Travel Insurance-HAL Platinum or Private?

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Just now, TAW1963 said:

That is a great suggestion.  I briefly looked into it, but not in depth.  I will revisit this.

Also look Into the chase reserve credit card it cost $$$ but it comes with $20,000 per trip cancellation coverage.

[mcrcruiser]

 One very negative thing I always remembered   is what if the cruise line goes bankrupt  how do you collect on a insurance policy you buy from them ? 

 

 nothing in this world is 1000% guaranteed except death & taxes . Research is very very important to get the right coverages & expect that company to be in business . Wonder if any one ever checks the financials of the insurance company they buy from ? 

[Petronillus]

14 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

 One very negative thing I always remembered   is what if the cruise line goes bankrupt  how do you collect on a insurance policy you buy from them ? 

 

 nothing in this world is 1000% guaranteed except death & taxes . Research is very very important to get the right coverages & expect that company to be in business . Wonder if any one ever checks the financials of the insurance company they buy from ? 

Lots of people paid big $$$$ for long-term care insurance and ended up empty-handed when the carriers went belly up thanks to lousy underwriting. That's what's behind a certain prominent insurance company's use of the Rock of Gibraltar as its logo/symbol.

[TAW1963]

Thanks for the great suggestions @Gail & Marty sailing away and @Mary229!

 

[mcrcruiser]

1 minute ago, Petronillus said:

Lots of people paid big $$$$ for long-term care insurance and ended up empty-handed when the carriers went belly up thanks to lousy underwriting. That's what's behind a certain prominent insurance company's use of the Rock of Gibraltar as its logo/symbol.

also take a close look a muni  bonds awhile back , Their insurance companies went belly up & people then found out that thise uni bonds did not have great underlying ratings , We now only buy general obligation  muni  bonds . Same for trip .travel insurance . In 2008 when I was in a Rome hospital I had travel insurance from American Express  .They no longer sell travel insurance , At the time they were more than great & we got every dime including taxi fares  , 

 

 Another critical thing in traveling  ovwer thias world  , You must have a big line of credit  on your Visa Credit Card's . Reason is when I went into the RomeAmerica hospital & no surgery was invlved in 2008 , I had to pony up $15000 .00 . Thus ,if your credit card does not carry enough credit you can not get into a pricvate hospital . They DO NOT TAKE INSURANCE from the USA 

 

There are so many things to be aware  .another issue which happened to me in the Dublin airport was at a ATM machine .  Good thing I  carried 2 ATM  Debit cards because one did not work in the machine . 

[Mary229]

39 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

That is 100% correct Mary ;however ,cancel for any reason is  a no bargain insurance plan . Most people need coverage against the huge downsides of medical costs & or transporting them back to a home hodpital or their  home . I was once hospitalized in Rome Italy . If I was not able to get on a commercial jet I would have been stuck in Rome or be willing to pay over $100,000 medical jet costs . We are both 85 years  young  &  I can buy a yearly  policy for as little as $276 .00 for  both of us for one year . In our case I onlt need med vac insurance & the least expensive Allianz ins plan gives us that plus more medical & more baggage coverages . We have a Medicare HMO which insures  us even out of the USA for emergency medical  with a $110 co pay .  So in reality it is a total cost of $276 .00 to be completely covered . We can not get med jet assist because we are too old . So we  are careful where we travel to . 

Chase plus Geoblue covers all I need.   I get Geoblue through Steve.  I mention his product for cancel for any reason for those that need it.  Many people may not want or need Medjet but it is a good product for those that do 

[iamtrustworthy]

1 hour ago, Mary229 said:

I hope he can help you.  One thing about his organization is they pick up the phone!  He has a special relationship with cruise critic and you can find him as a lead on the insurance forum.   

Hi Mary229,

 

Thank you for your kind words.

 

All the annual trip cancellation plans all have limitations in their wording. In the Summer 2023 Q & A I did here on Cruise Critic, there is a thread called "Annual policy or singletrip?". Here's the link to the thread. Look at the last post where a CruiseCritic member wrote what he discovered about the Allianz plan:

 

Steve Dasseos

Edited April 19 by iamtrustworthy
typo

[mcrcruiser]

21 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

Chase plus Geoblue covers all I need.   I get Geoblue through Steve.  I mention his product for cancel for any reason for those that need it.  Many people may not want or need Medjet but it is a good product for those that do 

Who is Steve ?  Are you saying GeoBlue insurance carries cancel for any  Reason ? Then what percent of your money for you get back ? Is it 100% or less ?  

