Does anyone like RCCL travel insurance?

All I seem to find in this forum are recommendations for third-party insurance. However, when I checked out insuremytrip.com, I found that the RCCL insurance is cheaper. I am 68 and my husband is 70.

We have med-evac with Good Sam Travel Assist, so I'm just looking for "trip and interrupted" travel insurance. We have both RCCL Vacation Protection Plan and RCCL Signature VISA that covers travel insurance. Is that enough?

I think the reason most people do not purchase cruise line insurance in general is that the limits for medical coverage are low. You did not mention medical coverage. I'm sure you know that Medicare will not cover you out of country, and, depending on what other coverage you have, there may be annual limits or higher out of pocket expenses. That is where the RCCL policy comes in.

The Good Sam policy may be redundant. Both it and RCCL will provide evacuation to the nearest suitable facility, and both wil require approval of their medical director to move you to a facility offering a higher level of care.

Your credit card may work for cancellation coverage if the limit is high enough for you. Remember - it does not cover pre-existing conditions. The RCCL policy should also cover cancellation as well as trip delay or interruption.

Do you have enough? I'd say it depends on where you are going and what other medical coverage you have.

I think the reason most people do not purchase cruise line insurance in general is that the limits for medical coverage are low. You did not mention medical coverage. I'm sure you know that Medicare will not cover you out of country, and, depending on what other coverage you have, there may be annual limits or higher out of pocket expenses. That is where the RCCL policy comes in.

 

Although Medicare does not cover out of the country, my BC/BS Federal Employee Program does cover under emergency conditions, although I would have to pay the difference for out-of-network charges. Does RCCL help with this?

 

The Good Sam policy may be redundant. Both it and RCCL will provide evacuation to the nearest suitable facility, and both wil require approval of their medical director to move you to a facility offering a higher level of care.

 

RCCL said they would work with Good Sam; so that would help with the redundancy. Besides, Good Sam also covers travel here and in other countries if you're not on a cruise, which is great, considering it covers year-round.

 

Your credit card may work for cancellation coverage if the limit is high enough for you. Remember - it does not cover pre-existing conditions. The RCCL policy should also cover cancellation as well as trip delay or interruption.

 

This is the primary reason I take the insurance offered by RCCL, because of pre-existing conditions and our age. The third-party insurance charges more for older passengers. I am on medication for HBP, high cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes. For these reasons, I buy the RCCL Vacation Protection Plan, but so many people keep posting "not to buy cruise line policies." That's why I was wondering if anyone would share their experiences with RCCL travel insurance.

 

Do you have enough? I'd say it depends on where you are going and what other medical coverage you have.

I think I'm okay. Just wondering if anyone had a problem with RCCL's insurance.

Thanks for your input.

iuki

Yes, the RCCL policy will help pay medical costs, but you will have to file the claim with your BC/BS plan first, then submit the claim/documentation to RCCL. They will pay up to the limit of the policy. As I said, that is why some people don't like cruise line insurance because the limits are low - $10,000 or maybe $25,000.

The real question is who underwrites the RCCL policy and processes the claim. I think Berkley does the Princess insurance, and I can't recall having read of any bad experiences with them.

I don't know anything about RCCL. Surely someone else here does.

We have oft posted our opinion about Cruise line sold travel insurance. While these policies may offer attractive cancellation benefits, nearly all are sorely lacking in decent medical coverage. For those that already have other medical insurance that give them international coverage, the cruise line policies might be an OK option. But for those that lack decent medical coverage outside their country (keep in mind that Medicare provides no coverage) these policies are like rolling the dice with personal bankruptcy and heartache to the loser. There are plenty of private travel med (and travel) policies that provide medical coverage of $100,000 and more....and many of these policies cost less then the cruise line policies.

So here is a thought from somebody who has spent a lot of years in the Medical Insurance industry. Your liability for cancellation is usually limited to what you paid for the trip. This is a cost you will incur if you take the trip or cancel the trip. Since you booked the trip one can assume it is something you can afford. But Medical liability is virtually unlimited and is the leading cause of personal bankruptcy in the USA! Sure, you could lose a few thousand dollars if you had to cancel a trip without insurance. But if you have a major medical emergency while out of your country you could possibly incur medical bills exceeding 10s of thousands of dollars (or more). And this is where the cruise line policies are usually horribly deficient.

Hank

OP- are you saying you choose RCCL insurance because it doesn't cover pre-existing conditions? That would mean you would NOT have coverage for your conditions you listed.

Re: Berkley. There is a thread on this board where a traveler had a stroke on a cruise (I want to say in Europe). She was hospitalized outside of the U.S. and had to have a nurse accompany her on the flight home.

