Pre-existing Conditions for Travel Ins. What Qualifies?

[Cruise NH]

We always buy travel insurance for our longer cruises but always just before we make the final payment, never with the deposit.  Now we have a situation...maybe.

 

I know I have to talk to insurers about this but I don't want to go into the conversations without any knowledge of the subject.  Here is our situation...

 

A few months ago, we put a deposit down for a cruise leaving next July. In the interim, we discovered that my husband had a blockage in his heart and needed a stent.  This was done in August and he's fine now.  We still have to get his cholesterol number down but he feels great.  So now we know he has coronary artery disease, but he's otherwise okay.  In your experiences is that a pre-existing condition? 

 

I'm hoping that some of you have had the same, or similar, circumstance.  I would appreciate hearing about your experiences with this issue.  Again, I'm just trying to get a little smarter about this whole thing.  Thanks.

[tigerfan75]

PECs can be difficult to understand.  I am no expert, but I have found a resource that works for me.  You might want to read the FAQs on the site TripInsuranceStore.com.  Steve has helped me on many different occasions, and I find him quite reliable.  YMMV

[Flatbush Flyer]

46 minutes ago, Cruise NH said:

We always buy travel insurance for our longer cruises but always just before we make the final payment, never with the deposit.  Now we have a situation...maybe.

 

I know I have to talk to insurers about this but I don't want to go into the conversations without any knowledge of the subject.  Here is our situation...

 

A few months ago, we put a deposit down for a cruise leaving next July. In the interim, we discovered that my husband had a blockage in his heart and needed a stent.  This was done in August and he's fine now.  We still have to get his cholesterol number down but he feels great.  So now we know he has coronary artery disease, but he's otherwise okay.  In your experiences is that a pre-existing condition? 

 

I'm hoping that some of you have had the same, or similar, circumstance.  I would appreciate hearing about your experiences with this issue.  Again, I'm just trying to get a little smarter about this whole thing.  Thanks.

Insurance PEC is a vastly different thing than Medical PEC.

For most travel insurance, there exists a “look back period” of several months (length of which depends on the particular insurer) prior to the day you purchase the policy.

If during that “look back period,” you received a new diagnosis or experienced a change in the condition of an existing diagnosis sufficient to require a difference in treatment, medication, etc, that medical issue qualifies as a PEC.

And, without a waiver of PECs, that issue then would not be claimable as a cause of trip cancellation, interruption or any other provision of the travel policy.

[shepherd really]

2 hours ago, Cruise NH said:

We always buy travel insurance for our longer cruises but always just before we make the final payment, never with the deposit.  Now we have a situation...maybe.

 

I know I have to talk to insurers about this but I don't want to go into the conversations without any knowledge of the subject.  Here is our situation...

 

A few months ago, we put a deposit down for a cruise leaving next July. In the interim, we discovered that my husband had a blockage in his heart and needed a stent.  This was done in August and he's fine now.  We still have to get his cholesterol number down but he feels great.  So now we know he has coronary artery disease, but he's otherwise okay.  In your experiences is that a pre-existing condition? 

 

I'm hoping that some of you have had the same, or similar, circumstance.  I would appreciate hearing about your experiences with this issue.  Again, I'm just trying to get a little smarter about this whole thing.  Thanks.

I spoke with a representative of GeoBlue yesterday, you may want to ask them this question.  My impression was that a pre-existing medical condition will not pose an issue.  Their rates were very attractive.

 

[Jockocruiser]

There are  different Types of travel insurance. Is this an issue in regard to trip cancellation and interruption coverage, or is it an issue of purely medical issues?  There is a big difference of coverage and of cost.

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, shepherd really said:

I spoke with a representative of GeoBlue yesterday, you may want to ask them this question.  My impression was that a pre-existing medical condition will not pose an issue.  Their rates were very attractive.

