Why we should consider trip insurance

The topic of whether or not to buy trip insurance regularly comes up on the CC boards. There are never any shortage of people who express the "I never buy trip insurance and never will; with what I have saved, I can go on another cruise every couple of years".

Except when insurance is the law e.g. car insurance, buying coverage becomes an issue of your comfort level with risk. But here's the other side of that topic as related by my neighbor who was on an RCL cruise (Serenade) a few months ago.

While on the cruise out of NOLA, he became ill and was eventually diagnosed by the ship's medical staff with pneumonia (and related complications). He spent two full days being treated at the on board medical facility; all the while he is pretty much out of it. The ship made an unscheduled stop in south Florida and he is transferred to a hospital there for another 9 days in ICU. RCL charges his credit card for about $5,000 for the care he received on board.

During the 9 days in the Florida hospital, his wife stays with him of course and needs a hotel for the time. She also incurs other expenses while there for food, transportation etc.

Remember the cruise departed from NOLA and even after about 11 days, he still can't fly commercial so he needs to be flown back to NOLA on a dedicated medical flight; cost $19,000.

So far the incremental expenses of this incident - onboard medical cost, spouse's living expenses, unused cruise cost and the flight will all be covered by the trip insurance. The other actual medical cost are being coordinated through the primary and secondary underwriters of his heath care provider and the travel insurance provider. He told me he purchased the trip policy through AAA and the cost was only several hundred dollars.

While this happened on RCL, it could happen on any cruise line and I am positive that all have pretty much identical policies. I am also aware that there is a separate board for insurance topics but I felt that relating this story to a broader audience was important. Since it involved an RCL ship, I simply chose to post here.

Often people think of insurance as only covering the risk exposure in case you have to cancel; in my opinion this is far less important than the protection offered for the cost of medical care, evacuation and other expenses related to a medical incident. If this unfortunately happens, it can put a serious bite on your savings; is that something to put at risk?

When I purchase a policy, I self insurer for a larger portion of the trip cost to help manage my premium since age and trip cost are the major drivers of the policy cost.

Travel healthy and safe.

Good post, thank you. We buy insurance on cruises for just such reasons. It isn't because we "might have to cancel and lose the trip cost". We don't buy it for travel in the US.

We'll be in Reno/Tahoe soon and will likely spend the cost of cruise trip insurance on a nice steak dinner in one night. I don't mind spending 150.00 on trip insurance once or twice a year:)

For those who swear they'll never buy it, they'll wish they had if something like what happened to your friend comes along................

I used to work in a travel insurance claims department the medical bills I have seen from customers who fell ill whilst on a cruise ship would make anyone's eyes water! I would never go on a holiday without travel insurance!

The latest thing is to go right to news stations to go after the wicked cruise lines and then start a Go Fund Me / Facebook page to beg (panhandle) for money when you don't elect to take insurance.

Before purchasing travel insurance, it's always wise to check and see what existing coverage you might have from your current health insurance or from other sources (such as a credit card that you use). No need to over-insure unnecessarily.

Then there are the ones who say they are young and healthy. Nope, nothing would ever happen to them.;)

Anyone who travels without travel insurance is just plain stupid. Insurance is exactly that, insurance. Hopefully you'll never need to use it, but you just may and when you do you'll be glad you have it.

There are 2 different aspects to the travel insurance. Medical coverage and trip cancellation beforehand.

I can buy a medical insurance policy that covers out of country travel multiple trips of up to 15 days that is valid for the year for the 4 of us for $175. It would be crazy not to travel without this. As someone who has been hospitalized suddenly and racked up over a $250,000 hospital bill in Canada (fully covered) I cannot fathom travelling without insurance.

We do not buy trip cancellation insurance. Prices I have received were over $500 per trip. We don't fly and always arrive at our destination early so there is not much chance of missing the ship. If something ever did happen with what we have saved we have covered the cost of that trip.

We always travel with insurance:)

In 2012 we were cruising on NAV from Nola, and my husband got real sick, on the second day;

He stayed at the medical facilities, on the ship for about 30 hours and then he was transferred to a hospital in Montego Bay (Jamaica)

Make long story short: for 89$ travel insurance each, we saved 24,000$ in medical expenses!

Anyone who travels without travel insurance is just plain stupid. Insurance is exactly that, insurance.

Anyone who thinks they know what is best for "everyone" is just plain stupid.

The problem around here is "travel insurance" means a lot of different things, and people throw the term around interchangeably.

If you want to take judgmental know-it-all advice from someone like besberry, have at it. But here is what I suggest:

First: Determine what you are concerned about:

Are you concerned about having to cancel and losing the cost of the trip? Then look into cancellation coverage. For some, this is critical, as they might have saved for a long time to afford the trip, and the thought of losing out is too much. For others, it is also feasible to conclude that the recurring cost of cancellation coverage is not a wise investment. This is a PERSONAL decision, and there is no "one size fits all" answer.

