Should I buy travel insurance?

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Sorry forgot whatelse she said. She said they have no idea if I am renting a car let alone if I bought the renters insurance. She did mention though that some car rental companies will call and check that you do have up to date insurance coverage and if your policy will cover you on a rental car if you decline it. They are just backing themshelves. I still don't know why some rental companies wont let anyone under the age of 25 rent a car. Does your brother know by chance? I know some do but if they do it is at a higher rate.

 

I believe that's it's because statistics show drivers under age 25 have more accidents. You're regular car insurance rates go down when you hit 25 years old also if I remember correctly .

 

Bill

[cruiseco]

The insurance company has to have a "reason" to pull anyones credit.

 

There are a few reasons for a travel insurance company to check someone's credit but they're pretty rare.

 

For example, you've been arrested in Myanmar and need a few thousand dollars right now to get bailed out. The insurer will arrange for the bail on a personal guarantee from you if circumstances warrant it. And in many parts of the world a hospital will demand up to $10,000 just to admit you. If your credit card won't handle that the insurer again can arrange a personal loan to get you in and get checked out. In either case a credit check would be justified.

 

Other than that it's none of their business.

[jerseygirl3]

I always purchase travel insurance. It costs approx. $60 pp. IMO, it is worth every penny for the peace of mind. When my husband and I first started cruising (10 years ago), we frequently cruised without our children (who were young at that time) and we purchased insurance thinking if something unforeseen happened to them, we'd be able to cancel without losing our shirts.

 

As the years have gone by, we continue to always purchase insurance. I felt that if we didn't, we'd jinx ourselves (okay, I'm a superstitious person).

 

Well, we were scheduled to cruise on the Celebrity Summit 10 day southern Carnibbean sailing on March 11, 2005. On February 14, 2005, my seemingly perfectly healthy 45-year-old husband suffered a stroke. During his hospitalization, while performing tests to try and find a reason for the stroke, it was discovered that he had two nodules in his lung and extensive enlarged lymph nodes in his chest (he is a non-smoker, very active, and other than the stroke, had absolutely no symptoms). Within a 7 day period, we were told not only that my husband suffered a stroke to his brainstem, but that 5 different doctors believed he had Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (the worst type of lymphoma). He underwent a lung biopsy last week at University of Pennsylvania Hospital, and thankfully, it isn't lymphoma, but a disease called Sarcoidosis. Not a great thing to have, but not cancer.

 

The bottom line is that if we didn't have insurance, we'd be out thousands of dollars. With all the medical bills beginning to pour in (despite having very good insurance coverage), that's an expense we just couldn't afford to absorb.

 

The only deficit my husband has been left with from the stroke is double vision, which hopefully will clear at some time in the future. The Sarcoidosis will have to be dealt with, but we pray there will be many more cruises in our future.

 

The bottom line is, nobody thinks they will ever need insurance, but it sure is good to have it when the unexpected occurs.

[suntan]

I would not leave home without it. I'm glad I had out-of-country medical insurance in place as I ended up in the emergency department in Ft. Lauderdale the day before our cruise. Diagnosis was made, meds given, and I was able to enjoy my cruise.

[Hemi001]

With the price of cruises now, and the myriad of things that can go wrong, cruise insurance is a well worth while investment. May I never have to use it!!

[bionicbeacher]

I think we have plenty of space here on the message board but thanks for your concern.

 

That last poll (the one before this one) was actually the third making this one the fourth.

 

So do I have a lousy memory or what?

 

Well maybe (DW says so) but this is an important topic especially to those new to cruising as this is a discretionary expense.

 

I'll try to remain neutral here, at least for a while, but the fact is that we do not have to buy it.

 

We do have to pay port charges and taxes but much like gratuities we cancruise without buying travel insurance.

 

So should we or shouldn't we? What's your advice to the new cruiser trying to decide?

 

 

I'll try really hard not to sway the discussion one way or another

 

Hi...I think you should read the General Information in the back of your Cruise Book...the part that deals with Cancellation Fees and Refunds...it then becomes very clear on the amount of money that you could forfeit if you didn't have Cruise Insurance...For Instance If you booked a Cruise for two say at $6,000.00 for a Cruise under 20 days...most often your deposit at time

of booking is 25% or $1500.00 with the balance becoming due approx. 75days before Cruise Date...an amount of $4500.00.....If for some reason either you or your spouse/companion had to cancel your Cruise between 74 and 57 days you would lose your deposit of $1500.00 whereas Insurance would cover it...If you had to cancel between 28 and 15 days before your Cruise (that is still upwards of a month from cast off) you would lose 75% of your amount or $4500.00 whereas Insurance would cover it... and one step further, if you cancelled within 14 days of Cruising you would lose the entire amount of your Cruise Fee if you didn't have Insurance..I don't think there is any way that you cannot take Cruise Insurance...it wouldn't make sense.

 

Hope this Helps you make the right decision.

 

Ken

[ilovhywd]

As we stood on deck and watched this poor passenger and his wife get offloaded onto a little motorboat in the Cape Verde Islands to get medical treatment somewhere in Africa, all we could think about was "Hope they bought medical evacuation insurance!"

