Denied travel insurance claims?

[KJHorton]

Just wondering if anyone has ever had what they felt was a legitimate travel insurance claim denied by the carrier? Were you ever able to resolve their situation to your satisfaction? Thanks.

[Karson]

had to cancel a cruise, brother was on his death bed.................this was a rock n roll cruise .....................agent said that the tickets for the event was $200 each...................but, when we filed for insurance.............the paperwork said that the concert was $400 each...........meaning, that our cabin was cheap, cheap, cheap.....................needless to say, we lost the $400 each...............and only got reimbursed for the cabin.............never used that TA again, she LIED

[AFT_LOVER]

when Celebrity's Summit had their gangway not secured and it was sliding all over the sidewalk as the ship rocked in waves. Then they have 2 garbage cans on both sides of it, so as you toss cups into the can labeled CUPS & the towels from the iced towels into the TOWEL can, the gangway jumps & slams itself on my left foot sliding down to clamp on the 3 middle ties cracking them. Crew could care less. Women assisted my husband lifting the gangway off my foot. Husband carries me in & safety gets me to doctor. No accident report from crew so Safety Director Robert comes to interview us & the women who assisted us. I was medicated for pain & told to keep it higher than my head, which meant bed. this was day 4 of 14, so husband called for a wheelchair, none to give we were told & no crutches. SO we decided to get off the ship & go home but we are told Miami must make arrangements. No word in the remaining 10 days. So when we got home I filed a claim with CSA for return of our money & they wanted medical records & talk on our return home that was denied. We gave them dates, names & outcome. Celebrity refused to give anything so a year later we are called & told NO CLAIM!

 

SO NO MORE CELEBRITY & CSA for neither working for us.

 

 

 

 

Just wondering if anyone has ever had what they felt was a legitimate travel insurance claim denied by the carrier? Were you ever able to resolve their situation to your satisfaction? Thanks.

[Lynnees]

What reason did they give you for denying your claim? Certainly seems legitimate.

 

M

[berylde]

5 years ago, I fell in cabin and broke rt. femur (no one's fault). The next day ship put me off and spent the day in St. Thomas E.R. Finally on 3rd day , my DH and I airlifted back home to Florida in private plane with 2 nurses.

 

Daughter an son-in-law could not get a flight out til the 4th day.

They were put up at a beautiful beach hotel, all meals and airfare taken care of

 

Now that's what I call excellent insurance. Never recieved a bill and recieved money back promptly

[Desert Cruizers]

We were late leaving a stop due to a passenger, injuring himself walking around town by 30 min. As we were all watching the docks for our dear passenger, a lady is seen running for the ship followed by her husband in a wheelchair. Upon arrival to gangplank, he takes his crutches and hobbles aboard, much to the applause of his fellow friends.

[cruiseco]

SO we decided to get off the ship & go home but we are told Miami must make arrangements. No word in the remaining 10 days. So when we got home I filed a claim with CSA for return of our money & they wanted medical records & talk on our return home that was denied. We gave them dates, names & outcome. Celebrity refused to give anything so a year later we are called & told NO CLAIM!

 

SO NO MORE CELEBRITY & CSA for neither working for us.

 

I'm not following this. It's not clear if you got off the ship after the four days or or couldn't because you were told that Miami had to make some arrangements and that never happened. Were you on the ship for only four or the full 14 days?

[vermonter16]

Our cat got very ill and was in the hospital for a few days - almost died. They said he wouldn't make it and he didn't want to eat. We took him home, gave him his meds, and had to force feed him every four hours. We tried to cancel and the insurance said no - he wasn't a human family member so he didn't count. We didn't go and finally our TA did something to get our money back but I'm still not quite sure how it was resolved.

[Desert Cruizers]

Having a Kitty ourselves, as far as we are concerned, he is one of our children. I would have told them someone in the family took ill. Glad you were able to get it resolved.

