Trip Insurance

Picking brains again, fellow SS cruisers!

If you do not use SS travel insurance option, who do you recommend?

Have never bothered to think about it much, we usually use them. But this WC has opened up a lot of questions for us, and one of them is the insurance. SS option covers each passenger for up to $70K and costs about $20K. On a WC that leaves about $90K of trip cost uninsured.

I understand that none of the insurances cover trip cancellation due to a pre-existing condition that has worsened. Really, what are the chances at our age that something new will pop up? LOL

Any ideas?

Thanks!

Martha

Picking brains again, fellow SS cruisers!

If you do not use SS travel insurance option, who do you recommend?

Have never bothered to think about it much, we usually use them. But this WC has opened up a lot of questions for us, and one of them is the insurance. SS option covers each passenger for up to $70K and costs about $20K. On a WC that leaves about $90K of trip cost uninsured.

I understand that none of the insurances cover trip cancellation due to a pre-existing condition that has worsened. Really, what are the chances at our age that something new will pop up? LOL

Any ideas?

Thanks!

Martha

Isn't pre-existing cover if you pay by before final payment is due. Also I've used CSA which is good. Rick

Take a look at TravelGuard. There is some pre-existing condition coverage but it has strings, I think.

We always check:

http://www.insuremytrip.com

It allows the user to compare many insurance companies and plans. The site is very informative. I hope this helps you.

Check your health insurance first-ours offers a lot in terms of medical care where ever we are although no trip cancellation coverage.

We have used SS insurance twice. It was provided by AIG and the result was nothing short of outstanding, including flights from Korea to US and covering the cost of lost days. I am not a big believer in trip insurance as it is very expensive. I am an insurance agent however and you need to evaluate your age and health to the dollar risk . For years we simply did not buy insurance as we thought the risk very low. Now we are in our late 60's with specific ills, so we buy insurance.

Martha, as someone who has taken a lot of World Cruises (different cruise line) I have learned that it is wise to look at all of your options because insuring a large trip like that can get pretty expensive.

As mentioned, I recommend going to insuremytrip.com to do the research.

It has a great way of comparing plans and some companies offer multiple plans.

We look for having strong medical insurance as part of the plan too.

Also, just like a deductible for house or auto insurance you do not have to insure 100% of your trip. Yes, the positive if you insure 100% is if you have to cancel you get all of the money back but if you insure less than 100% you reduce your overall premium. So, I play with this. In the end each person has to determine what makes sense for them as they do with their other insurance policies.

Finally, when we sail to more remote areas we also add on an additional policy with MedJet for evacuation. If you happen to have AARP you get a nice discount and frankly this is the only time I've ever used AARP to get a discount. If you qualify for AARP and don't have it it is well worth signing up for the membership to get the discount.

Back to the travel insurance I am a believer the devil is in the details and I am a believer that not all policies fit all trips or for that matter all people.

For us, I use Travelex Insurance because for us it fits the bill. They act as the primary provider so I don't have to first waste time submitting paperwork to my own health insurance provider for medical claims.

But there are many good ones out there.

What I have learned is that I can get more comprehensive coverage at a lower cost than any insurance offered by any cruise line including Silversea.

Keith

I have various travel cover that is duplicated including Amex Plat Card Insurance cover etc and I also in a sense self-cover the main "travel" related concern for cruises where people make their own flight arrangementsd and that would be a cancelled flight meaning being prevented from meeting the cruise. I self-cover by arriving a few days earlier so that any flight cancellations can be rectified.

I am much more concerned about medical cover for pre-existing condtions because certainly in the UK there is a strong track record of insurers avoiding paying out on claims for any pretext with respect to non-agreed pre-exisitng conditions. So in the UK it isn't unknown for them to say really silly things to avoid paying out. You don't want those arguments when you are seriously ill away from home.

A little know solution to this in the UK - which may also be available in the US - is potentially avialable to travellers who have private medical inusrance cover.

Some of those insurers have an extension policy for travel whic they do not seem to publicise or sell but tell you about it if you ask for it. This provides the same normal travel policy for possessions and delays etc but more importantly extends the medical cover you have for overseas travel to mirro all conditions covered by your main policy. Why is that important? Because it mirrors the restrictions or lack of restrictions on your medical policy when you travel. So if you bought a medical expense policy some time ago and you are out of any initial pre-exisiting condition exclusions cover restriction period, or if you declared any pre-exisitng condition on that policy when you bought it, then you will be covered when you travel without any further restrictions or the need to make and agree any further declaration. That is very reassuring.

So this may be an avenue to explore for some travellers.

An endorsement for MedJet. Have paid for it for years and we finally needed it. The only way the foreign docs would let me fly home.

I was always reluctant to take the cruise line's insurance, because what if the line went belly up before my cruise, would they pay? If Silversea uses a third party company, would they pay if the line a declares bankruptcy? Do some mass market lines like Carnival self insure when they sell what they call "trip protection coverage"?

