Best policy for Pre-existing

[Patsie47]

Hi

I know one would have to pay right away to cover Pre-existing and that is not a problem. We have a friend who is just finishing chemo and scheduled for a scan this week to see how successful the treatments were. He had surgery earlier this year for cancer.

The cruise is in May. If the doctor tells him he is currently cancer free he wants to book this cruise to come along with us. It's a transatlantic and it is making me nervous but I can't question his decision.

Main question - what is the absolute best policy that covers Pre-existing conditions? He is an older gentlemen and only has Medicare which is useless in Europe.

Any suggestions appreciated as somehow I have become his "travel agent" over the years and that is not my occupation. I am willing to help him anyway I can.

Thanks in advance

Pat

[cruiseco]

Hi

I know one would have to pay right away to cover Pre-existing and that is not a problem. We have a friend who is just finishing chemo and scheduled for a scan this week to see how successful the treatments were. He had surgery earlier this year for cancer.

The cruise is in May. If the doctor tells him he is currently cancer free he wants to book this cruise to come along with us. It's a transatlantic and it is making me nervous but I can't question his decision.

Main question - what is the absolute best policy that covers Pre-existing conditions? He is an older gentlemen and only has Medicare which is useless in Europe.

Any suggestions appreciated as somehow I have become his "travel agent" over the years and that is not my occupation. I am willing to help him anyway I can.

Thanks in advance

Pat

 

If the doctor will state that he is cancer free and able to travel as of the date the policy is purchased, every plan that I'm aware of that waives their normal pre-existing condition exclusion (not all do) would be fine in this respect as long as he complies with ALL of the plan's requirements for the waiver. For example, many not only require that the policy be purchased in a certain time frame but will also require that he insure ALL of his pre-paid, non-refundable trip costs. If he makes an error in figuring what should or should not be insured he risks losing the waiver.

 

So choosing a plan that does not require that all of the trip costs be insured makes things easier and less likely that an error will occur. But otherwise, they'll pretty much all have a waiver of the pre-existing condition exclusion and cover this. Given that, the decision on what plan to buy will probably be based on his needs as far as the other plan coverages and how the plan does or does not cover those.

[Patsie47]

Thanks for your prompt reply. He will be driving down to FLL and flying home with FF miles so he really won,t have extra expenses or at least he will not be aware of them when he books the cruise. Do you have any recs for an insurance company?

Thanks again

Pat

[Ms. B]

Well as one who recently spent a week in an italian hospital due to a lung colapse, I would recommend Travelex max. The policy MUST be purchased 30 days of making the trip deposit if you have a pre existing condition. Mine is a very long story but the bottom line is that I had to have a chest tube placed into my lung and stay in the hospital in italy 8 days. Doctors would not discharge me unless I had a physician available to accompany me back to the US. The plan was very good, they sent a cardiologist from canada to rome to accompany me to my hospital in here houston. Also, since we were also booked on a transatlantic from rome to nj, they purchased my husbands return ticket to the US (part of the trip cancellation) they also reimbursed for medical bills. The coverage pays as primary insurance so you do not have to submit your bills to a primary insurere first. I was booked on the 10/22 Celebrity Silhouette and was barely able to board the ship, before having to go to the medical facility on board. I was immediately declared an emergency situation and an ambulance was called. THANK GOD FOR INSURANCE. This was a scary situation, but I'm glad my husband was with me as i was originally going to travel solo. it was scary being in an italian hospital for over a week and not being able to speak the language.

[Ms. B]

Also, you mention this is a transatlantic, so please consider what would happen if your friend were to get sick while in the middle of the atlantic with no land in sight. I shudder when I think what would have been my out come in that case because I needed surgery to place the chest tube in order to reinflate my lung. Additionally, will he have his spouse accompanying him? If he is not in the same cabin as you, and has to go to hospital, you will not be reimbursed should you interrupt your trip to accompany him. Unless he is a family member or a companion staying in your cabin.

