Travel Insurancer Pre-Existing Conditions

[Astro Flyer]

I'm sure this subject has been discussed often on CC and not seeking a debate on the pros & cons of it. For us we generally purchase it online directly from an insurance company & input my TAs info for her to get credit for the sale.

 

I don't purchase the insurance until final payment when penalties kick it because I don't want to pay for it when I can cancel without penalty.

 

However when final payment was recently due, I have a health issue which isn't currently disabling but we wanted trip cancellation/interuption coverage just in case it does. The medical coverage is normally seondary to my health plan & I'm years away from needing it when I qualify for Medicare, so that part isn't a big issue.

 

Since most pre-existing waivers are 60-180 days in advance, I was going to get the Princess insurance to be able to cancel for any reason (100% credit) which would cover if I did not qualify for the pre-existing waiver.

 

MY TA told me about a CSA plan where the pre-existing condition exclusion is waived if purchased "prior to/or within 24 hours of your final payment" & "not disabled from travel at the time you make your plan payment"

 

Since we'd only cancel for a medical reason, it was nice to know there is a policy that can be purchased with final payment without a pre-existing condition exclusion.

 

It was nearly a third less than the Princess policy & we get what we wanted. I wasn't aware any insurance plan had the options like this CSA plan & thought I'd share it with the CC members to consider. :)

[Pam in CA]

Since you are only insuring for cancellation purposes, this sounds like a good deal. Where it might not be is if you have a medical issue while on the ship or require medical coverage in port, or, god forbid, medical evacuation from the ship. As became very clear to us in January, even the lack pre-existing condition doesn't mean you won't get sick or have an accident on the cruise.

 

On our Coral cruise in January, we discovered that paying more for the Princess insurance covered substantial medical expenses on the ship ($8,000) for an illness that wasn't pre-existing and most of the hotel charges for a month while my BIL was in the ICU in FLL, 3,000 miles away from home. It wound up being the best insurance choice for us but I know that everyone's experience and needs are different.

[Astro Flyer]

Thanks "Pam in LA" for your input.

 

Our plan includes medical coverage but is secondary to our medical plan which covers me anywhere in the world including medical evacuation at sea. But by having the plan's secondary coverage if it becomes an issue then I should be covered one way or the other.

 

I've been told when it's time for Medicare that I'm not covered outside the US. And that due to that, the secondary coverage would apply without any primary coverage outside the US. At least that's what I've been told & not researching it too much since there could be dozens of changes to Medicare before I'm covered...if it still exists.

[cruiseco]

Your agent probably offered you CSA's Freestyle plan. For those not getting a CSA plan thru a TA just be aware that if you go directly to CSA or through insuremytrip.com your options will be the Custom and Custom Loxe plans.

 

The important difference is that with the Custom plans you have to upgrade to the Luxe version to get the pre-ex coverage. Like anything named "Luxe" it's much more expensive than the base plan.

 

You can find the Freestyle (and the Freestyle Luxe) plan at

 

http://www.travelinsurancrcenter.com and

http://www.tripinsurancestore.com

 

if your TA doesn't have it.

[Astro Flyer]

Your agent probably offered you CSA's Freestyle plan. For those not getting a CSA plan thru a TA just be aware that if you go directly to CSA or through insuremytrip.com your options will be the Custom and Custom Loxe plans.

 

The important difference is that with the Custom plans you have to upgrade to the Luxe version to get the pre-ex coverage. Like anything named "Luxe" it's much more expensive than the base plan.

 

You can find the Freestyle (and the Freestyle Luxe) plan at

 

http://www.travelinsurancrcenter.com and

http://www.tripinsurancestore.com

 

if your TA doesn't have it.

Thanks "cruiseco"...excellent point about getting the info through your TA which I did but neglected to add into my post.

 

Here's the CSA site to get the better Freestyle plan with the "pre-existing exclusion" waiver & if you get your agents code you can add it so they get credit for it...

 

http://www.csatravelpro.com/

[cruiseco]

Thanks "cruiseco"...excellent point about getting the info through your TA which I did but neglected to add into my post.

