Cruise insurance - necessary or not ???

[CaveDiving]

Hi all,

I recently came across some information which may have an effect on the way we view the insurance needed for cruising.

I tend to break the insurance down into three areas. Trip cancellation insurance, emergency medical expense insurance and evacuation expense insurance.

I personally only buy insurance for things which I might not be able to afford. This is a personal choice and quite possibly one not shared by others. For example, I don’t buy collision insurance on my five year old car. (I certainly do buy liability insurance.) If I have a bad accident, I can afford to replace the car.

In a similar vein, I do not choose to buy trip cancellation insurance. If something happens and my trip is interrupted, obviously I can afford the cost as it has already been paid. It would be hard to swallow but not a killer.

There are several organizations that offer evacuation insurance for around $100 a year. The one I use is DAN, the Diver’s Alert Network for scuba divers. It is not necessary to be a certified scuba diver to join DAN and the membership carries with it the medically necessitated evacuation insurance from anywhere in the world.

So finally we come to the emergency medical expense insurance. I have been told by numerous travel agents (trying to sell me travel insurance policies for cruises) that Medicare does not cover foreign travel. This statement, while true, is rather misleading. Medicare itself does indeed not cover in foreign countries but the supplemental coverage most of us have, does in fact cover foreign travel. The following is some wording from my own Medicare Supplemental Plan and I have now been told that many, if not most, plans contain similar information.

“Additional Benefits .......
Coverage to the extent not covered by Medicare for 80% of the billed charges for Medicare-Eligible Expenses for Medically Necessary emergency Hospital, Physician and medical care received in a foreign country, which care would have been covered by Medicare if provided in the United States and which care began during the first (60) sixty consecutive days of each trip outside the United States, subject to a Calendar Year deductible of two hundred fifty dollars ($250), and a lifetime maximum benefit of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000).”

As opposed to what the TAs have been telling me, it seems as though I am indeed covered for medical expenses in foreign countries, at least for the first 60 days of each cruise. Karen and I are just about to depart on the Grand Asia/Australia Cruise and the insurance offered would have cost around $2,000 to $3,000 for the cruise. We chose to use the money for other purposes.

Scott & Karen

[arzz]

Scott and Karen -- do enjoy your cruise -- wish we were able to go again this year -- if for the trivia if nothing else;).

Interesting info re insurance. For the record we are members of Medjet for medical evacuation -- they will evacuate you to the location of your choice -- not just the nearest place that can provide the medical care that you need as most medical evacuation policies do.

And for the record, we would not be willing to absorb the loss from a cancelled cruise. We had to use cancellation insurance a few years ago and were certainly glad that we had it. But for those who are willing to accept the loss you do make a valid point.

The Medicare coverage issue is enlightening. I wonder how many hoops you might have to jump through to enforce that paragraph and whether the amount of reimbursement offered by your Medicare supplement insurance would satisfy the foreign medical provider? Unlike US medical providers who accept Medicare, could foreign medical providers command the remainder of the amount billed from you if insurance does not cover the whole bill?

[CtheW0rld]

insurance is a gamble. everyone has to decide what level of risk they find acceptable. lost luggage coverage might not be important to everyone. loss of job? some policies cover you if you are in a car accident on the way to the airport and have to cancel. deaths in the family? all sorts of scenarios come into play.

[ab0si]

Interesting info re insurance. For the record we are members of Medjet for medical evacuation -- they will evacuate you to the location of your choice -- not just the nearest place that can provide the medical care that you need as most medical evacuation policies do.

And for the record, we would not be willing to absorb the loss from a cancelled cruise. We had to use cancellation insurance a few years ago and were certainly glad that we had it. But for those who are willing to accept the loss you do make a valid point.

The Medicare coverage issue is enlightening. I wonder how many hoops you might have to jump through to enforce that paragraph and whether the amount of reimbursement offered by your Medicare supplement insurance would satisfy the foreign medical provider? Unlike US medical providers who accept Medicare, could foreign medical providers command the remainder of the amount billed from you if insurance does not cover the whole bill?