[attilamom1217]

I like Trave Guard (www.travelguard.com). If you purchase within 14 days of booking the cruise, you are covered for pre-existing conditions. I usually buy the basic policy, but they have upgrades available with higher amounts of coverage for additional money.

[cruiseco]

Additionally, will he have his spouse accompanying him? If he is not in the same cabin as you, and has to go to hospital, you will not be reimbursed should you interrupt your trip to accompany him. Unless he is a family member or a companion staying in your cabin.

 

That's not correct for all plans. For example, with TravelSafe here's the definition of a Traveling Companion:

 

"Traveling Companion" means a person or persons with whom You have coordinated Travel Arrangements and intend to travel with during the Trip."

 

So as long as the cruise bookings were cross-referenced in the cruise line's res system you're OK. And here's their trip interruption coverage for this type of situation:

 

"Trip Interruption : Benefits will be paid, up to the Maximum Benefit Amount, for the non-refundable, unused portion of the prepaid expenses for land or water Travel Arrangements and the Additional Transportation Cost paid to return home or rejoin the Trip, when You are prevented from completing Your Trip due to:

 

1. Death involving You or Your Traveling Companion or Your or Your Traveling Companion's Business Partner or Your Family Member;

2. A covered Sickness or Injury involving You, Your Traveling Companion or Business Partner, or Your Family Member which necessitates Medical Treatment at the time of interruption and results in medically imposed restrictions, as certified by a Legally Qualified Physician, which prevents Your continued participation in the Trip; or

 

3. For the Other Covered Reasons listed below; provided such circumstances occurred after Your Effective Date."

 

Plus the following:

 

"Additional Trip Interruption Benefits : If Your Traveling Companion must remain hospitalized, benefits will also be paid for reasonable accommodation and transportation expenses incurred by You to remain with Your Traveling Companion up to $150 per day, limited to 5 days."

 

Five days is better than nothing.

[Patsie47]

Thank you all for the advice. Ms B - that had to be a very scary situation and I hope you are feeling well now. How fortunate and unfortunate at the same time. I am sure it was a terrible experience but at sea would have been so much worse.

 

I too shudder to think of him 7 days at sea but he isn't worried at all providing his scan comes out negative. I think his positive thinking has been a great help to his whole experience with cancer.

 

He would be traveling with his "common law" wife of 35 years (long story) and I would be sure she is also covered. He will find out his results on Monday so I will have to get busy getting quotes for insurance.

 

Thanks so much for the tips and advice. This is something I wish I didn't have to handle but I know he can't handle it himself - the tips here come are very useful.

Pat

[Ms. B]

Insuremytrip.com is a great website that will give you a number of excellent travel insurance plans to choose from. As mentioned by a previous poster, be sure to read the details of any plan that you are interested in as coverage can be different depending on the policy that you choose. Travelex and travel guard are very good policies.

 

I hope that your friend has good news regarding his test results.

[Patsie47]

I want to thank everyone for their suggestions. I am going to call some of the companies directly as I am finding this overwhelming.

 

Another question - he will stay in Europe for a couple of weeks after the cruise, he is staying with family but does he have to insure this time too? It's very difficult to say what his expenses will be other than airfare within Europe.

 

Thanks again

Pat

[cruiseco]

 

Another question - he will stay in Europe for a couple of weeks after the cruise, he is staying with family but does he have to insure this time too? It's very difficult to say what his expenses will be other than airfare within Europe.

 

Again, it depends on the plan. Some will require it, some won't. Some insurers define a "trip" as roundtrip travel from home back to home. If this plan also requires that all trip arrangements be insured to be eligible for their pre-existing condition coverage then you have no choice -- you have to include them in the insured trip cost.

 

Others either don't care if you insure the total trip cost to get the pre-ex coverage or their definition of a "trip" is less strict, for example this one from Access America:

 

"Trip: Round- trip or one-way travel to and from a place at least 100 miles from your home. It can't include travel to receive health care or medical treatment of any kind, or commuting to and from work."

