8/20 Departure..too late for trip insurance?

[LMS3386]

Hi everyone,

 

I'm booked on the Breakaway for 8/20. I did not buy trip insurance when I booked last fall, but as it gets closer I'm starting to regret that decision.

 

Is it too late to purchase? I don't have any pre-existing conditions so I wouldn't need the waiver since I know I'm passed being eligible for that.

 

I'm just looking for something basic in the event that myself or my travel companion cannot cruise due to illness, as I have elderly grandparents.

 

Thanks in advance.

[njhorseman]

You can still buy insurance. Try tripinsurancestore.com .

[LMS3386]

You can still buy insurance. Try tripinsurancestore.com .

 

Thanks, I've read good things about them from lurking on this board so I'll get in touch with them this week.

[garycarla]

that link and insuremytrip.com will answer all your questions.

[easyboy]

You can still buy insurance. Try tripinsurancestore.com .

 

 

 

Ditto. Use them also for advice on appropriate plan for our needs.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[pieshops]

I have bought insurance as late as 2 days prior to sailing but know the close you get the more expensive it gets

[TVLady3]

NCL now has a new basic policy for $25 per person. I just got it for my Escape cruise coming up in August. It's called Essentials Travel Protection Plan.

Trip Delay....$500

Emergency Evac...$25,000

Repatriation...$5000

Accident Medical Expense...$10,000

Sickness Medical Expense...$10,000

Baggage & Personal Effects....$1,500

Baggage Delay...$750

And Carefree Travel Assistance...24/7

Medical Assistance...24/7

Emergency Services...24/7

Call NCL, The coveragee is underwritten by Transamerica Casualty Insurance Company.

[triptolemus]

NCL now has a new basic policy for $25 per person. I just got it for my Escape cruise coming up in August. It's called Essentials Travel Protection Plan.

Trip Delay....$500

Emergency Evac...$25,000

Repatriation...$5000

Accident Medical Expense...$10,000

Sickness Medical Expense...$10,000

Baggage & Personal Effects....$1,500

Baggage Delay...$750

And Carefree Travel Assistance...24/7

Medical Assistance...24/7

Emergency Services...24/7

 

Right, but remember those payouts are disbursed in the form of OBC.

[NMLady]

NCL now has a new basic policy for $25 per person. I just got it for my Escape cruise coming up in August. It's called Essentials Travel Protection Plan.

Trip Delay....$500

Emergency Evac...$25,000

Repatriation...$5000

Accident Medical Expense...$10,000

Sickness Medical Expense...$10,000

Baggage & Personal Effects....$1,500

Baggage Delay...$750

And Carefree Travel Assistance...24/7

Medical Assistance...24/7

Emergency Services...24/7

Call NCL, The coveragee is underwritten by Transamerica Casualty Insurance Company.

 

I think those amounts are reimbursements -- that you have to pay first, then file a claim. I'd want insurance that would pay upfront for medical and evacuation. The better policies will.

[GeezerCouple]

I think those amounts are reimbursements -- that you have to pay first, then file a claim. I'd want insurance that would pay upfront for medical and evacuation. The better policies will.

 

If you have a medical emergency overseas, and are taken by ambulance to a hospital for emergency treatment, how do you think it is going to work for the hospital to verify that some foreign company is going to "pay whatever the cost turns out to be"?

 

Our experience was that the overseas hospital had someone from the business office stop by the bedside, and take a credit card from me while the were getting started to deal with DH.

They charged some amount upfront.

 

When I needed medical care overseas on another trip, the physician called by the hospital required *cash*.

He gave us a receipt, of course, but would not accept a charge card or a check.

When we needed to have the hotel call an ambulance and take me to the ER, it turned out that they had no way to bill anyone; it was included in the health care system.

(We felt that we shouldn't be included in that, as we didn't pay taxes there, but they apparently had NO way to accept payments. So very different....!)

 

But my point on the second episode was that the physician was having none of anything other than cash up front.

This was the regular physician on call at a 5-star hotel.

The charge, for him to come to the hotel, was not outrageous, but it wasn't going to work to have any "insurer" pay him.

 

Our travel insurance, Travel Insured, covered the physician's modest charges, and also the far more significant costs for trip interruption and other special arrangements.

Again, we had to pay for all of that, and then get paid later.

[LMS3386]

NCL now has a new basic policy for $25 per person. I just got it for my Escape cruise coming up in August. It's called Essentials Travel Protection Plan.

