Basic questions from someone who's never purchased insurance

We've been on 25 cruises. Never purchased insurance.

Don't want to push my luck anymore.

Just a few questions, please.

Do they send you the complete policy?

Do you have to bring it with you when you cruise?

25 cruises? never bought insurance

Another way to look at it is that you've saved $5000 to $7500 depending on number of people sailing with you.

You could be paid in full, miss your next 2 cruises and still be ahead of the game. :D

However, that wasn't your question.

Do they send you a complete policy?

If I purchase a policy from TravelGuard via web or phone call, Yes, I receive a thick envelope with the complete policy.

If I purchase from my TA, No. I go online and either print or just familiarize myself with the T's&C's and more importantly the definitions.

Do you Have to bring it with you?

No, you don't have to.

We do take the cover page which will have policy numbers and emergency contact numbers on it.

There are some very smart insurance people on this board. If you have specific questions, feel free to ask.

You will get the complete policy either via snail mail or electronically. I carry the policy because I am a detail nut but you would only need to take the cover sheet showing an overview of coverages, the policy number, and the contact phone number in case of a loss.

I was a travel agent and experienced many tragedies with my clients where they had to cancel the trip at the last minute or suffered an injury while on their trip.

One of my clients actually passed away while on their trip but had to be medivaced from the cruise ship at an outrageous charge along with the return of the remains home. The client had chosen not to take insurance. Before the client left I had this client sign a waiver that she had been offered the insurance and she had declined. The client's family sued me and the agency claiming the client did not know what she had signed and would never have accepted that risk. The family lost the suit but it was still a terrible incident. After that I refused to sell any major travel arrangements without insurance and yes I lost sales because of that.

Another advantage to taking insurance is the expertise the insurance company can offer. If you are injured become ill while on the trip there is a phone number you contact and the insurance company will offer assistance or actually make the arranges for a medivac flight or an admission to the hospital. If you are hospitalized in a foreign country and do not understand the language the will communicate with the medical staff and report back to you what is going on. When you are safe to return to your home but can not travel on commercial flights they will help set up the arrangements to take a medical flight home.

The real risk of loss is not losing money for a cancelled tour before you leave but is the risk of loss after you depart and something happens.

You can purchase annual policies to cover multiple trips.

We've been on 25 cruises. Never purchased insurance.

 

Don't want to push my luck anymore.

 

Just a few questions, please.

 

Do they send you the complete policy?

 

Do you have to bring it with you when you cruise?

 

Oh wow - you sound like me! This is my first time purchasing cruise/travel insurance. When I was on a cruise this past May someone had to be evacuated medically from the ship and that was an OMG moment for me.

I travel alone and besides the potential of a costly evacuation, I would have to be transported with no one to accompany me. I researched until my head started spinning and learned that "no one insurance fits all" is an understatement.

I prioritized what was really important to ME coverage-wise and chose a plan that was heavy on medical and evacuation, with a 60-day look back for pre-existing conditions. I zeroed-out the actual trip cost (I did realize that by doing so that I would not have cancellation or interruption coverage, etc.) and that saved me money without sacrificing an adequate medical/evacuation amount ($100,000 medical, $1,000,000 evacuation).

I also paid an extra $25 to upgrade from secondary to primary as, I noted previously, I am traveling by myself. Total I paid (including the $25 upgrade) was around $74. There was also some coverage for baggage included in the upgrade - I think up to $500.

I received a policy booklet in the mail and I intend to take it with me on my cruise in October. Good luck to you in your decision.

Sandie

Wise decision to get travel insurance.

In the end it all comes down to cost verse risk.

keith

Wise decision to get travel insurance.

 

In the end it all comes down to cost verse risk.

 

keith

And peace of mind;)

We started buying cruise insurance when we were dealing with elderly parents who were not in the best of health. It was the what if factor for us. On our first European cruise we opted to go without because it seemed very pricey. On the second one, 18 months ago we bought it again, still somewhat pricey but....We ended up needing it because 5 days before departure I landed in the local ER with chest pains. I had never had any cardiac issues in the past, never seen a cardiologist and thought I was pretty healthy. I was wrong, 4 days later I had two stents put in that pretty much saved my life. I left the hospital the day we were supposed to fly to Amsterdam. Without cruise/travel insurance we would have lost something in the neighborhood of $6000 in non-refundables but with cruise insurance we got to enjoy the same trip a year later....Going without medical insurance is just dumb. Most US policies do not give you overseas coverage and while other places might have "free" medical care for their citizens, that does not extend to visitors. The trip cancellation part, well that is up to each of you. Can you afford to lose the cost of the trip? No one here can tell you that answer, it has to come from you. Insurance is much like a parachute, it is costly and seems like a waste until you really need it.