trip insurance

I was just wondering if everyone buys the travel insurance that carnival offers or do you buy your own from some where else?

We do not as it does not have the coverage we need, like pre-existing conditions.

I read a lot about trip insurance on here. The general consensus is that you'll get better coverage for a better price elsewhere. There are two popular websites - thetripinsurancestore and insuremytrip that are commonly recommended.

Insuremytrip dot com is a lot cheaper and has more coverage than Carnival.

I am another that purchases from a third party. I find I can customize my policy to my needs.

IMHO, the most important coverage is medical. Yes, not being able to go on that cruise is disappointing and loosing the $ because you had to cancel at the last minute a financial bummer. But needing to be evacuated off a ship or surgery in a foreign country is a financial cost few people could ever recover.

I was just wondering if everyone buys the travel insurance that carnival offers or do you buy your own from some where else?

We do not use Carnival trip insurance. Go to insuremytrip.com and there's travel insurance companies there. We use TravelGuard and have been pleased with their service. Never had to file a claim, but glad we purchased it.

Thanks everyone. Will be checking some of your referrals. Never used insurance before (thank goodness nothing happened) but as we get older, you never know.

We do not as it does not have the coverage we need, like pre-existing conditions.

I usually buy Carnival, but recently found out I have to have a pacemaker before our next cruise. I'm on the hunt for a coverage that includes pre-existing conditions. Any recommendations?

Another vote for third party insurance. Coverage is much better than what Carnival insurance offers for a similar price if not cheaper. Like others have said, medical and evacuation is quite expensive would be my main concern if something would happen medically.

I usually buy Carnival, but recently found out I have to have a pacemaker before our next cruise. I'm on the hunt for a coverage that includes pre-existing conditions. Any recommendations?

See above. There are 2 websites mentioned:)

I usually buy Carnival, but recently found out I have to have a pacemaker before our next cruise. I'm on the hunt for a coverage that includes pre-existing conditions. Any recommendations?

depends on when your next cruise is. Most policies require you to purchase insurance within 14 to 21 days of making first deposit when covering pre existing conditions.

And I'll disagree that Carnivals insurance is too expensive. It may have it's limitations, they all do, however, Carnivals insurance also covers Cancel For Any Reason and Job Changes in their basic coverage where others don't provide this coverage in the basic plan. Carnivals insurance also doesn't care whether your 8 mos or 108,, same coverage same price.

Having said that,,, I use 3rd party.

I usually buy Carnival, but recently found out I have to have a pacemaker before our next cruise. I'm on the hunt for a coverage that includes pre-existing conditions. Any recommendations?

TravelGuard, they have a plan that insures preexisting conditions.

CC has a great forum for just this issue. Look in the Cruise Discussion Topics section for the Cruise/Travel Insurance forum. I found a lot of great help and advice there.

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It's not only medical conditions you want to think about. After an uneventful month in Scotland and a return flight to Boston we were stranded there by Jet Blue because of "thunderstorms" in the Raleigh area. Nothing available after our 3 pm flight until 8pm the next night. We're too old to do the "sitting in the airport" thing for 30 hours, so we found a room. The insurance paid for the room, transportation to and from the hotel, and our meals.....paid for itself and then some. One reminder....save all your receipts and submit them all should you be stranded. Would never travel without it again and I purchased it on "insuremytrip.com".

TravelGuard, they have a plan that insures preexisting conditions.

That is the company we use. If you buy the insurance within 15 days of deposit , the insurance does cover pre-existing conditions.

I generally just buy medical coverage from a third party. Best $20 pp purchase I make.

I always get insurance from Allianz. They cover pre-existing conditions as long as you purchase the policy within 14 days of making your deposit, and you have to be "fit to travel" on the day you buy the policy. The cost is based on the ages of the insured, unlike Carnival's, so the premiums can be considerably higher than Carnival's. But so are the coverages. They also offer an affordable annual policy, but unfortunately it doesn't cover pre-existing conditions.

Check with your Credit Card company.. Most higher end credit cards do provide coverage free of charge.. I have it with CHase/united card and I have used it

Just like anything else you have to read the print and do the paperwork

I also carry a yearly travel policy for myself. Very good rates and the coverage is pretty good

We do not as it does not have the coverage we need, like pre-existing conditions.

The same with us :) .... but that being said - if we were young and healthy again we'd likely buy Carnival's insurance just because of the ease of it and because if you cancel before final payment they don't charge.

The cruiseline insurance is pretty minimal for Medical Coverage and marginal for MedEvac coverage, and doesn't cover pre-existing conditions (but, as mentioned, DOES cover Cancel for Any Reason, albeit via a 75% future cruise credit).

The so-called 3rd party policies cover pre-exisitng conditions and the opportunity to optionally purchase Cancel for Any Reason, both if you purchase witinn 14-21 days of booking. There are a few policies that allow you to purchase up to final payment with these benefits. Until you're entering your 70's, The 3rd party policies are generally much less expensive than the cruiseline, with usually higher limits.

USAA offers a good deal on TravelInsured policies, and credit cards like World MasterCard offer minimal trip protection benefits (cancellation, luggage...).

Check your Health Insurance for included out-of-country coverage - BCBS Federal Employee Plan has excellent included out-of-country coverage.

We charge our cruises to World Mastercard and rely on their minimal trip protection coverage, and we rely on our BCBS FEP Health Plan for medical coverage.

Ken

I always but the travel insurance through an outside company, never Carnival. I used to work as a claims analyst for a travel insurance company and will never travel without it. It is much cheaper going through an outside company and it covers pre-existing conditions if you purchase the insurance within 21 days of your initial trip deposit.

We live in Orlando and drive to most ports so, no we don't purchase insurance under those circumstances. However, if we fly somewhere like Alaska or Hawaii, we buy insurance for peace of mind. Knock on wood- never had to use it.

I am another that purchases from a third party. I find I can customize my policy to my needs.

 

IMHO, the most important coverage is medical. Yes, not being able to go on that cruise is disappointing and loosing the $ because you had to cancel at the last minute a financial bummer. But needing to be evacuated off a ship or surgery in a foreign country is a financial cost few people could ever recover.

That's also why we purchase through search of 3rd party vendor. We're seniors & Medicare doesn't cover out of the US. We also want a policy where everything is Primary coverage.

We live in Orlando and drive to most ports so, no we don't purchase insurance under those circumstances. However, if we fly somewhere like Alaska or Hawaii, we buy insurance for peace of mind. Knock on wood- never had to use it.

I understand your comment but what if something happens that does include flying like a medical emergency on the ship or if a person in your party has to be evacuated to a hospital in the U.S. or from an Island that you are visiting ?. Unfortunately things do happen. Emergency evacuation from anywhere to the United States can be very expensive, hopefully it does not have to be used.

Gary

We live in Orlando and drive to most ports so, no we don't purchase insurance under those circumstances. However, if we fly somewhere like Alaska or Hawaii, we buy insurance for peace of mind. Knock on wood- never had to use it.

We live in FL as well. However if something horrific happened and we had to get emergency care and evacuation it is extremely expensive. That is why we get the insurance through insuremytrip.com