 

it appears that you’re missing the key issue. Medical PECs and Insurance PECs are not the same thing. And, moreover, GEO Blue is insurance for medical issues and has nothing to do with trip cancellation/interrupt coverage.

Read my post #3 above.

[Cruise NH]

Yes I was looking at this for trip cancellation/interruption not wholly medical.  

 

This is complicated.  I'm trying to understand what the 'look back period' is and how it would apply to us.  We had no idea he had a medical condition when we made the deposit, so we're passed that opportunity.  We have medical insurance that should cover us no matter where we are...with the exception of medical evacuation.  

 

I appreciate everyone's input, in the end it might help me understand what to ask insurers.

[GeezerCouple]

22 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

it appears that you’re missing the key issue. Medical PECs and Insurance PECs are not the same thing. And, moreover, GEO Blue is insurance for medical issues and has nothing to do with trip cancellation/interrupt coverage.

Read my post #3 above.

 

Flatbush Flyer already gave you a very good answer, as they noted again here.

 

Note that IF you get a policy that has a "lookback period" of X days, that probably means (READ THE ACTUAL POLICY; if it's not in writing, it doesn't exist) that there must have been no treatment, no change of condition, and no change in medication, etc.   IF that is correct *now*, then do not wait until final payment, because IF something "changes", you might not be able to meet the restrictions of the lookback period later.

 

And by the way, what we do is ALWAYS buy insurance that covers the deposit.  (We then add coverage if we add non-refundable costs before final payment, or just wait for all the rest at that final payment.)

At least for our coverages, we can sometimes transfer the payments if we didn't take the trip after all, to a different trip, but sometimes we can't.  But we don't have to worry about whether we have or can get the coverage we want.  And we've had quite a few claims including a couple of large ones, so we don't dare travel without the insurance.  Although we are concerned with medical coverage, almost of of our claims have involved cancellations, interruptions, or changes that were due to medical issues for us or for a very elderly relative.  The cost to insure just the deposit isn't all that much, and then you have met any conditions on the day you started the policy.

 

I realize that others may have been paying premiums for many trips, and not collected.  (That's sort of how we feel about auto insurance. 🙂  We haven't made any claims on that coverage for many decades.)

 

There are two other sections of CC that you should check:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/499-cruisetravel-insurance/

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/2500-qa-cruise-insurance-with-the-tripinsurancestorecom-june-2021/

 

That second one is monitored by the owner of www.TripInsuranceStore.com - a broker.

They answer questions very patiently and that's where we always get our policies.

(There is no extra cost to the travelers.)

CALL TIS and speak with them.  They can help you better understand the PECs.  It may not be what you think.

 

GC

 

 

 

[Flatbush Flyer]

4 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

Flatbush Flyer already gave you a very good answer, as they noted again here.

 

Note that IF you get a policy that has a "lookback period" of X days, that probably means (READ THE ACTUAL POLICY; if it's not in writing, it doesn't exist) that there must have been no treatment, no change of condition, and no change in medication, etc.   IF that is correct *now*, then do not wait until final payment, because IF something "changes", you might not be able to meet the restrictions of the lookback period later.

 

And by the way, what we do is ALWAYS buy insurance that covers the deposit.  (We then add coverage if we add non-refundable costs before final payment, or just wait for all the rest at that final payment.)

At least for our coverages, we can sometimes transfer the payments if we didn't take the trip after all, to a different trip, but sometimes we can't.  But we don't have to worry about whether we have or can get the coverage we want.  And we've had quite a few claims including a couple of large ones, so we don't dare travel without the insurance.  Although we are concerned with medical coverage, almost of of our claims have involved cancellations, interruptions, or changes that were due to medical issues for us or for a very elderly relative.  The cost to insure just the deposit isn't all that much, and then you have met any conditions on the day you started the policy.

 

I realize that others may have been paying premiums for many trips, and not collected.  (That's sort of how we feel about auto insurance. 🙂  We haven't made any claims on that coverage for many decades.)

