When to Buy/What Kind Travel Insurance

I put down a deposit of $750 for three of us to take a cruise in August 2014.

It's on Royal Caribbean and is our first cruise ever.

The (round) trip includes taking a motorcoach from Pittsburgh to Baltimore to board the ship. A lovely woman at Triple A is helping me navigate the arrangements.

The sheet I have says RC cancel policy is up to 75 days prior to departure, full refund. We are hoping that all is smooth sailing and we go on the trip and have a great time. However, I have a medical condition and have no idea if it would cause any problems next year when cruise time comes around.

So I will definitely buy insurance. At what point should I purchase it? Now? I understand just enough to know I need the 'pre-existing condition' kind of insurance. Is medical insurance necessary if we have medical coverage thru an employer? Sifting through all the information gets a bit mind boggling. Triple A offers insurance but it seems pricey compared to the online insurance suggested on this forum.

I put down a deposit of $750 for three of us to take a cruise in August 2014.

It's on Royal Caribbean and is our first cruise ever.

The (round) trip includes taking a motorcoach from Pittsburgh to Baltimore to board the ship. A lovely woman at Triple A is helping me navigate the arrangements.

 

The sheet I have says RC cancel policy is up to 75 days prior to departure, full refund. We are hoping that all is smooth sailing and we go on the trip and have a great time. However, I have a medical condition and have no idea if it would cause any problems next year when cruise time comes around.

 

So I will definitely buy insurance. At what point should I purchase it? Now? I understand just enough to know I need the 'pre-existing condition' kind of insurance. Is medical insurance necessary if we have medical coverage thru an employer? Sifting through all the information gets a bit mind boggling. Triple A offers insurance but it seems pricey compared to the online insurance suggested on this forum.

First of all we never purchase our trip insurance through the cruiseline. You can get better coverage at a better price from a third party. In order to cover any pre-existing conditions most carriers require the trip insurance be purchased within 14 days of booking the cruise.

Most local medical insurance does NOT cover travel outside of the USA but you could verify that with your carrier.

Go to http://www.insuremytrip.com to compare policies and rates. If you need help understanding just give them a call....they have great customer service

Hope this helps!

I have pre-existing conditions and always purchase insurance. In order to cover the pre-existing, and not pay a higher premium and get full coverage for your conditions, you have to purchase the insurance within 14 days of booking your cruise. That's not to say you can't get coverage if you're past that point, but there will be limitations and the premium will be higher if you're past the 14 day limit.

As for your private insurance, you need to find out if your coverage is valid when you leave the country. Many private/employer insurance plans don't cover you outside the US.

One thing you really want to look at is emergency evacuation coverage. If you, or anyone in your party needs to be taken off the ship in a medical emergency, the cost can be enormous----it can go as high as $100,000 depending on how far you're evacuated.

Look at http://www.insuremytrip.com

There, you can compare many insurance plans and prices.

Besides medical evacuation, the other biggie (IMO) is medical coverage. Think about what it costs in the US to go to the hospital with something minor. Imagine having to spend days or more in a hospital without health insurance. For most of us that would wipe out a life's savings. Be sure you are covered for medical expenses in a foreign country. Most insurance policies start at about $10,000 for medical coverage (which might be one day in a hospital). After you look around, call some companies and see what they offer for medical coverage (this sounds like it would be especially important since you have a pre-existing condition).

I always buy right away and through a third party. Last time, I went to AAA's website and booked who they recomended. You don't have to have AAA.

Buy it right away to be covered for pre-existing conditions. If you buy airfare later, add that onto the insurance right away as well.

Besides medical evacuation, the other biggie (IMO) is medical coverage. Think about what it costs in the US to go to the hospital with something minor. Imagine having to spend days or more in a hospital without health insurance. For most of us that would wipe out a life's savings. .

Not necessarily true. Only in the good old US of A will a short hospital stay wipe out your savings. In more civilized countries, medical costs are much more affordable.