It's a bit more complicated than that. The stuff below refers only to travels from the U.S.

Med Jet: this is not insurance but a "membership program." You have much more protection as a policyholder or certificate holder under an insurance policy than you do as a member of a program. If Med Jet performs their service to your satisfaction, all is well. The "protection" only helps if they don't or if they run into serious financial difficulties.

Overseas medical coverage: Most plans, whether insurance or "service contracts," sold in the U.S. are reimbursement contracts -- in practice if not in theory. That is, you pay the doctors,hospitals, etc. and the insurer reimburses you. even if the insurer is able and willing to directly pay the provider, the provider can -- and often will -- insist on money up front. This makes perfect sense as what does a hospital in the Klingon Empire (hey, t's a LONG cruise) know about a U.S. insurer? What recourse would it have if the U.S. insurer didn't pay?

One thing you will seldom need to worry about is the level of reimbursement. Medical costs in the U.S. are so much higher than elsewhere that the amount of bill is seldom a problem.

Cruise cancellation insurance: from a purely financial point of view, this seldom makes sense. It might still be worthwhile for psychological reasons, of course.

[iriemon]

insurance is a gamble. everyone has to decide what level of risk they find acceptable. lost luggage coverage might not be important to everyone. loss of job? some policies cover you if you are in a car accident on the way to the airport and have to cancel. deaths in the family? all sorts of scenarios come into play.

We choose not to do the insurance, I think it is playing the odds. We have done 36 cruises and a couple of years ago had to cancel a cruise and lost money. But in the big scheme of things we lost less money than if we had taken out insurance for all the cruises. It is a gamble that I think everyone has to weigh to see what is right for them.

[Nasmas]

From someone who has collected on travel insurance twice, it is worth the money. We use Travel Guard and they paid promptly. The first time, my husband got sick unexpectedly and the doctors wouldn't let him go. The second time, it was an on & off thing and he happened to be on right before the cruise. 0% refund from the cruise line, but Travel Guard paid even for the hotel room that was non-refundable. For about $250, we got about $4000 back. We've not used it more than we've used it, but for peace of mind, it is necessary. I really can't afford to lose $4000 and to add that worry to the worry of my honey being sick, its worth the money.

[patseacruiser]

Luckily I do not know the costs of medical care outside of the US as I have not had to use their services, however, I do know someone that had a heart attack on a cruise in Rome almost 10 years ago and told me that the bill was over $90,000. I could not afford to absorb that $40,000 over the $50,000 medicare would pay.

[jotabecu]

While the Medicare supplement seems to cover, as you point out, bear in mind that the limit is $50,000.

In my particular case, I have an American Express yearly policy that covers an additional $100,000.

I do not insure the trip but I insure my bagagge at a minimal cost, $21 per trip since I have a high deductible in the home policy

[Krazy Kruizers]

We do buy insurance -- and have had to use it a couple of times.

[esther e]

We picked up "something" on an Oceania cruise and needed medical treatment (for me with asthma, on a daily basis). Bottom line, our medical bills from O were $1410, totally and completely covered and refunded by Access America within days of sending in the proper forms from the cruise line.

[airlink diva]

So far on my cruises, I never had the need for insurance.
My travel agent always offers it to me, but I normally decline.
However with my trip next year, I had to purchase insurance for the very first time. Since the vacation policy was changed at work, it's possible that the first half of my cruise may be a problem. I had to purchase insurance that allow me to cancel due to anything,esp with work issues.
I hope to not use it,but it will give me a peace of mind!

[VermeulT]

insurance is a gamble. everyone has to decide what level of risk they find acceptable. lost luggage coverage might not be important to everyone. loss of job? some policies cover you if you are in a car accident on the way to the airport and have to cancel. deaths in the family? all sorts of scenarios come into play.