 

There are two other sections of CC that you should check:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/499-cruisetravel-insurance/

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/2500-qa-cruise-insurance-with-the-tripinsurancestorecom-june-2021/

 

That second one is monitored by the owner of www.TripInsuranceStore.com - a broker.

They answer questions very patiently and that's where we always get our policies.

(There is no extra cost to the travelers.)

CALL TIS and speak with them.  They can help you better understand the PECs.  It may not be what you think.

 

GC

 

 

 

Thanks for adding important items to my post.

As for brokers, we prefer InsureMyTrip.com if fir no other reason than their very robust/excellent individualized search engine.

[Flatbush Flyer]

11 minutes ago, Cruise NH said:

Yes I was looking at this for trip cancellation/interruption not wholly medical.  

 

This is complicated.  I'm trying to understand what the 'look back period' is and how it would apply to us.  We had no idea he had a medical condition when we made the deposit, so we're passed that opportunity.  We have medical insurance that should cover us no matter where we are...with the exception of medical evacuation.  

 

I appreciate everyone's input, in the end it might help me understand what to ask insurers.

As aforementioned, GeoBlue is medical insurance only - not trip protection.

And, if you are already insured by certain Blue Cross providers, you may already have that added coverage.

We are very fortunate Medicare retirees in that we have an employer provided Blue Cross supplement that converts to their regular policy (including GeoBlue) when abroad. So, when we look at travel insurance, we are primarily interested in the trip cancel/interrupt coverage, particularly since travel insurance provided by most credit cards have claim limits that are insufficient for cruises that are longer/expensive/etc and they most often do not waive PECs in their claim exclusions.

 

As for your PEC situation: Whether or not he had the issue when you made a cruise deposit is not as important as when you bought the insurance. It is the latter date (insurance purchase) that is the date that establishes the “look back” period (.e., that date counting back XX days [as specified in the policy]). If the new diagnosis (or a change in treatment, meds, et al. for an existing diagnosis) occurs during the “look back,” THAT is a PEC (insurance). And, in order to have that PEC “waived” and claimable for causes of trip interrupt/cancel and all other coverages in your policy, you may have purchase deadlines that can vary from XX days after cruise deposit to Final Pay Day for the Cruise.

[Host Jazzbeau]

3 hours ago, Cruise NH said:

We have medical insurance that should cover us no matter where we are...with the exception of medical evacuation

Never rely on the medical evacuation coverage from a travel insurance (much less a credit card) coverage.  Join Medjet Assist through AARP and get better evacuation coverage than any plan I have seen for a very low annual rate.

https://www.aarp.org/benefits-discounts/all/medjetassist-10063/

 

With insurance policies, the insurance company decides whether you qualify for evacuation and will only send you to the nearest hospital that can treat your issues [which will still be in a foreign country where your health insurance may not cover the expenses].  With MedJet, once you are admitted to a hospital YOU decide WHETHER you want to be evacuated and you decide WHERE you want to go – which can be the best hospital near where you live [and where your regular medical plan will pay the costs].

 

Note to snowbirds:  MedJet can be activated anywhere as long as you are 150 miles from home.

 

 

[1985rz1]

25 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

With insurance policies, the insurance company decides whether you qualify for evacuation and will only send you to the nearest hospital that can treat your issues [which will still be in a foreign country where your health insurance may not cover the expenses].  With MedJet, once you are admitted to a hospital YOU decide WHETHER you want to be evacuated and you decide WHERE you want to go – which can be the best hospital near where you live [and where your regular medical plan will pay the costs].

Your spin is not entirely true, and what is true depends on the specific policy.  Our annual policy, like Medjet's, sends one to the nearest hospital which is appropriate for treatment. Then, after admission, if treating doctors agree one is medically stable for travel, the company will arrange for transport to a medical facility near your primary residence or in a location of your choice in the U.S.