We wpild have done the 35 day  cruise Hawaii & South Pacific if I could have bought  Med Jet Assist ins . Just too old they don't sell it to 85 year olds . 

 

All a person has to do is experience being in a city hospital in a foreign country . Thei dumb america doctor put me into a Rome city hospital to get my elevated blood  pressure down  ,I sat for close to 11 hours with lassic in my arm  . Other things happened as well in that zombie city hpspital . Belvue in NYCity  looks like a palace in comparison  .I checked myself out & they could hardly utter one word in English  .The next day I phoned American Express insurance company & they  told me 2 hospitals .one of which was Rome American in Rome but on the other side of Rome where we were staying ,  in 2008 it was $15000 just ot get in with nosurgery .one day ICU & 2 day follow up . Mt head doctor was a Heart Specialist  & internist & was the head profesor from the Rome School of Medicine . Additionally ,do not count on that people in foreign countries speak affluent english . Even as large a city as Rome is we founf few of their staff that spoke fuent english which can be another serious problem  unless the persin has command of that local language 

 

 Stuff happens all the time 7 especially in a emergency how do you come out is what is important . Even here in the USA there are countless  medical  associated screw ups 

 

 

[Mary229]

2 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

Who is Steve ?  Are you saying GeoBlue insurance carries cancel for any  Reason ? Then what percent of your money for you get back ? Is it 100% or less ?  

We wpild have done the 35 day  cruise Hawaii & South Pacific if I could have bought  Med Jet Assist ins . Just too old they don't sell it to 85 year olds . 

 

All a person has to do is experience being in a city hospital in a foreign country . Thei dumb america doctor put me into a Rome city hospital to get my elevated blood  pressure down  ,I sat for close to 11 hours with lassic in my arm  . Other things happened as well in that zombie city hpspital . Belvue in NYCity  looks like a palace in comparison  .I checked myself out & they could hardly utter one word in English  .The next day I phoned American Express insurance company & they  told me 2 hospitals .one of which was Rome American in Rome but on the other side of Rome where we were staying ,  in 2008 it was $15000 just ot get in with nosurgery .one day ICU & 2 day follow up . Mt head doctor was a Heart Specialist  & internist & was the head profesor from the Rome School of Medicine . Additionally ,do not count on that people in foreign countries speak affluent english . Even as large a city as Rome is we founf few of their staff that spoke fuent english which can be another serious problem  unless the persin has command of that local language 

 

 Stuff happens all the time 7 especially in a emergency how do you come out is what is important . Even here in the USA there are countless  medical  associated screw ups 

 

 

Steve can be found at the top of the insurance forum on cruise critic.  He owns an online agency but freely gives advice with Cruise critic’s blessings.  He saved me once from a costly insurance blunder and has answered other personal questions by email or phone.  He knows the products inside and out

 

i am fine with any care , heck my own personal physician was trained in Mumbai. But this is my own opinion, everyone needs to gauge their comfort levels carefully. 

[crystalspin]

13 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

Are you saying GeoBlue insurance carries cancel for any  Reason ?

GeoBlue Trekker is medical insurance for when you travel (I think it kicks in if you are 150 miles from home). It is not CFAR. My memory is that they do not rule out pre-existing conditions. You can insure (for higher rates as you age) up to 95 years old!

 

The Blue in GeoBlue is because they are a division of Blue-Cross-Blue-Shield. Here is Steve's (Trip Insurance Store's) intro page for the two levels of GeoBlue Trekker:

https://tripinsurancestore.com/geo-blue-voyager-travel-medical-plans/

 

[mcrcruiser]

18 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

Steve can be found at the top of the insurance forum on cruise critic.  He owns an online agency but freely gives advice with Cruise critic’s blessings.  He saved me once from a costly insurance blunder and has answered other personal questions by email or phone.  He knows the products inside and out

 

i am fine with any care , heck my own personal physician was trained in Mumbai. But this is my own opinion, everyone needs to gauge their comfort levels carefully. 

Mary yes we all are working with people . People can & do make mistakes ,even the best of intentions can go bad  . Then there are those companies that purposely try to  steal from the public & are getting away with  it ,for now .

