Insurance for non-US citizens

[mhedoct6]

After looking at various options I'm still confused about where to get cruise insurance.

I went to insuremytrip.com and found that the quotes for a non-US citizen are all more expensive than what my cruise line (Celebrity) is offering. Also, many of the policies don't even cover Trip Cancellation (just Trip Interruption). Can anyone give me a good reason why I should get a third party insurer instead of CruiseCare through Celebrity?

[mr green]

This is one of the reasons why I will not cruise Celebrity. As a Canadian I get the same treatment on HAL, and Princess, as does any other U.S. citizen. This brings up the point 'Why do you worry?', since you appear to be from the States. john

[cherylandtk]

Also, many of the policies don't even cover Trip Cancellation (just Trip Interruption). Can anyone give me a good reason why I should get a third party insurer instead of CruiseCare through Celebrity?

If your price is better through the cruiseline, No. But you are the exception to the general rule. :) As an aside, the cruiselines are the only ones to offer relatively inexpensive cancelation coverage for non-medical reasons, but it is usually in the form of future cruise credit, not cash back. You can purchase additional non-medical cancellation coverage as a rider to most travel policies, but you will pay a lot for it.

[mrgabriel]

Have you tried Travelguard? I read very good reviews of their services and just bought our insurance through them. I'm a dual citizen, so I don't know if they treat non-US citizens differently. I would think that they would only be concerned if you are an illegal alien????

[mhedoct6]

I'm buying the cruise insurance for my mother, who is not a US citizen and doesn't live in the US. Celebrity's insurance policy doesn't say anything about citizenship, whereas some other policies specifically exclude non-US citizens. Most people on this board say not to buy the cruise line's insurance policy, and I assume that is because it's more expensive than others available, but in my mother's case the price quoted by Celebrity is only $59. It seems like such a good deal, that I wonder whether there is something I'm missing.:confused:

[greatam]

Anything you book independently (air, shore excursions, hotels, etc) will NOT be covered by Celebrity's policy. And the way I read the Celebrity policy, most of the coverage is SECONDARY for non-US citizens. IF you have a claim (medical, lost baggage, etc.) you will have to turn the claim into your primary carrier, THEN the Celebrity coverage pays anything the primary carrier does not pay. Could be a real problem with medical.

 

You don't say what country your Mother is a citizen of, but I know for a fact, quite a few South American countries "government" (read Medicare type coverage) do NOT cover outside of their country. US Medicare does NOT cover outside the US (including Canada).

 

Medicare also does NOT provide coverage for medical evacuation from a cruise ship or from Alaska. We just had to purchase a med evac policy for my FIL for an Alaska fishing trip. Hospitalization is covered in Alaska, an ambulance ride is covered in Alaska, but a helicopter evacuation from a fishing resort (no roads) is NOT covered.

 

To repeat-READ the fine print.

[mhedoct6]

My mother is from the Philippines, and none of the insurers on insuremytrip.com will cover someone from there, and I haven't found anything else so far. For trip cancellation / interruption it seems that I will have to rely on Celebrity. She does not have medical insurance which will pay for any costs outside the Philippines, so I plan to get it from a company called WorldwideMedical.com (to include her entire trip including non-cruise portion). Anyone heard about this company?

 

I'm not worried about insurance for airfare, because her ticket is refundable in case her trip has to be cancelled.

[greatam]

If the trip is under 30 days, International Medical group will cover trip cancellation, trip interruption and secondary medical. It is a complete travel policy, written for non USA citizens. The only thing I would be somewhat leary about is the secondary medical.

 

Can your mother check with a reputable TA in the Phillipines? There may be coverage available in her home country instead of you trying to get it from the USA?

[mhedoct6]

Thank you, I'll look into International Medical.

 

It's problematic when parents live in another country and you have to worry about insurance and other financial matters for them! I'm not sure she would be able to research the options by herself, since she always relied on my dad to do these things, and he is no longer around.