insurance question

[mappa2]

i am on medicare and understand the need for medical insurance
when out of the country. the plans range from 25,000 to 300,000
and i would like to know what is a reasonable amount of coverage.
would like to hear from anyone who had an experience.


larry

[jhannah]

I always purchase insurance, although I've (fortunately) never had to file a claim. Just a couple of things to think about when choosing coverage. First, what do you think will be a reasonable amount for you? While you can purchase high-dollar coverage, just remember that if you don't use it then it's just extra premium for nothing. If you are reasonably healthy without significant health issues that might cause you trouble overseas, then a lower amount of coverage should be adequate. People have reported on other threads that medical evacuation and getting back into the U.S. can run $10,000 to $20,000.

One other thing to note. All policies have exclusions for pre-existing conditions unless you purchase the insurance within a certain period of time after you've made your first deposit. This is generally 14 days. So if it's been more than a couple of weeks since you paid your deposit, your coverage will not include pre-existing conditions.

If you haven't visited www.insuremytrip.com (http://www.insuremytrip.com/) then I'd suggest you do so. You can compare a number of different vendor's policies side-by-side.

Good luck, and have a great cruse.

[OK BOOK IT]

I was just on a cruise to Europe and had to file a claim in Athens for emergency surgery for a detached retina. I was five days in the hospital and Access America, my travel insurance Co. covered my claim completely. They paid the hospital and the surgeons fee directly, so I was able to leave the hospital with no charges billed to me. They were also in direct contact with me on a daily basis. They paid our return flight charges home and for our missed cruise days and for 14 nights in a Athens hotel, because I was unable to fly for ten day after the surgery. All of my claims were paid within two weeks of filing. I had a deluxe policy that covered major medical expense for $50,000. The policy also had a $200,000 medical evacuation that I did not need. If a helicopter would have to come to the ship, you could use a big part on that money, as well.
I would highly recommend that all cruise passengers have travel insurance with a good Co. Access America is first rate IMHO.

[RuffinReady]

I always take the best insurance that the cruise line offers. Medicare doesn't cover you out of country.

FYI, on HAL in order to get coverage for pre-existing conditions you have to select their Platinum coverage at the time of booking and pay in full with the deposit. Check the language in their brochure (small print of course)

I was on one B2B2B Transatlantic cruise on the Royal Princess where a passenger got very ill and the ship had to turn back from mid-atlantic to Halifax Nova Scotia. A Canadian helicopter came out at about 200 miles from shore and picked up the person and companion off the deck and took him to a hospital (I have good movies of this) I don't know if that was an insurance matter, but if it was, it must have cost plenty. The ship lost a day on the trip and it cost millions for Princess to reschedule all of the passengers on-board for their ongoing trips, and for those waiting to board in England (and those enroute of course). The next group of passengers had to be reimbursed for a lost day. We heard many interesting stories about this, Princess did a great job of working with their passengers and tracking them all over Europe and the U.S. Later on during the cruise my wife picked up a bug from another passenger on a tour bus and make several trips to the hospital on-board. She also was taken by car from the dock near Edinburough Scotland to the hospital for a ultrasound. As it turns out our Blue Cross covered it entirely. However, I was on the phone with the Princess insurance company when I got home and they would have paid it if necessary. The transport to the hospital was by the port agent and the return was by taxi (30 minutes each way) which was paid for by the ship because I had Princess insurance. That may not have been covered by Blue Cross.

Pennywise, pound foolish is the expression as far as I am concerned.

RuffinReady

Bermuda Star (long time ago!)
S.S. France (Transatlantic -1965)
S.S Atlantic (Transatlantic, Mediterranean - American Export Lines - 1966)
Europa (Caribbean - 1969 - North German Lloyd)
Statendam (Caribbean - 1975)

Sunward (Bahamas - c. 1980)
Song of America (Caribbean - 1988)
Crown Princess (Alaska - 1999)
Royal Princess (B2B to South America - 2001)
Crown Princess (Baltic - 2002)
Royal Princess (B2B2B;Transatlantic,France,Belgium,Holland;Gt.Bri tain-2002)
Galaxy (Caribbean - 2003)
Prinsendam (B2B; Transatlantic to Athens - May 2005)

[ron46936]

I would definitely look at buying insurance directly from one of the well known independent companies such as CSA, Travelguard, Travelsafe, etc. Instead of the cruise lines. They offer better coverage for less. This is especially true if you sail one of the smaller lines where some of the policies also cover cruise line bankruptcy. That's not a concern with HAL but definitely something to consider.