 

Based on that experience, we always buy it, just for the peace of mind.

[joeyanddavid]

If I was asked that question a couple of months ago I would have answered no, basically because the total Cost of the cruises we had taken to that point was not a dollar amount that exceeded the price that my father paid for his FIRST home.J Plus the fact we never left the United States (per say) FLL to FLL Caribbean 7 days or Mexican Rivera from Los Angeles.

That Changed when I booked our Mediterranean Cruise for Next October 06, First we would be visiting another Hemisphere and the security of having enough coverage, that if for what ever the vacation is canceled or we need to be flown back because of some medical emergency, I can rest assured we don’t have to take out a 2nd or 3rd mortgage.

 

During My research I found out about insuremytrip.com which was a valuable tool , but I also realized that all policies are not created equal some do not recognize Registered Domestic Partners as family which was a BIG point for us. Be sure that the people traveling with you are protected in EVERY POSSIBLE SCENARIO possible..

 

As Always

[Mimi2lexi]

Get all the insurance you can! I just returned from the Mexican Riveria cruise 4/23-4/30 on Princess Diamond. One of my cruisemates fell in the casino, fracturing her leg in 3 places. Ship's hospital was not equipped for surgery so she was disembarked in Puerto Vallarto, ambulanced to the hospital (about 1 1/2 blocks...to the tune of $200 in cash!) and had to be flown back to Dallas. Believe me, she did not plan this or have an inkling that something like this could happen to her!

[June Bug]

If you have the insurance, you will never miss the money if nothing goes wrong. But if something does go wrong and you didn't buy insurance, you will be kicking yourself forever that you lost x# (usually thousands) of $...when you could have only put down a couple of hundred..

It's a no brainer to me for a cruise!

June

[surfnsun]

We're the type that always buy insurance for peace of mind for those unexpected situations where you have to cancel or injury. Never did I think that the insurance would come in handy for a personal item.

 

On a recent cruise with a stop in St. Maarten, I bought an expensive bracelet. I chose to wear the bracelet and when we boarded the ship from the port we went the pool. I lost the bracelet in the pool. My husband (along with every child in the pool voluntarily joined the search) made many dives in the pool looking for the bracelet, but it was not found. We checked with the desk every day hoping someone had found it in the pool and turned it in. We had purchased cruise insurance and to make a long story just little bit shorter, I filed a claim and was reimbursed for the full price of the bracelet!

 

Lesson learned..Secure your jewelry! Next lesson learned...the insurance may be worth purchasing, although I don't think we'll need it again for these type situations :o !

[tlmlb]

I self insure - as long as you have good medical insurance / evac. that covers you out of the country, the insurance for pure cancellation is a rip off. If you can't afford losing the cost of the trip you can't afford going. I wonder if some of the 80% who buy it also smuggle soda and alcohol to save money? Get rid of the insurance and buy drinks onboard.

 

This discussion illustrates how fear is used to sell this insurance stuff.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

I self insure - as long as you have good medical insurance / evac. that covers you out of the country, the insurance for pure cancellation is a rip off. If you can't afford losing the cost of the trip you can't afford going. I wonder if some of the 80% who buy it also smuggle soda and alcohol to save money? Get rid of the insurance and buy drinks onboard.

 

This discussion illustrates how fear is used to sell this insurance stuff.

 

and just how many people have medical insurance that covers them when out of the country? I have no idea what the numbers are buy I don't think it's too many.

If the people who saved all year for a cruise were to stop cruising since they obviously can't afford to lose the money. I bet the ships would go out half full.

And yes I'm one of the ones who save all year and can't afford to lose the money.

 

Bill

[travelnnana]

I have $200 deposit on a Australia New Zealand cruise for April 2006. I just booked it a few weeks ago. I don't owe any more money until January 2006. If I want "pre-existing" conditions covered, I should have booked the insurance when I booked the cruise - or within 30 days. We are going on miles (90000 each for business class) and will probably use miles for hotels. DH has high blood pressure - but neither has a pre-existing condition.

When it is time to pay up I will get on line and get some insurance.

But the TA's really pressure you to get it right away. Not necesssary unless you have major pre-existing conditions.

[psychtobe]

Get all the insurance you can! I just returned from the Mexican Riveria cruise 4/23-4/30 on Princess Diamond. One of my cruisemates fell in the casino, fracturing her leg in 3 places. Ship's hospital was not equipped for surgery so she was disembarked in Puerto Vallarto, ambulanced to the hospital (about 1 1/2 blocks...to the tune of $200 in cash!) and had to be flown back to Dallas. Believe me, she did not plan this or have an inkling that something like this could happen to her!

 

just out of curiosity, i priced a one-way First class ticket from PVR to DFW leaving tomorrow AM - it comes to $483 plus tax. wouldn't that have been a better deal than repeatedly insuring against a rare calamity?

[Globaliser]

just out of curiosity, i priced a one-way First class ticket from PVR to DFW leaving tomorrow AM - it comes to $483 plus tax. wouldn't that have been a better deal than repeatedly insuring against a rare calamity?

