"Are you ready for some pain?" OR "Why you should buy travel insurance."

[coloradocruiselover88]

I never cruise without travel insurance; it makes no sense. Why would anyone subject themselves to the hassles, financial pain and insecurity?

 

If you think the per trip costs are two much look into an annual plan.

 

Cheers

[GeezerCouple]

Thanks for this important thread. I am sorry for your pain. It has got me thinking. I am looking thru our trip insurance thru NCL. Seems like it only covers trip cancellation, interruption & death & dismemberment ugh! Doesn't say a thing about having medical issues. I would guess I need another policy for medical issues? Are there policies out there that cover both? Looks like more research is in my future but does anyone know offhand? Thanks.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

We suggest that you contact Steve at

 

www.TripInsuranceStore.com

 

(They have many satisfied customers here on CC.)

They are a travel insurance broker, and deal with several vetted insurers, each of whom offers a few types of policies.

 

We have had a few claims with Travel Insured policies purchased through them. The claims, two of them large, were paid promptly, with no nonsense, and that's what it is all about.

(We need to have pre-existing conditions covered, and we need to be able to cancel or return early also in case very elderly MIL gets sick and we need to return suddenly...)

 

We'd never purchase cruiseline insurance for a variety of reasons that others have expressed.

 

Here is a link to the CC subforum on Travel Insurance, for a LOT more info:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=635

 

As for NCL's onboard medical care...

Unfortunately, we needed to get that when DH had a medical emergency on board.

Fortunately, we were very pleasantly surprised with the quality of the NCL medical care.

They had the equipment that was needed, worked quickly and cooperatively, got the line in DH *fast*, while someone else started the oxygen, etc.

And just about the time I was going to suggest calling an ambulance (we were docked overnight), the physician announced that they had just called for one. Good move.

But all they did at the local hospital was "observe" to make sure that the first treatments were sufficient, and fortunately, they were.

We were lucky.

Now we travel with some extra meds to take at "very first symptoms, no matter how slight".

(And this was one of two times, in just 3 years, that we were glad we had MedJetAssist. We came close, especially the next time for me, to calling them, saying "Take us back to our regular hospital please!" Thank goodness that hasn't been necessary, but it's very comforting to know we'd have that choice. Note: It is only available if one is admitted as an *inpatient*, not ER or Observation.)

 

The short version is that our physician back home, at a major teaching hospital, later said that what she'd have done is precisely what they (NCL) did.

It also all made sense to us at the time.

 

We are not 100% fans of NCL, although we do enjoy some of their cruises, but we'll complain when warranted.

This was NOT one of those times.

Additionally, the ships officers, especially the Executive Housekeeper (shout out to Mr. Hal Broome) helped with some adjustments through the remainder of the cruise.

On the next cruise, we also had special care, and that has made us more positive about NCL that we might otherwise have been.

And on the most recent cruise, who did we encounter? Mr. Broome again :)

That was nice.

 

I don't remember the name of the physician on board, and I guess they rotate on and off more than regular ship staff/officers.

 

The price was much LESS than we would have expected, a bit under $1k.

The same care would have been multiple thousands at our local hospital.

There was also an ambulance bill and local hospital bill..

 

But KUDOS to the Medical Staff.

And a very genuine "Thank You!"

[collectingcoke]

I have a question if evacuation for example was required , do you have to pay the 20,000.00 etc upfront and submit for reimbursement from travel ins.?

[hoopics]

I have a question if evacuation for example was required , do you have to pay the 20,000.00 etc upfront and submit for reimbursement from travel ins.?

 

This is going to depend on your insurer and the details of the policy they send you -- NOT just the declarations page with the top line limits on it. I just looked at my AIG policy and it says that they'll pay for evacuation up to policy limits IF you contact them for approval first (or as soon after evacuation as you can if you're incapacitated). If you fail to contact them, they may only pay what they'd have paid had you contacted them. This implies to me that they'll make direct payment arrangements and receive some sort of discount. In other parts of the agreement, e.g. hospitalization, they do make reference to paying for charges directly if required. In the case of smaller things, the expectation is you pay the bills and seek reimbursement.