Second: Determine what you ALREADY have for medical coverage:

A lot of people here will say things like "Health insurance doesn't cover you overseas". Please DO NOT take the word of a complete stranger... Contact your insurance company and ask SPECIFICALLY what coverage is provided and how. Many people are surprised to discover they already have fairly substantial overseas/international coverage. Others might find out they are lacking. Only once you KNOW what you already have, can you make a decision about what you need.

Third: Of you have coverage already, look into HOW the coverage is provided. In most instances, it is a reimbursement model. So yes, you might have to put a hefty bill on your credit card and submit to the insurance company for reimbursement. Some people can endure a significant expense, knowing it's a short term liability. Others might determine that is unreasonable and will look for other alternatives.

Fourth: Look into medical transport coverage. If something happens, what will your current insurance cover? What do you want? Perhaps a transport policy is for you. Personally, this is what I have. I travel frequently and but three year worldwide coverage through MedJetAssist, rather than cover each episode of travel.

I think it is a move of great folly to disregard this issue completely, and travel not knowing what you are or are not already carrying. But it is also STUPID to simply assume you are better off buying "the insurance" (whatever that means), without due diligence.

I have used the onboard doctors twice and BCBS paid for it both times. We have only done insurance a couple of times. Either a TA or a Med cruise. I guess we self insure for the most part. Things may change as we age, but it works for us now.

As always, YMMV

I have used the onboard doctors twice and BCBS paid for it both times. We have only done insurance a couple of times. Either a TA or a Med cruise. I guess we self insure for the most part. Things may change as we age, but it works for us now.

As always, YMMV

Careful! besberry will be back to call you "stupid" any minute now!:rolleyes:

Careful! besberry will be back to call you "stupid" any minute now!:rolleyes:

Bring it on. :rolleyes:

Nope, not going to call anyone stupid on here. Just to say that I've had to cancel a trip to Cuba (family bereavement) and insurance paid out and that I know of someone who was taken ill on a cruise. She was hospitalised in Malta and then flown home in a private medical plane. I don't know about you, but I know my credit card wouldn't have paid up for that. The insurance company paid and organised it all. BTW, she's OK.

We have always purchased travel insurance thru our TA affiliated with a major travel club.

Yup we used it..........thankfully not for a health reason, but for a Hurricaine.

We were in Disney on a land vacation when the storm took direct aim on Disney World.

We were at the Wilderness Lodge when all hell broke out.

The resort took in all the guest from the campgrounds but what really caught our attention was when they handed out emergency packets with flashlights and first aid supplies and then came the National Guard.

The Hurricaine hit fast and furious and we were in a suite that over-looked bay lake, we were quickly relocated to a stair well, and DH opened one of the doors and we saw the sideways rain.

The next morning, all flights out of Orlando were cancelled for three days (airport suffered damage).

We got the last rental car at Disney and I was on the phone trying to get thru to anyone to get a flight home....(we opted to electively drive to Tampa).

Could not get thru to anyone, United, Orlando international or Tampa.

So I called my brother and he booked us online on a flight leaving Tampa at 4:30 to Atlanta to Pittsburgh.

But traffic was bumper to bumper and we were still miles away from Tampa at 3:30 and knew we would not make it.

So on a whim I called Pittsburgh international and explained to the operator what was going on and she connected me to a talking person at United.

They said we just added on a non-stop flight from Tampa to Pittsburgh leaving at 6:30 ..and she changed our reservation to that.

We arrived at Tampa, had time for a snack, and our non-stop flight left before the 4:30 flight because bad weather was in the Atlanta area.

Ok

We were reimbursed for

Lost Disney Day Hotel and food

Disney park hopper pass

air-line change fee

Hardship...........yup hardship, dont know how but we got $$$

Insurance would not cover the rental car, because they said we could have stayed 3 more days in Disney and they would have paid for that:eek:

We filed our claim and within two weeks we had our check.

It covered more than we thought it would.

Sorry winded story, but it says it all.

I guess I'm stupid since I don't ever get the travel insurance. [emoji17]

Always get it, have not used it, BUT the one time that I will need it, it will pay for all those times plus more that I didn't use it.

I wouldn't think of calling you stupid seeing as how you beat me to it.:) Hopefully you never have a need for medical coverage.:)

We never leave home with out it!

***

It never fails on this site. Good posts seem to revolve into who's stupid, not stupid, cheap, not cheap, etc., etc., etc. Thanks for the info. Our preference is to buy it. It has paid for an extended stay in FL when no flights were going out because of storms and hopefully our recent cancellation due to a nontraveling family member illness. We're not paranoid but you never know when the unexpected will creep up on you.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

To lighten the mood a little, here's a little travel insurance story. A couple years ago we were buying airline tickets online to Florida. At the purchase screen AirTran offered us "travel insurance" for 20.00 give or take. I've never bought it from an airline like that before or since but figured what the hell it's only 20.00.