I think she eventually recovered all of her missed cruise costs and medical costs which she had had to pay upfront with credit cards. She was very worried that they wouldn't pay on everything because of the time it took to process her claim. She was eventually satisfied.

:mad:

OP- are you saying you choose RCCL insurance because it doesn't cover pre-existing conditions? That would mean you would NOT have coverage for your conditions you listed.

 

Re: Berkley. There is a thread on this board where a traveler had a stroke on a cruise (I want to say in Europe). She was hospitalized outside of the U.S. and had to have a nurse accompany her on the flight home.

 

I think she eventually recovered all of her missed cruise costs and medical costs which she had had to pay upfront with credit cards. She was very worried that they wouldn't pay on everything because of the time it took to process her claim. She was eventually satisfied.

RCCL gave me the phone number of CruiseCare (underwritten by Transamerica) so that they could answer my questions about pre-existing conditions. From the moment the insurance is paid, you are covered under the pre-existing condition based on your medical health within the pass 60 days.

For example, based on a scenario that I found in this forum, let's say that before the final payment and insurance are paid, I break a leg and then pay for the insurance. If 2 weeks before the cruise I need surgery and have to cancel the cruise, I could not receive the 100% refund due to the pre-existing condition; but, I could get 75% credit on the next cruise under "cancel for any reason" and not the "specific reason."

However, if I broke a leg AFTER the premium insurance was paid then needed to cancel the cruise, after final payment, due to the surgery, I would receive the 100% refund and the pre-existing condition does not apply.

This is a quote from the CruiseCare document:

"Pre-Existing Condition means an illness, disease, or other condition

during the 60-day period immediately prior to your effective date for which

you or your Traveling Companion, Business Partner or Immediate Family

Member who is scheduled or booked to travel with you:

1. received or received a recommendation for a diagnostic test,

examination, or medical treatment; or

2. took or received a prescription for drugs or medicine.

Item 2) of this definition does not apply to a condition which is treated or

controlled solely through the taking of prescription drugs or medicine and

remains treated or controlled without any adjustment or change in the

required prescription throughout the 60-day period before coverage is

effective under this Policy."

Therefore, as long as there is no change to your medication or new diagnosis within the 60 days prior to your insurance purchase, that meets the pre-existing clause guidelines. It is based on the stability of your health within the 60 days prior to your insurance purchase.

After speaking with CruiseCare, I feel comfortable with the pre-existing clause. If we do not get the 100% refund, we would be willing to accept the 75% credit to a future cruise.

If someone's health has been stable within the 60 days before booking a cruise, I would pay for the insurance in addition to the deposit so that you are covered up until the cruise at the 100% refund. If there has been any change in prescriptions or a new diagnosis within the last 60 days prior to booking a cruise, I would wait until final payment before paying for the insurance.

I hope I have helped others to understand the pre-existing guidelines and have not made it as clear as mud. :D

Thanks for your input.

We have oft posted our opinion about Cruise line sold travel insurance. While these policies may offer attractive cancellation benefits, nearly all are sorely lacking in decent medical coverage. For those that already have other medical insurance that give them international coverage, the cruise line policies might be an OK option. But for those that lack decent medical coverage outside their country (keep in mind that Medicare provides no coverage) these policies are like rolling the dice with personal bankruptcy and heartache to the loser. There are plenty of private travel med (and travel) policies that provide medical coverage of $100,000 and more....and many of these policies cost less then the cruise line policies.

 

So here is a thought from somebody who has spent a lot of years in the Medical Insurance industry. Your liability for cancellation is usually limited to what you paid for the trip. This is a cost you will incur if you take the trip or cancel the trip. Since you booked the trip one can assume it is something you can afford. But Medical liability is virtually unlimited and is the leading cause of personal bankruptcy in the USA! Sure, you could lose a few thousand dollars if you had to cancel a trip without insurance. But if you have a major medical emergency while out of your country you could possibly incur medical bills exceeding 10s of thousands of dollars (or more). And this is where the cruise line policies are usually horribly deficient.

 

Hank

I totally agree w everything you say. Well put. We carry medical and evacuation only. Nothing more. If I have to cancel before or during the trip, I can tolerate the loss.

You might have added however that there are yearly policies that cover medical and evacuation for all trips that you take for a full year. That is what we have. It is much more reasonable than individual trip policies. You can get them for different coverage limits and different maximum trip lengths up to 90 days per trip which is what we have.

One other thing that you can do although we have not done so. A limitation of most medical and evacuation policies is that they will only evacuate you to the nearest "appropriate" medical facility. If you want to get home and you are getting appropriate treatment at a foreign facility, your trip home is out-of-pocket. If getting home is important, you can add a MedJet policy that gets you home by private medical jet if necessary whenever you decide to go as long as it is medically appropriate. The price is not bad at AARP offers a discount on the policy.