On a trip to Australia, we had 2 medical issues. My wife was in the hospital for several days and I think that the total bill with physician, bed, and even supplies to take with her was maybe $3000 - for 3 days stay. You could not get out of the emergency room in the US for so little money. One other thing. She went to a clinic before she went to the hospital because she did not realize that her condition was serious. While she was in her bed in the admitting area of Royal Darwin, the clinic doctor who she had never seen before and who she would never see again called her to check up on her and whether there was anything he could do for her.

I had a major fall and cut up my face and arms badly and needed to go to the emergency room. The initial visit was $450 including all treatment, shots, and a bag of bandages and other supplies so I could change my dressings every day. My followup visit at another hospital including more supplies was only about $200.

One other thing. When my wife had a reaction to her medication in Alice Springs, the emergency room in Alice Springs was able to tap into her full treatment records from her stay in Royal Darwin hospital. They did not have to repeat any of the tests that were already done in Darwin. In the US with all our "wonderful" technology (sarcasm intended), if you go to a 2nd hospital that is right next to another hospital, neither one has any way of communicating with each other.

I am not suggesting that insurance is not important. It is important. Just don't judge other counties medical systems and costs on the basis of what we have here in the states. Based on my limited experiences, ours is inferior.

DON

To cover a pre-existing condition then the requirement with private insurance is usually that you must purchase it within 14 to 21 days after making initial deposit. There is at least one company where that is not a requirement.

We also do our research on http://www.insuremytripcom

Keith

Whatever you do get the insurance. My wife was medically evacuated off our ship in Alaska for a gallstone issue. The insurance paid for everything including First Class air fare back to the end port of the cruise, a hotel room to stay the night in before the flight home and a refund of half the cruise fee. We book thru the ship so we only have to deal with one person if anything comes up. This saved us more than $40,000 if we did not have the insurance. There was a very small deductable. Good luck with your cruise.

I always grapple with the insurance issue every trip I take. Pay for it or not? Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. It's mostly a matter of whether I feel comfortable writing off the cost of cancellation if necessary. Usually it wouldn't break me.

That leaves medical concerns. Again, what is covered, what is the risk, is it worth it? I just never know, and always have the feeling that insurance of all sorts is a scam. If I can be sure that all contingencies will be covered, no problem. But you never know unless you are a Harvard lawyer who sits down to read all of the fine print.

I always read insurance threads, but never learn much, and no offense, but haven't here either. It seems to all be a dart throw, a roll of the dice, usually just paying for nothing, and that's what I think of insurance. Lots of money paid and very little of it paid back.

Some insurance carriers also have a "cancel anytime" option which, like the pre-existing condition is only available in the first 14 or so days after the deposit.

I used to think the insurance was just a waste of money until an uncle of mine had a medical emergency while in the Mediterranean. The hospital costs were not such an issue but the medical evacuation cost to return to the U.S. on a medical flight neared $50k. This is the reason I buy insurance for each trip out of the states. I don't buy it for missed connections or missed port etc. (although it is nice to have).

One consideration is your age. If you are older, the insurance companies charge more. Younger people can get it for less. If you are a senior, you can get group insurance for your cruise from RCI at a reasonable cost (depends on the price of your cabin, not your age). That must be paid with your final payment. It covers the cost of your cruise if something happens on the way there and you don't make the embarkation or if you are ill (doctor's form will be needed) and the medical evacuation etc. It does not cover activities beyond the ship like air .

Buy that at least...then hope you don't need it.

Most insurance companies today, Travel Guard in particular, does not charge by age. They charge by the cost of trip being covered, per person. You can add coverage for air even if purchased separately from the cruise.

First thing you should do is check with your medical insurer to see if you are covered outside the US. My insurance does cover us, then your next question to your insurer is whether it is in or out of network. If you are covered for medical insurance on the cruise, then you do not need to by trip insurance until you make final payment. That is when the penalties kick in if you cancel your cruise.

if you are not covered by your medical insurance, then you will need to by the trip insurance right away. The other posters have all given you correct advise as to when and how to find an insurance company.

On a personal note, DH and I use Travel Guard. We had to final claims a few ago when we got stranded due to a blizzard back home and they were great to work with.

Enjoy your cruise.