If you can guarantee that your "rare calamity" won't require anything more than a replacement commercial flight for one person at the cost of a few hundred dollars, then probably not.

 

But an air ambulance evacuation would have been tens of thousands of dollars. You have to pay a lot of insurance premiums - or be very rich - to self-insure against that sort of possibility.

 

That is the sort of event which could be an unafforable calamity.

[Lynda90]

I already posted this on the other "insurance" thread, but wanted to post it here as well:

 

A personal experience to share. We were scheduled to be on the Sapphire to Alaska right now. Last month my Mom (my cruising partner) was diagnosed with cancer of the lymph nodes (lymphoma) and started treatment almost immediately. We had to cancel our cruise and thank God I had been reading these boards for the past year as we were not believers in spending the extra money on the insurance. After reading so many horror stories, we decided that no one should be without the insurance. We purchased the Princess Standard insurance (upgraded to Gold for Platinum and Elite status with no extra cost).

 

We cancelled our cruise on 4/29 and I filled out all the claim forms earlier this month. I received our checks today and we got back 100% of what we paid. I would say that was excellent service. So please, purchase the insurance. Do not get caught like so many others and lose your investment as well as the possibility of having to pay out thousands or more in medical related expenses.

 

BTW, my mom's prognosis for recovery is excellent and we are looking forward to sailing to Hawaii next year.:D

[Cruise Junky]

I If you can't afford losing the cost of the trip you can't afford going. QUOTE]

 

What kind of statement is that?? We've saved for over 18 months for our upcoming cruise to Europe, you think if I can't afford to lose that $10,000 I shouldn't be going? Unbelievable.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

I If you can't afford losing the cost of the trip you can't afford going. QUOTE]

 

What kind of statement is that?? We've saved for over 18 months for our upcoming cruise to Europe, you think if I can't afford to lose that $10,000 I shouldn't be going? Unbelievable.

 

I responded to this earlier. Sounds like someone with an elitist attitude.

Go figure :confused:

 

Bill

[tlmlb]

I If you can't afford losing the cost of the trip you can't afford going. QUOTE]

 

What kind of statement is that?? We've saved for over 18 months for our upcoming cruise to Europe, you think if I can't afford to lose that $10,000 I shouldn't be going? Unbelievable.

 

Yeah, pretty much....

 

The insurance is a ripoff, do the numbers. Package policies probably run $500 - $1000; so say its 750; do you think you have a one in 13 chance of having to cancel with no reimbursement?? even if its only $250 per person it's terrible odds of 1 of 20.

 

The odds are in the insurance companies' favor.

[tlmlb]

 

I responded to this earlier. Sounds like someone with an elitist attitude.

Go figure :confused:

 

Bill

 

so a personal attack is warranted?? not elitist just smart.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

My insurance doesn't cover me out of the U.S. so air evacuation would come out of my pocket. Most people don't have health covergae that covers them outside the U.S.

 

how is it smart if most people like me don't have money in the bank or insurance that covers us outside the U.S. to cover the air evacuation. It's smart if you have the money to back that up or insurance that covers you outside the U.S.. Unfortunately I think it is a small percentage of cruisers that can afford to pay or have insurance that covers them for an air evacuation. I'm glad you have done so well for yourself that you can. I am not being sarcastic. I am very serious. :)

 

What you stated earlier was if you couldn't afford to lose the cost of your trip you shouldn't cruise is ridiculous in my opinion.

 

If you've ever gone to the race track horses that are 20 - 1 odds do come in, just as someday I may need medical attention in a foreign land.

 

My apologies for the knee jerk reaction to your earlier comments. :)

 

Bill

[Cruise Junky]

 

Yeah, pretty much....

 

The insurance is a ripoff, do the numbers. Package policies probably run $500 - $1000; so say its 750; do you think you have a one in 13 chance of having to cancel with no reimbursement?? even if its only $250 per person it's terrible odds of 1 of 20.

 

The odds are in the insurance companies' favor.

 

My insurance cost was $257 for the both of us. Risking our trip to save $257 is nuts and not a chance I'm willing to take.

[Globaliser]

The insurance is a ripoff, do the numbers. Package policies probably run $500 - $1000; so say its 750; do you think you have a one in 13 chance of having to cancel with no reimbursement?? even if its only $250 per person it's terrible odds of 1 of 20.

 

The odds are in the insurance companies' favor.

So, tlmlb, if you had had to save for 18 months to put $10,000 together for a trip, would you be prepared to risk losing all of that money simply because an insurance premium represented poor gambling odds?

 

I suspect that you are just a person who can afford to lose $10,000 if something bad happens. Good for you. But have a thought for us ordinary people who cannot.

[kevinsac]

Sure, travel insurance is a poor gambling risk. Nevertheless, I always have travel insurance, since most of my trips are "way out" of the country...Africa, Antarctica, Asia....and I'd hate to pay for MedEvac.

 

I am now in my mid-40s. I have owned a car since I was 16 and my first home at 23. I have been paying lots of money towards car insurance and home insurance premiums. I have never had a claim against either. Nevertheless, I always have car insurance and home insurance.