Another Travel Insurance Thread - Please Help if you Can....

[robertmnch]

Sail I have not heard of TravelEx Lite

 

But the company I work for sells Tavel Guard and I have purchased it in the past. The coverage is quite good for the type of things you are wanting it for.

 

My recent cruises I purchased HAL's Plat. insurance but my need was if I needed to cancel last minute. HAL's Plat Insurance does not cover a high enough coverage for any type of medical.

 

Everyone's needs are different so that is why it is good to shop around. The cruise line's insurance is not always the best choice.

 

Lisa, check who really owns Travel Guard? I was on VIA Rail's Cross-Canada Train last Fall when we had an accident! TG wouldn't pay a nickel except for a meal.

 

I had my usual Trip Cancellation coverage!

 

The trip was cancelled half way across Canada. VIA RAil did me OK, but TG dropped the ball. Mercury Insurance and yes, AIG came into the picture after all of my Apppeals were "denied"!

 

Who is the "real" Owner of TG?

[sail7seas]

Lisa, check who really owns Travel Guard? I was on VIA Rail's Cross-Canada Train last Fall when we had an accident! TG wouldn't pay a nickel except for a meal.

 

I had my usual Trip Cancellation coverage!

 

The trip was cancelled half way across Canada. VIA RAil did me OK, but TG dropped the ball. Mercury Insurance and yes, AIG came into the picture after all of my Apppeals were "denied"!

 

Who is the "real" Owner of TG?

 

 

WHO is the real owner? Are we to think you are saying it's TravelEx?

[mamaofami]

WHO is the real owner? Are we to think you are saying it's TravelEx?

 

 

Just checked an old Travel Guard policy I had from this past year. The front of the policy says AIG.

[sail7seas]

I don't think there's a connection between Travelex and TravelGuard but don't know for sure.

 

[GayleArc]

Sail, We have used TravelEx for years and have been very happy with them. Everytime the price of the cruise has gone down thet have refunded the difference. Luckly, we have not needed anything else. Gayle

[robertmnch]

I have always used Travel Guard for at least the past 10 years. It always included Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption coverage.

 

The train trip across Canada was not the fault of VIA Rail! Someone had put metal trash on the rails which caused "extreme damage" to the Diesel Engines Fuel Tanks! We were pulled back 100 miles to Winnipeg!

 

Does this mean if a HAL ship hits a whale and it's Azipods are damaged and the ship has to be towed back to Port, that you can't collect on your Trip Cancellation/Interruption?

 

How many people use Amtrak to get to their Port of Embarkation? If the train has an accident, are you covered if you miss your cruise?

 

VIA Rail went the extra mile and flew some people to their destinations. I called TG and told them what happened, and was denied the opportunity to fly home earlier than scheduled! I had to sit on my hands for 18 hours at the Vancouver International Airport.

 

I filed a Claim with TG and got a reply from Mercury Insurance.

 

I filed an Appeal with Mercury Insurance and got a reply from AIG!

 

All of the above Claims and Appeals were denied in "legalese language" that was impossible to understand unless I hired a lawyer!

 

At NO time was the "issue" brought up that accident happened in Canada and I was a U.S. Citizen or the insurance was purchased in the U.S.!

 

This Board is about Cruises Ships which I understand, but this 'topic" is about Insurance! We don't know what we "don't" have until we have to use it! I don't have an "axe" to grind! I just want to inform you!

 

The "moral" to my thread is "What If"!

[Margie_Lady]

If you are relying on insurance provided by a credit card as backup medical insurance, read the conditions carefully. You may have to pay for your trip with that credit card, and there may be a maximum number of days that you can be away. If the maximum is 30, and you are away 31, the card insurance does not necessarily pay for the first 30 days of the trip either.

[Aunty Pat]

Our agency sells both TravelEx and Travel Guard. Look at TravelEx’s new Travel Basic policy. It is the replacement for TraveLite. If you are only concerned about just cover medical purchase “Zero Band”. State the value of your trip as $0 and you won’t be paying for cancelation insurance, but you will get all of the other coverage you are looking for.

Aunty Pat

 

Barefoot Windjammer - Phantom ‘81

K&D German Rhine Line ‘84

NCL - Norway ’85, Pride of America ’05, Southward ’87, Star ’97 & ‘05, Starward ’92, Sun ’02 & Windward ’93

RCC - Song of America ‘89

American Hawaiian - Independence ‘98

HAL - Volendam ’99, Noordam ’06, Oosterdam ’07 & ‘09, Statendam ’02 & ‘08, Prinsendam ’03 & ’06, & Zuiderdam ’04, ’06 & ‘07

Carnival - Spirit ‘05

Celebrity – Summit ‘05

Cruise West - Yorktown Clipper ‘06

Princess - Golden Princess ‘07

A & K - East Queen ‘07

Cunard - QM2 ’08

Pending Cruises:

HAL – Westerdam, September 6, 2009

Oceania – Insignia, June 17, 2010

[sail7seas]

Gayle, Robert, Pat and Margie.....

