Don't need medical but should I get cancellation/interruption?

[Clipper123]

I'm debating on purchasing trip cancellation/interruption insurance. We have full, extensive, unlimited out of country medical (I confirmed with the company) through an employer, so we do not require medical insurance of any kind. We have an early morning flight booked to arrive in Tampa the day before our cruise and we are staying in Tampa for a night after our cruise. We are flying out of Detroit in February. I know things can happen, but I don't recall ever hearing of flights from Detroit being cancelled for more than a few hours or a day at most. I realize we are taking a slight chance with maybe an accidental death/sickness of a family member prior to cruising - there are no elderly or terminally ill family members, but really, what are the chances of that happening immediately before our cruise? I have looked into canc/interruption insurance and the lowest price for us (4) is $260 - that could pay for our two nights in a motel. What would you do?

[cruise kitty]

I'm debating on purchasing trip cancellation/interruption insurance. We have full, extensive, unlimited out of country medical (I confirmed with the company) through an employer, so we do not require medical insurance of any kind. We have an early morning flight booked to arrive in Tampa the day before our cruise and we are staying in Tampa for a night after our cruise. We are flying out of Detroit in February. I know things can happen, but I don't recall ever hearing of flights from Detroit being cancelled for more than a few hours or a day at most. I realize we are taking a slight chance with maybe an accidental death/sickness of a family member prior to cruising - there are no elderly or terminally ill family members, but really, what are the chances of that happening immediately before our cruise? I have looked into canc/interruption insurance and the lowest price for us (4) is $260 - that could pay for our two nights in a motel. What would you do?

 

The question is do you have medical evacuation insurance, the cost of an emergency helicoptor to take you to a safe hospital could be $50,000 & up, did you check insure my trip to compare policies?

[babyblue78]

We got a Travelex Basic policy through Insuremytrip, it was very inexpensive. It does include something like $15k sickness/medical, which I don't really need since we do have healthcare coverage internationally. However, I figured it wouldn't hurt. My main reason was to get the medevac coverage ($100k) and coverage for cancellation/interruption.

[Clipper123]

The question is do you have medical evacuation insurance, the cost of an emergency helicoptor to take you to a safe hospital could be $50,000 & up, did you check insure my trip to compare policies?

 

We got a Travelex Basic policy through Insuremytrip, it was very inexpensive. It does include something like $15k sickness/medical, which I don't really need since we do have healthcare coverage internationally. However, I figured it wouldn't hurt. My main reason was to get the medevac coverage ($100k) and coverage for cancellation/interruption.

 

"Medical evacuation – if a medical emergency occurs while the plan member is travelling and suitable local care is not available, GMA covers the cost of medical evacuation to Canada."

 

Our medical plan is a very extensive plan - covers everything and is completely unlimited. We do not require any more medical, it would be totally useless as our current plan covers everything that any other plan would cover. I am just trying to decide upon trip cancellation/interruption insurance.

 

I did check with insurancemytrip.com and that is the price I was quoted for just trip canc/interruption.

[sirwired]

The purpose of insurance is to protect you from risk you otherwise would not wish to bear. If you had to cancel your trip entirely at the last minute and lose all your money (due to a reason that would otherwise be covered), how would that affect you? Could you afford to replace it with another vacation? What is it worth to you to have those risks eliminated?

 

Only you can answer those questions.

[Clipper123]

The purpose of insurance is to protect you from risk you otherwise would not wish to bear. If you had to cancel your trip entirely at the last minute and lose all your money (due to a reason that would otherwise be covered), how would that affect you? Could you afford to replace it with another vacation? What is it worth to you to have those risks eliminated?

 

Only you can answer those questions.

 

I know, but......I am just so sick and tired of paying for insurance - car insurance, house insurance, life insurance, RV insurance, unemployment insurance, etc., etc., etc., I just would once like to say forget it! All the thousands and thousands of dollars I have paid out in insurance over my lifetime and all I have ever claimed was a couple hundred when my purse was stolen from the trunk of my car - like many other people, I'm sure. Sure, I know it would be devastating to me if I had to cancel our trip and not be reimbursed, but I honestly believe that is very unlikely, so I'm just trying to figure the logistics of saving that $260. To be quite honest, I have never purchased travel insurance for any trip I have gone on - many all inclusive vacations - actually never thought about it until I got reading these boards! I'm not asking what I should do, just what others in the same situation would do.

[babyblue78]

If you feel that way, then don't get the insurance! It is meant to give people peace of mind, and some protection. If you feel comfortable without it, you can go the "self-insure" route.