[buchman67]

I just spoke to an NCL representative. She looked at our reservation and said that we also had the above insurance thru Booksafe-same benefits. Everyone that buys insurance thru NCL apparently gets this standard insurance with trip protection and medical expenses.

 

Thanks for updating!! Glad we have coverage :) Before I book next time I will also look at all options.

 

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

[vallierjenn]

Preface: This ultimately is a very positive review. I'm happy with the outcome. And even the process. But man, the process.

 

Trigger warning: if you don't do medical grossness well, stop reading here. I've toned it way down, but a few facts are unavoidable as they are material to the story.

 

The scene: NCL Pearl, a blustery June Saturday morning on the Pacific Coast of Canada, en route from Ketchikan to Victoria. Our author, well fed and rested after the first six days of his seven day Alaskan voyage, woke much earlier than planned in his mini-suite. He awoke not due to the dulcet tones of his children snoring, or due to the light Pacific swell rocking Pearl's 93,530 Gross Tons too and fro, but due to the throbbing pain in his big toe. The pain, which had first appeared with an inflamed ingrown toenail following Monday's shore excursion in Juneau, had grown familiar over the course of the week. But each day it grew a little worse than the day before. And each day the inflammation spread. Our author walked with annoyance through Skagway. Limped his way around the deck while taking in the sights of Glacier Bay. Then hobbled his way along the incredible shore of Nooya Lake in the Misty Fjords after the float plane ride of a lifetime (thanks Island Wings!). But it was still cruising as normal.

 

Then came Saturday morning. Let's just say that healthy toes aren't supposed to seep anything. And they're supposed to bend at the major joints. And not be bigger on one foot than the other. Over night, however, this one had turned the color of red wine, become unbendable, and had gone all...icky -- in ways best not posted on a genteel forum such as Cruise Critic. So, at 8:30 AM, our author left a note for his sleeping family, hopped down the hall to the elevator, and headed down to the uncharted reaches of the medical center on Deck 4 in search of antibiotics and perhaps a bottle of whiskey and a bone saw to cut the darned thing off, Battle of Trafalgar style (non-English naval history types, go look it up).

 

Pearl's medical center had all the charm of your typical suburban doctor's office. Without the fish tank or old magazines. But with watertight doors. It was small, impeccably clean, and smelled like...comforting antiseptic things that you use to kill things that make you sick. It was staffed by an incredibly friendly nurse / receptionist, who seemed to understand that most of her clientele tends to freak the heck out when they see the bill at the end of their visit. So she made clear that the visit itself would be $149, in addition to any procedures performed and supplies used, and provided an itemized sheet of all the potential charges. The same sheet is posted on their door. While a person might not be in the best position to do the math at the time they come in, or realize just how many of those boxes might get checked for a single procedure, the pricing was basically transparent [except for the medicine; more on that in a bit].

 

Enter Dr. A [name protected for privacy, although the dude is a hard core practical skills physician to whom your author owe great thanks and appreciation]. Dr. A took one look at the offending toe -- and yes, it was offending in every sense of the word -- and asked in a Spanish accent that was somehow fitting to the whole triage medicine-on-the-high-seas situation, "So, are you ready for some pain?" Now, those words can be asked in a couple different ways. And not all of those ways come through in print. The way he said it? It was conveyed with warmth and sincerity, and with honesty. It was a subtle message of "I know my business. I know I will fix you. But to fix you, first I must seek out and destroy that which offends you. With cold sharp things. And some pinchy / proddy / yank-y things too."

 

We went back into the examination room / operating theater / medical storage space. Again clean, well organized, and more like small hospital ER than anything else. A portable X-ray machine stood in one corner. A reclining table stood to the side. Shelves and drawers contained most all of the implements of basic emergency medicine. There was even a drawer labeled with what seemed to be intubation supplies. Not that anyone wants to be intubated at sea, but hey sometimes there's no choosing these things.

 

Dr. A went to work. Bigly. He communicated well about what was to occur next. He tried less invasive things, before going to more invasive. He tried without having to numb the toe first, because that was a separate line item on the bill [more on that later too]. He delivered on the pain. And he dug out the infection. Your author was not, in any respect, ready. As the people on Deck 7 likely heard. Anyone on the June 25 sailing of Pearl who heard shrieks on the last day at sea? Yeah, my bad.

