To insure or not to insure. That is the question.

[Stockjock]

I have a northern European sailing coming up soon.  Now that MSC has dropped their insurance requirement, I'm trying to figure out if we actually need insurance or not.

I went to one of the sites that may insure my trip and while most reviews on most policies are great, one can check a box to see reviews only from those who had to file a claim, and the picture changes a lot.  While some had a good experience, many or most did not and claims were often denied.

Sounds good in practice, but I'm starting to think it might be better to skip the insurance.  Apparently, if we test positive for covid before the cruise, MSC will give us a full refund (not a FCC), so it sounds like we're covered there.  I may or may not have to change flights if something came up which might cost me money and might not (booked using frequent flyer miles).  We would have to get a hotel, which I presume would be out of pocket unless Amex Platinum pays for it.

Your thoughts?

[Best Cat Mom]

I (finally) booked our first cruise post-pandemic and I'm in sync with you on most of your thinking. I used my frequent flyer miles for our flights so those are fully refundable. I'm using my Marriott lifetime status and Bonvoy points for the hotel stays so that makes those fully refundable. I booked the cruise on my Amex Platinum which includes travel insurance. I'm thinking that we are completely covered with all of these.

 

I'm looking forward to hearing other opinions of what risks may have been overlooked with this strategy.

Edited August 7, 2022 by Best Cat Mom

[Hlitner]

I often contribute to the Insurance blog having worked in the medical insurance (government) industry for many decades.  My thought is that if you are comfortable with no insurance than that is fine.  Would we travel Internationally without insurance?  Not without very good trip health insurance and medical evac coverage.  As to all that other stuff (primarily cancellation and interruption) we have long thought that is a personal choice that should be dictated by one's own risk-tolerance and financial situation.

 

Hank

[publicpersona]

What risks are you insuring against? Does your health care coverage cover you sufficiently when travelling internationally? If not, that would be my biggest concern.

 

Other than that, I would be inclined to insure against only that risk that would be a significant hardship to your financial condition. At the end of the day, it's gambling against the house, and the house has actuaries that have it all figured out in their favor.

 

Check also to see what travel insurance your credit card might provide. Chase Sapphire Reserve has decent insurance if any part of the trip was paid using that card.

 

I know this is the contrarian position. There will be people whose having insurance has worked out extremely well for them. They will be more vocal than those that have always paid for insurance and never had the occasion to use it.

[eagletwo]

I am in the private air charter business here in the US. One of my long time clients asked for a price to pick up a relative in Aruba that is very ill, not cruise related, just on holiday. He is in hospital in Aruba with just US insurance that does not cover outside the US and can’t fly home on a commercial flight. A medical flight to bring him back to Columbia, SC is $45,000.  The family has started a gomefund to help get him home and pay for his daily hospital bills in Aruba.

 

I always buy trip insurance with medical and evacuation. 

[mnpurple]

We were required to purchase the insurance for our cruise at the end of May and I'm glad we did. We ended up having a flight delayed from Madrid on our return trip and then missed a connecting flight. It was a short enough delay that the airline wasn't required to do anything and we didn't book the flights together, so we would have been out of luck on the expense of new flights. I submitted the claim mid-June and it took a few weeks for them to review, but we had a resolution that paid for the new flight and a check already. The bummer part is that we ended up staying near JFK overnight and found out the trip interruption coverage didn't include hotels.  It was unfortunate, especially for the price of a last minute hotel in NY (2 rooms), but I will chalk it up to live and learn and happy to get a majority back. We also learned to allow more time between connecting flights, especially if we are at JFK because customs was terrible.

 

With all the flight issues now and travel from US to Europe, I would do it again.  I would also take into consideration if you did get Covid while abroad, that could incur added expenses that insurance would help with.

[Best Cat Mom]

18 minutes ago, eagletwo said:

I am in the private air charter business here in the US. One of my long time clients asked for a price to pick up a relative in Aruba that is very ill, not cruise related, just on holiday. He is in hospital in Aruba with just US insurance that does not cover outside the US and can’t fly home on a commercial flight. A medical flight to bring him back to Columbia, SC is $45,000.  The family has started a gomefund to help get him home and pay for his daily hospital bills in Aruba.

 

I always buy trip insurance with medical and evacuation. 

This was very enlightening. Thank you eagletwo.

 

I checked Amex Platinum's benefits for travel and was pleased to see that medical evacuation coverage is covered up to $100K: 

[wcook]

I took my mom on a cruise once. She would have been devastated if my father got sick and she had to choose between cancelling (and my losing money) and leaving my dad while he was sick. So I bought insurance that specifically included that coverage. 
 

Other that that, I’ve never bought insurance unless it was required. Because the loss I’m insuring just isn’t that big a deal. In general, you get insurance to cover devastating losses. 

