-existing medical conditions in the countries you are due to visit."

 

I read that as Repatriation being, as you said, from whatever hospital, in whatever country you were disembarked in, to a hospital in your home country. And Emergency Evacuation being from ship to shore. And Cunard require UK passengers to have insurance cover for both.

Edited April 18 by Colin_Cameron

[exlondoner]

1 hour ago, Colin_Cameron said:

This Quote from Cunard at least implies that 'Repatriation', and 'Emergency Evacuation' are not the same thing. 

 

"When travelling with us, your insurance must include medical and repatriation cover for not less than 2 million GBP minimum, including cover for emergency evacuations and full cover for pre-existing medical conditions in the countries you are due to visit."

 

I read that as Repatriation being, as you said, from whatever hospital, in whatever country you were disembarked in, to a hospital in your home country. And Emergency Evacuation being from ship to shore. And Cunard require UK passengers to have insurance cover for both.

If the pilot boat or something similar has to come and collect you from the Solent, say, as I have seen happen, who pays for that?

[BigMac1953]

19 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

If the pilot boat or something similar has to come and collect you from the Solent, say, as I have seen happen, who pays for that?

 

Surely not a Pilot Boat? They're not equipped for MEDEVAC. Not an RNLI lifeboat perhaps?

 

We've watched a Pilot Boat bring out a stranded (late) passenger at a Spanish port. At the time the charge for that was €500.

[exlondoner]

6 minutes ago, BigMac1953 said:

 

Surely not a Pilot Boat? They're not equipped for MEDEVAC. Not an RNLI lifeboat perhaps?

 

We've watched a Pilot Boat bring out a stranded (late) passenger at a Spanish port. At the time the charge for that was €500.

Yes, could well have been RNLI, now I think about it, which would be free. 

[chengkp75]

23 minutes ago, BigMac1953 said:

Surely not a Pilot Boat? They're not equipped for MEDEVAC. Not an RNLI lifeboat perhaps?

Depends on what kind of pilot boat.  A harbor pilot boat would not venture far out of sight of land, but a bar pilot boat is designed to come alongside a large ship, while that ship is still doing 6-7 knots, in open ocean waters, and many pilot boats (like the Columbia River bar pilots) will operate in breaking seas of over 10' (and are as self-righting as any RNLI boat.

 

In the UK, for instance, the North Sea pilots board several miles offshore of Brixham harbor, in some of the worst weather I've seen small boats operate in.

Edited April 18 by chengkp75

[david63]

51 minutes ago, BigMac1953 said:

Surely not a Pilot Boat?

Yes - pilot boats can be, and are, used for MEDIVAC purposes, not that it is something that I would want to have to do no matter how ill I was.

 

I was told a story when in the medical centre of a cruise ship about a passenger who needed to be medically evacuated from the ship whilst it was in port. The doctor asked the Captain to delay departure but would not do so which prompted the doctor to call the medical director who instructed the captain to return to port and the passenger was disembarked onto a pilot boat. The captain was relieved of duty upon the completion of the cruise.

[exlondoner]

37 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

Depends on what kind of pilot boat.  A harbor pilot boat would not venture far out of sight of land, but a bar pilot boat is designed to come alongside a large ship, while that ship is still doing 6-7 knots, in open ocean waters, and many pilot boats (like the Columbia River bar pilots) will operate in breaking seas of over 10' (and are as self-righting as any RNLI boat.

 

In the UK, for instance, the North Sea pilots board several miles offshore of Brixham harbor, in some of the worst weather I've seen small boats operate in.

 Brixham? In Devon? That’s a very long way from the North Sea. Wow.

[chengkp75]

3 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

 Brixham? In Devon? That’s a very long way from the North Sea. Wow.

The pilot stays onboard the entire time the ship is in the Channel and North Sea.

[sogne]

2 hours ago, exlondoner said:

If the pilot boat or something similar has to come and collect you from the Solent, say, as I have seen happen, who pays for that?

All UK  and Ireland medivacs are carried out by RÑLI or CG helicopters, sometimes both will be involved depending on situation.

[NE John]

2 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

The pilot stays onboard the entire time the ship is in the Channel and North Sea.

Is that unusual for a pilot to stay on board that long? Is the longer time onboard because of the high volume of marine traffic clustered around the Channel and North Sea? In a previous job I worked on Brooklyn waterfront issues and development and spent time with the Sandy Hook Pilots. I have a “boatload” of respect for those guys. If any young person wants advice for a well-paying career, I suggest for them to start learning about the port pilot business. 