We always buy insurance and I guess I feel better not buying it from the cruise lines. I don't buy cruises from insurance companies, so I would not buy insurance from cruise lines.

so, if you could buy a cruise from the insurance company then you would buy an insurance policy from the cruise line?

Try tripinsurancestore.com. I think you will learn a lot and find very good insurance at the right price. Steve Dasseos is an expert.

I was always reluctant to take the cruise line's insurance, because what if the line went belly up before my cruise, would they pay? If Silversea uses a third party company, would they pay if the line a declares bankruptcy? Do some mass market lines like Carnival self insure when they sell what they call "trip protection coverage"?

 

We always buy insurance and I guess I feel better not buying it from the cruise lines. I don't buy cruises from insurance companies, so I would not buy insurance from cruise lines.

You have brought up yet another benefit of purchasing insurance privately and that is should a cruse line go bankrupt.

In the end, I am a believer that the devil is in the details and one size does not fit all.

I was one who used to buy my insurance from the cruise line because I didn't have the time back then to do the research. Then a few times I bought from a TA. Then when I did make the time and read and read I realized that we could purchase insurance directly from a third party that for a lower price than what we were getting before we could get a far better comprehensive policy that most importantly met our needs.

On top of that we use MedJet for selected cruises based on specific itineraries and later learned from a friend that we could get a discount with them via AARP which for those in the USA the discount would be cheaper than the membership to AARP.

I am now starting to learn more that certain credit cards include insurance but again the devil is in the details because for the long voyages we go on they would not provide the level of coverage we need but might be good for shorter voyages so again it's best to read all about that.

Keith

You have brought up yet another benefit of purchasing insurance privately and that is should a cruse line go bankrupt.

 

In the end, I am a believer that the devil is in the details and one size does not fit all.

 

I was one who used to buy my insurance from the cruise line because I didn't have the time back then to do the research. Then a few times I bought from a TA. Then when I did make the time and read and read I realized that we could purchase insurance directly from a third party that for a lower price than what we were getting before we could get a far better comprehensive policy that most importantly met our needs.

 

On top of that we use MedJet for selected cruises based on specific itineraries and later learned from a friend that we could get a discount with them via AARP which for those in the USA the discount would be cheaper than the membership to AARP.

 

I am now starting to learn more that certain credit cards include insurance but again the devil is in the details because for the long voyages we go on they would not provide the level of coverage we need but might be good for shorter voyages so again it's best to read all about that.

 

Keith

With the exception that I've ever considered whether or not a cruise line could or would go bankrupt I'm pretty much in line with Keith. I also admit we haven't always gotten insurance, particularly when we were cruising in the Caribbean. Things have changed though over the years. One, we've changed our focus to more distant locals. Two, because we go farther and for longer cruises our investment or costs have grown significantly so we have much more at risk. Three, and maybe the most significant consideration, is we've just gotten older and while we're basically pretty healthy there are more risks associated with our ages. Now that we do get insurance I'll say I shop around and have used credit card company, cruise line, and travel insurance companies. I liked and used the travel insurance available through AMEX for a number of cruises but they no longer have that option. For our recently booked trip I'm considering purchasing from our car/homeowners insurance company.

Trip insurance-never leave home without it.

Requirements vary,different costs and cover between countries so it becomes a personal decision.

In Australia we get an annual policy as we do 2 7 week trips a year plus some shorter ones.An annual policy covering trips up to 60 days each costs us $360.

The cost for 1 7week trip if paid separately is ~ $750.

I know some UK insurers do offer annual policy as the will even let us colonials purchase them.However in this area Google is your friend.I have tried an Aussie comparator site but I was able to come up with a better price.More importantly the company does pay up when required.

Trip insurance-never leave home without it.

Requirements vary,different costs and cover between countries so it becomes a personal decision.

In Australia we get an annual policy as we do 2 7 week trips a year plus some shorter ones.An annual policy covering trips up to 60 days each costs us $360.

The cost for 1 7week trip if paid separately is ~ $750.

I know some UK insurers do offer annual policy as the will even let us colonials purchase them.However in this area Google is your friend.I have tried an Aussie comparator site but I was able to come up with a better price.More importantly the company does pay up when required.

Are you referring to trip cancellation insurance or medical evacuation or both?

Comprehensive insurance.Covers virtually everything.Policy even states it would cover emergency evacuation from Antarctica.

Comprehensive insurance.Covers virtually everything.Policy even states it would cover emergency evacuation from Antarctica.

I would love to know the name of the company. Could you e-mail me at emtbsam at yahoo dot com?

Please share when you hear from drron. Thanx

Please share when you hear from drron. Thanx

Will do.

Will do.

me too, please. zqtchas at yahoo

I would love to know the name of the company. Could you e-mail me at emtbsam at yahoo dot com?

Sorry for the delay but I am so used to putting .au after .com

Wondered why the message wouldn't send until the penny dropped.

But for others the companies I have used will only cover Australian residents.

And therein lies the rub...

If your still reading this, can you send the name to me---also please ronrick@aol.com

Rick

DRon -

Thanks for the information. Too bad we don't reside in Australia.

V