Nobody Wants The insurance Details

[dsrdsrdsr]

Why? What does having insurance or not have to do with whether the guest will pay their shipboard account? I have not heard of any medical/travel insurance that pays for medical care provided on board, by ship's doctor or nurse and charged to their ship board account.

 

The guest has to pay their shipboard account at the end of the cruise for whatever has been charged and that includes any medical care they got. Either that account for drinks, spa treatments, photos, excursions and the like gets paid or not.

 

Insurance *might* reimburse the guest for any medical claim they may file. We never really know what insurance will pay until they actually pay it.

 

 

If a person refuses or is unable to pay his shipboard account, the cruise line can go to his insurer for the money.

 

It may not be the norm that the first port of call is the insurer, but that doesn't mean the insurer has no responsibility whatsoever. The norm would be that the passenger makes the insurance claim, but if he hasn't got the money, the insurer will pay direct.

[John Bull]

This is a bit off topic, but since you mentioned it I have recently found an increasing trend - if you pay at the time you book, be it rental car or hotel, you get a discount. You can still cancel prior to booking date, but you will lose a part of what you pre-paid, which is always more than what the discount was. In these days of close-to-zero interest, prepaying a booking to get a discount is a smart way to keep funds "on deposit".

 

Equally off-topic :rolleyes:, another trend that I've seen is hotels with the choice of one price with usual US cancellation rights or a significantly lower price without cancellation rights - still pay-on-the-day but credit card details taken to cover a no-show.

We've booked both ways for an up-coming 30-day south-east USA road trip (starts next week, yipee :)), the cheaper committed bookings for the first few days & the cancellable ones for later in the trip, by which time we'll very probably have blown our planned schedule.

 

Apols to the OP & the moderators for the hi-jack - just ignore us chewing the cud. ;)

 

JB :)

[sail7seas]

If a person refuses or is unable to pay his shipboard account, the cruise line can go to his insurer for the money.

 

It may not be the norm that the first port of call is the insurer, but that doesn't mean the insurer has no responsibility whatsoever. The norm would be that the passenger makes the insurance claim, but if he hasn't got the money, the insurer will pay direct.

 

That is a very broad statement particularly as we are talking about guests from many countries with various policies or lack thereof. The terms of each policy would dictate if the third party could demand payment from the insurer. Anyone can send a bill, anyone can sue but that does not mean they will be paid by insurer or win the suit.

 

Way too many variables for this to be 'always' true.

Which brings to mind, what would be the appropriate venue for litigation? The cruise line did not enter into a contract with the insurer; the customer did. Are they the Plaintiff?

 

That is just the start of a great many questions in this regard.

 

Edited May 14, 2015 by sail7seas

[navybankerteacher]

That is a very broad statement particularly as we are talking about guests from many countries with various policies or lack thereof. The terms of each policy would dictate if the third party could demand payment from the insurer. Anyone can send a bill, anyone can sue but that does not mean they will be paid by insurer or win the suit.

 

Way too many variables for this to be 'always' true.

Which brings to mind, what would be the appropriate venue for litigation? The cruise line did not enter into a contract with the insurer; the customer did. Are they the Plaintiff?

 

That is just the start of a great many questions in this regard.

 

[/QUOT

 

Good points --- many insurance policies are not assignable - meaning that only the insured individual (and possibly his/her heirs) can pursue a claim; which makes life easier for the insurance company (something most insurance companies seem to like).

[dsrdsrdsr]

That is a very broad statement particularly as we are talking about guests from many countries with various policies or lack thereof. The terms of each policy would dictate if the third party could demand payment from the insurer. Anyone can send a bill, anyone can sue but that does not mean they will be paid by insurer or win the suit.

 

Way too many variables for this to be 'always' true.

Which brings to mind, what would be the appropriate venue for litigation? The cruise line did not enter into a contract with the insurer; the customer did. Are they the Plaintiff?

 

That is just the start of a great many questions in this regard.

 

 

Foolish and irrational they may be, but the cruise companies do feel that they have a better chance of getting money off a person with his own fnds backed up by insurance, than a person with his own funds and no insurance.

