The Value of Cruise Insurance

I suggest you contact Trip Insurance Store https://tripinsurancestore.com/ and explain your situation. I've used them numerous times and always get excelllent service and advice.

Yes, call Steve and his crew at TripInsuranceStore.com

Don't waste time reading all the policy summaries.

Your needs are very specific (as are most insurance needs), so tell them what your concerns are, and they'll suggest the suitable options.

We've had TravelInsured, with waiver of the pre-existing condition exclusion and also CFAR.

However, the CFAR will only pay 75%.

(There are some cruise policies that will give a *cruise credit* of 90%, but we strongly prefer to insure with a 3rd party insurer.)

Good luck.

Another suggestion to call tripinsurancestore and talk to either Steve or one of the reps, they are all a wealth of information and will work with you to get the best policy/coverage for your situation;)

The thing about any insurance is that one needs to consider their own risk tolerance, financial situation, and overall circumstances. It is not a one product fits all kind of thing :). For example, DW and I travel an awful lot and will often be out of the country 6-7 months a year with 70-100 of those days on cruises. If we were to purchase trip cancellation insurance it would cost us many thousands of dollars per year! So for over forty years of extensive travel we have not purchased trip cancellation insurance and figure we are ahead by much more then $100,000 at this point in time. On the other hand, we think having decent medical and evacuation coverage is very important because your medical liability is virtually unlimited! Ironically, cruise line policies usually do a horrible job with their medical coverage (often limited to $10,000 or less). Our choice has been to simply purchase an ANNUAL travel med policy (ours is currently issued by GeoBlue) which provides us with $250,000 of medical coverage and $500,000 of trip evacuation coverage (a con since $100,000 would be more then enough). But our annual policy only costs us (2 Seniors) about $450 a year and covers the first 70 days of every trip we take throughout an entire year!

I like to post our situation just to get folks thinking about....."what needs do you have" instead of just buying what others tell you is good. So, first assess your personal needs and then shop around for the best product that meets those needs.

Hank

The largest potential financial hit you can have is the evacuation portion. Getting from the ship to a shore side medical facility is not commonly a cost as if done via helicopter it is almost always some branch of gov't and there is not charge. Getting from the land based hospital home can be a fortune.

Figure about $200,000 from the far east to the US. A couple of years ago we organized one from the US to India and the cost to the family was $250,000. For most of us this would be cost prohibitive. Also, many evacuation policies only cover the cost to fly you to the nearest facility that can provide the care needed. So...........if on a cruise to the South Pacific you could end up in New Zealand or Australia as it is closer than the US. Even if flown from that region to the US it would be to a West coast based hospital, even if you live in NY.

There are come companies that offer annual evacuation insurance and allow you to choose where you want to be flown.

The largest potential financial hit you can have is the evacuation portion. Getting from the ship to a shore side medical facility is not commonly a cost as if done via helicopter it is almost always some branch of gov't and there is not charge. Getting from the land based hospital home can be a fortune.

 

Figure about $200,000 from the far east to the US. A couple of years ago we organized one from the US to India and the cost to the family was $250,000. For most of us this would be cost prohibitive. Also, many evacuation policies only cover the cost to fly you to the nearest facility that can provide the care needed. So...........if on a cruise to the South Pacific you could end up in New Zealand or Australia as it is closer than the US. Even if flown from that region to the US it would be to a West coast based hospital, even if you live in NY.

 

There are come companies that offer annual evacuation insurance and allow you to choose where you want to be flown.

So let us have some full disclosure. The "Cadillac" of evacuation plans is probably the one sold by Medjetassist. It is a great plan, but probably not the best option (from a cost point of view) for a one time cruiser or somebody that is simply going to the Caribbean or Alaska. And keep in mind that this plan ONLY covers evac and has no other medical coverage.

Hank

People are speaking like cancellation and medical insurance are one and the same. They are not. You may purchase one exclusively from the other. The cost of a medical policy is typically a fraction of the cost of a comprehensive policy (that includes both cancellation and medical). The OP clearly had a policy that covered trip cancellation and probably cost between 5% and 7% of the cost of the cruise fare.

Hi interesting thread and some very valid points made. Just to cross link a similar thread that may be more appropriate for Aussie CC members at http://boards.cruisecritic.com.au/showpost.php?p=49598067&postcount=24. IMHO travelling without cruise insurance is just plain dumb, as the relative cost of outlay to the cost of the cruise is in the order of single digit percentage, but in the worse case a helo evac to a foreign med service then this could change to a fraction of a percent!

Hi interesting thread and some very valid points made. Just to cross link a similar thread that may be more appropriate for Aussie CC members at http://boards.cruisecritic.com.au/showpost.php?p=49598067&postcount=24. IMHO travelling without cruise insurance is just plain dumb, as the relative cost of outlay to the cost of the cruise is in the order of single digit percentage, but in the worse case a helo evac to a foreign med service then this could change to a fraction of a percent!

This is just hysteria. I have traveled all over the world without travel medical insurance and don't see the need for it. I have been to China 10 times and Europe another 10 times without purchasing insurance. I have traipsed through jungles in Laos and Vietnam. No insurance. Health care in Europe is perfectly fine as it is in China's biggest cities. I can get reimbursed from my health insurance carrier when I return home. I guess (How often does that happen?) I could get air lifted off a cruise ship and have a huge bill. Of course, that can happen anywhere in the world. I would argue that the chance of needing to get air lifted from a cruise ship is about the same as needing it from my annual visit to Yellowstone. I honestly see insurance as a scam created by the 1% to get rich off the backs of the poor.

This is just hysteria. I have traveled all over the world without travel medical insurance and don't see the need for it. I have been to China 10 times and Europe another 10 times without purchasing insurance. I have traipsed through jungles in Laos and Vietnam. No insurance. Health care in Europe is perfectly fine as it is in China's biggest cities. I can get reimbursed from my health insurance carrier when I return home. I guess (How often does that happen?) I could get air lifted off a cruise ship and have a huge bill. Of course, that can happen anywhere in the world. I would argue that the chance of needing to get air lifted from a cruise ship is about the same as needing it from my annual visit to Yellowstone. I honestly see insurance as a scam created by the 1% to get rich off the backs of the poor.

Thank you for your HO.

You apparently missed the bit in my post re appropriateness 'for Aussie CC members' who unlike our Northern American counterparts are unable by law to use their Aussie Health Insurance overseas on re-imbursement or otherwise! In fact, depending on their length of travel OS and their policy provider, Australians may be able to get their domestic health cover suspended for the duration they are OS. So for an Australian cruiser the cost of a comprehensive cruise travel insurance (including full medical coverage, evac, helo, loss of income, cancellation costs, stateroom confinement, luggage loss, formal wear delay... etc etc, yada, yada, yada) may be as little as AUD$50 for a 12 night cruise - actual cost for my next trip including medical pre-existing hypertension etc) against a cruise/travel cost of about AUD$7000pp or about 0.007% of total travel cost. So I am quite happy (or hysterical as you put it) to pay it.

Like you I have travelled all over the world, both with work and leisure and in some particularly hairy places too. I have also lived OS, again not always in first world countries and count myself extremely lucky in not having ever had to make a claim or have something untoward happen to me. It is all about peace of mind, and for AUD$50 (about US$38) or the price for one days basic drink package, I know can sleep well at night on my cruise.

Also tripinsurancestore.com

Also, this comparison site shows side by side insurance providers' coverages and pricing. http://travel-insurance-review.toptenreviews.com/

Travel insurance is a relatively small % of your cruise cost so get it. If you dont use it, that is the good news.