Airlift from ship

[Okraf]

Hello all, first post :) Just seeking advice from the more experienced.

 

Last time we went on a cruise we just booked the insurance recommended by the cruise line, but this time we've left it beyond the stipulated 14 days, so are looking for our own policy.

 

Having been on treks to remote places before I've needed a policy that included helicopter evacuation in an emergency, so it occurred to me that this might be needed for a cruise too. But all the websites I've checked so far only mention stuff like missed departure, itinerary changes and unused excursions, which seem like relatively minor things.

 

I have actually just found goodtogoinsurance.com who are the only one I've found that has mentioned this specific cover, which I had thought would be essential.

 

Does all 'cruise cover' include special airlift provision (in addition to your regular repatriation or evacuation cover) and do cruise lines expect it?

[MagicMike]

Hello all, first post :) Just seeking advice from the more experienced.

 

Last time we went on a cruise we just booked the insurance recommended by the cruise line, but this time we've left it beyond the stipulated 14 days, so are looking for our own policy.

 

Having been on treks to remote places before I've needed a policy that included helicopter evacuation in an emergency, so it occurred to me that this might be needed for a cruise too. But all the websites I've checked so far only mention stuff like missed departure, itinerary changes and unused excursions, which seem like relatively minor things.

 

I have actually just found goodtogoinsurance.com who are the only one I've found that has mentioned this specific cover, which I had thought would be essential.

 

Does all 'cruise cover' include special airlift provision (in addition to your regular repatriation or evacuation cover) and do cruise lines expect it?

 

Airlift should be covered under Medical Evacuation.

[sail7seas]

Go to http://www.insuremytrip.com and you will find many policies that include emergency evacuation. You are right that is important to have as can be very pricey depending where in the world you are and specifics of the air lift. For us, it was always most important to have medical treatment coverage for outside the country if our regular medical at the time did not pay outside the country and to have medical evacuation/repatriation coverage. That is where the really big bills can kick in. Cancellation coverage was never as important to us.

 

[GeezerCouple]

Hello all, first post :) Just seeking advice from the more experienced.

 

Last time we went on a cruise we just booked the insurance recommended by the cruise line, but this time we've left it beyond the stipulated 14 days, so are looking for our own policy.

 

Having been on treks to remote places before I've needed a policy that included helicopter evacuation in an emergency, so it occurred to me that this might be needed for a cruise too. But all the websites I've checked so far only mention stuff like missed departure, itinerary changes and unused excursions, which seem like relatively minor things.

 

I have actually just found goodtogoinsurance.com who are the only one I've found that has mentioned this specific cover, which I had thought would be essential.

 

Does all 'cruise cover' include special airlift provision (in addition to your regular repatriation or evacuation cover) and do cruise lines expect it?

 

 

Greetings!

 

Because you are located in the UK, please make sure that any insurance policy/vendor/broker is able to sell you coverage that is valid.

 

Much of the discussion here turns out to be relevant for residents of the USA, but not necessarily for residents of other countries.

 

I've tried to find a source of travel insurance (preferably choices other than through cruise line) for European friends, and so far, haven't succeeded.

 

GeezerCouple

[sirwired]

Lots of people wonder about insurance and airlift from the ship. Don't bother worrying. Airlift from the ship is extremely rare... for it to occur, all of the following must be true:

 

- Your condition must be serious enough to warrant it. The on-board hospital is quite good, and can keep nearly all conditions stable enough for the ship to make port.

 

- You must be stable enough to survive the helicopter ride. After all, the life-support equipment that fits in a rescue heli is a LOT smaller than what will fit on the ship.

 

- The weather must be sufficiently calm.

 

- You must be within the operational area of a government that provides this service. (i.e. Most small Caribbean nations won't.)

 

- You must be far enough from a port with a hospital and airport for any of this to make sense.

 

- You must be on a ship with a heli landing pad. Mega-ships, yes. Smaller vessels, no. (Yes, they could hoist you aboard any 'ol rescue chopper with a basket and cable, but that would require unhooking you from the IV's you probably are using to keep you alive. Medevac is very different from "adrift in the ocean" evac.)

 

If all of that is true, it will be performed by the Coast Guard, or similar agency, free of charge as part of regular government services.

 

No private insurance company promises evac off the ship because it would require a large world-wide fleet of extremely expensive rescue helis and their highly-trained crews. Jet-based evac is possible because a relatively small fleet can provide worldwide coverage; not true with helicopter evac.

