Travel insurance

[Cruising Jake]

I usually don't buy it, but am considering it for my November cruise. I would like some help. What kind do you usually buy? Do you buy it through your travel agent, cruise line or online?

[Krazy Kruizers]

Access America - we have been pleased with them.

Had to submit a claim 1 couple of years ago when DH's mother died 7 days before a cruise.

Also friends of ours were in Singapore on a 72 day cruise when she was hospitalized with pneumonia for a couple of weeks. They were also pleased with the way everything was handled.

[FlorenceItaly]

CJ - I encourage you to purchase it. For my cruise last week on the Veendam, I did NOT purchase it...(trying to cut expenses, since cruising so much)...and lo and behold, I had to see the doctor for a condition(not contagious) and be prescribed antibiotics. I will NOT cruise again without insurance. Lucky for me, it was not an expensive lesson learned.

Marie

[sail7seas]

We do not buy travel insurance because:

1) Our regular health insurance covers us out of our regular service area ....anywhere both domestic and internationally.

2) We have AmEx Platinum which includes emergency medical evacuation coverage.

3) We are willing to self insure for the price of the cruise if we need to cancel for some reason.

4) Most usually our air tickets are fully refundable.

[Cruising Jake]

I have Amex Platinum. I did not realize it covered anything.

[elmorejj]

We always purchase Insurance since my husband has a lot of ailments (thank you Viet Nam!!) We buy Berkely through AAA. I have three medical insurances but none of them offer coverage outside of the country. We were in San Juan once, a night prior to a cruise and my sister died in the UK. I had to get back to the mainland and then to England. The cruise line and airline and hotel were wonderful in getting me out of there and I was fully re imbursed for everything. On another occasion, our flight was cancelled and therefor couldn`t use our pre night hotel stay and again was fully reinbursed.
I would never sail without some kind of insurance....jean :cool:

[sail7seas]

I have Amex Platinum. I did not realize it covered anything.

You may wish to look into it. AmEx Platinum's Emergency Medical Evacuation Coverage is a wonderful benefit. If we did not have that coverage as a benefit of membership, we definitely would write other travel insurance just to have that coverage. That could run into many tens of thousands of dollars if one of us needs to be taken off a ship while at sea or repatriated from who knows where.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Sail7seas

We have the Am Ex Plat card - have a question.

Our health care insurance covers nothing if we leave our area - nothing.

Does the Am Ex cover visits to the ship's doctor?

Does it cover visits to, say, for example, San Diego, Ft Lauderdale?

[mhshapiro]

For most people travel insurance is an excellent idea. Particularly if your health insurance does not cover you outside the US, and you don't have something like AmEx Platinum (expensive) that covers emergency evacuation if necessary for health reasons (this can cost upwards of $50, 000 in some more remote locations).

Note that Medicare by itself does not cover health expenses outside the U.S. although a supplement to Medicare policy may cover you.

We always buy the insurance, and we had to use it once when I had an illness just days before a scheduled cruise.

Access America or TravelGuard are good choices. If you have preexisting conditions, make sure that you choose the option that covers them.

[Orcrone]

Cruising Jake,

Check http://www.insuremytrip.com. It will give you a comparison of coverages from many different companies.

[dakrewser]

2) We have AmEx Platinum which includes emergency medical evacuation coverage.You've mentioned this before and I keep meaning to ask about it, so this time I will.

I tend to throw away the monthly invitation to sign up for the platinum card, but after seeing you state this some time ago, I checked the benefits in the letter as well as on the platinum web site and while they mention AD&D coverage, baggage coverage and rental car coverage there's no mention of med evac coverage. Could you, briefly, outline what they cover, under which circumstances and what the limits are? Thanks,

-dave

[imsulin]

4) Most usually our air tickets are fully refundable.[/QUOTE]

Sail7Seas - what kind of air tickets do you get that are "most usually fully refundable"?? I'd be really interested to know!! Thanks.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Sail7seas

Several of us have had questions the last few hours.

Please answer.

[dakrewser]

Sail7seas

Several of us have had questions the last few hours.

Please answer.

Sail's last post was that she was on the way out of the house, so it may be tomorrow before she gets back. I think we should allow her to have a "real life", don't you? :)

-dave

[dakrewser]

4) Most usually our air tickets are fully refundable.
Sail7Seas - what kind of air tickets do you get that are "most usually fully refundable"?? I'd be really interested to know!! Thanks.[/QUOTE]
First class/Business class/Full Fare?