[Bill S]

I second Ron's advice, above. Go with an independent insurer! It will usually be much cheaper with better coverage. Also, if you are cruising in Europe, South America, Central America, or Asia, I would recommend the maximum coverage for med evac that you can afford. Med evac flights are NOT cheap-to the contrary, they are extremely expensive. I haven't had to use that feature, but did have to see the Amsterdam's doc a couple of times last year and my independent insurance reimbursed me the entire amount with no hassle. It made a believer out of me about cancellation and medical insurance.

[iluvcruzin]

I totally agree with those who recommended using a independent travel insurance company. The cruiseline policies have too much fine print and usually cost more and cover less. One big difference is many cruiseline policies do not reimburse 100% for cancellation.

Med Evac is a very important coverage to look at. Even if you aren't on medicare, most regular health insurance policies don't cover this. For me personally, it's something I look into. If you are cruising somewhere like the bahama's or Carribean, It won't be much of a far distance to take you to the nearest medical facility so the basic $25,000 should be sufficient. If you are traveling overseas to say Europe you may want to have more coverage.

When evaluating the policies on insuremytrip, you will notice some like TSA have what is called a "web" policy. It is basically the same coverage as their regular product except they e-mail you the policy versus sending it snail-mail. The price between them can have a big difference.

Read as much as you can.. Do a "search" on cruise critic in the various message board on the insurance subject. It's best to know before you go!

[cruzincurt]

I suggest you look at Travelex or others that offer PRIMARY insurance rather than secondary. They pay first.

[Gramsof7]

It appears that most insureds on these boards are choosing Travelex or Travelguard. I see that Travelguard has four different coverages, and Travelex has two. Any recommendations for two seniors and two teenagers cruising to the Caribbean in March?

Editing already. Looks as though Travelguard doesn't insure flights; Travelex does. We bought our flights separately - so I assume if the flight is cancelled, Travelguard won't cover it.

[POOHISME2]

Hi,

Let me give you a little tip. BUY INSURANCE WITH AS MUCH MEDICAL COVERAGE AS YOU CAN. Last year my DH and I took our 1st anniversary cruise on the Carnival Legend. He was 35 and was 37. We bought it mostly for "cruise protection" didn't really care about the medical that was included till on the 6th day of the cruise (at sea), he had a massive Heart Attack. The ships doctors were great, but they were unable to stabilize him. We were diverted 12 HOURS to Bermuda (cruise was PR, ST. Thomas & Tortolla) taken off the ship by the coast guard boat and admitted to King Edward Hospital in Bermuda. We spent another 12 hours in CCU and then flown by a medi-vac leer jet to NY. Three days later he needed heart surgery. By the time we hit NY, we had acquired over $60,000 in medical bills. In other counties, they dont let you leave the country without paying the bill in full. Our travel insurance made all the arrangements and PAID for EVERYTHING for my husband and myself. Even took care of our luggage. Its worth the extra $100-$200 a person. I would Never travel again without insurance. I purchased an independent plan from our TA. I am happy to say, he is doing great and we just booked a RCCL in July using the same insurance co.:)

[RuffinReady]

Hi,

Let me give you a little tip. BUY INSURANCE WITH AS MUCH MEDICAL COVERAGE AS YOU CAN......

We were diverted 12 HOURS to Bermuda (cruise was PR, ST. Thomas & Tortolla) taken off the ship by the coast guard boat and admitted to King Edward Hospital in Bermuda.....

By the time we hit NY, we had acquired over $60,000 in medical bills. In other counties, they dont let you leave the country without paying the bill in full....

Our travel insurance made all the arrangements and PAID for EVERYTHING for my husband and myself. I am happy to say, he is doing great and we just booked a RCCL in July using the same insurance co.:)

I certainly agree. I have always taken the highest available insurance for a cruise. I also make sure that we qualify for "pre-existing conditions" coverage. Some insurance companies require that you pay in full immediately for that coverage. My DW and I have had experience with the need for insurance, but certainly not to the extent you did. In our case we had to lay out the costs and were reimbursed by our insurance later. As it turns out we have Blue Cross/Blue Shield and it covers 100% of costs out-of-country, which was a surprise. Other readers should check their personal health plans to see what their coverage is; note however, that Medicare doesn't cover out-of-country.

