Princess Travel Ins. Ordeal

[Borrego]

We always take the Princess Plat. Travel Ins. but until now we've never had to use it. On a Hawaii cruise in Dec. I had to go to the Med. Ctr. for what turned out to be Bronchitis. The bill $161.05.

 

Upon arriving home I began the process of filing a claim. The paper work is almost overwhelming. I finally have completed it and it amounts to twelve pages, which I will now mail off to BerkeleyCare and hope they have all they need.

 

The process is such a hassle I nearly just wrote it off for the small amount of money involved, but the more they demanded the more determined I became to see it through. Typical insurance company - make it difficult enough and many people will just give up and eat their loss.

 

Why would Princess put its name on such an unpleasant experience? I am now wondering if it is worth the insurance cost at all - especially on a LA to Hawaii and back cruise.

[Talisker92]

I am sorry that you had such an ordeal. On the Star Princess, last June, my wife became very ill. The bill was over $2000!

Fortunately, we had travel insurance through Travelex, and they paid rather promptly. We always take insurance, especially at our age. IMO, I would never take insurance through a cruise line.

[Toto2Kansas]

I had a claim through Berkley Care (Princess insurance) about a year ago, and it went smooth as silk. The only hassle is submitting everything to any other insurance company you have a policy through first (even though you know they aren't going to pay) and including the refusal to pay notice with the claim.

 

I am afraid you are going to find this sort of travel insurance form thing with any travel insurance company you go with in the future, especially those that are a secondary pay policy. It isn't just the one Princess uses, but all of them require about the same amount of forms. Sorry to hear you had such trouble with all those forms. :( There are some travel insurance companies that are not secondary pay, and they aren't quite as much hassle, but usually you will pay quite a bit more for them. You will still have to submit the forms, but you don't have to wait to har back from your private insurance first.

[Pam in CA]

It's a shame that you have to fill out so many forms but the insurance company, any insurance company, needs to confirm that you are not receiving payment from another source, or that your personal insurance isn't covering it. It's unfortunate that people commit fraud and make multiple claims for the same bill. Blame them. :( Last January, when my BIL was sick on the Coral Princess, his 1-day bill from the Medical Center was $8,000. The bill was submitted to his personal insurance, which paid $6,000 of it; Princess' Berkley Care paid the remaining $2,000 about two weeks after submitting the request.

[cruiseron36]

We always take the Princess Plat. Travel Ins. but until now we've never had to use it. On a Hawaii cruise in Dec. I had to go to the Med. Ctr. for what turned out to be Bronchitis. The bill $161.05.

 

Upon arriving home I began the process of filing a claim. The paper work is almost overwhelming. I finally have completed it and it amounts to twelve pages, which I will now mail off to BerkeleyCare and hope they have all they need.

 

The process is such a hassle I nearly just wrote it off for the small amount of money involved, but the more they demanded the more determined I became to see it through. Typical insurance company - make it difficult enough and many people will just give up and eat their loss.

 

Why would Princess put its name on such an unpleasant experience? I am now wondering if it is worth the insurance cost at all - especially on a LA to Hawaii and back cruise.

 

It's quite worth the effort, however, Berkely will not honor a claim until you file with your personal insurance including Medicare and any supplemental you have. You then must send Berkely your EOB of denial or payment and they will pay the balance.

 

Is insurance worthwhile???? One medivac from a ship in the middle of the Pacific Ocean could cost you the price of several cruises.

[sirwired]

Borrego,

 

Twelve pages is reasonable for a Travel Insurance claim. They aren't requesting these things to "wear you down"; they DO have reasons for each one of those pieces of paper.

 

Really, twelve pages is short. The shorter of my two claims clocked in at I think the mid-twenties.

 

Cruiseron,

 

To be honest, not even the finest medevac company in the world is going to evac you from the ship in the middle of the ocean... at the least the ship is going to have to get you to the nearest dirt-speck with a jet-worthy runway. Shipboard evac is dangerous, and usually only takes place close inshore of countries (like the U.S.) with the highly-trained personnel and VERY expensive helicopters that can perform this kind of work on the open ocean. (As in, your average air ambulance is not going to cut it, since the ship has no helipad.)

 

SirWired

[cruiseron36]

Borrego,

 

Twelve pages is reasonable for a Travel Insurance claim. They aren't requesting these things to "wear you down"; they DO have reasons for each one of those pieces of paper.

 

Really, twelve pages is short. The shorter of my two claims clocked in at I think the mid-twenties.

 

Cruiseron,

 

To be honest, not even the finest medevac company in the world is going to evac you from the ship in the middle of the ocean... at the least the ship is going to have to get you to the nearest dirt-speck with a jet-worthy runway. Shipboard evac is dangerous, and usually only takes place close inshore of countries (like the U.S.) with the highly-trained personnel and VERY expensive helicopters that can perform this kind of work on the open ocean. (As in, your average air ambulance is not going to cut it, since the ship has no helipad.)

 

SirWired

 

I have seen a hele medivac done at sea. They drop an attendant and lift the patient in a basket. Yes, I was stretching it in the middle of the ocean, but a 200 -400 mile evac is possible.

 

Can I assume you don't get travel insurance?

[Pam in CA]

I have seen a hele medivac done at sea. They drop an attendant and lift the patient in a basket. Yes, I was stretching it in the middle of the ocean, but a 200 -400 mile evac is possible.

It's always done by the military (internationally) or Coast Guard, and the distance a medevac can be done depends on the nearest Coast Guard station and the available helicopters. I think a 400-mile evacuation is unlikely as the helicopter would have to have enough fuel for 800 miles and be able to hover for a while while doing the pick-up.

 

Last year, when my BIL got so sick while on the Coral, we were at sea, about 20 hours from arrival at FLL. We would not be close enough for a medevac until 9pm, I'm guessing about 200 miles away. We were told a nighttime medevac would be too dangerous. Believe me, I wish it could have been done.

[paul929207]

On a land tour of SE Asia a year ago, my wife was hospitalized with disentery. When I got home I submitted the bills to our Medicare supplement. They paid most of the expenses. I then submitted it to the trip insurance. They not only paid everything the supplement did not pay, but they explained that the supplement and messed up and overpaid. They said that if we got hit for the overpayment to refile and they would pay any extra.