-dave

[sail7seas]

Sail7Seas - what kind of air tickets do you get that are "most usually fully refundable"?? I'd be really interested to know!! Thanks.[/QUOTE]First class/Business class/Full Fare?

-dave



Yes, First Class Tickets.

[sail7seas]

I do not have an Am Ex Platinum 'handbook' at the moment that I can reference for exact verbage.

But.....We have verified on no fewer than three occasions that, were one of us to become seriously ill, would Am Ex provide air evacuation and cover the cost of same. The answer is YES....If you notify them of the emergency, they arrange whatever is necessary including sending along nurse and/or doctors as needed.

I then verified it with a GRM on HAL ship. My question was: "When you have to deal with a pax being airlifted from the ship and they have insurance coverage, which is the one you are happiest to hear they wrote with?" The response was: "I am happiest to know they have Am Ex Platinumn coverage as we have never had any problem with them when we needed to have someone lifted from the ship."


As to whether they pay plain, ordinary medical bills incurred while you are traveling, I am not absolutely positive but I am almost sure the answser is No.
If you were to have an accident and need to see the ship's doctor, I do not think AmEx would cover that.

We have never had an occasion to seek medical treatment while traveling (very most thankfully) anything more extensive than needing a refill for a sinus infection med. My DH was finishing up one course of the med he usually took when we boarded a ship and he knew he needed another course prescribed for him. We went to the ship's doctor who took care of him. We simply paid that bill and never sought reimbursement from anywhere.

[dakrewser]

I do not have an Am Ex Platinum 'handbook' at the moment that I can reference for exact verbage.
I emailed Amex and just got their reply:

"Medical Evacuation—If an accident should happen, the Premium Global Assist medical department will assess the need for transportation to the nearest appropriate medical facility that will provide a suitable quality of care, and coordinate the transport. American Express will pay for the cost of the transport to the nearest medical facility."

It's only available to Platinum and Centurion card holders. I just filled out the acceptance form. :)

[sail7seas]

Sorry.....meant to add:

As to limits of coverage for evacuation, I do not believe they set a fixed sum limit. I believe that they, in concert with medical staff wherever you are receiving emergency treatment, coordinate what is necessary to get you to a facility capable of treating you properly or home....



BTW.....Dave......


Thank you for noticing I commented I was on my way out. DH and I went for a wonderful steamed lobster dinner. It was great!!!! :) A wonderful Maine hardshell lobster sure beats those previously frozen South African tails they serve on the ships.

[sail7seas]

I emailed Amex and just got their reply:

"Medical Evacuation—If an accident should happen, the Premium Global Assist medical department will assess the need for transportation to the nearest appropriate medical facility that will provide a suitable quality of care, and coordinate the transport. American Express will pay for the cost of the transport to the nearest medical facility."

It's only available to Platinum and Centurion card holders. I just filled out the acceptance form. :)

Thanks,Dave. But, what concerns me in that verbage is 'accident'. I specifically inquired from them as to 'illness or injury' and was informed either is covered. I think I may need to request an updated Member's Handbook from them.


When I was researching this topic with Am Ex, I asked what if either of us had a heart attack while traveling and they assured me we would be airlifted as necessary. That in conjunction with the 'practical application' that GRM could share with me made me feel very comfortable about this coverage.

[gizmo]

I emailed Amex and just got their reply:

It's only available to Platinum and Centurion card holders. I just filled out the acceptance form. :)We purchase the insurance policy from Amex. It is a yearly policy. :)

[sail7seas]

Does it cover medical expenses?

Trip cancellation?
Trip interruption?

Bankruptcy of providers?

What is the name of the policy?

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks for the information.

Would love to know about that Amex policy that gizmo mentioned and what all it covers.

[FlorenceItaly]

Thanks for the information.

Would love to know about that Amex policy that gizmo mentioned and what all it covers.


I would too. We do have an Amex Platinum, but from what I gather on this board, there are two types of Platinum's..is that correct...I believe our annual fee is over $100, exact amount escapes me, but they send us a companion ticket yearly to compensate for the fee.