It is a gamble - one I used to not take... "Insurance is for older folks who are at risk for being unable to travel due to illness, etc"... NOT SO.

I broke my elbow THREE days before my cruise to Panama last January. The Orthopedic doctor in the ER said "did you buy trip insurance" I said "No cause I'm a healthy woman in her late 30's!" Fortunately we were able to postpone my surgery until we returned... had it been more serious - we would have been out many thousands of dollars.
We will never cruise without insurance again.

[kakalina]

Having once been "caught" without insurance we won't cruise without it. Cancellation is necessary in case DH has another heart attack. Medical is necessary in case one or both of us gets sick or injured ( it can and has happened to us before ) and evacuation insurance is as necessary as the medical.
We purchase HAL's platinum coverage and have had no problems with a swift response on claims.
Also, my travel insurance required a denial letter from Medicare when I put in the last claim. I sent Medicare a letter saying I knew they didn't cover it but I needed a denial letter. To my utter surprise I received a check from Medicare for 80% of the charges and travel insurance covered the other 20%. We were on board in the South Pacific so most definitely out of the country. Who knows how the figure out what to pay or not.

[Johanna7]

We Canadians not only pay very high insurance premiums, there was an 8% tax on it as well. Not with the Harmonized tax, it is 13%.

Our last cruise cost is $1,940.40 in insurance incluing the tax. It was just prior to my 70th b/d when we bought it so I was under 70. It would have been so much more as my d/h was over $200 more than mine. We have never collected a penny on all the insurance we have paid.

I will still get insurance but from the US. They do not charge sales tax on top of their premiums, much of the insurance, including from HAL, is not age dependent.

I will buy from the cruise lines as their coverage is okay and you only have to pay it 75 days prior to the cruise for pre existing conditions to be of concern.

[MightyQuinn]

We Canadians not only pay very high insurance premiums, there was an 8% tax on it as well. Not with the Harmonized tax, it is 13%. Our last cruise cost is $1,940.40 in insurance incluing the tax. It was just prior to my 70th b/d when we bought it so I was under 70. Johanna, you may want to check out http://www1.insuremytrip.com/ca.index-1012-0-0-43.html (CA version) for comparative quotes from well known insurers. We've used our preferred Canadian supplier for decades & we buy an all-inclusive plan directly from them. We've insured many high value & lengthy trips & have never paid anywhere near what you mentioned. We're younger than you, so perhaps that accounts for some of the premium difference. But still!

I also think that travel insurance is GST/HST exempt if purchased from an insurance company or thru a TA. We certainly have never paid an additional cost & we've purchased insurance both pre & post HST introduction.

[califgary]

We do the medical evac insurance for sure take our chances on the rest!

[Hlitner]

We make sure we have medical evac and some extra medical coverage which is easy to do via an annual policy through AMEX. Many years ago we realized that trip cancellation did not make a lot of sense for us since we travel about 6 months a year, of which about 2 months are on cruises. Trip cancellation insurance is actually quite expensive when you do a lot of traveling and the liability is limited (unlike medical stuff) so we are willing to accept that risk.

Hank

[iancal]

Like others, we only insure for medical. We self insure for everything else and as I look back over the past 30 years plus of travel I think that we are well ahead of the game. Oddly enough, I did insure once for cancellation and I actually used it because my elderly father had to cancel due to health issues. I might think twice about that if we were taking an extended cruise however our travel habits currently consist of 7-14 day cruises, 7 day all inclusives, and 4-6 week independent land trips which have little cancellation risk.

[kalliekae]

Individual circumstances vary. We always buy insurance since there are health problems that might cause us to cancel a cruise. We would rather spend the $$$ on insurance than lose more money by canceling a cruise. However, one needs to check around for different policies and find the one that meets their needs.

[navybankerteacher]

Travel medical, and especially evacuation insurance, is important because, while unlikely, these expenses, if they do occur, would be devastating if they had to be paid out-of-pocket. On the other hand, trip cancellation insurance is comparable to extended warranty coverage on appliances: you can afford to pay the smaller losses involved; while, if you do the math, regularly buying insurance against every affordable smaller cost will virtually certainly cost you more in the long run than would swallowing the rare actual cost.