Trip Delay....$500

Emergency Evac...$25,000

Repatriation...$5000

Accident Medical Expense...$10,000

Sickness Medical Expense...$10,000

Baggage & Personal Effects....$1,500

Baggage Delay...$750

And Carefree Travel Assistance...24/7

Medical Assistance...24/7

Emergency Services...24/7

Call NCL, The coveragee is underwritten by Transamerica Casualty Insurance Company.

 

But that doesn't offer cancellation, right?

[GeezerCouple]

But that doesn't offer cancellation, right?

 

Have you paid for your airfare yet, or other travel costs?

 

If not, then there may still be some very good coverage available.

 

But don't keep asking here.

 

Call an insurance broker who can discuss a variety of policies/coverages from several insurers, and help you get the best fit for your needs, of those still available.

 

We use Steve et al. at

www.TripInsuranceStore.com

 

But CALL them, don't just read the online summaries. The "fine print" is too important with insurance.

 

Make sure you describe as precisely as possible the situation you have and any concerns. The better they understand, the better they can help find a policy that wouldn't later end up with something denied because there was some undisclosed "situation".

 

We've purchased quite a number of policies through them, using Travel Insured.

We've had some large claims, and those were paid very promptly.

 

But in your situation, the particular policy we get wouldn't work.

 

Call sooner rather than later, just in case there are any other types of deadlines looming. (I don't know, but better to have as many options as possible.)

[cruiser620]

Hi everyone,

 

I'm booked on the Breakaway for 8/20. I did not buy trip insurance when I booked last fall, but as it gets closer I'm starting to regret that decision.

 

Is it too late to purchase? I don't have any pre-existing conditions so I wouldn't need the waiver since I know I'm passed being eligible for that.

 

I'm just looking for something basic in the event that myself or my travel companion cannot cruise due to illness, as I have elderly grandparents.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

You mentioned elderly grandparents -- are you concerned that you might not be able to cruise if something happened to them? You need to be aware that with most policies "pre-existing condition" doesn't just refer to you. If your grandparents were previously treated for an illness or injury in the "look back period" (which varies with policy but can be several months), most policies will not provide trip cancellation coverage for you if their illness led to your cancellation.

[tonit964]

You mentioned elderly grandparents -- are you concerned that you might not be able to cruise if something happened to them? You need to be aware that with most policies "pre-existing condition" doesn't just refer to you. If your grandparents were previously treated for an illness or injury in the "look back period" (which varies with policy but can be several months), most policies will not provide trip cancellation coverage for you if their illness led to your cancellation.

 

 

This is not correct. The insurance is for the people traveling. If something happened to them, and OP had to cancel, they would be reimbursed the cruise fare, flights, etc if the plan covered that. You don't take out insurance for non traveling family members.

[njhorseman]

You mentioned elderly grandparents -- are you concerned that you might not be able to cruise if something happened to them? You need to be aware that with most policies "pre-existing condition" doesn't just refer to you. If your grandparents were previously treated for an illness or injury in the "look back period" (which varies with policy but can be several months), most policies will not provide trip cancellation coverage for you if their illness led to your cancellation.

 

This is not correct. The insurance is for the people traveling. If something happened to them, and OP had to cancel, they would be reimbursed the cruise fare, flights, etc if the plan covered that. You don't take out insurance for non traveling family members.

 

Tonit964...I am reluctant to say "most policies" as cruiser620 does, but you are wrong. There are some policies that also exclude coverage due to the pre-existing conditions of family members not traveling with you. If you think about it, trip cancellation insurance doesn't just cover the passengers' cancellations due to their own medical conditions, it also covers you if you have to cancel if an immediate family member's (each policy has its own definition of immediate family member) illness or death forces you, the passenger, to cancel the trip. So, since a policy covers illness or death of family members it can also, and some do, exclude coverage due to the illness or death of a family member with a pre-existing condition. Next time read your policy carefully before you buy it to make sure you know what is covered and excluded.

[LMS3386]

Thank you for all of your advice and suggestions. I spoke with someone at TripInsuranceStore.com about my reasons for wanting to purchase travel insurance so close to my departure, and they were able to recommend a policy that they felt met my needs.

[GeezerCouple]

Thank you for all of your advice and suggestions. I spoke with someone at TripInsuranceStore.com about my reasons for wanting to purchase travel insurance so close to my departure, and they were able to recommend a policy that they felt met my needs.

 

Excellent. :)

 

We've found them a great resource, for both "regular" travel insurance needs, and also for an occasional special, possible-difficult situation.

 

In fact, just a couple of days ago, I spoke with Steve about a possible problem coming up, with some pending surgery. Fortunately, it ended up scheduled such that there wasn't a problem, between trips. However, meanwhile, he did have a plan that would have worked anyway.

It's great to have them available to make sure we get the "right" policy for each specific trip's needs.