[chengkp75]

The North Sea pilots are unusual, and not required, though most ships take them, due as you say to the amount of traffic in the area, providing another set of eyes to the bridge team.

 

While pilots are well paid, they also have one of the most dangerous jobs around, a recent report saying that 1 in 20 will die on the job.  Typically, before taking a pilot's job, you must get a merchant marine license and sail on that license for a time to gain experience in handling ships.  Then there are the exams, that in many cases requires you to hand draw a chart of the area you are looking for pilotage for, including all navigational markers, and obstructions, in their proper locations.  Then, there is the professional bond, of several hundred thousand dollars, that you have to have.  Then, you start out as an apprentice, under another pilot, making not much money.  After a while, if the other pilots approve, you can move up to handling small ships, and then over time, you move up to larger ships.  The pay is based on the number and size of ships you handle.  You typically also have to "buy your way in" to the pilot's association, to the tune of another few hundred thousand dollars.

[King Amo]

There are also the Goodwin Sands to navigate

[chengkp75]

25 minutes ago, King Amo said:

There are also the Goodwin Sands to navigate

Which are well outside the normal shipping lane through the channel.

[buchanan101]

23 hours ago, Maritine said:

Hello all!
 

We are booked on a transatlantic crossing from Southampton to NYC with QM2 for the very first time in a few weeks.

We understand there is an insurance requirement (as you always should have when traveling). We are from Sweden and have booked via Cunard's website and are a bit unsure if the requirement of the £2 million minimum that should cover emergency evacuations, etc are only required for UK residents which I think I read somewhere.

 

Of course an evacuation mid-ocean is costly to put it mildly, but it is almost impossible to get min/max limit of cover from our swedish insurance company. All they state is that they cover any necessary and reasonable medical expenses, hospitalization and repatriation in case of illness or injury.

 

The only problem we have is to have a statement with that particular sum of 2 million and now I ask you here if anyone has had the same experience or know more of how to deal with this. I now there is some tailor made insurances that Cunard recommends but it is also an extra cost.

 

Best regards and calm seas

 

Martin

With the price of cruises, decent cruise insurance should be an insignificant cost unless you have a number of per-existing conditions. I have full annual coverage with Staysure for cruises, winter sports PLUS a pre-existing condition (atr fib) for £125 at age 63. (And they pay out as was in Mount Sinai ER day after a QM2 crossing) 

 

I assume though that you've seen this page which says only mandatory if residing and booking in UK. https://www.cunard.com/en-gb/the-cunard-experience/sailing-with-confidence/insurance

 

But then it goes on to say how important it is, and that'd you be denied boarding without full and proper insurance.

 

I see your confusion but I think it'd be nuts to hold back on getting full and proper cover

 

Edited April 18 by buchanan101

[Maritine]

23 minutes ago, buchanan101 said:

With the price of cruises, decent cruise insurance should be an insignificant cost unless you have a number of per-existing conditions. I have full annual coverage with Staysure for cruises, winter sports PLUS a pre-existing condition (atr fib) for £125 at age 63. (And they pay out as was in Mount Sinai ER day after a QM2 crossing) 

 

I assume though that you've seen this page which says only mandatory if residing and booking in UK. https://www.cunard.com/en-gb/the-cunard-experience/sailing-with-confidence/insurance

 

But then it goes on to say how important it is, and that'd you be denied boarding without full and proper insurance.

 

I see your confusion but I think it'd be nuts to hold back on getting full and proper cover

 

Thank you all for you answers, although it went a bit off topic.

 

Yes, indeed. It was that part with the UK only that confused a bit just regarding the sum.

 

We are a young couple that travels a lot (especially to the states, counting state number 25 this voyage😁) and have travel insurance+ with our insurer, we now know that it also covers cruises/ship crossings. All necessary expenses are paid by them, which can be alot in the states, knowing from close by experience.

 

Best regards

 

Martin

[Pushpit]

Yes, it's just the UK has a higher insurance requirement, there were some incidents that prompted this from Carnival's lawyers.

 

That said, though I have this sensible level of insurance anyway, I've never been asked to show it. I now don't print it out, I will dig the policy out on my phone if asked. On one occasion at Southampton I did see someone else being asked at the next check-in to show their policy but that was in one of the first sailings in the latter stages of the pandemic, when the whole process was fraught with nervousness all round. 

 

There are quite a number of areas where the print / web version of Cunard is somewhat detached from what happens on the ground, usually in a good way.