 

So with this policy he could just call it a one-way trip ending when he gets off the boat. He could insure the extra flights separately, or not at all if he chooses. As always, check directly with whatever insurer you settle on so there's no mix-ups or misunderstandings.

[Patsie47]

Thnks so much. I called TravelEx the other day and they were not very helpful and quite snippy too. I tried to explain that he hasn't booked yet and I wanted to know his options regarding the pre-existing and after hanging up I felt like I achieved nothing.

The kindness and help on this board is wonderful

Thanks again

Pat

[sirwired]

To obtain a pre-ex waiver you merely have to purchase the policy within a certain time of your deposit. Some providers, like TravelGuard, require you to insure the entire pre-paid, non-refundable amount of your trip. If you haven't actually made some of your arrangements yet, you don't have to insure them until you do, and even then, only if they are pre-paid and non-refundable.

 

For instance: You book your cruise and pay a (refundable) deposit. You haven't booked your airfare yet. You can insure your trip for $1. (DON'T insure for zero; this changes the effective date of the policy. You don't want to do that.) You then book your (non-refundable) airfare a couple of months later. You call up the insurance company and have the policy amended to include it. You then book your hotel, which charges a one-night cancellation policy, you call the insurance company again, and insure that one night. You make final payment, you call again... you get the idea. (Yes, you can get part of final payment back as part of a graduated schedule after the final payment date, but the requirements are for you to insure the payments within a certain time-span of making them, period.)

 

You do not have to insure ANYTHING that is not non-refundable. "Trip Cost" does not refer to every dollar you could possibly spend on your trip, it refers to something you might be able to file a claim for. If something isn't pre-paid (i.e. the rest of your hotel stay beyond a cancellation penalty) there is nothing to insure, as you couldn't make it part of a claim. You don't have to insure the meals you'll probably buy, your predicted bar bill, etc. You want to insure all non-refundable (in full) deposits, and for the amount of any cancellation penalties.

[Patsie47]

Thanks very much sirwired that explains everything very clearly..appreciate the help

 

Pat

[PreciousCruiser]

Just want to say that Travel Guard has a waiver for pre-existing conditions and it also covers other reasons for cancellation for a very resonable extra premium if the insurance is not purchased within 14 days of the initial deposit. Spoke with them a few times about it and they were sooo helpful, professional, etc. From now on I will always buy my policy asap after initial dep. so I won't have to ever worry about the pre-existing issue. You just never know when something might happen.....

[Patsie47]

Sent a reply but it is lost in the clouds, however, I want to thank everyone for the great info on Insurance.

 

Unfortunately, my friend didn't get the cancer free diagnosis that we were all praying for. He is doing well but needs another scan in 3 months and made the wise decision not to do a transatlantic under the circumstances.

 

God willing, we will have another chance to take a Holland America cruise together. Many years ago, I believe in March of 2000, we were scheduled to take a Panama Canal cruise on HAL and they cancelled the cruise. They did offer us an earlier cruise but the selection of cabins was not to our liking. Hopefully we will have another chance in the near future.

 

Many thanks for all the help

Pat

[Ms. B]

Sorry to hear about your friend. Hopefully you all will be able to cruise together in the near future.:)

[Patsie47]

Sorry to hear about your friend. Hopefully you all will be able to cruise together in the near future.:)

 

Many thanks Ms B - we are all thinking positive and look forward to a future cruise WITH the proper insurance.

[OccRNcruiser]

Insuremytrip.com is a great website that will give you a number of excellent travel insurance plans to choose from. As mentioned by a previous poster, be sure to read the details of any plan that you are interested in as coverage can be different depending on the policy that you choose. Travelex and travel guard are very good policies.

 

I hope that your friend has good news regarding his test results.

The nice thing about insuremytrip.com is it does an apples-to-apples comparison of the travel insurances out there. It also shows the various levels of coverage the companies offer.

[jotabecu]

You may check HTH Worldwide.

It is a yearly policy and my understanding is they cover preexisting conditions.