Jersey42

By the way here is the language from GeoBlue’s FAQ site that prompted my question.

Do I file claims with my primary insurance first?

The GeoBlue Trekker plans are secondary insurance. However, GeoBlue will process and pay overseas claims as a primary payor and reserves the right, where applicable, to contact your primary insurance company to coordinate benefits.

1 hour ago, klfrodo said:

I'm not Steve and I'm sure he will correct me if I'm wrong.

 

My research tells me that GeoBlue Trekker is "Secondary", which means that they will reimburse you after your other policies either pay or deny. Therefore, you would file an initial claim with your Medicare policy, wait for the denial letter, then file the claim with GeoBlue.

 

What I've done in the past when I had a claim that I knew would be denied by my Medicare plan was to put in the claim that I understood that it would be denied and asked them to expedite the denial so I could initiate my claim with the secondary insurance. That did seem to hurry them along with the denial letter. I think I had the denial within a couple of weeks.

Steve's @iamtrustworthy response in the past to me was completely the opposite. The last time I asked was in June of 2022.

Response:

So far, I never seen GeoBlue go back to someone's primary insurance to coordinate benefits.

-- Steve

Question:

We have been purchasing an annual GeoBlue Trekker policy for a number of years.  Now that we will both be on regular Medicare with a supplement (one that covers foreign emergency travel up to $50K lifetime), I want to be sure I understand how a claim will be processed.  My understanding was GeoBlue will pay foreign claims as primary and I do not first have to file with Medicare and my supplement.  My assumption was, the claim would not go against the supplement’s $50K lifetime maximum because I never submitted a claim to Medicare.  Is all of this true? Or will GeoBlue pay first, then try to recover from Medicare and the supplement?

1 hour ago, CJANDH said:

The medical is $100K versus $50K. The premium is in fact a little higher (not a deal breaker) and it does have deductibles that the Allianz plan doesn't

I guess you are over 70. So my comments on premium cost for you were wrong. Serves me right for assuming. After age 70, the GeoBlue premium goes up and the coverage goes way down. GeoBlue medical after age 70 is $100K per year and Allianz is $50K per trip.  Not sure which one is better, but there are valid arguments for both.

1 hour ago, CJANDH said:

The evacuation coverage is the same

Yes the amount is the same, but you might want to compare the coverages before your next renewal. Pay attention to the coverage for getting you back home after an emergency evacuation.  I think the additional coverage offered by GeoBlue is beneficial, but it may not be important for your needs.

4 hours ago, CJANDH said:

Medical: $50,000

Emergency Transportation: $500,000

My US medical insurance does not cover me outside the country.

Premium: $419 for the two of us for a year.

Thanks for the response.  Unfortunately while $50K in medical coverage may work for you, I would prefer more for the same reason you mentioned - the potential mega costs associated with medical emergencies.  I agree that $500K in Emergency Transportation is way more than enough in dollars, but the coverage is more limited than in some other plans.

If you care mostly about a medical emergency, did you look at one of the GeoBlue Trekker plans offered by Steve's company.  It offers much more medical coverage (with a small deductible) and more robust emergency evacuation at a lower annual premium.  It does not give you any trip cancellation/interruption benefits.

1 hour ago, CJANDH said:

It gives me good coverage for medical and emergency evacuation, but only token coverage for cancellation, trip interruption, etc. I am okay with this as I am willing to take the risk of losing the cost of the cruise, but not the mega costs associated with medical emergencies.

What do you consider to be good medical coverage? Does you regular medical insurance cover you outside of the country?  Are you looking for your annual travel plan to just supplement your regular insurance for things like copays and deductibles, or is the annual plan your only travel medical coverage?

3 hours ago, simong said:

i received an email from geo blue due 7/6/2024 my next cruise sailing is 8/4/2024 should i renew or get a new policy?

In most cases you should wait to put the policy in effect the day before your next trip.  There is no real difference between a renewal or a new policy.  

The previous poster's comments do not apply to GeoBlue Trekker unless your birthday falls in between 7/6/24 and 8/3/24. Then it only applies if your new age puts you into a new premium bracket.  Unless you are turning 70, it won't make a huge difference. If you are having a birthday in that date range, you can always get a quick quote with your current age and then change your age to see if the premium changes. 

FYI - At age 70 the premium goes up and the coverage goes down to a maximum of $100,000 per year.  That's why I mentioned 70.

24 minutes ago, torpeedo said:

I know Steve from the Trip Insurance Store and I do think he sells annual policies.  

