Travel Insurance to get or not to get

[cruiseco]

Agree with reading any policy to make sure what is covered. Respectfully, the key to your post was "We thought ....". If any travel policy is keyed to a certain credit card or any other conditions, it's probably not worth anything of value.

.

 

for Canadians it's common to have travel insurance as a credit card perk. but as you pointed out what level of protection are you going to get for free? Sites like insuremytrip are mentioned here all the time but as soon as you self-identify as Canadian you're shown a completely different array of policies. What they don't tell you is that those very good and popular policies favored by US cruisers such as CSA, Travelex, TravelSafe and others can be purchased by Canadians, just not through insuremytrip.

 

my suggestion when you go to a comparison site is to self-identify as a US resident/citizen, choose your best plan then then call the insurer or go to their web site if need be to complete the purchase.

[kitty9]

Have any of you ever had to use trip insurance to pay for 1) medical treatment? 2) emergency evacuation off the ship by the coast guard? 3) hospitalization offshore?

 

I ask because I have not ever received any info from people who have actually used the insurance, only people who pay for the above 3 items. I have heard from people who have been able to receive the missed flight and/or cruise, due to illness reimbursement and services.

 

I've seen people evacuated off of ships, but I am unsure what the cruiseline actually would charge a person for that, because they will not tell me. By the way - the US Coast Guard does not charge to evacuate off a cruiseline.

 

How hard is it to get reimbursed by these trip insurance companies?

 

Thanks

 

My mom fell and broke her hip on a cruise ship and had to be evac'd off. The cruise line doesn't pay anything. She even had to pay for the charge for the night she had to remain in the ship's infirmary until she could be flown back to Ft Lauderdale. We even had to pre-pay the ambulance trip from the dock to the local airport. The 1/2 hour flight, by private medical jet, cost $9000.

[Putterdude]

As Canadians who spend slightly over 5 mos a year in AZ we are very aware and concerned about having travel insurance and simply can't afford to be without it. As an example two years ago I spent 2.5 days in an AZ hospital and ran up a bill that exceeded $30,000...it was paid by our insurance. This same insurance covers us when we are on a cruise and purchase it through an independent agent. We then purchase non-medical trip cancellation insurance for our cruise through our TA at the time of final payment.

[cruisin' judi]

Hello

I have planned my first Med.cruise. I'm just trying to find out about insurance.Should I buy from the cruise line or let my ta get it for me. Since this is my first really big cruise I'm asking for any advice or help.Thanks

 

We had to cancel our last cruise a week before the cruise. Without travel insurance, I would have been out about $5,000.00. They sent us a check for $5,000.00. It is paying for the Med cruise that we are taking in May.

 

As far as the cruise line insurance it doesn't pay enough if you are medically disabled on the cruise, at least as explained to me by an NCL cruise consultant. I called Access America as soon as I booked our trip and had insurance added through them. Since it was added immediately, all preexisting conditions are covered.

 

Access America is not connected with the cruise line and they paid immediately after everything was turned in to them. They were recommended by a TA that booked our previous cruise with NCL.

 

Judi

[geoherb]

Have any of you ever had to use trip insurance to pay for 1) medical treatment? 2) emergency evacuation off the ship by the coast guard? 3) hospitalization offshore?

My mother-in-law had a medical emergency while on a Mediterranean cruise. The insurance company was wonderful in both helping to get her better and taking care of my father-in-law. Talking with the company's reps gave us a lot of peace of mind. My DH was thinking of flying to Greece to be with them while she recovered. Fortunately, he did not have to since she was better within a few days in a Greek hospital. My father-in-law's hotel room was also covered by the insurance company. The company took care of booking their flights back when she was well enough to travel. The company also hired a student nurse to accompany them on the flights back to the U.S. And after they got back, they received a refund for the unused portion of their cruise.

 

My mother and stepfather had to use the cancellation clause before their Alaskan cruise. They were able to rebook the cruise the next year. If they had not received their money back, I doubt they would have been able to have afforded the trip.

[rigldbrg]

As Karl Malden used to say, "don't travel without it." Peter Greeneberg wrote a great article about some of the ins and outs of trip insurance: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/17519580/ . When we booked our first cruise I bought the policy directly from the cruise line. Greenberg's article exposed me to some of the important intricacies like how the emergency evacuation part of the policy works. I would determine what your needs and tolerance for risk are, and buy the policy that corresponds to those needs.

[cjoyw]

My mother felll and broke her leg, six ribs and her collarbone while on a Med cruise. She spent 5 weeks in a Rome Hospital. The insurance covered all. They flew a nurse to Rome to fly home with my mother - both in first class. The nurse got a cab and took my mother to her local hospital 45 minutes from the airport. Everything was paid by the insurance

 

Thanks for the info. BTW, which ins company did she use.

 

I appreciate all the info from all who responded to my question so far. It so good to know that the right ins is capable of covering such mishaps.

[aprilivy]

Purchased insurance from the cruise company RCCL for the December cruise that was fogged in and we got off....there was NO reimbursement for the insurance premium nor would they apply it to the future cruise (to use our RCCL voucher).

We were surprised...sort of...

 

Also, at our age, we now consider if there is a repatriation (spelling?) allowance to transport a body back to the US....

[h20skibum]

Have any of you ever had to use trip insurance to pay for 1) medical treatment? 2) emergency evacuation off the ship by the coast guard? 3) hospitalization offshore?

 

 

My father broke a leg on a shore trip in Granada in 2005 and had to have med evac to Florida. The med evac plane trip alone was 19,000 + which was covered by the policy. It also picked up hotel and meal costs plus the unused portion of the cruise.

 

Based on his experience, as they say, never leave home without it.

[GlendaleCruiser]

It ran $128 for me for a 16 day trip to Rome and med cruise.

 

Well worth the money, and brought comfort although not used or needed (thank You, God). travelguard.

[Doug R.]

 

Also, at our age, we now consider if there is a repatriation (spelling?) allowance to transport a body back to the US....

 

Check before you buy but many of the policies do have repatriaton of remains coverage. At insuremytrip.com you can read the details from any policy offered before you buy.