[BullDawg91]

Keep in mind that medical evacuation could be from a small island hospital not prepared to handle your condition to a larger hospital on a mainland. It would be a specially equipped airplane and that could easily run you $20,000. The Coast Guard doesn't do that.

[ducklite]

It will run over $20K. My husband is an EMT, and if they call for Life Flight from an accident scene to a local hospital, the bill is $8-10K. That is in the US and a 10-20 minute flight. Typical medical evacuation and repatriation will start at $50K for a stable patient and go up from there.

[cherylandtk]

I find this post, from a very insurance savvy regular poster, to be helpful in understanding how much coverage is needed:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2068679

Edited November 30, 2014 by cherylandtk

[sirwired]

Keep in mind that medical evacuation could be from a small island hospital not prepared to handle your condition to a larger hospital on a mainland. It would be a specially equipped airplane and that could easily run you $20,000. The Coast Guard doesn't do that.

 

I didn't say medevac insurance wasn't useful. The original question was about evac from the ship itself, which I answered.

[dsrdsrdsr]

Virtually all UK insurance covers medical costs, and that includes evacuation if needed - whether from a cruise ship, or just getting you home from abroad. Many of them now charge extra for cruise insurance, probably because of the potential need for flying away. Make sure cruises are covered before you pay.

 

Medical insurance usually starts at £500,000 so there's plenty of slack for helicopters.

[Hlitner]

The reality is that air evacuation from a cruise ship is relatively rare. Under most circumstances the Captain will make every effort to get the ship into a nearby port to evacuate a sick passenger or crew member. Helicopter lifts from a ship at sea are a dangerous maneuver and only used if absolutely necessary. In nearly every case this would be accomplished by the Coast Guard (or military). In forty + years of cruising (many years on ships) we have never seen a private helicopter used to lift a passenger (or crew member) off a ship. As a general rule, if recused by Coast Guard (or military) there will be no charge to the person rescued. The real evacuation issue occurs once the sick person is ashore as they made need further transport to a major medical center...and this transport can be expensive. Most decent travel medical policies include "Trip Evacuation" coverage (my own policy has $500,000). There are also some free-standing evacuation policies and the Rolls Royce of Medical Evacuation policies is written by a company known as MedJet Assist.

 

We have often cautioned (here on CC) about the trip policies sold directly by cruise lines and travel agents. Many of these focus on covering the cost (or part of the cost) of the actual trip....but often provide relatively poor medical coverage. One can buy a decent annual (which covers all trips throughout an entire year) trip medical policy for only a few hundred dollars (per couple). The trip cancellation policies are more expensive since they cover the lost money from the trip (a limited liability). Keep in mind that you have already paid for the trip and losing this money (by cancelling or interrupting your trip) is not going to destroy your life. But you medical liability (and evacuation cost) is virtually unlimited and can totally shatter your financial world.

 

Hank

Edited December 4, 2014 by Hlitner

[Gallivanting Souls]

It will run over $20K. My husband is an EMT, and if they call for Life Flight from an accident scene to a local hospital, the bill is $8-10K. That is in the US and a 10-20 minute flight. Typical medical evacuation and repatriation will start at $50K for a stable patient and go up from there.

 

My son got airlifted by Medstar helicopter less than 50 miles after a car accident this past May. The bill was over $27K. (It was worth every penny, since they saved his life and he is all better now. Head injury and broken clavicle only. Could have been much worse)

[dsrdsrdsr]

One can buy a decent annual (which covers all trips throughout an entire year) trip medical policy for only a few hundred dollars (per couple). The trip cancellation policies are more expensive since they cover the lost money from the trip (a limited liability). Keep in mind that you have already paid for the trip and losing this money (by cancelling or interrupting your trip) is not going to destroy your life. But you medical liability (and evacuation cost) is virtually unlimited and can totally shatter your financial world.

 

Hank

 

Annual medical cover, in the UK, very much depends on the health of the purchaser. For example, a healthy 50 year old with no serious medical history and no conditions within the last two years, can get an annual policy (180 days total travel, max 56 days per trip) for £72 covering cancellation costs up to £5k per trip and medical up to £1m. I know, because I've recently bought one.

 

Stick a gall bladder removal in there, and £300 is added to the price. But the medical part is significantly more expensive than the cancellation part.