[iancal]

I have, in the past, arranged travel insurance for my parents. They NEVER went with cruise line insurance. This was on the recommendation of their travel agent, among others. The reason was fairly straightforward-cost and coverage. They were able to get better coverage from a primary insurer for considerably less money. And on the one occasion when they did claim, the claim was paid in full with no issues whatsoever, within a reasonable amount of time.

[Johanna7]

Johanna, you may want to check out http://www1.insuremytrip.com/ca.index-1012-0-0-43.html (CA version) for comparative quotes from well known insurers. We've used our preferred Canadian supplier for decades & we buy an all-inclusive plan directly from them. We've insured many high value & lengthy trips & have never paid anywhere near what you mentioned. We're younger than you, so perhaps that accounts for some of the premium difference. But still!

I also think that travel insurance is GST/HST exempt if purchased from an insurance company or thru a TA. We certainly have never paid an additional cost & we've purchased insurance both pre & post HST introduction.

Yes, it was bought from the travel agency. The tax when we booked was just the provincial tax of 8% but that was still a lot on the amount. I will check out the insurers you mentioned but am looking for a NON age dependent type and one that covers pre-existing conditions.

In Ontario everything has the HST except prescription meds and a few other items such as prescribed eye glasses but our electricity, gas, etc. all has the new HST tax of 13%.

[Randyk47]

Sometimes we buy insurance sometimes we don't. For instance, our now canceled Med cruise was going to be expensive. Flights, hotels, transfers, tours, and cruise costs were significant. We would have insured that cruise if we'd gone forward but had to drop out because I lost my consulting job which was paying the freight so to speak. We'll probably not insure our March cruise on the Maasdam since it's pretty straight forward. It's a risk, fully understand that. Luckily, and appreciate that can change literally overnight, health is not an issue for us. We have probably one of the smallest families you can have and still say you have relatives, counting my wife and I there are five of us in the whole world. We're the oldest, the rest are in their thirties. Bottom line is that it's a personal decision and not a "tube sock", one size does not fit all.

[Typhoon1]

Don't leave home without it. Despite what others might tell you. It is a must.

[MardiGras316]

We get trip insurance, we have a 6 year old daughter. Regardless if she is traveling with us or not if something happened to her it would be worth it. For about $250 for the three of us on a trip it is peace of mind.

May 2009 I was on the elevator on the Carnival Triumph with an elderly lady, her adult daughter and some of their friends. It seems her elderly husband was having minor chest pains. Now the trip was from Charleston, SC to two spots in the Bahamas and we had only been on the ship about 22 hours, our day at sea. The ship doctor wanted him off the ship as soon as it got to port and he would have to be flown via medical transport back to the US from the Bahamas - $20,000 for a super short plane ride. She was admonishing herself for not getting the trip insurance. She, her husband, and her daughter were all going to be getting off the ship (and loose their money), and then pay the medical flight bill, as well as the ship doctor's bill. Crazy. For a few hundred bucks that all would have been covered.

[parrotfeathers]

I just checked with my health insurance agent and he said my policy covers me anywhere in the world. It would not cover emergency evacuation I don't think. I need to see that in writing for me to believe it. And he also said he had known of instances where Medicare did cover people. He does not know the rhyme or reason for that.

[judy3972]

Don't leave home without it. Despite what others might tell you. It is a must.
Same here

I have, in the past, arranged travel insurance for my parents. They NEVER went with cruise line insurance. This was on the recommendation of their travel agent, among others. The reason was fairly straightforward-cost and coverage. They were able to get better coverage from a primary insurer for considerably less money. And on the one occasion when they did claim, the claim was paid in full with no issues whatsoever, within a reasonable amount of time.
We use insurance from a primary insurer also and they cover preexisting conditions