If you still have any concerns or questions, it is worth calling Steve.  You will get better advice from him than from any poster on Cruise Critic.  I bet he will tell you that your current coverage more than exceeds the largest medical clam he has ever seen.

What annual policies do you believe Steve sells? He offers annual medical (like GeoBlue) and evacuation policies, but AFAIK, he and the other brokers I mentioned do not offer comprehensive annual policies that include cancellation and interruption.  He used to offer one from RoamRight, but he eliminated that several years ago.  I'm sure he will tell you his reasons if you ask.   

13 hours ago, torpeedo said:

Looking at Allianze annual policy and I see it does have Pre X conditions and I would think this

would be waived with an annual policy?  How can I get the waiver.?  I have other insurance but want to just add more as my age is pretty advanced but I'm in good enough health to travel.

On 4/29/2024 at 11:41 AM, Jersey42 said:

Neither company offers an annual policy that would work for me.

 

Allianz

• Pre-existing condition lookback period of 120 days, but a pre-existing conditions waiver is available.

To answer your question - The pre-existing conditions waiver is available on all but the basic (least expensive) Allianz policy. To qualify you must purchase the policy within 14 days of the date of the first trip payment or deposit. Subsequent trips booked when the policy is in force also are covered by the waiver. 

Allianz is unusual as I am not aware of any other company that offers a pre-existing conditions waiver for an annual travel insurance policy that includes trip cancellation and interruption in the annual premium.

I strongly suggest you read the policy.  That is where you will find the details on this and all other aspects of coverage. This could also include state specific language.

I am not sure what other insurance you have, but you need to understand how multiple policies would work together when you make a claim.  This is especially true if both policies pay secondary. 

I normally would suggest working with a good travel insurance broker who can explain all of the nuances. But the brokers typically mentioned on this forum (TripInsuranceStore, InsureMyTrip and Squaremouth) do not offer these types of annual policies. @iamtrustworthy from TripInsuranceStore has explained why in previous posts.

17 hours ago, Cruise5life said:

So what travel insurance do you suggest.   
solo traveler.   61 with Medicare so no outside coverage.   
insuring 2 trips right now 1-5K and the second trip about 4K.   
no credit cards with coverage.  

If those are your only trips, take a look at a policy for each trip.  I would CALL tripinsurancestore.com and see what they can offer you.  

• Make sure you discuss your pre-existing conditions to see if the trip insurance would consider them a pre-existing condition.  Better yet see, if you qualify for a pre-existing conditions waiver so you do not need to worry about them.
• Primary medical coverage (instead of secondary) would simplify the claims process.  With secondary you would probably have to file first with Medicare and get a denial before the trip insurance would process a medical claim.

You have provided some information here, but there are still too many variables for me or anyone else to recommend a specific plan on this forum.

On 4/26/2024 at 10:08 PM, Cruise5life said:

Best annual policy.   TravelGuard VS Allianz.   Or???
 

I have 2 big trips coming up and would like an annual policy.   
 

 60+ airily good healthy with a few existing conditions.     

Have you read the policies from these companies, and does either company offer what YOU are looking for?  What are you trying to cover? How many people? How expensive are your trips? What does your current medical insurance cover outside of the USA? .  . .

Neither company offers an annual policy that would work for me.

Allianz

• Offers four different policies with a variety of options for cancelation/interruption coverage.
• The maximum cancelation/interruption coverage for three of the policies is $15K per POLICY per year (not per person)
• The business (executive policy) lets you purchase up to $10K in cancelation/interruption coverage per PERSON per year.
• Pre-existing condition lookback period of 120 days, but a pre-existing conditions waiver is available.
• The most medical (secondary) coverage you can get is $50K per person per trip.  IMHO, it is too low if you don't have other medical coverage.

Travel Guard

• NO trip cancelation coverage and just $2,500 trip interruption per person per year.
• Pre-existing condition lookback period of 60 days, and NO pre-existing conditions waiver is available.
• Medical (primary) coverage is $50K per person per YEAR.  Way too low if you don't have other medical coverage.

In any of these policies, if you use up a benefit early in the year, you can't add on more coverage.  And, it may be too late to buy another plan especially if pre-existing conditions could come into play.

All other annual plans I have seen offer no more than $10K cancelation coverage per year.

If you care primarily about medical and evacuation coverage, look at one of the GeoBlue Trekker plans. Much better medical coverage than any other annual plan I have seen. But, it has no trip cancelation or interruption coverage.