[styles27]

I used to purchase the policy from the cruise lines but because we travel often we upgraded our credit card to one that offers travel cancellation, interruption and medical evacuation. It has definitely saved us money in the long run.   
 

@wcookI used to feel that way too that  “the loss I’m insuring isn’t that big a deal” however the older we get it’s not just the cost of the cruise or vacation that we’re protecting it is the cost of a Med vac should one of us get sick or fall and break a hip etc.

We’ve seen it happen on just about every cruise we’ve been on and  I always wonder if the person being taken off the ship has insurance to cover it.
As mentioned above by @eagletwo a Med vac flight costing $45k is a pretty big deal.  Not to mention the medical expenses in a foreign port. That’s like the cost of 6 or 7 more cruises lol

[eagletwo]

2 hours ago, Best Cat Mom said:

This was very enlightening. Thank you eagletwo.

 

I checked Amex Platinum's benefits for travel and was pleased to see that medical evacuation coverage is covered up to $100K: 

You are welcome. Depending on where you need be flown home, $100,000 may not be enough. Europe (say med cruise) to be flown home from Greece to New York, $250,000+. Alaska to New York, $150,000. All depends on timing and aircraft size and availability. 
 

When we took our first cruise in 2005, we went to Alaska. Our family of four spent $10,000 on the trip, not counting airfare and other things we did. Our trip insurance was about $750. My wife about had a cow at the expense. I said “ If one of us gets hurt or sick and we need medical transportation back to South Carolina, if my company gave us the plane and all we had to was pay for the fuel, it would cost $20,000. An air ambulance about $75,000.” We bought the insurance.

 

It is a personal thing about buying travel insurance. There are so many options and plans so do your research. We never travel without it. 

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

In the insurance business you are "betting" that you will need the coverage while the insurance company is betting that you won't. As someone mentioned above, it's all about how much risk you're willing to take and how much you can afford.

Someone above mentioned that $100,000 in medical evacuation coverage may not be enough. That seems to be VERY good coverage, especially for free, from one's credit card. You can't insure everything and $100K would cover most situations although true, not "every" scenario.

Insurance is great to have if you need it but the chances of needing it are slim.

I would urge everyone to at least look at their credit card to see what they get for free. Keep in mind that that credit card must be used for EVERY dollar spent to buy the trip (cruise price, air price, etc). You can't make a down payment with one card and the balance on the chosen card; that negates the coverage.

[wcook]

Not trying to be argumentative here - genuinely curious. Why would I need to be medvaced home from Greece or Alaska?

[8420PR]

3 hours ago, wcook said:

Not trying to be argumentative here - genuinely curious. Why would I need to be medvaced home from Greece or Alaska?

As an example, you suffer an illness or injury that requires 4 weeks in hospital and you would be more comfortable (and potentially better treated) at a hospital close to where you live and have family/friends to support you, than in a Greece or Alaska.

 

Personally my approach is similar to what others have mentioned - insure against the type of very expensive but rare occurrences that would bankrupt me.  For the smaller things - great if covered by insurance anyway bit if not then just self insured and try to minimize the risk (e.g. not flying in the day of the cruise).

[Até]

21 hours ago, Stockjock said:

I have a northern European sailing coming up soon.  Now that MSC has dropped their insurance requirement, I'm trying to figure out if we actually need insurance or not.

You didn't mention your booking date on your other thread.   If made before July first have you now verified with MSC that your booking falls under the dropping of the insurance mandate?  Their website states "For all new reservations, beginning July 1, 2022, MSC Cruises strongly encourages but does not require guests to purchase travel insurance with COVID-19 protection"

 

Wondering because MSC did similar wording with the "Travel Assurance" and "Cruise with Confidence" programs where the new rules were worded the same way and only applied to new bookings made after a certain date, older bookings still fell under the old rules.  I'd be interested to hear if all the pre July first bookings where MSC had forced insurance will now be eligible to get it refunded.

[Stockjock]

2 hours ago, Até said:

You didn't mention your booking date on your other thread.   If made before July first have you now verified with MSC that your booking falls under the dropping of the insurance mandate?  Their website states "For all new reservations, beginning July 1, 2022, MSC Cruises strongly encourages but does not require guests to purchase travel insurance with COVID-19 protection"

 

Wondering because MSC did similar wording with the "Travel Assurance" and "Cruise with Confidence" programs where the new rules were worded the same way and only applied to new bookings made after a certain date, older bookings still fell under the old rules.  I'd be interested to hear if all the pre July first bookings where MSC had forced insurance will now be eligible to get it refunded.

My cruise is post July 1, but was booked well before that.  I asked customer service and they said insurance is not required. But of course with MSC, you get a correct answer maybe 50% of the time.