Anybody Ever Use Their Cruise Medical?

I'm a solo cruiser and I'm about to go get signed up. I have to wonder what these policies are worth if you actually have to use them. Seems like almost

all important decisions are made by whatever doctor, of whatever country or even worse the insurance company.

Anybody ever actually use their medical. I have friends who are seasoned cruisers who rely totally on their company or personal stateside insurance.

Inquiring minds want to know. :rolleyes:

We buy the insurance more for the helicopter evacuation from the ship. Medical costs on the ship are very reasonable.

While $900 for dressing changes and IV meds may be very reasonable, it sure cuts into your vacation budget. Your home insurance probably will not reimburse you for out-of-the-country services unless you travel internationally as part of your job or have a superior health plan.

We buy the insurance more for the helicopter evacuation from the ship. Medical costs on the ship are very reasonable.

Which is kind of odd, because helo evac from the ship is probably the most rare type of medical evacuation, and it's often free (depending on jurisdiction.) Most med-evac is done from ports to either take you to an adequate medical facility and/or home. (And such evac is never free.) Helo evac requires your condition to be stable enough to transport, too serious to wait for the next port, the weather and seas must be calm enough for it to be safe, and you have to be within the flying range of a country that has the appropriate equipment. (Few countries do.)

And while medical on the ship is very reasonable, medical costs on the shore (like for a broken leg, or something more serious) while not at US levels, can still be a bank-breaker.

Yes I have used medical insurance. Most recently Travelex Insurance and the claim was turned around expeditiously.

Keith

I'm a solo cruiser and I'm about to go get signed up. I have to wonder what these policies are worth if you actually have to use them. Seems like almost

all important decisions are made by whatever doctor, of whatever country or even worse the insurance company.

 

Anybody ever actually use their medical. I have friends who are seasoned cruisers who rely totally on their company or personal stateside insurance.

 

Inquiring minds want to know. :rolleyes:

Lucky for them their stateside insurance covers them. Our health insurance policy specifically excludes any treatment out of the US.

We have used the travel insurance several times. Once we had to cancel a cruise because my Mother was critically ill after having a stroke. I got a full refund. Another time, our DS had to get stitches on the ship and the travel insurance paid that bill in full. I broke a tooth on vacation at a resort in Cozumel and went to the local dentist. He crowned the tooth. I paid in full with a credit card and was reimbursed by the travel insurance. Worked out to be the best thing that ever happened since he did a great job and we don't have dental insurance. Saved us about $1500.

We buy Travel Safe insurance, not what the cruise line or tour company sells. It is primary insurance, not subrogated to any policy we may have.

Lucky for them their stateside insurance covers them. Our health insurance policy specifically excludes any treatment out of the US.

 

We have used the travel insurance several times. Once we had to cancel a cruise because my Mother was critically ill after having a stroke. I got a full refund. Another time, our DS had to get stitches on the ship and the travel insurance paid that bill in full. I broke a tooth on vacation at a resort in Cozumel and went to the local dentist. He crowned the tooth. I paid in full with a credit card and was reimbursed by the travel insurance. Worked out to be the best thing that ever happened since he did a great job and we don't have dental insurance. Saved us about $1500.

 

We buy Travel Safe insurance, not what the cruise line or tour company sells. It is primary insurance, not subrogated to any policy we may have.

I too have been buying Travel Safe Insurance. I currently have 3 of their policies for future cruises. After reading the cc threads below, I will no longer buy Travel Safe since they use Trip Mate to process their claims.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2225458

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2232479

Lucky for them their stateside insurance covers them. Our health insurance policy specifically excludes any treatment out of the US.

 

We have used the travel insurance several times. Once we had to cancel a cruise because my Mother was critically ill after having a stroke. I got a full refund. Another time, our DS had to get stitches on the ship and the travel insurance paid that bill in full. I broke a tooth on vacation at a resort in Cozumel and went to the local dentist. He crowned the tooth. I paid in full with a credit card and was reimbursed by the travel insurance. Worked out to be the best thing that ever happened since he did a great job and we don't have dental insurance. Saved us about $1500.

 

We buy Travel Safe insurance, not what the cruise line or tour company sells. It is primary insurance, not subrogated to any policy we may have.

What was your experience with Travel Safe processing your claims? :confused: Seems someone posted they had problems and will never use them again.