If you care primarily about coverage other than medical, you might want to look at the insurance benefits of Chase Sapphire and Amex Platinum credit cards. They offer higher cancelation and interruption limits than the annual travel insurance plans. But they don't work for everyone. The biggest problem with these cards is pre-existing conditions for you, your travel companions and non-traveling family members are excluded with a 60 day lookback. So if you need to cancel or interrupt a trip due to a pre-existing condition, you won't be covered. The credit cards offer NO or very limited medical coverage. They also have somewhat fewer covered reasons for cancelation/interruption than most trip insurance policies.

26 minutes ago, mnocket said:

does anyone know if the medical coverage of this plan is adequate, or should I still buy medical insurance

Call the plan and ask how they pay for service out of the country.  Is it treated as any other out of network claim? Usual and customary charges? Deductibles? Co-pays? No one here will know unless they live in your area of Colorado and have the same exact plan. Medicare advantage plans (even those marketed through AARP) are localized, although how local they are depends on the plan and where you live.  For example in Florida, Advantage plans from the same company can differ by county.

20 minutes ago, beg3yrs said:

Missing the ship in a foreign port and getting back on at the next foreign port won't be a problem.

I agree, but that is a completely different situation than the one presented by the OP with PVSA violations.  

3 minutes ago, ldtr said:

You left out one other option. Were they allowed to reboard at all?

True, but @voljeep asked about "posters who have actually missed the boat and got on at the next port". 

27 minutes ago, voljeep said:

where are the posters who have actually missed the boat and got on at the next port - Real Life?

It would be interesting to find out what happened in the past.  But I am only interested in people who have done this in the same situation as presented by the OP with no distant foreign port call:

• Board in one US port.
• Depart in a different US port.
• Reboard in a third US port.
• Final disembarkation in the original US port (with a stop in a nearby foreign port).

For those people who did this, did the cruise line charge them for two PVSA violations (one for the first illegal segment and one for the second)?   If not, did they get hit with one or no fines and do they know why?

Sorry that you have not gotten any responses.  Unfortunately there is no "Best travel insurance for cruising".  Insurance is more complicated than it should be and what works for one person could be a terrible solution for someone else.  Instead, here are a few thoughts that might help:

• How does your current medical insurance cover you outside of the US?  To me, this is the most important part of travel insurance, and you really need to know what you already have. Covered completely with no limits?  No coverage?  Covered completely with a potentially high out of network deductible and co pays?  Covered with a limited lifetime maximum?  Travel insurance must be a good fit with your existing coverage.
• Do you have any medical evacuation and repatriation coverage with your existing medical insurance? Most do not.
• Do you have any pre-existing conditions?  You need to understand the insurance company definition.  
• How important is cancelation and interruption coverage?  Are you concerned about one or more specific cancelation reasons that you want to be sure are covered? Some people look at cancelation as a sunk cost, but care more about the unknowns related to medical.
• How important is Cancel For Any Reason coverage?
• Do you have any planned cruises and when did you make your initial deposit?

After you understand the first two bullets I would recommend calling tripinsurancestore.com to discuss options for a specific cruise or in general. They will spend time with you and ask you questions.  If you like what you hear and are comfortable with the premiums, that is all you need to do.  Unfortunately third party insurance premiums increase with age so the premiums are not cheap.  At least you have learned something and will have a basis of comparison if you want to still consider the cheaper Carnival plan.

I agree that what you have heard about Carnival's plan is true.  I think most cruise line plans have severe limitations and Carnival's may be the worst ($10K medical, $30K med repatriation, no waiver of pre-existing conditions, CFAR is a limited 75% future cruise credit . . .), but the premiums are not age dependent.  So if you have good existing medical coverage and no pre-existing conditions it may be worth a look at your age.

Another non-age-dependent plan is available to members of a major big box store if you purchase your cruise through them.  I have taken a brief look at that plan and from what I can tell the coverage is good.  (apparently they offer another version of the plan if you purchased your cruise elsewhere, but premiums are age dependent)

Unfortunately I am only hitting some of the highlights (lowlights???).  Good luck and please share what you find.

2 minutes ago, beachbuff9 said:

Thank you for all the info.  If I read this correctly, we just have to be healthy with no new issues for 60 days prior to adding the Princess trip insurance - and we can add it any time before our final payment is due.  It also seems as if CAFR is more important than the pre-existing condition waiver?  So if we buy insurance from a third party with a CAFR option, within the 14 -21 day window, it doesn't matter if we get sick just before the cruise - we just say "I don't want to go" and not invoke any medical reason?  Obviously this only applies to the cancellation portion of the insurance, not the coverage for medical expenses.  Since we are traveling primarily in Alaska, our Medicare + supplement will cover our medical expenses on land?  This is making my head spin!