 

Here's the CSA site to get the better Freestyle plan with the "pre-existing exclusion" waiver & if you get your agents code you can add it so they get credit for it...

 

http://www.csatravelpro.com/

 

Unfortunately, if you don't have the agent code you can't access the site -- you can't just leave it blank. If you've got it, great. If not, try the other sites mentioned.

[Astro Flyer]

Unfortunately, if you don't have the agent code you can't access the site -- you can't just leave it blank. If you've got it, great. If not, try the other sites mentioned.

Thanks again.

 

I just tried it again to "refresh my memory" if I remembered correctly being able to get a quote which it did. I'm sure you're correct & would need a TAs

number to purchase it which I'm very thankful she told me about a plan with the pre-existing waiver being excliuded when purchased like in my original post.

 

Hopefully this thread will be helpful to others & thanks for your input to have a completely accurate thread...mahalo!

[cravingthis]

Your agent probably offered you CSA's Freestyle plan. For those not getting a CSA plan thru a TA just be aware that if you go directly to CSA or through insuremytrip.com your options will be the Custom and Custom Loxe plans.

 

The important difference is that with the Custom plans you have to upgrade to the Luxe version to get the pre-ex coverage. Like anything named "Luxe" it's much more expensive than the base plan.

 

You can find the Freestyle (and the Freestyle Luxe) plan at

 

http://www.travelinsurancrcenter.com and

http://www.tripinsurancestore.com

 

if your TA doesn't have it.

 

 

Thanks for your links, trip insurance is just as overwhelming as booking our 1st cruise! I'm concerned about if I get sick before I cruise (bad flu, sinus infection), or someone in my family gets sick and I need to stay home, or that happens while I'm away, and my trip gets interupted) etc.

 

There's so much fine print to read!

[sirwired]

Just remember, for ANY medical-based cancellation, you need a note from your doctor stating that you (or your family member, traveling companion, etc.) are/were not fit to travel as of date X due to condition Y, diagnosis code Z. No note, no claim payment. This will also be part of a form you would need the doctor to fill out as part of the claims process, but a letter of the appropriate date helps too.

 

You CANNOT decide on your own that you can't travel due to say, a sinus cold.

 

SirWired

[Giorgi-one]

Also remember that the pre-existing conditions waiver also applies to emergecy medical coverage and emergency evacuation coverage. Bottom line - if you do not satisfy all the requirements to get the waiver for pre-existing medical conditions, you will not be covered for trip cancellation, emergency medical or emergency evacuation due to a pre-existing medical condition. There are normally four requirements you need to satisfy to get the pre-existing medical conditions waiver:

1. Purchase insurance within specified timeframe. Most companies require purchase at or within a few weeks of trip DEPOSIT.

2. Purchase coverage for all nonrefundable cost including cruise, airfare, hotel, excursions, etc. When in doubt if a cost is nonrefundable get a written confirmation from the insurance compnay.

3. Insured must be fit to travel when the insurance is purchsed.

4. Trip is within limits of insurance coverage, usually around $20,000.

 

The following is taken from an insurance certificate (policy). It is very good advice. You need to read the policy and understand what is covered and the limitations. Also note that the agreement is between you and the insurance company - not your TA or the Cruise Line.

 

 

Important

 

This is a named perils travel insurance certificate, which means it covers only the

specific situations, events and losses included in this document, and only under the

conditions we describe.

We’ll only pay for reasonable, appropriate expenses that are covered by the plan

you purchased. Please check your letter of confirmation to confirm your coverage

and limits in your plan.

[cruiseco]

Also remember that the pre-existing conditions waiver also applies to emergecy medical coverage and emergency evacuation coverage. .

 

There are many plans that do not apply the pre-existing exclusion to the emergency evacuation coverage. So you can buy a policy up until the day prior to your departure and still get emergency evac coverage even if you have a pre-existing condition -- it's never too late to protect yourself against that possibly huge expense. For example this is from TravelSafe's list of exclusions:

 

"14. due to a Pre-Existing Condition, as defined in the Policy. The Pre-Existing Condition Limitation does not apply to the Emergency Medical Evacuation or Return of Remains coverage;"

 

Since this benefit is not dependent on insuring the trip cost you can insure a $0 trip cost and get the coverage really cheap.