 

Within 24 hours, though, and after some hard core oral antibiotics and an antibiotic topical creme, the offending toe, partially nail-less, no longer offended. It only whimpered softly under its band-aid. Its removal was no longer contemplated. Nor was death at sea from sepsis. Thanks again, Dr. A!

 

The following morning, and as promised, an itemized invoice arrived on our stateroom door. For $973. The breakdown:

 

• Office visit during posted hours -- $149
  
• Peripheral Nerve Block [read, lidocaine shot] -- $175
  
• Removal of Nail -- $369 [and man, did Dr. A earn every penny of this. Gross and challenging work, right there]
  
• Dressing Supplies for Medium to Major Wound Care -- $25 [curiously this was checked but not added to the total on the bill]
  

Medical total: $693

• Levaquin, 500 mg, 8 tablets -- $280 [this price is in line for the branded drug; but it's available on land for much, much less in generic form]
  
• Topical antibiotic ointment [didn't show up on the bill either. Yay, freebies!]
  

Pharma total: $280

 

Total bill: $973

 

Fortunately, before the sailing, we went with an AIG Travel Guard plan that included $25k in medical coverage. The total premium on that plan, purchased through a major website with a name that rhymes with inuremytrip, was under $300 total for everyone in our family. While AIG hasn't indicated how much they'll pay on the service yet, it'd be surprising if it isn't a significant amount.

 

And if you're still reading the longest post in the history of the internet about a single toenail removal: I return to my title question why should you buy travel insurance? Because fixing an infected toenail on an NCL boat was a nearly $1,000 undertaking. During our voyage, we heard over the PA that two patients had medical events which triggered "code alpha" major medical interventions. It would seem bills for those kinds of events can easily hit five figures, and that's before the patient gets carted up to the helipad on the deck 10 sports court for a coast guard Dolphin ride to shore. Please, if you're going to spend a week or longer on a vessel away from land, and if you can afford to drop $x,xxx for the privilege, plan to invest the extra $xxx to insure it properly. You don't have to go through the cruise line, but please make sure you have a dedicated policy in place and that you understand what it covers.

 

Hope that some portion of this was helpful to someone out there. Stay tuned for an update here on the insurance denouement, hopefully within 24 to 72 hours.

 

The End.

It's because of stories like this that I purchased insurance for our 2nd cruise next June. On another note, if you suffer from ingrown toenails frequently you should check into laser surgery. I used to get them so bad my toe(s) would swell and it would hurt to walk. Never to the point of needing emergency care like you experienced. But I got tired of it and went to see a podiatrist. He suggested laser surgery. Only on the big toes and one at a time. They numbed it and just used a laser to cut/burn the sides of the toenail. The nail has never grown back and still looks normal. So glad to not have to deal with that pain ever again! Best part- insurance did cover it! Sorry to get off topic but i thought I'd suggest an alternative to the pain!

[cargo13]

Like your story/writing and this thread is very pro insurance because its worth the small cost for peace of mind of what could and does happen per all the posts!

 

Cruise line insurance:

Same experience--its more expensive and has less coverage but you can buy until departure w/ cancellation coverages that usually come in the form of cruise credit.

Cruise lines have a conflict of interest in insuring on their cruise.

 

Direct with travel insurance provider:

Its fine to shop with the insurance OTAs like insuremytrip but its best to buy direct from the travel insurance provider because if you have a claim, you will be working directly with the provider. Our preferred is GENERALI Travel Insurance (formerly CSA) http://www.generalitravelinsurance.com because pre existing conditions are covered and can be bought up to final deposit (not upon 1st payment). Claims department is great, unfortunately, we have had to use.

[jimsig]

Direct with travel insurance provider:

Its fine to shop with the insurance OTAs like insuremytrip but its best to buy direct from the travel insurance provider because if you have a claim, you will be working directly with the provider. Our preferred is GENERALI Travel Insurance (formerly CSA) www.generalitravelinsurance.com because pre existing conditions are covered and can be bought up to final deposit (not upon 1st payment). Claims department is great, unfortunately, we have had to use.

