Travel insurance

I've posted about this before. Our Senior Advantage coverage through Kaiser here in CA does include medical coverage anywhere in the world. Many of these plans do cover outside the US, but plain Medicare does not.

Would your Senior Advantage coverage pay $50,000 or more for medical evacuation from ship to hospital if needed? Many policies that pay medical do not pay evacuation or pay repatriation of remains if death occurs. To me, those are also important coverages.

We buy a medical only plan, that has evacuation through Geo Blue.

DH is under medicare with a supplement plan that only has $25K of medical o/s the US, so for him we're insuring on the high end. My healthcare plan has a very high out of network deductible - so for me we're insuring on the low end. We use a Chase Mileage Plus card to purchase the trip, because it has cancellation and interruption benefits.

Filed a delayed luggage claim last year under the Chase insurance....no hassles, but it was a small amount. Amount paid did represent over three years of annual fees, so we're ahead on the card even with out the free checked luggage benefit.

I just got off the phone with the Tricare Prime folks. They will only cover if I go to the nearest emergency room, if there is a problem. They WILL NOT cover to have me flown back to the states for care. Sorry, but I have heard from some of my orthopedic patients of some the overseas hospital experiences. I choose not to share in their experiences...lol. For us,it is definitely worth the investment when I am nowhere near north America.

With this knowledge, once again, I want to thank many of you in this room for helping me gain insight. From here on, Kurt and I will be looking at additional coverage when we cruise. I guess I had better get looking for my Sept and Jan cruises. :D

I just got off the phone with the Tricare Prime folks. They will only cover if I go to the nearest emergency room, if there is a problem. They WILL NOT cover to have me flown back to the states for care. Sorry, but I have heard from some of my orthopedic patients of some the overseas hospital experiences. I choose not to share in their experiences...lol. For us,it is definitely worth the investment when I am nowhere near north America.

 

With this knowledge, once again, I want to thank many of you in this room for helping me gain insight. From here on, Kurt and I will be looking at additional coverage when we cruise. I guess I had better get looking for my Sept and Jan cruises. :D

One thing to keep in mind is the evacuation benefits are pretty limited with most travel medical policies. It's usually only to the nearest hospital and then it's decided by the insurance company physicians. If evacuation benefits are important to you then Medjet Assist might be worthwhile. With Medjet - you determine when and where you go.

I wouldn't ever dream of going on holiday let alone a cruise without any travel insurance. Fortunately my bank gives me and my wife a very comprehensive travel insurance free that covers everything in Europe, all I had to do was pay for an 'Worldwide incl. USA' upgrade for £40 ($65) to pay for my upcoming Caribbean cruise.

We always get insurance when we cruise. Given the expense of cruising, it's better to have and not need than to need and not have.

Last September a friend was taken to a hospital in Rhodes, Greece for 5 days. Then he had to take a plane to catch up with us in Rome.

He was reimbursed for hospital, air ticket and missed cruise days that his own insurance didn't cover.

Just like insurance for your home or car, you may never need it but it's great to have when you need it.