 

It's extremely hard to find a UK policy that doesn't cover medical. But check it covers cruises, because more and more policies are excluding them (presumably specifically because of evacuation costs).

 

Ideally, UK insurance and US insurance should have separate sections on this site. The two are so very different. For example, "cancel for any reason" and "pre-existing condition waiver" have no relevance to UK insurance, and can only cause confusion to a UK poster.

Edited December 15, 2014 by dsrdsrdsr

[ducklite]

We have UK neighbors who spend six weeks at a time in their home here in Florida four times a year. They purchase a year round policy, mostly to cover them for medical. She tells me it's far less expensive than a decent dinner for two, and she can't imagine being without it.

[FlightMedic555]

When most posters inquire about medical evacuation insurance I believe the question centers around a fixed wing flight from one hospital to another. There may be occasions when a helicopter is used but that would be infrequent.

 

A helicopter has a range of about 200 miles for a medevac. Beyond that a fixed wing aircraft is used. This means that virtually all flights will be on a plane not a helicopter. If you are interested the current average charge for a medical helicopter flight is around $30,000. That includes all charges including a ground ambulance, if needed, to get you to/from the helicopter landing zone (probably about a 50 mile flight).

 

Fixed wing are less expensive for very short trips (think 500 miles) but almost all of the medical evacuation flights are longer (from the Caribbean, Europe, etc.). The most expensive flight I have seen was almost $500,000 from the Northeast to Korea. That could have been done for about $350,000 but the family insisted on a jet that could do the flight nonstop.

 

Flights from the Caribbean will be in the $50,000 - $150,000 range, depending upon the island the destination in the US. From Europe and most of the rest of the world in the $100,000 - $200,00 range with Asia and Africa coming in at about $300,000+.

 

These types of charges can change your lifestyle.

[BeagleOne]

L

 

(Yes, they could hoist you aboard any 'ol rescue chopper with a basket and cable, but that would require unhooking you from the IV's you probably are using to keep you alive. Medevac is very different from "adrift in the ocean" evac.)

 

 

I don't think that's true. They can leave the IV bag and line in place and either lay them in the lift basket with the patient, or cap the catheter with a saline lock and then re-hang the fluids once the patient is in the helicopter.

[FlightMedic555]

Most IV's are in place simply to "keep the vein open" should a large quantity of fluids or medications be needed. We fly people in a helicopter on a daily basis with IV's, ventilators, etc. The "rescue" helicopters used to evac a patient off a ship tend to be quite large as compared to the versions we use in the civilian sector. If you have ever seen the show on TV about the coast guard in Alaska their helicopter is huge. The interior cabin is much larger than the back of an ambulance.

[Tennant]

Just back to the original question... So is everyone saying that airlift from ship is covered but rarely done. Airlift from onshore hospital to another medical center is not covered? My grandparents always take the princess platinum protection and as they age are becoming more concerned about what is covered during your cruise. Thanks!!

[6rugrats]

Just back to the original question... So is everyone saying that airlift from ship is covered but rarely done. Airlift from onshore hospital to another medical center is not covered? My grandparents always take the princess platinum protection and as they age are becoming more concerned about what is covered during your cruise. Thanks!!

 

What they are saying is an airlift from a ship is extremely rare, but usually is provided at no cost by the government. If one has to travel from a hospital onshore back home to another medical center, this is not an "airlift". It's just plane transportation which should be covered by your travel insurance.

[sirwired]

Just back to the original question... So is everyone saying that airlift from ship is covered but rarely done. Airlift from onshore hospital to another medical center is not covered? My grandparents always take the princess platinum protection and as they age are becoming more concerned about what is covered during your cruise. Thanks!!

 

Getting flown from one medical center to another has coverage that varies.

 

With the MedEvac coverage included in most comprehensive trip insurance, they will cover transportation from the port to the nearest suitable medical facility. This means anything from an ambulance ride to dispatching a jet to the nearest airstrip. (For instance, if you need major medical treatment from a port in Haiti, you are going to get flown to Miami right from the nearest airstrip, most likely.)

 

Transport from one hospital to another is covered if deemed medically necessary by the insurance company if where you are has insufficient capacity to properly treat you. This does often lead to some debate... there are a great many countries with marginal facilities where you can receive perfectly fine treatment, but the facility itself may appear more than a bit old, dingy, etc.

