Make sure you have travel insurance

[Sascol]

Seems like this thread has gotten WAY of topic. The OP was just offing great advise to warn why travel insurance is important.

[catspaw1]

That's interesting & I didn't know that. I'm native NY NY- lived there for over 50 years. Did you call Crostco insurance to confirm?

[Bellfree Bat]

1 hour ago, the penguins said:

we live in the UK and never travel without medical insurance.

Our Insurance company settles everything direct with the hospital wihout us having to pay a single cent.

Our biggest claim to date was for the  2 nights we both spent in the Marina Del Rae Hospital (now closed) in LA  with food poisoning where the bill was $15,000 (makes your 5 days in the UK look a bargain). The total claim including extra hotel costs ( our bags were in the room) and new flights to New Zealand came to $20,000 - again all settled without us paying anything.

We have annual worldwide insurance covering an unlimited number of trips provided no trip is more than 31 days. Trips must start and end in the UK. 

We did get a bargain for sure and top-notch care at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. I would have paid double just for the excellent care and outcome. Sure, our holiday was ruined but...

 

[catspaw1]

1 hour ago, Sascol said:

Seems like this thread has gotten WAY of topic. The OP was just offing great advise to warn why travel insurance is important.

& the travel insurance company you chose is even more important. What's the sense of having travel insurance if it doesn't pay out? Or cuts corners? So my posting info on the big box store IS important.

[cruisinsusin]

14 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

Any idea which travel insurances will do this?

Geoblue offers direct pay service with guarantee of payment to participating clinics/med facilities around the world. Havent had to use it ( and hopefully never will) but they have a signifcant number of participating providers. A client is able to go on their website and input the destination

and find a list. They have an app as well.

[NMTraveller]

2 hours ago, edgee said:

Ah, sounds great except for those of us who live in NY State where policy cannot be sold.😡

Take the issue up with your elected government ...

[NMTraveller]

13 hours ago, canderson said:

The particular Allianz policy that we usually prefer does.  Those from some of the companies we had used some years back did not.

 

Here's a little blurb from their web site. You definitely want to avoid Scenario #1, and be sure you'll get Scenario #2 from your insurer, so picking the right company is important.

 

https://www.allianztravelinsurance.com/travel/medical/emergency-medical-insurance.htm

 

While we have other means for dealing with things like this, it's really nice to know that we don't have to fret about it.

We know that Allianz pays out as we had a family cruise that had to be rescheduled due to a last minute injury.  Good to know that they are one of the better companies.

[Baron Barracuda]

Be aware that all travel insurance policies are not created equal.  The devil is in the details as far as things like:  is coverage primary or secondary, who decides where treatment will take place and what procedures are covered, and how they manage transport home.  Suggest everyone visit CC's travel insurance forum which has lots of useful information.  Also, recommend contacting an agency that deals with multiple insurers and can help select the right policy for you.  Two that are highly recommended on CC are Insuremytrip and Squaremouth.

[billc23]

Geoblue and Medjet are a great combination. I really do not care about insuring my trip beyond what my Geoblue, Medjet and my Credit Card will cover. The medical coverage is most important to me. Considering the non recoverable costs from airlines, hotels, cruise providers, etc.- I find it more economical, and easier, to self insure. The reason is that I have 10+ trips planed at any given time and, if I lose money on one of them, it would typically be less expensive than buying the insurance for all of them. 

 

Traveling in the US my traditional Medicare coverage is great. Having Medjet gives me great peace of mind. I will be traveling to MN in 2 weeks. If I fall, break my hip and need surgery, as long as I am hospitalized and stable for transport, Medjet will transport me to a hospital of my choice- even if not out of medical necessity. In addition to the obvious benefit of being at a local hospital that I know and trust, my spouse is now at our home rather than at a hotel in MN. 

 

 

[sofietucker]

I strongly suggest getting door-to-door insurance (not the ship's). That will cover flight and transport snafus, extra hotels and meals etc.--as well as all cruise-related matters. We use Allianz Global and over the years have found them to be superb: responsive, smart, friendly, clear and logical on process, swift comprehensive payments. Mostly medical, but once was a 3-day snowmageddon at ATL; they covered hotel, meals, new flights, the extra parking days. Oh, and they've generously covered lost luggage!

 

This last spring included not just sick bay but an international hospital visit ashore too; the first claim since Medicare, so there were extra hoops. But they guided us throughout (file with them first, to get a case #): file with Medicare, wait for the denial, file with secondary, wait for partial denial, re-submit with Allianz. Every penny was reimbursed--plus the 6 missed-but-not-cancelled shorex (too late, each time). Celebrity would have just shrugged.