[Host Jazzbeau]

14 minutes ago, 1985rz1 said:

Your spin is not entirely true, and what is true depends on the specific policy.  Our annual policy, like Medjet's, sends one to the nearest hospital which is appropriate for treatment. Then, after admission, if treating doctors agree one is medically stable for travel, the company will arrange for transport to a medical facility near your primary residence or in a location of your choice in the U.S.

You better have faith in the bolded statement.  The horror stories I have read are where the local doctor [who thinks he's God] assures the insurance company that he is fully capable of treating you, and on that basis they refuse to evacuate.  Medjet only requires the admission – then YOU decide about evacuation.

[avalong]

31 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

You better have faith in the bolded statement.  The horror stories I have read are where the local doctor [who thinks he's God] assures the insurance company that he is fully capable of treating you, and on that basis they refuse to evacuate.  Medjet only requires the admission – then YOU decide about evacuation.

A well-respected poster over on the Princess board had occasion to witness Medjet at work. Her traveling companion became gravely ill and was hospitalized. Medjet was everything you could have hoped for in this situation. 

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

You better have faith in the bolded statement.  The horror stories I have read are where the local doctor [who thinks he's God] assures the insurance company that he is fully capable of treating you, and on that basis they refuse to evacuate.  Medjet only requires the admission – then YOU decide about evacuation.

Actually, 1985rz1 is correct (with the caveat that which comprehensive travel policy you have determines whether your Medevac destination is “your choice”).

We’re MedJet members thanks to doing the math. The premium for most comprehensive travel policies that include “your choice” MedEvac destinations has a differential cost that is more than the MedJet annual cost, I.e., if you do several cruises per year. 
In fact, in our case, if we’re doing a long cruise where CC travel payout limits are insufficient for the cruise cost and we decide to add a comp travel policy (since annual “travel protection only” policies are very limited in availability and aggregate claim limits (e.g., Allianz)), we’ll look for high travel cancel/interrupt limit policies with limited medical/MedEvac since their cost savings are better than the cost of MedJet membership spread across two-three cruises (plus 1-2 land trips) per year AND we already have excellent medical insurance thanks to our home Medicare supplement policy covering international travel and coordinating with GEO Blue. .

 

BTW, there are all sorts of ways to get MedJet memberships at a cost equal to or better than AARP.

Bottom line: Always do the necessary research and the accompanying math!

Edited October 22, 2021 by Flatbush Flyer

[cbb]

FWIW....

trip insurance can be confusing and your situation may be different than someone else's.

 

we have used https://tripinsurancestore.com/  (ask for Steve) as it is a broker of several different insurance companies.

 

Steve is a frequent guest here on CruiseCritic and also has a well received blog plus the WSJ recommends him. 

 

take a look at the website.  Steve can answer most, if not all your questions, and can put a package together for you after you've talked

 

we highly recommend him....and he will patiently walk you through what you need to know in order to make a well informed decision.  Good Luck

 

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, cbb said:

FWIW....

trip insurance can be confusing and your situation may be different than someone else's.

 

we have used https://tripinsurancestore.com/  (ask for Steve) as it is a broker of several different insurance companies.

 

Steve is a frequent guest here on CruiseCritic and also has a well received blog plus the WSJ recommends him. 

 

take a look at the website.  Steve can answer most, if not all your questions, and can put a package together for you after you've talked

 

we highly recommend him....and he will patiently walk you through what you need to know in order to make a well informed decision.  Good Luck

 

I agree about using Steve and his staff at tripinsurancestore.com . They're always available to answer your questions. In fact I just called them a few days ago with a question about insurance for an early 2023 trip.

They offer a smaller selection of policies than some brokers, who just throw dozens of essentially identical policies against the wall and leave it to you to figure out the differences and if those differences are meaningful. Steve does that work for you. Some may consider this a negative, but I feel just the opposite. I can easily compare which of the small selection of policies best meets my needs and then call if I'm still uncertain. 