 

 Insurance coverage is not a guarantee that things won;t go wrong . I am dealing right now on a small $700 .00 travel insurance claim  .I was very ill for about 4 to 5 weeks ,at home & not sure if I was going to  live or die .  God kept me alive 7 I got well ; but ,in the meantime I fell into a  $700 HAL penalty on one cruise .  Jan 2 ,2024 I cancelled 4 cruises with out TA  ,due to the fact that my wife would  struggle with all the details should I have died . Well ,low & behold this dam insurance is trying all ways not to pay a small claim  .That is another example  of what we as consumers can be facing  into the future , At some point in time what these firms do to people will come raring back at them . 

[Mary229]

2 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

Mary yes we all are working with people . People can & do make mistakes ,even the best of intentions can go bad  . Then there are those companies that purposely try to  steal from the public & are getting away with  it ,for now .

 

 Insurance coverage is not a guarantee that things won;t go wrong . I am dealing right now on a small $700 .00 travel insurance claim  .I was very ill for about 4 to 5 weeks ,at home & not sure if I was going to  live or die .  God kept me alive 7 I got well ; but ,in the meantime I fell into a  $700 HAL penalty on one cruise .  Jan 2 ,2024 I cancelled 4 cruises with out TA  ,due to the fact that my wife would  struggle with all the details should I have died . Well ,low & behold this dam insurance is trying all ways not to pay a small claim  .That is another example  of what we as consumers can be facing  into the future , At some point in time what these firms do to people will come raring back at them . 

Maybe you should give Steve a try , his team will assist you with claims should you buy insurance through him.  His team is very careful to tell you what is and what is not covered.   He even has a newsletter and other info in his website where he explains a few case histories.  Going it alone is not always the best way.  

[mcrcruiser]

11 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

GeoBlue Trekker is medical insurance for when you travel (I think it kicks in if you are 150 miles from home). It is not CFAR. My memory is that they do not rule out pre-existing conditions. You can insure (for higher rates as you age) up to 95 years old!

 

The Blue in GeoBlue is because they are a division of Blue-Cross-Blue-Shield. Here is Steve's (Trip Insurance Store's) intro page for the two levels of GeoBlue Trekker:

https://tripinsurancestore.com/geo-blue-voyager-travel-medical-plans/

 

 Crystal I  can but one year of Allianz travel ins with med vac , medical   baggage & car insurance included for $276 ,00 for both of us ,at 85 years of age . We just got the quote  .Then we have a medicare HMO which will cover  emergency medical any where in the world with a $110.00 co pay .  . 

 no matter who thes company is first check their current financial condition  7 then read the entire policy contents . too many times we the people will gloss over those important areas until we need the insurance to pay the claims   .It is the old adage "buyer be ware "  

[mcrcruiser]

2 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

Maybe you should give Steve a try , his team will assist you with claims should you buy insurance through him.  His team is very careful to tell you what is and what is not covered.   He even has a newsletter and other info in his website where he explains a few case histories.  Going it alone is not always the best way.  

Mary how do you get ahold of Steve ? I would like to ask some questions .What is his phone number ?  

 TIA

 

[Mary229]

3 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

Mary how do you get ahold of Steve ? I would like to ask some questions .What is his phone number ?  

 TIA

 

http://tripinsurancestore.com/

[iamtrustworthy]

1 hour ago, mcrcruiser said:

Who is Steve ?

Hi mcrcruiser,

 

I've answered questions on Cruise Critic since October 20, 2006.

 

I am very thankful for the favor and kind words I have received on Cruise Critic. The editors have let me do eight month long Q & As in the last 5 years.

 

Here's the Cruise Critic Q & A I did last Summer:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/2648-qa-cruise-insurance-with-steve-dasseos-of-the-tripinsurancestorecom-summer-2023/

 

Here's the Cruise Critic Q & A I did in November & December 2022:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/2606-qa-cruise-insurance-with-steve-dasseos-of-the-tripinsurancestorecom-november-december-2022-read-only/

 

Here's the Cruise Critic Q & A I did in January 2022:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/2558-qa-cruise-insurance-with-steve-dasseos-of-the-tripinsurancestorecom-janfeb-22/

 

Here's the Cruise Critic Q & A I did in Dec 2020 and Jan 2021 that was re-opened in June 2021:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/2500-qa-cruise-insurance-with-steve-dasseos-of-the-tripinsurancestorecom-read-only/

 

Here's the Cruise Critic Q & A I did in June 2020:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/2484-qa-cruise-insurance-w-steve-dasseos-of-the-tripinsurancestorecom-june-2020-read-only/

 

I hope you find these useful.

 

Steve Dasseos