Trip Insurance question

[pvmeistrel]

We've never taken out trip insurance since most of our trips were shorter and less costly. Now that we are retired, we are scheduled for the 18 day Azamara So. America/Antarctica cruise in January. Our final payment will be due soon. We thought we should probably get trip insurance this time because of the increased cost. When I started reading the information, it appears they expect one to take out the insurance back when we booked the trip last January. Since we had nothing financial at stake, it didn't occur to us to do it then. I am concerned about pre-existing conditions. My mother-in-law is 82 and has had previous heart problems. Does that mean we would not be covered if we had to cancel due to an unexpected crisis in her health? I would appreciate hearing from anyone who has had experience with this sort of thing.

Thanks.

[Host Andy]

We've never taken out trip insurance since most of our trips were shorter and less costly. Now that we are retired, we are scheduled for the 18 day Azamara So. America/Antarctica cruise in January. Our final payment will be due soon. We thought we should probably get trip insurance this time because of the increased cost. When I started reading the information, it appears they expect one to take out the insurance back when we booked the trip last January. Since we had nothing financial at stake, it didn't occur to us to do it then. I am concerned about pre-existing conditions. My mother-in-law is 82 and has had previous heart problems. Does that mean we would not be covered if we had to cancel due to an unexpected crisis in her health? I would appreciate hearing from anyone who has had experience with this sort of thing.

Thanks.

Hi Pvmeistrel !

I strongly recommend trip insurance. My motto is "dont leave home without it". We always take it, and it is worth every penny.

The pre-exisiting conditions is one of the more trickier aspects of Travel insurance. I am pretty sure that Celebrity/Azamara's insurance requires you to take out the insurance within a few days of booking to get pre-existing conditions covered.

I would recommend that you check with your Travel Agent, as there are other companies out there, that you can purchase pre-exisiting coverage at this late date. Another option would be to take a look at www.insuremytrip.com, as this is an excellent website to price many different insurers at the same time.

Have a wonderful time on your Cruise, and Good luck !

[iamtrustworthy]

We've never taken out trip insurance since most of our trips were shorter and less costly. Now that we are retired, we are scheduled for the 18 day Azamara So. America/Antarctica cruise in January. Our final payment will be due soon. We thought we should probably get trip insurance this time because of the increased cost. When I started reading the information, it appears they expect one to take out the insurance back when we booked the trip last January. Since we had nothing financial at stake, it didn't occur to us to do it then. I am concerned about pre-existing conditions. My mother-in-law is 82 and has had previous heart problems. Does that mean we would not be covered if we had to cancel due to an unexpected crisis in her health? I would appreciate hearing from anyone who has had experience with this sort of thing.

Thanks.

Hi pvmeistrel,

The part of the pre-existing conditions coverage you'll want to be sure to understand is the definition of "Medically Stable".

Medically Stable includes the idea that nothing is foreseen or expected to "be a turn for the worse". In other words, if you're given a week to live (yet medically able to travel) and you want to buy travel insurance for a cruise next month, you can't cover the Pre-Existing Condition. It's like wanting to buy Fire Insurance when your house is on fire.

In your case your mother-in-law needs to be Medically Stable when you buy your insurance.

Go to www.google.com (http://www.google.com) & search this term: "Medically Stable" - you'll find some helpful info there.

I hope this helps.

[cujosmom]

Check out CSA Travel Protection's Freestyle Luxe. This plan will cover pre-existing conditions if you buy it within 24 hours of FINAL PAYMENT.

We took this policy out right before final payment. We knew there might be "pre-existing medical issues" if we needed to cancel at the last minute and sure enough, 3 days prior to our sail date, dh had to have emergency surgery and we had to cancel. We were reimbursed totally. He WAS physically able to sail when final payment was made (doctor agreed) or we would not have made that final payment. But this plan did save us a bunch of money that we would have otherwise lost.

[amusea]

Check out CSA Travel Protection's Freestyle Luxe. This plan will cover pre-existing conditions if you buy it within 24 hours of FINAL PAYMENT.

We took this policy out right before final payment. We knew there might be "pre-existing medical issues" if we needed to cancel at the last minute and sure enough, 3 days prior to our sail date, dh had to have emergency surgery and we had to cancel. We were reimbursed totally. He WAS physically able to sail when final payment was made (doctor agreed) or we would not have made that final payment. But this plan did save us a bunch of money that we would have otherwise lost.