As someone who spent a couple of decades in the insurance industry (not sales, but as an actuary, systems manager and head of strategic planning) as well as having owned and operated a travel agency for several years, I think Steve is doing things the right way. Others are free to disagree and recommend their own favorites.

[GeezerCouple]

 

13 hours ago, 1985rz1 said:

Your spin is not entirely true, and what is true depends on the specific policy.  Our annual policy, like Medjet's, sends one to the nearest hospital which is appropriate for treatment. Then, after admission, if treating doctors agree one is medically stable for travel, the company will arrange for transport to a medical facility near your primary residence or in a location of your choice in the U.S.

 

13 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

You better have faith in the bolded statement.  The horror stories I have read are where the local doctor [who thinks he's God] assures the insurance company that he is fully capable of treating you, and on that basis they refuse to evacuate.  Medjet only requires the admission – then YOU decide about evacuation.

 

I think there is a bit of confusion.

Whether one is stable enough for transport is not necessarily the same thing as whether the current hospital is judged adequate for treatment.

 

MedJetAssist also requires that one be stable enough for transport, no surprise.  However, keep in mind that if necessary, MJA will use a full medevac flight with medical attendant on board.

What MJA especially helps to eliminate is having insurance beancounters decide that the current hospital is "satisfactory" or that having the local physician stating that they can treat one "here" just fine, which may be quite different from one's own assessment of the local care.   (If that local physician tries to interfere by declaring one "not stable enough" when one is in fact stable enough for that, then that's a very different problem and would probably need some additional consultations, etc.  However, the patient's medical stability is not always at issue.  And a local physician may not try to interfere if patient stability isn't truly a concern.)

 

We get the MJA annual plan because in addition to major vacations, it also covers any trip (more than 150 miles from home) such as business trips or visits to family and friends.

GC

 

[avalong]

16 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Actually, 1985rz1 is correct (with the caveat that which comprehensive travel policy you have determines whether your Medevac destination is “your choice”).

We’re MedJet members thanks to doing the math. The premium for most comprehensive travel policies that include “your choice” MedEvac destinations has a differential cost that is more than the MedJet annual cost, I.e., if you do several cruises per year. 
In fact, in our case, if we’re doing a long cruise where CC travel payout limits are insufficient for the cruise cost and we decide to add a comp travel policy (since annual “travel protection only” policies are very limited in availability and aggregate claim limits (e.g., Allianz)), we’ll look for high travel cancel/interrupt limit policies with limited medical/MedEvac since their cost savings are better than the cost of MedJet membership spread across two-three cruises (plus 1-2 land trips) per year AND we already have excellent medical insurance thanks to our home Medicare supplement policy covering international travel and coordinating with GEO Blue. .

 

BTW, there are all sorts of ways to get MedJet memberships at a cost equal to or better than AARP.

Bottom line: Always do the necessary research and the accompanying math!

How did you get a better rate than the AARP rate?

[Flatbush Flyer]

29 minutes ago, avalong said:

How did you get a better rate than the AARP rate?

Called and asked for any current promo codes or member/profession/whatever discounts.
 

FWIW, For anything I buy or renew (online or by phone), I always ask for best way to lower cost. Many times, I’ll get a 10-20% break. AND I don’t have to join AARP. 
I do the same with things like hotel bookings. Some of the major chains have an AARP discount. But, it’s the same as the AAA rate or your driver’s license showing >65.

One caveat. That MedJet break (can’t remember the exact rate) was based on “new customer.” We’ll see what happens when I go to renew.

BTW: Not so much for a lot of travel items but worth trying—-

If you go to buy something online from a vendor new to you, do a mock purchase (I.e., all the way to the “cart.” But, don’t make the purchase. In all likelihood, that vendor put a “cookie” (even if only a functional one) on your computer. Repeat this exercise a few day later.