[Bill S]

OK, but remember, stuff happens!

Example, we and another couple had booked an Alaska cruise. 3 days before leaving, the husband of the other couple was in a vehicular accident and broke his ankle and leg, requiring surgery. They didn't expect that to happen, and luckily they had purchased travel insurance, and were reimbursed their cruise fare.

It's all about risk assessment. And the odd thing is that if you do purchase the insurance, in essence you will be betting that something will happen to cause cancellation, and the insurance company is betting that it won't. ;)

For us, we never leave for a cruise without trip insurance.

[klfrodo]

I know, but......I am just so sick and tired of paying for insurance - car insurance, house insurance, life insurance, RV insurance, unemployment insurance, etc., etc., etc., I just would once like to say forget it! All the thousands and thousands of dollars I have paid out in insurance over my lifetime and all I have ever claimed was a couple hundred when my purse was stolen from the trunk of my car - like many other people, I'm sure. Sure, I know it would be devastating to me if I had to cancel our trip and not be reimbursed, but I honestly believe that is very unlikely, so I'm just trying to figure the logistics of saving that $260. To be quite honest, I have never purchased travel insurance for any trip I have gone on - many all inclusive vacations - actually never thought about it until I got reading these boards! I'm not asking what I should do, just what others in the same situation would do.

 

With what you're saying, you have saved enough money in past trips without insurance that you are ahead of the game.

I'd say to heck with it. You're playing with house money. Medical is covered, evac is covered, you can afford the loss if push comes to shove,,,,, happy (uninsured) sailing

[sirwired]

I know, but......I am just so sick and tired of paying for insurance - car insurance, house insurance, life insurance, RV insurance, unemployment insurance, etc., etc., etc., I just would once like to say forget it! All the thousands and thousands of dollars I have paid out in insurance over my lifetime and all I have ever claimed was a couple hundred when my purse was stolen from the trunk of my car - like many other people, I'm sure. Sure, I know it would be devastating to me if I had to cancel our trip and not be reimbursed, but I honestly believe that is very unlikely, so I'm just trying to figure the logistics of saving that $260. To be quite honest, I have never purchased travel insurance for any trip I have gone on - many all inclusive vacations - actually never thought about it until I got reading these boards! I'm not asking what I should do, just what others in the same situation would do.

 

Most all-inclusives aren't pre-paid, are they? That would be a big difference between a cruise and a resort...

 

Despite what lousy financial planners may tell you, personal insurance isn't an "investment" in the traditional sense. It's meant to insulate you from risk, at the cost of a premium. Yes, in the end, the insurance company is the party most likely to come out "ahead". They have legions of highly paid actuaries to virtually guarantee they collect more in premiums than they pay in claims; they are in business to turn a profit, and there is nothing wrong with this. But in return for those profits, they do indeed provide a service. They've taken a risk you, through the payment of a premium, do not wish to bear yourself.

 

Financially, I could take the hit of losing my vacation. But I insure every single prepaid trip, nonetheless. It removes great stress from the decision "Do I cancel?" In my case, my father (not traveling with us) needed emergency bypass surgery 10 days before our cruise. Because we had insurance, we did not hesitate to cancel, and my parents did not have to feel guilty about us losing the money we put into our vacation. It was only $1500 cruise fare at stake, (we were able to re-use our airfare), but it was nice to not have to worry about it.

 

SirWired

 

P.S. Incidentally, we also had to file a claim for the replacement of that cruise we had to cancel... we got stranded in FL due to a blizzard. While the $600 claim check was nice, the travel agency attached to TravelGuard was wonderful in re-arranging flights, booking rental cars and hotels, etc.

 

Filing a claim may not be as unlikely as you think.

[Gablin]

I, too, have excellent medical insurance. I have bought trip insurance sometimes, when I was going to be very far from home, at great expense, and had elderly parents not in the best of health.

 

I live near Seattle. For a cruise to Alaska last summer, I skipped insurance. If I had had to cancel due to my own illness or injury or to a family member's situation, I would just have to bear it.

 

My next cruise is to South America, at rather large expense when you include the air and land costs. If something goes wrong that means I have to cancel, I want to be paid back some of the huge cost. If something goes wrong with me while I am traveling, I want one of my kids to fly to Argentina or Chile to be with me, if necessary. So, I bought the insurance.

 

For trips to Europe and China, I bought insurance. For the Caribbean, I did not. I am willing to absorb some risk, but not all.