[Giorgi-one]

There are many plans that do not apply the pre-existing exclusion to the emergency evacuation coverage. So you can buy a policy up until the day prior to your departure and still get emergency evac coverage even if you have a pre-existing condition -- it's never too late to protect yourself against that possibly huge expense. For example this is from TravelSafe's list of exclusions:

 

"14. due to a Pre-Existing Condition, as defined in the Policy. The Pre-Existing Condition Limitation does not apply to the Emergency Medical Evacuation or Return of Remains coverage;"

 

Since this benefit is not dependent on insuring the trip cost you can insure a $0 trip cost and get the coverage really cheap.

 

Thanks for the info. Do you know of any plans that do not apply the pre-existing exclusion to emergency medical coverage?

[cruiseco]

Thanks for the info. Do you know of any plans that do not apply the pre-existing exclusion to emergency medical coverage?

 

None that I'm aware of.

[LiftLockCouple]

Thanks for your links, trip insurance is just as overwhelming as booking our 1st cruise! I'm concerned about if I get sick before I cruise (bad flu, sinus infection), or someone in my family gets sick and I need to stay home, or that happens while I'm away, and my trip gets interupted) etc.

 

There's so much fine print to read!

 

Red-dragon, As a Canadian you need to be wary of American travel insurance policies. To be sure they are good products but the max medical coverages are usually very low for Canadians. One poster on this thread mentioned a family member being in the ICU in Fort Lauderdale for a month. I do not know of a policy from an American insurer that would cover a Canadian for such a disaster. The Canadian companies do have such coverage butI know of none that have a pre-ex condition waiver if purchased at time of deposit or final payment. The American companies have that covered but not the Canadian companies probably due to the million $$ coverages from the Canadian companies.

In addition in the event of a dispute with the insurer that cannot be resolved between the policy holder and the insurer, the policy holder would have to file a claim or dispute in the juristiction where the insurer is licensed. Most of the companies that are on the provided links are not licensed in Ontario or Canada for that matter. Try www.insuremytrip.ca for Canadian companies with adequate coverages and an independent dispute mechanism that Canadians can actually use if necessary. Depending which company you choose you might have to file a dispute in Toronto, Vancouver, or Quebec but at least you don't have to buy medical insurance to make the trip.

[Giorgi-one]

None that I'm aware of.

 

I found that you can purchase medical and evacuation insurance only without any exceptions for pre-existing medical conditions. You can purchase the policy up until the day you depart. The only requirement is that you must have medical insurance. Obviously the travel insurance is secondary (like most are) so they do not have much liability if you have a medical problem. One company that offers this is HTH Worldwide.

[cruiseco]

I found that you can purchase medical and evacuation insurance only without any exceptions for pre-existing medical conditions. You can purchase the policy up until the day you depart. The only requirement is that you must have medical insurance. Obviously the travel insurance is secondary (like most are) so they do not have much liability if you have a medical problem. One company that offers this is HTH Worldwide.

 

Really? Can you point me to that plan as that would be good to know. Thanks!

[LiftLockCouple]

I found that you can purchase medical and evacuation insurance only without any exceptions for pre-existing medical conditions. You can purchase the policy up until the day you depart. The only requirement is that you must have medical insurance. Obviously the travel insurance is secondary (like most are) so they do not have much liability if you have a medical problem. One company that offers this is HTH Worldwide.

 

For clarification, are you saying that HTH has a policy with medical emergency evacuation coverage AND Medical coverage with no exception for Pre-ex conditions? If so, what is the name of the product and the coverage limit on the medical portion.

OR did you mean to say that HTH has travel and evacuation insurance with no exception for Pre-Ex as long as you have medical coverage through another means.

Thanks

[templinotary]

Did anyone purchase the HTH Worldwide policy?