The problem with the attitude of most people with regard to trip insurance is that they worry too much about the small stuff instead of the really big stuff.

DON

Don, We agree. In fact, DW and I carry an annual Travel Medical Policy to cover all of our trips. And it is a real bargain at $350 a year (total cost for 2). Our policy is underwritten by GeoBlue (part of the Blue Cross/Shield network) and gives us $250,000 of med plus $500,000 of Med Evac. I should mention that the Med Evac thing has gotten a bit silly. Many companies now offer very high Evac limits since they know that there is virtually no chance they would ever have to pay out anywhere near that sum. It is actually hard to get evacuation cost over $50,000 (and this is the high end). Even a privately chartered Med Evac Jet seldom costs more then $25,000 in most parts of the world.

Hank

Still confused about Trip Cancellation. (our main concern)

There are 3 of us on a RCL cruise. We took out there insurance the day we booked

One of our group has multiple health problems (Diabetes, PAD, etc.). Our payment in full due 10-6-2015.

This is what I understand from reading these posts. If he has to see a Dr. for any of his pre-existing conditions, after final payment, and Dr. states he can't travel, we would not get our money refunded.

Am I right?

If you bought the insurance at the time of booking you should be all right. Buying it within the required time limit grants you a waiver to the pre-existing conditions clause. In other words, the look-back period or other provisions relating to treatment do not apply. That is the purpose of buying it in a timely manner.

Please don't let your friend avoid any doctor's appointments he needs to stay healthy.

To ease your mind, confirm this with your insurer.

If you bought the insurance at the time of booking you should be all right. Buying it within the required time limit grants you a waiver to the pre-existing conditions clause. In other words, the look-back period or other provisions relating to treatment do not apply. That is the purpose of buying it in a timely manner.

 

Please don't let your friend avoid any doctor's appointments he needs to stay healthy.

 

To ease your mind, confirm this with your insurer.

Yes, first, per Babr!

Check with insurer claims dept and/or insurance broker AND read the "fine print". You may be okay.

Depending upon the above, if you are NOT covered for pre-existing conditions, then please call Steve at TripInsuranceStore.com

There probably is at least one type of policy that you can purchase within 24 hours of that final payment that *will* cover pre-existing conditions.

It would not matter if there were medical appointments needed.

One caveat might be that the everyone would need to be "able to travel" on the day that insurance is purchased.

Just be absolutely clear with him about the situation, so he can help you with the appropriate coverage.

GeezerCouple

Still confused about Trip Cancellation. (our main concern)

 

There are 3 of us on a RCL cruise. We took out there insurance the day we booked

 

One of our group has multiple health problems (Diabetes, PAD, etc.). Our payment in full due 10-6-2015.

This is what I understand from reading these posts. If he has to see a Dr. for any of his pre-existing conditions, after final payment, and Dr. states he can't travel, we would not get our money refunded.

Am I right?

If, within 60 days PRIOR to final payment for the insurance, there were no changes to his medications, treatments, or diagnoses, he would be eligible for the 100% refund. Otherwise, if there were changes within those 60 days, he would receive a 75% credit on a future cruise.

An example:

Let's say his doctor changed his blood pressure medication 30 days PRIOR to him paying for his travel insurance. Then, let's say a month later he landed in the hospital for elevated blood pressure and a very high heart rate. Because there were changes to his medication within the 60 days prior to the insurance payment, he would not receive the 100% refund if the doctor recommended that he not go on the cruise. However, he could get the 75% credit on a future cruise; BUT

If there had been NO CHANGES to his BP medication within those 60 days prior to the insurance payment and he landed in the hospital AFTER the insurance payment and could not go on the cruise, he would receive the 100% refund.

Hopefully, this has been helpful.

Thxs for reply:

We three are family. If he had to cancel because of medical reasons, none us us could go.

Are we all covered if he had to cancel?

I will be calling Insure My Trip tomorrow, but everyone on this post has been so helpful.

Thank you, thank you

Thxs for reply:

We three are family. If he had to cancel because of medical reasons, none us us could go.

Are we all covered if he had to cancel?

 

I will be calling Insure My Trip tomorrow, but everyone on this post has been so helpful.

Thank you, thank you

Insure my trip will be able to answer all your questions. As long as all of you have insurance and are traveling together, you should be ok.

Do get back to us to let us know what you found out from the travel insurance rep.

Hope all of you get to take your trip and that everything goes well for all of you.

Unfortunately, these are questions that should have been asked before buying any insurance. Perhaps it is not too late to find an acceptable solution.

I am assuming that you actually paid for the insurance when you booked and did not merely add it to the booking to be paid for at final payment.