I like CSA as a travel insurance company but their Freestyle Luxe policy is more expensive than most. Please also check out HTH travel insurance, either on their own site or on <insuremytrip.com>. Both their "Trip Protector" and "Trip Protector Preferred" policies allow you to book insurance until final payment and still be eligible for the pre-existing waiver. I would feel very uncomfortable without the waiver, especially if you are insuring an elderly person who has any history of medical
problems. I just booked HTH Trip Protector for my 36 day South America and Antarctic cruises next Feb. I was able to put both cruises on one policy and the policy includes the pre-existing waiver which takes away any ambiguity about prior illnesses. If you want very comprehensive coverage at a higher price the CSA Freestyle Luxe is an excellent plan. When I was hospitalized in Norway a few years ago I had CSA and they were extremely helpful and responsive.

[Hebe]

We use HTH and it can be paid up to 24 hours after final payment. While we have not had to file a medical claim --friends have and have not had any problems.

[Jancruz]

I 2nd Host Andy,
Check out Insuremytrip,com that is the best place to find the insurance you need..
Jan
*************

[pvmeistrel]

Thanks everyone for the fine advice. I will check out them out. I wasn't clear about my mother-in-law. She will not be travelling with us. However, if her health fails during the trip, we would want to return to the States to be with her.

[bigreckster]

I also recommend going to insuremytrip.com. We've used Travelex through them often and when our Millie cruise in July was cancelled they even allowed us to transfer the insurance to a rescheduled cruise in March as well as refund the difference in cost of the insurance premium. That was totally unexpected and appreciated! With parents ages 90 and 86 at home, we never do a cruise without insurance. The cost is more than offset by the peace-of-mind and you just can't take a chance on a last minute cancellation resulting in losing many thousands of dollars.

[pvmeistrel]

I went to InsureMyTrip.com and immediately have questions...

For the total price per person: I did not include air fare since for a small fee we can get a credit (to be used within a year). However, we are planning a post trip to Iguazu Falls after the cruise that is pre-paid (just under $1800). Do we include that with the cruise cost or do we have to insure that separately? If we include it, which description of the trip type do we select: cruise or other?

Does the medical limit refer to how much we want insured for ourselves during the trip?

Finally, when I entered the information I got a long list of quotes. At the bottom were an additional long list of notes. Most of them said "No Trip Cancellation, Baggage, or Medical Coverage Provided" or "trip cancellation not provided". If that means what I think it means, what is the insurance good for? I'm now totally confused.

[Jancruz]

My suggestion would be call the company that you feel fits your needs best..they are the best people to explain all of this to you..I use Access America (owned by Amex).. when my husband had a heart attack as we disembarked in Florida in 2005 our bills were over 3 million dollars and they picked up everything our other companies didnt and also flew us home on a private jet with 2 pilots, 2 doctors, 1 nurse and myself..he was in a coma at the time..
Jan
*************

I went to InsureMyTrip.com and immediately have questions...

For the total price per person: I did not include air fare since for a small fee we can get a credit (to be used within a year). However, we are planning a post trip to Iguazu Falls after the cruise that is pre-paid (just under $1800). Do we include that with the cruise cost or do we have to insure that separately? If we include it, which description of the trip type do we select: cruise or other?

Does the medical limit refer to how much we want insured for ourselves during the trip?

Finally, when I entered the information I got a long list of quotes. At the bottom were an additional long list of notes. Most of them said "No Trip Cancellation, Baggage, or Medical Coverage Provided" or "trip cancellation not provided". If that means what I think it means, what is the insurance good for? I'm now totally confused.

[Host Sheila]

Another good site to try is tripinsurancestore.com. I've had very good results and had all of my questions answered promptly and completely. About to use them again for my next trip.

[amusea]

The telephone agents at the travel insurance companies are very helpful so I agree that you should call them with your questions. I did that a few days ago with HTH because my flights are with frequent flyer miles. I was told I did not have to include them since they were basically refundable for a very small fee. However, shore excursions need to be included in the total cost of the coverage since they are not refundable. Conditions can vary with each insurance company so get the questions together and give them a call. You also can access each insurance company online and sometimes you can get more comprehensive information from the individual travel insurance company sites.