 

Do you accept this scenario is possible:

1. Someone gets a bill for £5k.

2. He hasn't got £5k spare cash.

3. He tells his insurer, who pays the cruise line direct.

 

The cruise companies believe it's possible. Whether you believe it or not, it's the cruise line that makes the decision.

Edited May 14, 2015 by dsrdsrdsr

[sail7seas]

Foolish and irrational they may be, but the cruise companies do feel that they have a better chance of getting money off a person with his own fnds backed up by insurance, than a person with his own funds and no insurance.

 

Do you accept this scenario is possible:

1. Someone gets a bill for £5k.

2. He hasn't got £5k spare cash.

3. He tells his insurer, who pays the cruise line direct.

 

The cruise companies believe it's possible. Whether you believe it or not, it's the cruise line that makes the decision.

 

 

No, I do not accept that.

It is impossible to say if that is even legal or permitted by insurance companies in all countries. The cruise line did not contract with the insurer, the guest did. The guest would have to assign their rights. Can they? Will they? Must they?

 

I am not a lawyer and certainly don't know the law but you seem to know cruise line theories and are stating as fact something I do not know to be fact particularly since you have lumped all cruise lines. It is way too complicated to simplify by saying 'cruise lines'...... where are they registered? What are the laws where registered? What are the laws of the country where the insurer is located? Where is the guest domiciled? What are those insurance laws? And, and, and.......

 

WAY too broad a brush here.

 

Edited May 14, 2015 by sail7seas

[navybankerteacher]

Foolish and irrational they may be, but the cruise companies do feel that they have a better chance of getting money off a person with his own fnds backed up by insurance, than a person with his own funds and no insurance.

 

Do you accept this scenario is possible:

1. Someone gets a bill for £5k.

2. He hasn't got £5k spare cash.

3. He tells his insurer, who pays the cruise line direct.

 

The cruise companies believe it's possible. Whether you believe it or not, it's the cruise line that makes the decision.

 

Virtually anything is possible, but your "scenario" is extraordinarily improbable.

 

Cruise line medical personnel restrict their treatment to the minimum necessary to avoid liability. It is highly improbable that any treatment could amount to 5,000 GBP, as evacuation is invariably chosen if at all possible, and stabilization is the treatment given until evacuation is possible.

 

His insurer will pay him, not the cruise line, because insurers are careful to "insure" their interests by making their obligations non-assignable. They do not want to risk being up against "deep pockets" if they see that their interest is best served by refusing payment (for whatever conceivably possible reason) unless forced by litigation.

[notentirelynormal]

Grrrrr - my quote feature isn't working again.

 

Do you accept this scenario is possible:

1. Someone gets a bill for £5k.

2. He hasn't got £5k spare cash.

3. He tells his insurer, who pays the cruise line direct.

 

:D:D:D:D This is SO funny. I'm sorry but this is one of the funniest things I have read on these boards in a long time. OMG. I'm sorry but you clearly have NO idea how insurance works in the US. You aren't even on the same planet as understanding it.

 

He tells his insurer who pays the cruise line direct. hahahaha. Listen, I can hardly get my insurance company to pay my bills for on land covered medical issues. I have been going back and forth with them since December regarding my husband's surgery. They say they are secondary and Medicare is primary. Medicare says the same thing. No one is paying and I am covered 100% on my private insurance alone. I had blood work done. Still waiting for them to pay because the doctor put down the wrong code. If they don't pay I am responsible for these charges and if I don't pay them I am sent to a collection company. It then goes against my credit record and I get a lower credit rating. Again, I am 100% covered. My insurance DOES NOT pay for any medical issues not happening in the US.

 

I'm pretty sure the cruise line is aware of this. This is why we have countless threads about people getting optional additional insurance coverage to be used for traveling.

 

Having insurance means NOTHING if you have a non covered issue. Getting sick on a cruise probably is not covered because it did not happen in the US. Now, let's say the insurance does pay for it. In the real world of US insurance, when you are traveling YOU pay the bill, YOU submit it to the insurance, THEY decide whether or not they are going to pay for it and they take their sweet time about it.