[Lynnees]

when Celebrity's Summit had their gangway not secured and it was sliding all over the sidewalk as the ship rocked in waves. Then they have 2 garbage cans on both sides of it, so as you toss cups into the can labeled CUPS & the towels from the iced towels into the TOWEL can, the gangway jumps & slams itself on my left foot sliding down to clamp on the 3 middle ties cracking them. Crew could care less. Women assisted my husband lifting the gangway off my foot. Husband carries me in & safety gets me to doctor. No accident report from crew so Safety Director Robert comes to interview us & the women who assisted us. I was medicated for pain & told to keep it higher than my head, which meant bed. this was day 4 of 14, so husband called for a wheelchair, none to give we were told & no crutches. SO we decided to get off the ship & go home but we are told Miami must make arrangements. No word in the remaining 10 days. So when we got home I filed a claim with CSA for return of our money & they wanted medical records & talk on our return home that was denied. We gave them dates, names & outcome. Celebrity refused to give anything so a year later we are called & told NO CLAIM!

 

SO NO MORE CELEBRITY & CSA for neither working for us.

 

I've just re-read your message. If I'm understanding correctly, you stayed onboard for the complete cruise???? I would assume that was way they did not refund you - you had your cruise.

[sas80]

Having a Kitty ourselves, as far as we are concerned, he is one of our children. I would have told them someone in the family took ill. Glad you were able to get it resolved.

 

While I completely follow you on this one, I think you have to submit some form of valid proof in regards to a close family member - a doctors note or something.... The "veterinarian" notation after the doctors name probably would have given him away as an animal doctor....? :D

 

But, again, this is purely speculative.... :p

[smeyer418]

Having a Kitty ourselves, as far as we are concerned, he is one of our children. I would have told them someone in the family took ill. Glad you were able to get it resolved.

 

Does the word "fraud" have meaning to you. A cat is not a covered relative. He may be a relative but he isn't a covered one. This may sound harsh but its not a covered reason...

[ncruiser]

I am trying to decide which insurance to buy for January cruise so appreciate any info at this site to help me make that decision. Thanks to all who are contributing to this thread.

[medfordgirl]

5 years ago, I fell in cabin and broke rt. femur (no one's fault). The next day ship put me off and spent the day in St. Thomas E.R. Finally on 3rd day , my DH and I airlifted back home to Florida in private plane with 2 nurses.

 

Daughter an son-in-law could not get a flight out til the 4th day.

They were put up at a beautiful beach hotel, all meals and airfare taken care of

 

Now that's what I call excellent insurance. Never recieved a bill and recieved money back promptly

 

I am looking for insurance now for my Jan trip. Could you tell me who you used, they sound wonderful.

[Desert Cruizers]

While I completely follow you on this one, I think you have to submit some form of valid proof in regards to a close family member - a doctors note or something.... The "veterinarian" notation after the doctors name probably would have given him away as an animal doctor....? :D

 

But, again, this is purely speculative.... :p

Your correct, they would want proof of family connection, being a pet lover as I am sure many here are, we consider our little 4 legged friends members of the family. :)

[Desert Cruizers]

Does the word "fraud" have meaning to you. A cat is not a covered relative. He may be a relative but he isn't a covered one. This may sound harsh but its not a covered reason...

Smeyer, your taking me to seriously, I personally would never do that, I was merely siding with Vermonter, about our pets and their being part of our family. I applogize if you mistook my sentence to mean I was suggesting one do this.

[Bruinboy]

For what it's worth three years ago, my DW and I both came down with flu-like symptons ... bad sore throat, temperatures. We had to go to the ship's doctor a couple of times each. It was very expensive, but documented. The doctor's visits were added to our SeaPass card and had to pay for the visits as we left the ship, but turned in the info to the travel insurance company they totally reimbursed us for the expense. Since the bill was more than what we paid for the travel insurance, we were very pleased. I would never travel without it.

 

Just make sure it is documented and you leave with the paper work prior to disembarking. It was on Celebrity and they handled it well for us.

[Cruisedreamer1]

Most people purchase insurance for the possibility that they will not be able to make the trip due to illness or job issues.That's why it is expensive. The policy reimburses the cost of the trip. The policy also covers medical emergencies(not for preexisting conditions-it costs extra). Plus, bankrupcy of the cruiseline and lost of baggage and trip delay.

 

Prior to purchasing insurance, one should be aware if the policy is PRIMARY or SECONDARY for medical expenses. Many health policies do not cover costs outside of the USA but many do. For example, my Blue Cross policy does. Medicare does not but many people have supplemental insurance and it will cover emergency medical bills. My husband was hospitalized for 2 weeks in Mexico and his supplemental covered it subject to his deductible. We did have to pay up front and seek reimbursement.