Turns out we had the trip from hell coming home - massive blizzards etc etc. Ended up renting a car and driving home from Atlanta to Michigan. That travel insurance paid our car rental costs, hotels, food, etc. to the tune of over 500.00. Guess it was worth the 20.00:D:)

I've never even considered trip cancellation as a reason for travel insurance.

Here in Europe, I'm covered in a few different ways.

1. I have an EHIC card which covers me for standard public healthcare in other EU countries. This is free - you just apply to your local health centre and the card lasts a few years.

2. My medical insurance covers me for something like 90-100 days a year out of the country, as long as no individual trip is more than 30/31 days (would have to check the policy, but it's not a limit I ever reach.

3. I pay about €35 a year for world wide travel insurance that covers everything else - lost/stolen/delayed belongings, new flights/hotels, the cost of getting a new passport/driving license, the additional cost of keeping pets in kennels if you get delayed, a daily amount of €50 if you're hijacked!! There's also a large personal liability amount, as well as legal advice/expenses and a bunch of other things.

I'm only paying about €35 above what I'd be paying out anyway, so it's a no brainer. US travel insurance seems to be a lot more expensive.

Anyone who thinks they know what is best for "everyone" is just plain stupid.

 

 

 

The problem around here is "travel insurance" means a lot of different things, and people throw the term around interchangeably.

 

 

 

If you want to take judgmental know-it-all advice from someone like besberry, have at it. But here is what I suggest:

 

 

 

First: Determine what you are concerned about:

 

 

 

Are you concerned about having to cancel and losing the cost of the trip? Then look into cancellation coverage. For some, this is critical, as they might have saved for a long time to afford the trip, and the thought of losing out is too much. For others, it is also feasible to conclude that the recurring cost of cancellation coverage is not a wise investment. This is a PERSONAL decision, and there is no "one size fits all" answer.

 

 

 

Second: Determine what you ALREADY have for medical coverage:

 

 

 

A lot of people here will say things like "Health insurance doesn't cover you overseas". Please DO NOT take the word of a complete stranger... Contact your insurance company and ask SPECIFICALLY what coverage is provided and how. Many people are surprised to discover they already have fairly substantial overseas/international coverage. Others might find out they are lacking. Only once you KNOW what you already have, can you make a decision about what you need.

 

 

 

Third: Of you have coverage already, look into HOW the coverage is provided. In most instances, it is a reimbursement model. So yes, you might have to put a hefty bill on your credit card and submit to the insurance company for reimbursement. Some people can endure a significant expense, knowing it's a short term liability. Others might determine that is unreasonable and will look for other alternatives.

 

 

 

Fourth: Look into medical transport coverage. If something happens, what will your current insurance cover? What do you want? Perhaps a transport policy is for you. Personally, this is what I have. I travel frequently and but three year worldwide coverage through MedJetAssist, rather than cover each episode of travel.

 

 

 

I think it is a move of great folly to disregard this issue completely, and travel not knowing what you are or are not already carrying. But it is also STUPID to simply assume you are better off buying "the insurance" (whatever that means), without due diligence.

IMO, one of the best posts - ever - on this topic :)

I've never even considered trip cancellation as a reason for travel insurance.

 

Here in Europe, I'm covered in a few different ways.

1. I have an EHIC card which covers me for standard public healthcare in other EU countries. This is free - you just apply to your local health centre and the card lasts a few years.

2. My medical insurance covers me for something like 90-100 days a year out of the country, as long as no individual trip is more than 30/31 days (would have to check the policy, but it's not a limit I ever reach.

3. I pay about €35 a year for world wide travel insurance that covers everything else - lost/stolen/delayed belongings, new flights/hotels, the cost of getting a new passport/driving license, the additional cost of keeping pets in kennels if you get delayed, a daily amount of €50 if you're hijacked!! There's also a large personal liability amount, as well as legal advice/expenses and a bunch of other things.

 

I'm only paying about €35 above what I'd be paying out anyway, so it's a no brainer. US travel insurance seems to be a lot more expensive.

Wow! That sounds like a great deal!!

I never know how much is enough or too much! Looking right now for coverage for upcoming cruise.. with cancellation and $250,000 medical the policy cost is $1034. That covers for pre-ex also. DH is 80 and I'm 67 so we are not young and the older you get the more it costs. We only have $50,000 through BC/BS supplemental for outside of the US and that is not enough. Do do have an AAA evacuation policy so we are good there and it's a yearly policy which covers outside of the US

We've looked at all the online companies Insure my trip, quote wright, and square mouth. That's where we usually buy the policy that fits our needs.

Looked at the AAA multiple trips and it does NOT cover anything at all pre-ex even if stable. GeoTrekker Choice is a good option for seniors, it's a yearly policy for medical $250K if you are under 80 and $100K if you are 80 to 85. No pre-ex exclusion. That's $440 for a years worth of travel. I think the trip can't be more than 70 days or so. We don't care too much about the cancellation for the most part, just the medical. There have been some real horror stories and I don't want to have one of those!:)