Not Covered

[Sparky74]

A friend of mine who has MS and is wheelchair bound is traveling on the Pacific Pearl at the moment. Her carer had some medical issue :confused: and had to be hospitalised in Noumea where she has now undergone surgery. :eek: Seemingly she is OK but has had a few issues and frustrations because of the language barrier. She is due to fly home to Sydney on Monday.

 

Unfortunately the travel insurance (sorry, I don't know what company) wouldn't cover the cost of my friend remaining in Noumea or flying home, so she has had to continue the cruise without her carer. :(

 

I don't know if they were on the same policy or even with the same insurer but I guess it pays to check the details of what is and is not covered by Travel Insurance. I've just rung CoverMore and checked our policy and we would be OK in a similar situation.

 

I always pay my premium and then hope and pray that I never have to make a claim. :)

 

 

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[Tara Jane]

That's sad news sparky but yes a reminder to read and re read the fine print on our policies.

I am actually surprised your friend was permitted to stay on the ship without her carer, or perhaps your friend is still independent enough to be able to manage on her own. I also have a friend with MS in a wheelchair and her and hubby have discovered cruising. I am so pleased as it means her hubby who is her carer 24/7 can get a bit of a break from the domestic duties and be spoilt a bit. They of course are limited with the excursions they are able to do but make the most of what they can do.

[goodycruising]

You are making us have another look. We have paid with our NAB platinum card for one leg on our B2B cruise, but we are just feeling like they would use any loophole they could if push came to shove. The terms says that you need to pay more than $500 towards accommodation and travel on your holiday, but we are just wondering if we should just get a travel insurance policy to cover us the whole time.

Edited September 27, 2014 by goodycruising

[Kiranus]

Re the credit card travel insurance - we have a platinum ANZ visa which we have used for travel insurance and made 2 claims for completely cancelled holidays - once for my emergency appendectomy and once for my husband's heart attack. In both cases, once we completed all of the required paperwork (which is a bit onerous no matter who you are insured with) we were paid out no problems at all. I think the difference is that the excess is normally higher (say $200 rather than $100 for medical claims). Of course, you gain every time you travel and don't need to claim, and you have the added convenience of not having to organise separate insurance.

 

Having said that, now my husband has a pre-existing condition, it is not automatically covered and you need to ring them beforehand to seek advice.

[goodycruising]

Thanks Kiranus, it is good to hear how people go with claims. :)

[MicCanberra]

Re the credit card travel insurance - we have a platinum ANZ visa which we have used for travel insurance and made 2 claims for completely cancelled holidays - once for my emergency appendectomy and once for my husband's heart attack. In both cases, once we completed all of the required paperwork (which is a bit onerous no matter who you are insured with) we were paid out no problems at all. I think the difference is that the excess is normally higher (say $200 rather than $100 for medical claims). Of course, you gain every time you travel and don't need to claim, and you have the added convenience of not having to organise separate insurance.

 

Having said that, now my husband has a pre-existing condition, it is not automatically covered and you need to ring them beforehand to seek advice.

 

Good to hear your claims were honoured. We have also had our claims paid out with the ANZ card insurance.:D

[MicCanberra]

A friend of mine who has MS and is wheelchair bound is traveling on the Pacific Pearl at the moment. Her carer had some medical issue :confused: and had to be hospitalised in Noumea where she has now undergone surgery. :eek: Seemingly she is OK but has had a few issues and frustrations because of the language barrier. She is due to fly home to Sydney on Monday.

 

Unfortunately the travel insurance (sorry, I don't know what company) wouldn't cover the cost of my friend remaining in Noumea or flying home, so she has had to continue the cruise without her carer. :(

 

I don't know if they were on the same policy or even with the same insurer but I guess it pays to check the details of what is and is not covered by Travel Insurance. I've just rung CoverMore and checked our policy and we would be OK in a similar situation.

 

I always pay my premium and then hope and pray that I never have to make a claim. :)

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

Sorry to hear your friend has had issues.

it is a good reminder to us all to make sure the insurance you buy will cover the things you want to insure against.:D

[GUT2407]

That is awful. The poor lady with MS having to continue by herself I hope she managed OK.

 

But I do hope everyone learns that you must read the detail.

 

And it is all detail.

[The_Big_M]

Specific things like that often do have variations.

 

If you need something specific like that, you definitely should check the specifics of the policy.

[Wol]

I'm a Brit living in Oz for the last ten years and have been appalled at the Travel insurance scam here.

 

In the UK you get a quote for insurance, tell them your "relevant" previous history and the insurer will usually accept it or charge an extra premium.

 

In Oz, the "previous conditions" are usually defined as anything you've ever seen a doctor about, or which you "should" have recognised as a complaint. Anyone over the age of fifty will probably have any part of their body come under this category! Unlike the UK, the insurer often will write the policy but exclude all these largely irrelevant complaints from fifty years ago.

 

The net result is that you pay the premium, think you are covered, but in the event of a claim which in all honesty is nothing to do with your history you find you are not.

 

It stinks.