Marie

[elmorejj]

Marie, that sounds like the Delta Skymiles Platinum AMEX card. Its the regular platinum that costs $300 or more a year that gives the travel bennies....jean :cool:

[iluvcruzin]

I was curious after reading S7S's mention of the Amex Platinum Benefit for med. evac. so I looked into it. She is correct. The benefit is a 24-hour emergency referral program called Premium Global Assist. It does cover as noted for medical evacuation. This is not a medical insurance plan but covers the transportation from one inadquate facility to one that is adaquate at their discression. One must call them for assistance as they will not reimburse if you (or the ship) makes the arrangements. This benefit (making the arrangements for med. evac.) is available to ALL Amex card holders - however the reimbursement portion is a benefit of the Platinum members. A seperate policy for travel/medical insurance would need to be purchased to cover medical evac if not a Platinum card holder. If anyone has specific questions the direct # is 1-800-333-2639

As far as travel insurance (Vacation Protection), from what I've learned through phone calls is this can be purchased and is not a benefit of Platinum members but a convience for all Amex card holders. When calling about this I discovered Access America handles the policies.

I have debated if Platinum benefits of $395 annual fee is worth the amount to me. So far I haven't been able to justify it for my needs.

[sail7seas]

Thanks for your very helpful post, Maureen.

You get a $150 pp (maximum $300 per cabin) shipboard credit for almost every cruise. There are a few times we have not gotten it but just about 95% of the time we do. If you cruise just once a year, a husband and wife/friend/SO get $300......covers a good deal of the membership fee all by itself. Seeing as we cruise alot, it is very much worth it to us.

There are so many other benefits including Concierge, Fine Dining, Shoppers Assist etc


Each decides for themselves if they get enough from it, but we absolutely do.




I am still hoping that Gizmo will come back and answer everyone's question about what she mentioned but gave no details. We'll have to wait and see. Maybe she is simply busy today?

[iluvcruzin]

I hope you use that Limosine service too s7s. And the free companion first class ticket if you fly one of the sponsored airlines for international travel. The one for Austrialia would more than pay for the annual fee. Maybe in 2006 (the year I'm planning to go there) I'll consider upgrading.

[sail7seas]

We haven't used the Limousine Service but we surely have used the companion air tickets for European flights.

[FlorenceItaly]

Yes, jean, you are right it is the Delta Skymiles Platinum Amex. My mind is still in Alaska, LOL...not thinking straight lately.

Marie

[Susie51]

I didn't think travel insurance was covering the air portion of the trip.

I have used Travel Guard in the past.

[iluvcruzin]

Susie - you can include air travel with your travel insurance (including travel guard). Just add the expected amount you would spend on the flight when you set the coverage amount. If using Frequent Flyer points, include an amount for a regular full fare.

[peaches from georgia]

From my experience your premium will be calculated on whatever figure you give the insurance company as to the cost of your trip, but if you submit a claim you also have to submit proof of actual out-of-pocket cash payments made for your travel expenses and that is all you are going to be reimbursed. When we submitted a claim for a cancelled cruise we had to send complete verification of everything we had actually paid (proof of our invoice from HAL showing payment and also our credit card statement showing the charge.)

You might list the regular full fare for your flight, but you would then have to prove you paid that out in cash before insurance would reimburse you, would you not? So why pay a higher premium by saying your actual expenses paid were higher than they were, if you can't collect some of that amount?

[jhannah]

Peaches is correct. You will have to document your claim. There is no need to over-estimate. In fact, I just received a partial refund on my insurance because I lowered my trip cost coverage. I had gotten a price reduction nearly two months after I purchased the insurance. Therefore, I didn't need the coverage. In addition, I undershot it by about $500 total cost per person because 1) my airline tickets can be transferred to other flights with payment of a fee, and 2) that acts as a sort of deductible. I'm willing to absorb a little in return for a lower premium.

[sail7seas]

You might list the regular full fare for your flight, but you would then have to prove you paid that out in cash before insurance would reimburse you, would you not? So why pay a higher premium by saying your actual expenses paid were higher than they were, if you can't collect some of that amount?

When HAL changed their travel insurance system some years ago, we stopped buying it. It used to be a moderate amount and one would recover the amount they paid if they cancelled. HAL now forces you to buy coverage predicated upon the full book value of the cruise even though no one actually pays that amount. If the brochure says your trip is worth $7,000 but you only paid $5,000....the premium is predicated upon the $7,000. So you pay a higher premium than if calculated upon the actual amount you paid.

But if you have to cancel and you put in a claim, you will only collect based on the amount you paid for the cruise....$7,000. How in the world can they justify charging premium and making you buy more insurance than you can ever collect?

We would never buy their coverage.

[Georgia]

I would never be without travel insurance. I have had to cancel 2 cruises for health reasons and the insurance has paid on each of them. We have Travelex recently since that is what the dialysis cruise line uses. We took several cruises early in our cruising experience without insurance and had no difficulties. However, if there is someone ill in your family or you have health problems yourself, it is taking a chance to go without the insurance.

Georgia