 

Very helpful. Thank you.

 

Especially Gayle and Pat.... between you two, I think we'll settle on Travel Ex. Zero Brand sounds perfect for what we want. :)

 

Insuremytrip.com, though corresponding with me, said there was no policy I could write to get medical but not trip cancellation. :( Obviously that is not the case. I will deal directly with TravelEx.

 

 

 

 

 

[kryos]

We have not bought travel insurance for our last 60+ cruises and have been extremely fortunate to have never needed it.

We are more than willing to self insure for trip cancellation but as we get older, I get more uneasy about not having medical coverage I know will pay if we break a leg in Curacao (for example).

If your husband's insurance applies worldwide, that type of occurrence (broken leg) should be covered in Curacao. If you have medaJet through a yearly policy, your evac charges will also be covered. If you "self-insure" for trip cancellation, then that's covered too. It would seem to me that you don't need any further trip insurance.

 

But ... have you discussed this with your travel agent? She should be able to do some research for you and find out exactly what type of "supplemental" insurance you may need, if any. Personally, I'd at least let her do the preliminary legwork and save myself the trouble.

 

But at least from what you're telling us here, it sounds to me like you're all covered.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[sail7seas]

Obviously, WE need to decide if we need/want additional travel insurance.

 

We book with a PCC and do not wish to book HAL coverage.

 

I don't need a TA to tell me what we want/need. We are able to determine that with due research. :) ;)

 

 

[susi_q]

I have seen all the above insurances used ... usually with just a few phone calls ... just want to remind you that for the most part they cover reimbursement. If you end up in the ICU on board the ship, the bill will be charged to your stateroom and put on your credit card before you leave the ship ... it's cheaper (by far) than a US hospital bill ... but it can still add up fast ...

[uavshadow]

I am an agent but just starting with travel insurance. Travelex is the recommended company to me for most situations. I just purchased Travelex for upcoming trip including two cruises.

 

I will check your specific questions if you wish. You do NOT need to take trip protection, simply enter zero as a trip cost. It does have primary coverage (it pays first) and will cover pre-existing conditions if purchased when the trip reservations are complete.

[sail7seas]

I am an agent but just starting with travel insurance. Travelex is the recommended company to me for most situations. I just purchased Travelex for upcoming trip including two cruises.

 

I will check your specific questions if you wish. You do NOT need to take trip protection, simply enter zero as a trip cost. It does have primary coverage (it pays first) and will cover pre-existing conditions if purchased when the trip reservations are complete.

 

 

I appreciate your offer to get me info and gratefully accept. :)

 

We would only write a policy that is primary payer as I think that very important.

 

Thank you.

[bcd2010]

When I looked at some of the medical & evacuation sites, they said it was for travel outside your home country. Is that true? I am dong the Circle Hawaii cruise -- I have no medical insurance -- should/can I get this insurance for my trip?

[LVSue]

Thanks, Sail, for starting this. I have had insurance with Travelex, TG, Access America and CSA at different times.

 

The only one I can vouch for (because my husband was in the hospital in France) is Access America, which I had bought on the recommendation of AAA. They were able to deal directly with the hospital (through the Canadian office), thanks to my calling from the pay phone in the lobby and telling AA to call the hospital gal in her office NOW because the hospital personnel couldn’t make long-distance calls. AA was great! And I paid nothing out of pocket.

 

I frequently use TG because it got kudos from stranded travelers over 9/11, but it has subsequently been bought out by AIG, and the comments about the train run-around disturb me.

 

I am primarily concerned about medical coverage, and most policies will not cover pre-existing conditions if you don’t insure for the entire cost of the trip. So it seems Travelex might be ideal if indeed you can submit 0 as the cost of the trip and still get medically insured including pre-existing. However, when I go to the site, it keeps asking for my “location” number, so I don't know how to break through.

 

As far as primary/secondary, if your primary medical coverage is Medicare and you are out of the country, I’ve been told that the travel insurance becomes primary (no matter what it says). We certainly found that to be the case with Access America.

[jcrandle]

We are also pre-medicare. Our major medical and hospitalization cover worldwide, however outside the US we were told that we would likely have to pay the provider the full amount of the charge, and then file for reimbursement with our insurance provider.