We always purchase Travel Safe but never had to submit a claim. We purchase thru Steve at tripinsurancestore and know he and his staff are there for you if you have any problems:)

I'm a solo cruiser and I'm about to go get signed up. I have to wonder what these policies are worth if you actually have to use them. Seems like almost

all important decisions are made by whatever doctor, of whatever country or even worse the insurance company.

 

Anybody ever actually use their medical. I have friends who are seasoned cruisers who rely totally on their company or personal stateside insurance.

 

Inquiring minds want to know. :rolleyes:

You asked about using "cruise medical", but I assume you are asking about cruise medical *insurance*?

We'd strongly suggest calling Steve at

TripInsuranceStore.com

If you want to browse (briefly) on their website, that would give you some general information.

But there is SO much "fine print" that cannot possibly be captured in charts and also, everyone has different concerns/needs in terms of insurance.

CALL THEM, and ask them any questions you may have, and also tell them just what your concerns 'are. They'll walk you through the choices, and they'll help you find the best coverage.

They don't try to add "extras", and they've occasionally suggested reasons why we don't need certain coverage, etc.

We were impressed with the ship's medical treatment during an emergency.

GeezerCouple

I'm a solo cruiser and I'm about to go get signed up. I have to wonder what these policies are worth if you actually have to use them.

"Is it worth it" depends on your circumstances:

-Can you afford to self-insure by not buying the policy and covering whatever expenses might arise?

-If you have a preexisting condition, are you covered by a policy that you might purchase?

-What calamity are you trying to insure against, and will the policy that you purchase cover it?

There is an awful lot of fine print in these policies and you almost have to have a degree in insurance underwriting to make intelligent choices.

FWIW, my wife and I always have been taking out insurance with Allianz, and never have had to use it. So, we "wasted" thousands of dollars. We also have Medjet, which we have never used, which again has cost us thousands.

On the other hand, a friend who did not have medical evacuation insurance had an accident in a foreign country and instead of having a proper medievac, bought first-class return tickets for $20k. She never really recovered from this accident. Always wondered if she would have fared better had she been medievaced home for treatment.

For our SA/Antarctica cruise a several years ago, we took out travel insurance for the very first time. And for the very first time, I had to visit the infirmary twice, with one trip involving blood and urine analyses plus being given a broad spectrum antibiotic. The cost was around $500. Our insurance covered it and we had a reimbursement check in about 2 weeks after submitting the claim. That experience mad believers out of us. The insurance in that instance more than paid for itself.

Also, on subsequent cruises we have met or seen other passengers who have fallen, etc, and sustained sprains, fractures and major bruising plus others who have gotten ill. Things happen!

So we still purchase travel insurance for every cruise and 2 parts are of special importance to us: medical evacuation coverage and having the travel insurance being the primary/first coverage. The first gives us great peace of mind if one of us has to be med evac'd due to illness and the second is important due to both of us being on Medicare with its lack of coverage while out of the USA. We are both still in very good health, but as previously mentioned: things happen!

We buy the insurance more for the helicopter evacuation from the ship. Medical costs on the ship are very reasonable.

Helicopter evacuation from a ship is very rare, and when it does happen it is nearly always totally free. In those rare cases it is usually done by a Coast Guard (or other military chopper) at no cost to the passenger. One should also note that a majority of med evac coverage specifies that the evacuation must be from a hospital...and many require prior approval from the insurance company.

But you got me thinking so I consulted with the boss (DW). We have spent more then 3 years on cruise ships (in and around 6 Continents) including numerous long ocean crossings. In all those cruises we have only experienced two helicopter evacuations, one by US Navy Seal helicopters (from San Diego) and the other by the Portuguese Coast Guard. The Navy Seal evac was made even more fascinating because we were out of range of the Coast Guard Helicopters. So the Seal base at San Diego sent out one of their own choppers along with a KC-130 tanker to refuel the helicopter. The passenger survived and was a little lucky in that we had perfect weather for that complex rescue operation.

Hank

Just thought I would post my experience on using trip medical insurance. I fell in port in Curacao and ended up with severe cellulitis in my new, requiring visiting the onboard medical center on the Carnival Breeze. Filed the claim with my trip insurance, Travel Safe, which yes is processed using Trip Mate. Was a few pages to fill out, sent it with tracking/signature requires, I believe either fed ex or UPS. Received full payment for entire claim back in the form of a check about 7 weeks from the time I sent all documentation in.