According to iuki's explanation, the 60 day period before you paid for the insurance - not the cruise itself - is the key to whether your family member is covered. You already know if he had any changes to medications, treatments, or diagnoses. Even a dosage change of the same meds counts. If everything was stable for 60 days before you paid for the insurance, he's OK. What happens from that moment forward is covered.

If there were changes in the 60 days before you bought the insurance, and you have real concerns now, it might be better to cancel before final payment. There is no waiver like third-party insurance. Instead, they treat it more like a cancel-for-any reason claim by giving a cruise credit. Whether the rest of you can cancel depends on whether you have any kind of CFAR with the RCL policy unless you can claim that it is necessary for both of you to take care of the ill family member.

Time to call in the professionals. First, you need to clarify what you have and then decide if it meets your needs. If you end up with a cruise credit, can you use it in the specified time frame?

Unfortunately, these are questions that should have been asked before buying any insurance. Perhaps it is not too late to find an acceptable solution.

 

I am assuming that you actually paid for the insurance when you booked and did not merely add it to the booking to be paid for at final payment.

 

According to iuki's explanation, the 60 day period before you paid for the insurance - not the cruise itself - is the key to whether your family member is covered. You already know if he had any changes to medications, treatments, or diagnoses. Even a dosage change of the same meds counts. If everything was stable for 60 days before you paid for the insurance, he's OK. What happens from that moment forward is covered.

 

If there were changes in the 60 days before you bought the insurance, and you have real concerns now, it might be better to cancel before final payment. There is no waiver like third-party insurance. Instead, they treat it more like a cancel-for-any reason claim by giving a cruise credit. Whether the rest of you can cancel depends on whether you have any kind of CFAR with the RCL policy unless you can claim that it is necessary for both of you to take care of the ill family member.

 

Time to call in the professionals. First, you need to clarify what you have and then decide if it meets your needs. If you end up with a cruise credit, can you use it in the specified time frame?

Don't forget that CSA may have a suitable policy that can be purchased within 24 hours of FINAL PAYMENT of the most expensive part of the trip (unless the main air travel is paid for later, in which case that is the date), and this insurance does NOT exclude pre-existing conditions.

(It's not a lot more expensive than many other policies *unless* one adds the CFAR, which does cost a lot more if first purchased at such a late date.)

We just purchased this policy for the first time.

Previously, we used TravelInsured, but we were changing reservations too often, and the TI insurance can only be "changed to a totally different trip" once, and within a deadline. We decided for any trip that was a bit "iffy", we'd use CSA instead, because we'd be sure by final payment time, obviously.

We only knew about this because we had mentioned our concern to Steve, and he explained some choices, depending upon how sure we are, and when we are making payments, etc.

GeezerCouple

Yes, I thought of that but was not sure if I should suggest it, assuming they had already paid for the RCCL insurance. I don't know if they could get a refund at this point and buy something else. Otherwise, the additional expense may be too much.

Also, I'm wondering about cancellation of the other two family members if the third becomes ill and cancels. That is allowed if they are traveling on the same booking, isn't it? I may have given incorrect information since there is nothing in the post to suggest separate bookings.

Don, We agree. In fact, DW and I carry an annual Travel Medical Policy to cover all of our trips. And it is a real bargain at $350 a year (total cost for 2). Our policy is underwritten by GeoBlue (part of the Blue Cross/Shield network) and gives us $250,000 of med plus $500,000 of Med Evac. I should mention that the Med Evac thing has gotten a bit silly. Many companies now offer very high Evac limits since they know that there is virtually no chance they would ever have to pay out anywhere near that sum. It is actually hard to get evacuation cost over $50,000 (and this is the high end). Even a privately chartered Med Evac Jet seldom costs more then $25,000 in most parts of the world.

 

Hank

Would you mind giving me info on how/where to go about purchasing the similar policy you have...Thank you.

Would you mind giving me info on how/where to go about purchasing the similar policy you have...Thank you.

Sorry not to have responded, but we have been traveling :). We hesitate to recommend any specific policy since personal insurance needs really vary for each couple/person. One should always review their own coverage (call your insurance company if you are questions) and then fill in the gaps with appropriate travel insurance. The policy that we talked about in our post is issued by Geoblue and anyone can simply Google "Geoblue travel insurance" and read about their various policies on their own web site. They offer several types of travel medical policies ranging from single trip to several variations of annual policies. Our particular annual policy covers every trip we take (up to the first 70 days per trip) throughout the entire policy year. It suits us because not only does it give us coverage for cruises (unless we are traveling for more then 70 days) but it also covers us during our 2 month winter vacation (we live in Puerto Vallarta).

We would caution that this type of policy is a Travel Medical policy and does not provide coverage for trip cancellation/interruption.

Hank