 

Most standalone MedEvac (from companies that specialize in it, such as MedJet Assist), and in optional riders available with some trip insurance plans, evac to the hospital of your choice is covered.

[dsrdsrdsr]

What they are saying is an airlift from a ship is extremely rare, but usually is provided at no cost by the government. If one has to travel from a hospital onshore back home to another medical center, this is not an "airlift". It's just plane transportation which should be covered by your travel insurance.

I don't think many governments will pay for an airlift. Any european country which arranges an air evacuation for a UK national will send you a bill. So, probably, will the UK government, especially if they know you're insured. If the USA government provides a free service for foreign nationals, good for them.

[ducklite]

I don't think many governments will pay for an airlift. Any european country which arranges an air evacuation for a UK national will send you a bill. So, probably, will the UK government, especially if they know you're insured. If the USA government provides a free service for foreign nationals, good for them.

 

 

The U.S. Government sends a bill, and can and does deny entry back into the US for foreign nationals and will seize tax returns of citizens, report to credit bureaus, and deny FHa/VA/small business/student loans if it is not paid.

Edited December 31, 2014 by ducklite

[Hlitner]

The U.S. Government sends a bill, and can and does deny entry back into the US for foreign nationals and will seize tax returns of citizens, report to credit bureaus, and deny FHa/VA/small business/student loans if it is not paid.

 

My goodness, trying to understand what this has to do with the OPs issue which is airlifts off ships. The US Coast Guard or Navy does not bill for their services in removing passengers/crew from ships in a medical emergency. In fact, the US Government goes all out to save folks (without a charge). Last year we were on a HAL cruise that was returning from the South Pacific to San Diego. A day before we were due to arrive at San Diego (while a few hundred miles off of Baha) a passenger became seriously ill and needed to be quickly evacuated. We were actually beyond the range of any Coast Guard helicopter from either the US or Mexico. So the Navy Seals base at Coronado was called into action. They flew out a Special Forces helicopter (it did not even have the traditional markings since it was normally stealth) and sent along a KC-130 tanker in order to do a mid-air refueling of the helicopter (which was done within view of those of us on the ship). After refueling the chopper, it hovered over the ship and dropped a paramedic. About 20 minutes later the chopper returned and air lifted both the seriously ill patient and the paramedic off the deck. The passenger was flown back to San Diego where, according to the local newspapers, he had emergency surgery and did fine.

 

Total bill for that expensive operation was zero! And by the way, as to our government taking action for unpaid tax bills/student loans.....why not? If folks owe money and refuse to pay then action is warranted. Why should other tax payers pay for scofflaws?

 

Hank

[dsrdsrdsr]

My goodness, trying to understand what this has to do with the OPs issue which is airlifts off ships. The US Coast Guard or Navy does not bill for their services in removing passengers/crew from ships in a medical emergency. In fact, the US Government goes all out to save folks (without a charge). Last year we were on a HAL cruise that was returning from the South Pacific to San Diego. A day before we were due to arrive at San Diego (while a few hundred miles off of Baha) a passenger became seriously ill and needed to be quickly evacuated. We were actually beyond the range of any Coast Guard helicopter from either the US or Mexico. So the Navy Seals base at Coronado was called into action. They flew out a Special Forces helicopter (it did not even have the traditional markings since it was normally stealth) and sent along a KC-130 tanker in order to do a mid-air refueling of the helicopter (which was done within view of those of us on the ship). After refueling the chopper, it hovered over the ship and dropped a paramedic. About 20 minutes later the chopper returned and air lifted both the seriously ill patient and the paramedic off the deck. The passenger was flown back to San Diego where, according to the local newspapers, he had emergency surgery and did fine.

 

Total bill for that expensive operation was zero! And by the way, as to our government taking action for unpaid tax bills/student loans.....why not? If folks owe money and refuse to pay then action is warranted. Why should other tax payers pay for scofflaws?

 

Hank

 

So if a UK citizen is airlifted off a cruise ship by US personnel, it's free? Definite?

[sirwired]

The U.S. Government sends a bill, and can and does deny entry back into the US for foreign nationals and will seize tax returns of citizens, report to credit bureaus, and deny FHa/VA/small business/student loans if it is not paid.

 

This is the first I've heard of such a thing; do you have a source?

 

InsureMyTrip, who one would guess have helped a lot of customers with claims says the Coast Guard does not charge:

 

http://www.insuremytrip.com/learn/coverages/medical-evacuation-costs.html