[DennysDad]

3 hours ago, Sascol said:

Seems like this thread has gotten WAY of topic. The OP was just offing great advise to warn why travel insurance is important.

I think this has been surprising on topic. And very helpful and informative. I'm appreciating everything I'm learning on the subject, before buying my next travel insurance policy.

[billc23]

2 hours ago, Sascol said:

Seems like this thread has gotten WAY of topic. The OP was just offing great advise to warn why travel insurance is important.

Advice on how to accomplish this are very important too. WAY too many buy travel insurance without considering what they need. I'll give my perspective so no need to read if not interested. 

 

First question regarding insurance --- what do you want to insure? What is the total value of what you want or need to insure? If you look closely most of the problems with travel insurance is that the individual made assumptions about what was covered. Insurance is very precise with coverage. Knowing what your policy actually covers is important. Don't just assume that covers certain situations without checking in advance. With regard to medical evacuation insurance, the devil is always in the details. Many policies will only transport you to the nearest facility that can treat you.

 

As I put down my thoughts I know that one’s needs and existing coverage will vary from mine, but the need to assess what is already covered and determine what additional costs you want covered remain the same. Once you know what you want to cover it will help direct you to what should be purchased. Once you decide to get insurance for a trip - get the coverage you want rather than the coverage sold to you.

 

Here is what I do - what works for me - when selecting travel insurance. First I determined what coverage I already have through my credit card. In my case (Chase Sapphire Reserve) it is excellent coverage for trip interruption, trip cancellation, lost luggage, etc.  It would cover most, not all, of any non-refundable travel costs. Then, I confirmed what is covered under my existing medical insurance plan - traditional medicare with a supplement. I have coverage for urgent and emergency care anywhere in the world and can use a Geoblue plan as a supplement. I also have a Medjet membership that would get me home in a medical emergency, rather than transport me to the nearest facility that is able to treat me.

 

If you are an infrequent traveler who wants specific trip insurance, know that it is not necessary to insure an entire trip when it is first booked, but it is best to purchase the minimum amount of coverage when first putting any money down for a trip. That is the cheapest way to receive a pre-existing condition waiver and have full medical coverage for a trip. As one enters the non refundable penalty phase of payments, then decide how much to insure of the potential non medical loss.

 

 

 

[ngrund]

3 hours ago, edgee said:

Ah, sounds great except for those of us who live in NY State where policy cannot be sold.😡

we just cannot purchase the cruise line policy offered at time of booking  (which in my opinion does not offer enough coverage for medical/evac anyway); we can buy policies from insurance carriers.

 

I get mine from Allianz. It is not cancel for any reason coverage, but I am more concerned with being covered in the event of medical issue or accident.

[miched]

16 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 We bought cruise insurance from Celebrity when we booked our cruise.  Hopefully that will be all we need.  The first time we've done it.  

 

I have never purchased the insurance thru the cruise line so don’t know if it is true or not but someone on this forum a while back mentioned that they were injured while on a island and the cruise insurance didn’t cover it because they weren’t on the ship when it happened.   They were told that the insurance only covers them when on the ship.   
 

You may want to verify that.

Also some insurance don’t cover any injuries due to at risk activities such as para sailing, zip line, and etc.  

 

I also use Allianz.   I don’t care about the cost of the trip as that is money already spent.  It is the catastrophic medical bills. 

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[miched]

16 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 We bought cruise insurance from Celebrity when we booked our cruise.  Hopefully that will be all we need.  The first time we've done it.  

 

I have never purchased the insurance thru the cruise line so don’t know if it is true or not but someone on this forum a while back mentioned that they were injured while on a island and the cruise insurance didn’t cover it because they weren’t on the ship when it happened.   They were told that the insurance only covers them when on the ship.   
 

You may want to verify that.

Also some insurance don’t cover any injuries due to at risk activities such as para sailing, zip line, and etc.  

 

I also use Allianz.   I don’t care about the cost of the trip as that is money already spent.  It is the catastrophic medical bills. 

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[Oceans 818]

22 hours ago, Tigermad said:

I certainly could not afford to pay for the treatment up front. Not everyone that cruises is well off..

Being Canadian; we have a fear of hospitalization in the US without insurance, so we always get it. Our insurance policies usually advise to contact them prior to treatment and they set up the payments. From friends who've had to use the emergency medical if they've called first; it's taken care of, if they get treatment first then they pay and wait for re-imbusement. One friend had to shell out $50,000.00 which he said the insurance company reimbursed once they returned home, but that kind of US $ is alot for the average persons to come up with out of country.