 

If one is absolutely sure that they will not miss the trip and one has medical coverage through their medical insurance, one might consider medivac coverage. It will take you and your passengers via air to your home or your local hospital. Medical transportation via air is very expensive-a 19 minute heliocopter flight between 2 hospitals can cost $10,000.

 

Also, I think one should take a high limit credit card with them when traveling not for spending on extras but for medical emergencies.

 

We had to pay the hospital before leaving the hospital, what have others encountered while cruising?

 

Great thread!

[KJHorton]

The policy also covers medical emergencies(not for preexisting conditions-it costs extra). Plus, bankrupcy of the cruiseline and lost of baggage and trip delay

 

 

Actually, preexisting conditions are covered by most policies if the insurance is purchased within a certain number of days of the initial trip deposit.

 

Bankruptcy of the cruise line obviously is not covered by the cruiseline's policy so if that is a concern, it is better to buy from one of the travel insurance companys.

 

There are a couple of great sites, including insuremytrip.com, squaremouth.com, and quotewright.com that have information about the different types of policies and you can actually compare costs and coverage. Pretty good information.

[smeyer418]

....

 

Bankruptcy of the cruise line obviously is not covered by the cruiseline's policy so if that is a concern, it is better to buy from one of the travel insurance companys.

.

not necessarily true. some cruise lines actually do purchase insurance. If you bought by credit card they may have to eat it in case of bankruptcy and finally any cruise leaving from the US must post a bankruptcy bond with the US Maritime Commission.

[berylde]

Used Travel Guard Insurance

 

http://www.travelguard.com

[Rancher Dave]

Prior to purchasing insurance, one should be aware if the policy is PRIMARY or SECONDARY for medical expenses. Many health policies do not cover costs outside of the USA but many do. For example, my Blue Cross policy does. Medicare does not but many people have supplemental insurance and it will cover emergency medical bills. My husband was hospitalized for 2 weeks in Mexico and his supplemental covered it subject to his deductible. We did have to pay up front and seek reimbursement.

 

If one is absolutely sure that they will not miss the trip and one has medical coverage through their medical insurance, one might consider medivac coverage. It will take you and your passengers via air to your home or your local hospital. Medical transportation via air is very expensive-a 19 minute heliocopter flight between 2 hospitals can cost $10,000.

 

Wanted to add a couple of items to this very useful information.

 

Most major Commercial Insurance Companies will cover ER care away from home including internationally. They will not however pay for your return to the US, in a pine box, in a medical transport jet or helo for that matter, or pay any commercial flights back, just the ER care much as if you were at home and you got hurt watching tv. :eek:

 

As was pointed out, medical air evac is expensive. Helo's often add up very fast, with a lift off charge and a per mile charge (makes taxis look real cheap) <I know from doing contracting between insurance companies and helo and air evac services a few years ago.> International air evac is not cheap and almost never will get paid by by your health insurer.

 

Things to know about your health insurance, is it a self insured plan funded by employer, with ERISA exemption etc... if so you can always appeal claims denials thru your HR department to see if the company will make an exception to how the insurer paid the claim based on the certificate of coverage. If you are on a fully insured plan where the insurer is at risk for the claims payment dollars, your certificate of coverage will govern and any appeals are solely up to the insurer to decide if any exceptions will be made...your employer pays the insurer a set premium to accept all risk for care as stated in your certificate of coverage. You can ask for your certificate of coverage if you ever want to know the details of your coverage...note that its a long document with lots of small print. It may be the only thing to get you to sleep the night before the cruise...:cool:

 

As far as medical evac insurance, check with some of the organizations where you are members, for instance if you are in DAN and have certain of their diver protection policies air evac is covered even for non-diving accidents. Family Motor Coach Association is another who covers air evac for members via a master infinity insurance policy. If you have coverage via one of these or many other membership organizations then there is likely no need to buy this specific coverage specifically for a cruise.

 

For those on Medicare as was pointed out, the US Government does not pay your international medical bills nor do they pay to evacuate you...so if you only have Medicare and think they are covering the expenses, you need to get some coverage unless you can afford to pay out of pocket. If you have a supplement, read the policy before you go and make sure it will cover your international ER care, depending on what plan A-J you have it may or may not cover international care. Just check before you go...and know before you buy extra coverage that is not necessary, you can save money on duplicate insurance and buy me a ice cold beer, when you see me on the cruise, instead:D .