I think you have a good handle on this. Here are a few additional things to consider as none of this is as easy as it should be.

• Third party CFAR will be more costly and will require you cancel at least 48 hours prior to departure.  You will also have to pay for it in that 14-21 day window.  But you will typically get a 75% cash refund.
• Medicare and your supplement will cover you on land in Alaska. But the rules change in Canada and in most instances on the ship. Assuming your supplement covers foreign emergency travel (such as plan G or N), your supplement will cover 80% after your annual deductible, then the Princess plan will cover the rest.  Whatever the supplement covers will go against your lifetime $50K foreign travel benefit.
• If you get a third party plan with primary medical (Princess' plan pays secondary), then you do not need to file with Medicare and use any of your lifetime maximum.

22 minutes ago, WisCruiser2 said:

I can never understand this - are you saying if the condition/diagnosis was determined MORE than 60 days before paying for the insurance, you are out of luck if it causes one to cancel the trip, but if LESS than 60 days before, they will cover a cancellation? But if we have "cancel for any reason" it will be covered (with FCC, not a refund)? Thanks.

Yes to your second question.  Pre-existing conditions do not matter if you cancel for any reason.  75% FCC for Standard or 100% FCC for Platinum.

On the first question you sort of have it backwards, but it can be more complicated than that and it somewhat depends on the condition.  Here is the definition:

Pre-Existing Condition means an illness, disease, or other condition during the sixty (60) day period immediately prior to the Effective Date of Your Certificate for which You, Your Traveling Companion, or a Family Member booked to travel with You: 
1) exhibited symptoms that would have caused a typical person to seek care or treatment; or 
2) received or received a recommendation for a test, examination, or medical treatment; or 
3) took or received a prescription for drugs or medicine. 

Item (3) of this definition does not apply to a condition that is treated or controlled solely through the taking of prescription drugs or medicine and remains treated or controlled without any adjustment or change in the required prescription throughout the sixty (60) day period before the Effective Date of Your Certificate.

So if you were diagnosed more than 60 days before paying for the insurance (the effective date), and you have had no need for treatment, tests, exams etc in the 60 days before paying for the insurance you should be covered.  But if you regularly go back for checkups or treatments, the 60 day window starts again with each doctor visit.

A big advantage of a policy with a pre-existing conditions waiver is you do not need to worry about any of this.  And, when you submit a claim you won't be asked to submit medical and prescription records to prove you did not have a pre-existing condition.

Annual comprehensive travel insurance plans do not offer the same coverage as purchasing plans for each trip.  They do not work well for us and I suspect they are not a good choice for many people.  That said, there are situations where they can be a good value.  Take a look at what I have posted previously for some insights.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2946701-annual-trip-insurance-policy/?do=findComment&comment=65622760

Here are some additional thoughts from the current  special forum - "Q&A: Cruise Insurance with Steve Dasseos of the TripInsuranceStore.com - Summer 2023"

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2960032-annual-policy-or-singletrip

If the limitations don't affect your needs, then one of the Allianz plans is your only option in New York state. None of the other plans I am aware of can be sold in New York.

10 hours ago, beachbuff9 said:

We just paid our deposit for an Alaska cruise in June of 2024 but did not include the Princes PVP.  I understand we can add within 14 days of our deposit but can't find any info about a waiver for pre-existing conditions.  Is it part of the standard policy?  

Unlike most third party insurance, neither of the Princess plans (standard or platinum) offers a waiver of pre-existing conditions.  In most cases, third party plans offer better coverage at a better price.  Many of those plans require purchase within X days of your initial deposit to get the pre-existing conditions waiver.  I highly recommend tripinsurancestore.com.  Call them, don't rely on online summaries.

As @Coral said, the Princess plan has a 60 day lookback period from the day you purchase the plan.  So depending on the pre-existing condition, the date someone purchases the plan can be very important.  For example if your only "pre-existing condition" is a change in blood pressure medication, then wait at least 60 days after the medication change before purchasing the plan.  The plan can be purchased up until final payment date.

Also, pre-existing conditions do not matter for the Cancel For Any Reason benefit.

1 hour ago, Tampa Girl said:

I was responding to your statement that "you do not need to purchase before final payment.  It appears that one is normally required to purchase before that date.  Perhaps a better way to explain it is that "one must purchase by final payment date.