In enough cases to make it worthwhile, you’ll soon get an email from the vendor offering you a discounted price on your order (without having to agree to marketing emails from them.

[Cruise NH]

Thanks again for all this information!  I took a lot of notes going through the postings.  I feel like I know what questions to ask at least and that's a lot further along then I was a few days ago.

 

 

[1985rz1]

For folks 75-84, Medjet requires the Diamond (read enhanced pricing) plans. 

[GeezerCouple]

19 minutes ago, 1985rz1 said:

For folks 75-84, Medjet requires the Diamond (read enhanced pricing) plans. 

 

Two years ago, DH was facing this break-point for MJA plans/pricing (I'll face it soon).  We were less concerned with the extra pricing, and more about the medical vetting.

 

We were hoping that the "regular vagaries of aging" wouldn't be disqualifying, because if such conditions were disqualifying, then would there even be enough potential people accepted to insure such that "insurance pooling" would work?

There was a reasonable form for DH to fill out, and another to send along to the physician.  Everything was handled by pdf's and email.  It seems that things like reasonably/medically controlled conditions like high blood pressure or elevated cholesterol, or being a bit overweight, a few other non-dramatic conditions, etc., didn't seem to present any difficulty, delay, or request for additional documentation.  The entire process took less than a week.  I suppose if there were additional questions and MJA wanted to review any medical records, it would take longer.

 

The difference in cost between the regular coverage and the MedJetAssist Diamond plan wasn't huge.

 

GC

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

Two years ago, DH was facing this break-point for MJA plans/pricing (I'll face it soon).  We were less concerned with the extra pricing, and more about the medical vetting.

 

We were hoping that the "regular vagaries of aging" wouldn't be disqualifying, because if such conditions were disqualifying, then would there even be enough potential people accepted to insure such that "insurance pooling" would work?

There was a reasonable form for DH to fill out, and another to send along to the physician.  Everything was handled by pdf's and email.  It seems that things like reasonably/medically controlled conditions like high blood pressure or elevated cholesterol, or being a bit overweight, a few other non-dramatic conditions, etc., didn't seem to present any difficulty, delay, or request for additional documentation.  The entire process took less than a week.  I suppose if there were additional questions and MJA wanted to review any medical records, it would take longer.

 

The difference in cost between the regular coverage and the MedJetAssist Diamond plan wasn't huge.

 

GC

Thanks!  Facing this soon myself.

[Paulchili]

23 hours ago, 1985rz1 said:

Your spin is not entirely true, and what is true depends on the specific policy.  Our annual policy, like Medjet's, sends one to the nearest hospital which is appropriate for treatment. Then, after admission, if treating doctors agree one is medically stable for travel, the company will arrange for transport to a medical facility near your primary residence or in a location of your choice in the U.S.

Totally agree - MedJet is not the miracle solution that one would hope for it to be.

We have traveled with MedJet for many years and fortunately never needed them  ...... until we did and they were not there for us.

We were on the second half of a Northwest Passage cruise when M became very sick. It was another full day of sailing till we could disembark and it was a tiny Inuit settlement. Needless to say that there was no hospital or anything even close to that in that settlement. We had the ship contact MedJet a day in advance during sailing for assistance with evacuation and they flatly refused.

At this point we made our way home on our own straight to the hospital's OR.

As this was an exceptionally expensive cruise I decided to take out additional insurance which ended up covering all of our expenses.

You might think - how often will I find myself in the same situation. I think you might be unpleasantly surprised how something like this may happen to you.

There are a number of places in the third world that either do not have a hospital or have one that I would not trust spending first 24 hrs of my illness in as that is often the most critical and crucial time for severe illnesses. I am sure many of us have seen images of ERs and hospitals all over the world during this pandemic and hoping never to need them.

We now travel without MedJet as they were not there when we needed them but always with adequate insurance.

Edited October 23, 2021 by Paulchili