We were on a transatlantic cruise recently where the ship was diverted a day to Halifax N.S. for a helicopter to pick up a pax from the deck. It is a great comfort that a cruise line will do that for a pax, especially considering the great cost to them. We were a day late in Southampton and all of the thousands of pax arrangements had to be rescheduled, departing and arriving. :eek:

We were on a cruise once to South America where a lady on tour with us had an accident and required treatment at a local hospital. She had to pay in cash before she was able to leave the hospital. One of the cruise tour people had to go to the ship and get the money so she could be released! This is one time it pays to have a high limit on your credit cards! :D It was also useful for her that she was on a tour arranged by the ship. If it was a private tour or an independent walk-around she might have been in trouble (added problem - the ship holds your passport!). :(

Your insurance is great, there is a big difference in having your expenses paid at the time of need, and another to be reimbursed later. You have great insurance and I hope that you never need to use it again. :)

Ruffin

Bahama Star (long time ago!)
S.S. France (Transatlantic -1965)
S.S Atlantic (Transatlantic, Mediterranean - American Export Lines - 1966)
Europa (Caribbean - 1969 - North German Lloyd)
Statendam (Caribbean - 1975)
Sunward (Bahamas - c. 1980)
Song of America (Caribbean - 1988)
Crown Princess (Alaska - 1999)
Crown Princess (Baltic - 2001)
Royal Princess (B2B to South America - 2001)
Royal Princess (B2B2B; Transatlantic, France, Belgium, Holland; Gt.Britain-2002)
Galaxy (Caribbean - 2003)

Prinsendam (B2B; Transatlantic NYC to Athens – May/June 2005)

[jhannah]

I know there are lots of cruisers who disagree ... but I believe trip insurance is worth every penny -- for peace of mind if nothing else. I hope I never have to use it. But I'd much rather have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. The cost of the cruises we take is more than I care to "eat" if something goes bad.

[cruzincurt]

"The ship holds your passport..." Not if I have it in MY pocket! What good is it locked up in the safe?

Just show them your sail and sign card?

[RuthC]

cruzincurt, depending on your itinerary, sometimes your passport is held by the Front Desk staff.
The passenger RuffinReady mentioned the was in South America. In SA and in Europe (and maybe elsewhere) you turn in your passport. It is returned for some ports (those ports in which you must carry it), but then collected again. It's returned before disembarkation.

[cruzincurt]

Thanks, good information. So I will at least carry a copy with me if I can't carry the original. I also e mail a copy to myself at my Yahoo mail account so I can download a copy anywhere in the world.

[pollux]

I am never without a pasport, I carry my expired one in my suitcase. Also when you of that golden age you should carry insurance.

[PSR]

It's not usually explained really well in the small print, but to avoid a hassle, and to make sure NON-TRAVELING relatives pre-existing conditions are covered, you need to buy the insurance within the (usual) 14 days of booking. We always bought insurance, but only after final payment,since we were pretty healthy. When we had an at- home family member require hospitalization and had to cancel a cruise, we did finally get reimbursed, but only after alot of paperwork. And after realizing that "pre-existing conditions" meant EVERYONE, the insurance company was probably right to question us, but it wasn't really made clear in their literature in 2001, and still is kind of vague today. This is especially important for those with elderly parents/relatives.

Penny

[RuffinReady]

It's not usually explained really well in the small print, but to avoid a hassle, and to make sure NON-TRAVELING relatives pre-existing conditions are covered, you need to buy the insurance within the (usual) 14 days of booking.
Penny

For those of you who choose to take out insurance with HAL you must pay the insurance in full at time of the original booking in order to cover pre-existing conditions. I have read the contract carefully and that requirement is clearly stated there as well as in the HAL brochure. Further, if you ammend the contract later, such as for a post-cruise stop, you must pay the increased insurance then in full also. :( The entire insurance policy can be found on-line at the HAL web site. All of their insurance is handled by a third-party (CSA) who want their payments up-front.

Ruffin