 

Happy Cruising!!!!!!!

[smeyer418]

Wanted to add a couple of items to this very useful information.

 

Most major Commercial Insurance Companies will cover ER care away from home including internationally. They will not however pay for your return to the US, in a pine box, in a medical transport jet or helo for that matter, or pay any commercial flights back, just the ER care much as if you were at home and you got hurt watching tv. :eek:

 

As was pointed out, medical air evac is expensive. Helo's often add up very fast, with a lift off charge and a per mile charge (makes taxis look real cheap) <I know from doing contracting between insurance companies and helo and air evac services a few years ago.> International air evac is not cheap and almost never will get paid by by your health insurer.

 

Things to know about your health insurance, is it a self insured plan funded by employer, with ERISA exemption etc... if so you can always appeal claims denials thru your HR department to see if the company will make an exception to how the insurer paid the claim based on the certificate of coverage. If you are on a fully insured plan where the insurer is at risk for the claims payment dollars, your certificate of coverage will govern and any appeals are solely up to the insurer to decide if any exceptions will be made...your employer pays the insurer a set premium to accept all risk for care as stated in your certificate of coverage. You can ask for your certificate of coverage if you ever want to know the details of your coverage...note that its a long document with lots of small print. It may be the only thing to get you to sleep the night before the cruise...:cool:

 

As far as medical evac insurance, check with some of the organizations where you are members, for instance if you are in DAN and have certain of their diver protection policies air evac is covered even for non-diving accidents. Family Motor Coach Association is another who covers air evac for members via a master infinity insurance policy. If you have coverage via one of these or many other membership organizations then there is likely no need to buy this specific coverage specifically for a cruise.

 

For those on Medicare as was pointed out, the US Government does not pay your international medical bills nor do they pay to evacuate you...so if you only have Medicare and think they are covering the expenses, you need to get some coverage unless you can afford to pay out of pocket. If you have a supplement, read the policy before you go and make sure it will cover your international ER care, depending on what plan A-J you have it may or may not cover international care. Just check before you go...and know before you buy extra coverage that is not necessary, you can save money on duplicate insurance and buy me a ice cold beer, when you see me on the cruise, instead:D .

 

Happy Cruising!!!!!!!

 

only some insurance countries cover outside the US emergency or no. It varies considerably by state and whether you have employer purchased insurance. While ERISA does govern the appeals procedure, most coverage if it excludes outside the US will NOT make an exception(or it becomes the rule). Medicare never covers outside the US period. Some supplemental plans will. Some private insurance will pay for the cost of bringing you back to the US but this is really more than you want to know. If you need the travel coverage it will be cheap at the price. These policies are relatively inexpensive(given that a family health insurance coverage averages more than $12,000 per year), so your choice is to self insure expecting nothing to happen or for a few hundred dollars more or less have the peace of mind that if something happens you will be covered. You can do the same thing with fire insurance too....

 

remember besides health evacuation and the trip it generally covers trip interruption bankruptcy flood famine and assorted ills....

[vermonter16]

Thanks for all the "animal lover" comments all. Since my husband and I do not have children our pets are definitely our children. In fact - the five that we have all have special needs in some way from epilepsy to renal failure. Rocky - the kitty we cancelled our vacation for back in 2003 lived another 3 years and unfortunately died of cancer. But - I would go ahead and sacrifice any cost of a vacation to take care of one of my babies.

[AFT_LOVER]

with my foot wrapped in ice bags every hour, no pain med other than Advil, stuck with foot higher than head to ease the pain & swelling (4 times the normal size). 2 years later in November that foot is a size 8 with my right foot a size 6.5 so we shop at WalMart to get 2 different sizes.

 

Every day my husband called the Purser on getting us home since we know nothing about the cities we were at and we are told that Miami makes the arrangments, they will call you. Never did! Never sent CSA andy info so they cancelled the claim. Even Dan Hanrahan never called back.

 

The Concierge Class cabin we had was fowl smelling with food items & puke all over it from pressure washing the bar upstairs down onto it soaking the furniture pads, etc. So I couldn't get the lounger out there. The Steward sprayed air freshener in the room from the doorway which was choking me. They wouldn't move us either.

I'm not following this. It's not clear if you got off the ship after the four days or or couldn't because you were told that Miami had to make some arrangements and that never happened. Were you on the ship for only four or the full 14 days?