 

 

I purchased our trip insurance through insuremytrip with Roam Right and had to file a clam a few years ago. I filed directly with Roam Right due to a pre-existing condition. Never had to deal with insuremytrip through the claims process at all. Didn't have any issues at all.

[Mabbiesmum]

As someone from the UK I find the US system of travel insurance a bit baffling. Obviously most of us don't have private medical cover and any sort of a trip invariably means leaving the jurisdiction of the NHS. DH and I have a joint annual travel insurance policy which cost £135 for the current year including pre-existing conditions.

 

For that we get £10m medical cover, £10m repatriation, £2m personal liability, £20,000 personal accident, £2,000 baggage, £5,000 cancellation, curtailment or airline failure.

[hoopics]

UPDATE: Earlier today I received confirmation from AIG that they'd be mailing me a check for the full $973 I paid to NCL's medical center. Assuming that happens, I'll be singing the praises of their Travel Guard policy and insuremytrip.com to anyone who will listen.

 

I went back and checked, and found I paid $281 for their "Gold" plan, to cover myself, my wife, and my two rugrats. It covered as much as the NCL plan, for about 1/3rd the cost, but also offered 100% "cancel for work reasons" coverage -- given the unpredictability of what I do, that was huge.

 

For the claim described in such detail in my OP above, I went to their website, clicked submit a claim, and filled in all the blanks. I scanned and uploaded the four bits of paper I got at the medical center. Took me less than 15 minutes, total. I submitted that late afternoon last Wednesday. Before Noon Thursday, I received confirmation it had been sent to an adjuster. At day's end today (Monday) I received confirmation the payment was coming. Basically a three business day turn-around. I was not asked for any additional details, and I was not asked to submit the claim to my medical insurer first (and I did disclose when they asked that I have medical insurance).

 

Couldn't have asked for anything more, except maybe direct electronic payment rather than having to wait a week for a check. Well, that and not having had to have a guy stick medical pliers under my big toe in the first place.

 

NB: my toe is completely healed. I didn't even need to go see a local doc to have the last of it cleaned up. So another thanks to Dr. A for the great work.

[Gershep]

Glad you are getting your money back. Thanks for the update.

[fshagan]

As someone from the UK I find the US system of travel insurance a bit baffling. Obviously most of us don't have private medical cover and any sort of a trip invariably means leaving the jurisdiction of the NHS. DH and I have a joint annual travel insurance policy which cost £135 for the current year including pre-existing conditions.

 

For that we get £10m medical cover, £10m repatriation, £2m personal liability, £20,000 personal accident, £2,000 baggage, £5,000 cancellation, curtailment or airline failure.

 

That's about $174 USD. Is that each, or for the both of you? The rates people are quoting here are for the "party" (usually two people). Your coverage amounts for medical and repatriation look low to me (assuming "m" means thousands). If that's millions of pounds I'm impressed, otherwise I wouldn't be that comfortable with £10,000 of medical insurance.

 

EIG annual is quoted at $528 (about £410) for both of us, so it looks like we're at least double and maybe four times the price of your insurance. It covers trip cancellation and has $10,000 medical and $150,000 evacuation. I'm not comfortable with those low coverage amounts. GeoBlue is $390 (about £303) for both of us, with $250,000 medical, $500,000 evacuation (but it's a medical plan only). The lower coverage plan is $50,000 medical and $250,000 evacuation and is $200 (about £155, but again, only medical coverage and not trip cancellation).

[BubMunkeyBles]

I really need to take out our trip insurance. I met a lady in Ketchikan a few weeks ago who'd been there a week because her husband broke his femur... Yeah. I can't imagine that bill.

[Mabbiesmum]

"m" is millions and it was for both of us

 

Sent from my Nexus 9 using Forums mobile app

[buggins0402]

"m" is millions and it was for both of us

 

Sent from my Nexus 9 using Forums mobile app

 

Are you sure...seems high?