[hcat]

3 hours ago, edgee said:

Ah, sounds great except for those of us who live in NY State where policy cannot be sold.😡

Our understanding is for  NY residents ( and a few other states) Cruiseline Ins can't be purchased with ur cruise booking but they have a co you can call. 

 

Once that law/rule came into play we just go thru Travel Insured which supplies an approved policy.... easily ordered by tel.  We get max med, , evac to US hosp, repatriation of remains.   Can't be perfect but try our best..We will bring ALL our credit cards along as well

 

I think Cruise Critic has an Ins thread..maybe there are  more ideas there

[Tigermad]

4 hours ago, the penguins said:

we live in the UK and never travel without medical insurance.

Our Insurance company settles everything direct with the hospital wihout us having to pay a single cent.

Our biggest claim to date was for the  2 nights we both spent in the Marina Del Rae Hospital (now closed) in LA  with food poisoning where the bill was $15,000 (makes your 5 days in the UK look a bargain). The total claim including extra hotel costs ( our bags were in the room) and new flights to New Zealand came to $20,000 - again all settled without us paying anything.

We have annual worldwide insurance covering an unlimited number of trips provided no trip is more than 31 days. Trips must start and end in the UK. 

Do you mean the cruise ship must start and end in UK or the flights? Who are you with?

[bandp407]

3 hours ago, catspaw1 said:

& the travel insurance company you chose is even more important. What's the sense of having travel insurance if it doesn't pay out? Or cuts corners? So my posting info on the big box store IS important.

100% agreed!! We use them too!! 

[NMTraveller]

For those that use the BigBox insurance,  how have they been on payouts?  Will they pay the hospital so that you can leave when you are overseas without charging up your credit cards?

[styles27]

20 hours ago, DennysDad said:

I couldn't cover more than $20k on credit cards and nobody who could come up with it. I always buy travel insurance, but I would have to do time in a local jail before coming up with $50k. 

 

What travel insurance is best for quick upfront payment direct to hospital?

I don’t know of any. 

[the penguins]

47 minutes ago, Tigermad said:

Do you mean the cruise ship must start and end in UK or the flights? Who are you with?

the whole trip must start from and end in the UK. For example we fly London to Dallas, spend time with our grandson, fly Dallas to Fort Lauderdale, cruise from FL back to the UK - that's one trip. No surcharge as long as the trip is not more than 31 days. As many trips as we like in a year.

Policy covers cancellation, medical, baggage, onward flights if missed and a few other bits and pieces. If we had children under 18 living at home they would also be covered. My wife and I can travel on separate trips and we would both be covered. The policy comes as part of our personal UK banking package (checking account in the US?). I believe similar products are available in the US.

We have had the policy for 17 years. Premiums are in £'s I have converted to $ for simplicity

Total premiums: $5285

Total claims (all settled in full) $29650.

 

Edited September 8 by the penguins
Missed last sentence

[edgee]

52 minutes ago, hcat said:

Our understanding is for  NY residents ( and a few other states) Cruiseline Ins can't be purchased with ur cruise booking but they have a co you can call. 

 

Once that law/rule came into play we just go thru Travel Insured which supplies an approved policy.... easily ordered by tel.  We get max med, , evac to US hosp, repatriation of remains.   Can't be perfect but try our best..We will bring ALL our credit cards along as well

 

I think Cruise Critic has an Ins thread..maybe there are  more ideas there

Of course NY residents have other alternatives they can purchase from insurance companies (except for "cancel for any reason coverage"). However a travel insurance premium as low as 1.5% of the cost of the trip which big box store offers is incredibly low. Least expensive coverage I have ever found from an insurance company exceeds 6%. 

[Oceans 818]

42 minutes ago, the penguins said:

Total premiums: $5285

Total claims (all settled in full) $29650.

 

If that is premiums for 17yrs.; it's terrific. If it's $5,284 per year...ouch! 

I only have 15 days with my credit card and I'm unhappy that they want $30 to top for the 2 extra days of travel for both of us. Although I don't pay premiums on the 15 days as my CC fee is covered by our banking plan.

[ngrund]

32 minutes ago, edgee said:

Of course NY residents have other alternatives they can purchase from insurance companies (except for "cancel for any reason coverage"). However a travel insurance premium as low as 1.5% of the cost of the trip which big box store offers is incredibly low. Least expensive coverage I have ever found from an insurance company exceeds 6%. 

we can buy CFAR insurance, it just has to be purchased from a carrier directly and has to be offered separate from the medical coverage. However, when I obtained a quote recently it was way more than I felt was appropriate. I can "self insure" the cost of my trip.