Travel Insurance?

[tnincy]

the great thing about my credit card is if i purchase my trip with it, i immediatley get trip insurance along with a few other perks. no medical is involved. our health insurance covers out of country expenses, although i hope to never have to use medical services abroad. you have to read the fine print in your health insurance or call your provider. we have a high deductible on our policy, so i am not sure if it is the coverage we chose that makes a difference. our out of network deductible is a little higher than in network, but nonetheless we would be covered.

trip insurance is a small expense to pay for the peace of mind that IF something happens your not out of luck. i wouldn't recommend buying from the cruise line. there are many companies out there that will offer a better rate.

[nbsjcruiser]

the great thing about my credit card is if i purchase my trip with it, i immediatley get trip insurance along with a few other perks. no medical is involved. our health insurance covers out of country expenses, although i hope to never have to use medical services abroad. you have to read the fine print in your health insurance or call your provider. we have a high deductible on our policy, so i am not sure if it is the coverage we chose that makes a difference. our out of network deductible is a little higher than in network, but nonetheless we would be covered.

trip insurance is a small expense to pay for the peace of mind that IF something happens your not out of luck. i wouldn't recommend buying from the cruise line. there are many companies out there that will offer a better rate.

 

One thing many do not know (myself included) is that many insurance providers provide out of country expenses but you better be prepared to pay up front and get reimbursement when you return home. In th Bahamas, they would not accept Blue Cross because (in their words) they've been stiffed too many times. Even though Blue Cross offered to pay the bill, the hospital rejected it. I had to pay up front.

[splintz]

i always get the insurance.

 

i was in cabo san lucas and dislocated my shoulder. went by private ambo to a clinic. the doctor put the shoulder back in. then the owner of the ambo came in with a bill for $450. i knew it was coming so i made sure my wife had my credit card before i left the resort in the ambo. then the doctor came in with a bill for $2500. handed him the credit card. you have no choice no one out of country is going to take your insurance, and you can't leave the country without paying. i have an hmo optimum choice and i put in a request for reimbursement. i got all my money back no problem. but if they didn't reimburse me i would have been out $3000.

 

a few years ago my friend was on a cruise and her husband had a heart attach and had to be airlifted to houston. she did not have travel insurance and it cost her $20,000 out of pocket.

[RoofingPrincess]

On a MUCH smaller scale, I got stuck in Houston post-cruise because of Hurricane Ike; they closed the airports on Thursday night, I was scheduled to fly out on Friday morning, and was not able to reschedule a flight before the airport closed.

I had to pay for a limo service to take me from Houston Hobby to Houston Bush, where I was met by my mother's best friend; I rode out the storm at her house. When the airports reopened on Tuesday, I needed a cab to get me back to Hobby.

My travel insurance paid for those additional transportation expenses, which approximately equalled the amount I'd paid for the insurance for that trip. If I'd had hotel stays (assuming I could've found a hotel!!) or meals instead of those two cab rides, they would've paid those.

 

My rule of thumb is, if I'm leaving the country, I take out travel insurance. Not for the cancellation aspect, but for the "all other things that could go expensively wrong far from home" aspect. I may forego that on my Canada/New England cruise, since it's really not all that far from home, but that would be the exception.

[happycampers_1]

just got insurance last week for me and my wife. we are 48 and 52 years old. will be taking a trip for a week in mexico and i got a policy with $100,000 coverage and a $500 deductible for only $34.21. this is for medical and med-vac. even includes dental up to $1000. very cheap for a peace of mind.

[Anne_S]

I use Travel Guard insurance each time I travel and they offer great coverage. Also, I actually heard that cruiselines have cut back on what they will cover if something goes wrong ... an independent travel insurance provider like Travle Guard doesn't do that. That's why I swear by purchasing through a third party... more coverage, greater coverage amounts!

[flcruiser4]

In all the vacations I've taken I never purchased travel insurance. I could understand booking it for the trip cancellation protection if that's something you're worried about. However I do not understand purchasing it for the medical protection. I guess that I know I have very good health insurance that would cover me anywhere I am for just about anything (I did verify this). I wonder if some people are buying it without knowing what their health insurance company covers.

[julianne74]

*knock on wood*

 

We are young people with no major health problems. If it is far out (like more than 6 months) or if we were older, then we would probably do it.

[Ken076]

One thing many do not know (myself included) is that many insurance providers provide out of country expenses but you better be prepared to pay up front and get reimbursement when you return home. In th Bahamas, they would not accept Blue Cross because (in their words) they've been stiffed too many times. Even though Blue Cross offered to pay the bill, the hospital rejected it. I had to pay up front.

 

nbsjcruiser - Just for my info, do you know if the particular Hospital was listed as a BCBS Network Participating/Preferred Provider? When I researched this subject, BCBS swears up-and-down that their Network hospitals will accept the insurance - but my feeling is that you can't count on this. thanks, Ken