 

Before you leave the ship you are given your onboard account showing your medical expenses. Regardless of whether or not you have insurance you MUST pay the bill before you leave the ship. If you cannot pay - they make you sign a "promise to pay" (like an I.O.U.) legal document saying you will pay.

 

He tells his insurer who pays the cruise line direct.

So what does the guy do? Gives his insurance company a call from the ship and says "hey, had a medical problem on vacation. Can you just cut a check for $15,000 and have a courier get it over to Princess before tomorrow morning so at check out I can just walk off the ship.

Edited May 14, 2015 by notentirelynormal

[dsrdsrdsr]

This is SO funny. I'm sorry but this is one of the funniest things I have read on these boards in a long time. OMG. I'm sorry but you clearly have NO idea how insurance works in the US. You aren't even on the same planet as understanding it.

 

There are a lot of people on this side of the pond who mock Americans in general for being insular. Citizens of the USA are often accused of believing that the USA is the only country that matters.

 

Well, I have been to the USA and I know that people like you are few and far between. Most Americans (especially in the mid-west, Alaska and San Diego because that's where I've been most, but also New York, Carolina, Florida, Seattle) are just as considerate and intelligent as the rest of the world.

 

The OP talked about UK insurance and UK cruises, I talked about UK insurance and UK cruises, it was specifically mentioned that UK cruise lines ask for proof of insurance while US ones do not. Therefore I think it appropriate to talk about UK insurance practices.

 

I do not fully understand how US insurance works. I am in the UK. But contrary to your apparent belief, that is on the same planet as yourself - you Americans are not alone.

 

Now, I will say this as simply as I can. There are two sorts of people in this scenario:

 

1. People with a bank account and an insurance policy.

2. People with a bank account, but no insurance.

 

The British cruise companies believe that a person with insurance can pay his medical bills even if his bank account is empty; but a person without insurance may not be able to pay his medical bills if his bank account is empty. This is why they ask for insurance.

[jocap]

IF the OP had provided two pieces of information in his original post, this thread would have been much shorter. It seems that P&O, which few Americans travel on (though most posters on CC are American) has a very unique term in its contract of carriage. No American is able to answer the OP's question and if he had mentioned that the cruise line was P&O and that there are special terms in their contracts then this would have been a really short thread..

Just a small point...it appears that Toby is new to CC, and if he Googled cruise forums UK, then CC is the 3rd forum to appear, as CC.co. UK. There is nothing to show that this is an American site- indeed, every page heading for me is Cruise Critic.co.UK. Perhaps he thought that he was speaking to fellow Brits, as he would be if he'd contacted the first two forums which appear.

[newport dave]

True,but the details don't have to be correct :eek:

 

On one cruise I filled in the wrong details by mistake and it did not make any difference, I was still allowed to board, it fact it was not even mentioned.

 

If there is no online form to fill in don't worry.

 

The cruise lines never check on the details input anyway. Twice I've just put XXXXXXXXX's and random numbers in so I could do the online check in. My insurance was due for renewal before we went so would off had different policy # and even possibly different insurer. I forgot to change them later on once I'd renewed. Nothing was ever said at check in at Southampton or any other time. This was on Princess and P&O, we always carry copies of our insurance though. All it is, is an admin exercise by the cruise lines to abide by UK law.

[lisiamc]

Just a small point...it appears that Toby is new to CC, and if he Googled cruise forums UK, then CC is the 3rd forum to appear, as CC.co. UK. There is nothing to show that this is an American site- indeed, every page heading for me is Cruise Critic.co.UK. Perhaps he thought that he was speaking to fellow Brits, as he would be if he'd contacted the first two forums which appear.

 

Some of us are fellow Brits, albeit without experience of P&O. He could also have posted on the P&O board here, but since he was very new, he probably hadn't spotted that yet. Now we all know something about P&O that we didn't know before, anyway!:p