I agree, your language is definitely clearer.  All third party CFAR plans that I am aware of require purchase no more than X (typically 21) days after your initial trip deposit.  Many other third party plans (without CFAR) also require purchase within X days of your initial deposit if you want a pre-existing conditions waiver. The HAL plan does not have these restrictions.

___________________________

By the way, after seeing comments from @RuthC, I did some investigating.  "One must purchase HAL insurance by final payment date" is correct for most future HAL cruises.  It is correct for all HAL cruises departing June 1, 2024 or later. It is also correct for all cruises where penalties start at less than 120 days (i.e. 89 or 74 days) prior to sailing.  

With "special" cruises departing before 6/1/24 where cancelation penalties begin 120 days before sailing, it is more complicated.  A handful of these cruises require final payment at 90 days, so on these cruises you need to buy the insurance about a month before final payment date.  For the rest of these special cruises, final payment date is exactly 120 days before sailing. So technically you may have to purchase the HAL insurance the day before final payment date.  I do not know if they enforce this one day discrepancy.

Post June 2024 HAL seems to have set final payment date exactly one day before cancelation penalties kick in for all special cruises.  And, all of the special cruises now have final payment dates of 120 days prior to sailing. HAL already adjusted the dates more than a year ago for cruises with 90 (and 75) day final payments.  I have looked at dozens of cruises pre and post 6/1/24 and can find no exceptions to what I have posted here.  

Here are the "special" cruises:

• Grand world, grand voyages, any segment of a grand world or grand voyage;
• 28+ day ultimate Alaska;
• 28+ day Australia circumnavigation and any segment of an Australia circumnavigation; 
• 28+ day Hawaii, Tahiti & Marquesas;
• Tales of the South Pacific;
• Amazon explorer;
• Incan empires (including segments);
• 30+ day transatlantic voyages and any segment of a 30+ day transatlantic     

56 minutes ago, RuthC said:

Not necessarily. 

HAL insurance must be purchased by the day before penalties start accruing. Penalties usually start accruing at the 90-day mark, which generally coincides with final payment. BUT there are some cruises where they start accruing at the 120-day mark, even though final payment isn't due yet. 

Ruth - I apologize for any misinformation I may have posted, but help educate me on what I am missing.

• I agree that HAL insurance must be purchased by the day before penalties start accruing.  But penalties usually start accruing at the 89 day mark, not the 90 day mark (see link below).  So for these typical cruises, why wouldn't you be able to purchase HAL insurance at final payment?
• What are examples of cruises that meet the exception you mentioned in your last sentence?  I tried a bunch of sample bookings of "120 day penalty cruises" and I only found one cruise where penalties began at 120 days, but final payment is due after that.  (2/28/2024 24 day Grand World Voyage) I am curious on how often this exception occurs.

By the way, beginning in June 2024, penalties for certain longer cruises will begin at 119 days before sailing instead of 120. 

Here is a link to what I believe to be HAL's current cancelation policy.  It also defines the type of cruises where the longer (and shorter) penalty period applies.

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/legal-privacy/cancellation-policy-US-default.html

51 minutes ago, Tampa Girl said:

It appears that you must purchase before the penalties start accruing:

That is correct.  But penalties start accruing on final payment due date so I believe we are saying the same thing. For the OP, that would normally be 90 days prior to sailing. Am I missing something?

A few things I neglected to mention about HAL Platinum. 

• It will only work if everyone in the same cabin cancels.  If only one person in a cabin cancels, the other will probably be charged a single supplement.  The HAL plan will not cover the supplement. 
• HAL will cover airfare and pre/post cruise travels booked through HAL, not just the cruise fare.
• You do not need to purchase the plan before final payment.

7 hours ago, mattR said:

Looking at doing a family cruise Canada New England next October.  Half the family is vaccinated for Covid the other half isn't.  Where can they find insurance that would allow them to cancel if Covid requirements come back into effect?  

Holland America's own plans are probably the best option if all you care about is CFAR coverage.  The Platinum plan will give you back 90% of the non-refundable cruise cost in cash as long as you cancel prior to the scheduled departure.  It is available to Canadians except residents of Quebec.  I don't know about Canadian CFAR plans, but in the US, third party plans that offer a CFAR option are usually much more expensive, only give you back 75% (or less) and usually require at least a 48 hour cancelation notice.  Third party plans will cover pre and post cruise items including non-refundable air and hotels and offer much better medical coverage.

The Holland plan has weaknesses including very limited medical coverage.  I would never recommend the plan to anyone who does not have other medical coverage.  But for CFAR, it is excellent.

Thanks to @waldorf