 

https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/181917/mixing-use-of-k-for-thousands-and-mm-for-millions

[Mabbiesmum]

Definitely millions

 

Sent from my Nexus 9 using Forums mobile app

[fabnfortysomething]

Are you sure...seems high?

 

https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/181917/mixing-use-of-k-for-thousands-and-mm-for-millions

 

 

I I can confirm that UK travel insurance has a very high cover for medical-ours is actually £10 million

 

our joint annual insurance policy cost £185 and that is an extra £40 to cover our pre existing medical conditions

[buggins0402]

I I can confirm that UK travel insurance has a very high cover for medical-ours is actually £10 million

 

our joint annual insurance policy cost £185 and that is an extra £40 to cover our pre existing medical conditions

 

 

That's great! I really hate our US medical insurance system.

[caddykid12]

That is covered in the Cruise insurance i pay $169 p.p. for. I was always told that covers on board medical treatment as well as cruise cancel protection?

[oncruisecontrol]

UPDATE: Earlier today I received confirmation from AIG that they'd be mailing me a check for the full $973 I paid to NCL's medical center. Assuming that happens, I'll be singing the praises of their Travel Guard policy and insuremytrip.com to anyone who will listen.

 

I went back and checked, and found I paid $281 for their "Gold" plan, to cover myself, my wife, and my two rugrats. It covered as much as the NCL plan, for about 1/3rd the cost, but also offered 100% "cancel for work reasons" coverage -- given the unpredictability of what I do, that was huge.

 

For the claim described in such detail in my OP above, I went to their website, clicked submit a claim, and filled in all the blanks. I scanned and uploaded the four bits of paper I got at the medical center. Took me less than 15 minutes, total. I submitted that late afternoon last Wednesday. Before Noon Thursday, I received confirmation it had been sent to an adjuster. At day's end today (Monday) I received confirmation the payment was coming. Basically a three business day turn-around. I was not asked for any additional details, and I was not asked to submit the claim to my medical insurer first (and I did disclose when they asked that I have medical insurance).

 

Thanks for the update.

[rocklinmom]

Thanks again hoopics for updating us on how you got reimbursed. I assume NCL insurance would be handled similarly. I am the one leaving this weekend on the Baltics cruise and my daughter's same toenail is infected AGAIN :loudcry: and she is going to the podiatrist today to have it treated with only three days to spare before we fly out. If I hadn't read your original post, I might not have thought to look at her toe (she feels nothing, and hadn't noticed it, even though it is red and swollen). So thank you for posting your experience...it made a difference!

[fshagan]

"m" is millions and it was for both of us

 

That is fantastic! We should have just paid the Stamp Tax and drank the tea! :)

 

(My confusion was because I have also seen 10M stand for 10,000, using the Roman numeral symbol for "thousand").

[hoopics]

FINAL UPDATE: the check from AIG arrived Friday, or five days after they said they'd be mailing it, and less than two weeks from the initial claim. Couldn't have asked for better service from them, and will definitely be using them again on future trips. Given that they offered more comprehensive coverage and better cancellation terms for less money in premiums, I can't see why I'd ever buy the cruise line's insurance [not just through NCL but any carrier].

[KappaLady]

FINAL UPDATE: the check from AIG arrived Friday, or five days after they said they'd be mailing it, and less than two weeks from the initial claim. Couldn't have asked for better service from them, and will definitely be using them again on future trips. Given that they offered more comprehensive coverage and better cancellation terms for less money in premiums, I can't see why I'd ever buy the cruise line's insurance [not just through NCL but any carrier].

 

 

 

Thanks for the update! We always get AIG for the same reasons-- coverage, price, customer service, ease of filing, and speed of processing!

 

 

~Profile Says Everything~

[All-ready2cruise]

FINAL UPDATE: the check from AIG arrived Friday, or five days after they said they'd be mailing it, and less than two weeks from the initial claim. Couldn't have asked for better service from them, and will definitely be using them again on future trips. Given that they offered more comprehensive coverage and better cancellation terms for less money in premiums, I can't see why I'd ever buy the cruise line's insurance [not just through NCL but any carrier].

 

Wonderful, so happy for you. Insurance can be difficult to comprehend and it's so important to ensure you have the insurance that's best for you and yours.