Why do you buy travel insurance?

[SheilaNC]

I use the tripinsurancestore and have found them helpful, friendly and giving great customer service. They have a mechanism online that allows you to compare aspects of a variety of policies from different companies. You can decide and buy online or call and talk to a knowledgeable 'human'. There are also a few threads that give pretty detailed info about why people choose different companies and the results they've had when needing to file for reimbursement (amount paid as well as how long it took to have a claim settled).

[kywoman]

What you are asking about is X's vacation insurance coverage. When you were

booking your trip you may have been asked if you wanted CRCR, which is their vacation protection plan. They kinda slide through it. The main information about this is in the back of the brochure, under vacation insurance.

Yes you do have insurance, now you have to decide to keep theirs or find your own.

[hillgirl20]

We buy TravelGuard thru our T/A. Just saves worry....just in case. Last year our traveling companion on Mercury to Alaska, had to visit the Dr. on board and all was covered. It turned out to be cancer ( sorry to put a downer on things). She found out after she got home. But if she had to be airlifted off and flown home, all would have been covered. I'd rather be safe than sorry. BTW , she's fine now.

[Daphna101]

Does the travel insurance cover not being able to travel to the departing port because of hurricaines?

[Benjo8]

Anyone who travels abroad and does not buy trip insurance, unless they have separate medical evacuation coverage elsewhere, is playing with fire and the potential health of a loved one. I took a trip to Paris with my wife several years ago and purchased the trip insurance, not really realizing what it included other than the usual lost luggage, cancelled/delayed flight etc. Only when my wife was taken ill suddenly and I felt alone in Paris and read through the insurance brochure did i realize the REAL coverage i had. I called the insurer collect in the USA, told them what hospital my wife was in, they contacted her doctors with someone who spoke French and the piece of mind was priceless at that point. She ended up being evacuated back to the States, first class, with a nurse to accompany her. I will never travel outside the US or Canada without it again. For about $150 a piece, it is the best bargain in piece of mind around.

[goofysmom99]

We're definitely "other." We do kind of a mixed bag of insurance. Our insurance covers us overseas, but we buy worldwide medevac coverage from Amex monthly, very reasonably. It covers us when we're 150 miles from home anytime, anywhere. Our homeowners insurance covers luggage, minus the deductible, so we self-insure the deductible. If we cancel air prior to departure (right up to minutes before) and use it within a year of purchase, we're only out the penalty (usually $200), so we self-insure there, too.

 

We buy annual coverage for the cruise itself from Amex which is only for $5k coverage/year but if we have to cancel a cruise after final payment, it would cover most of it. We've never booked cruises so close together that we don't have time to cancel after we return from the preceding cruise. We've considered X's insurance, but decided this "mix and match" approach probably works best for our circumstances. The medevac coverage matters the most to us, so that's what we pay for, every month. Costs us less/year than one "all inclusive" policy for just one of us! And it's good when we're on a driving trip or visiting relatives.

[TravelerThom]

This isn't a flame, each to their own, personally I have no interest in your decision per se, but your 10%+ is way off the mark!:confused:

We pay approx $160 US for worldwide, annual, multi-trip cover as a couple. This includes a premium for cruising and is with a reputable UK company.

Either your trips are extremely cheap or you haven't done your research.

I'll acknowledge that I was somewhat provocative and did not fully lay out my case. I do have good world-wide health insurance.

 

The insurance I was addressing is that offered [indeed usually automatically included unless you protest] with many cruises and travel packages, and which quite often runs 8-10% of the trip cost, is extremely lucrative for the issuer, and often is hard to collect on [my sister signed up some years ago for a trip (including insurance) to the Middle East that was cancelled by the tour company due to a flare up in problems; she got a partial refund, but was still charged for deposits the company claimed they could not get refunded; they said the insurance did not cover the situation because the area was already on the US State Dept watch list at the time the insurance was issued (but that did not keep the company from selling her the policy in the first place??)]. I would never buy insurance from the same company that I buy the trip from [non delivery of the trip due to bankruptcy is not unheard of, and when the company went, there went your insurance].

 

There are a number of thoughtful ideas on this thread, and I am considering getting the worldwide medevac coverage mentioned by several people.

[lucky white heather]

Hi - Been reading this thread. We also always take the insurance...not because we're not well, but because sh__ happens and we want to be prepared. I am now curious as to which insurance many of you take. Do you take the cruiseline insurance or do you work with companies you have gotten on sites such as insuremytrip.com. Honestly, we have been taking it through the cruise companies, but would love to hear from others who use other insurers. I would also love to know if there's a company that would insure you for a year for however many trips you take. LadyWhiteHeather, who I had the pleasure of meeting on our November '06 Med cruise, (Hi) mentioned yearly insurance in Great Britain. Do we have that here? Thanks.

 

Hi there SandyR5..hope all still going well with you! best regards from us!

We're repeating the cruise on ML/Nov.07 again!

 

We are obliged to take insurance cover every trip (whether single trip or have an annual policy ....ours covers any no. of trips as long as they do not exceed 30 days (I think) at a time) and you have to give every detail of your pre existing conditions so that in the event of misfortune, the insurance cover will save you from suffering/possibly dying and that IS a possible outcome ... ..we know keela1eva2 having sailed with her...her first response on this thread details a person that died through lack of insurance cover ...no can pay? no treatment ...and on the last cruise we took (ML /TA this spring) one of the Brits on the active roll call before we sailed , was off loaded in Bermuda ( first stop) , surprise heart attack, flown to Miami eventually, and then evac'd home to the UK with Doctor in attendance..he had no history of any problem..it just happened , but was insured thank goodness..

On "Century" in May, docked near Edinburgh, PAX was helicoptered off by Royal Navy and hospitalised...would that cost have been factored into their holiday budget?

 

We budget to have our travel insurance not through the cruise/ travel company...any Travel agent you approach to book with here....the first question they ask you after your enquiry about availability etc etc is who is your travel insurance with, the insurance company contact phone no. in case of necessity etc ....it is all put on the booking form you fill in , and if you don't supply your own they will provide the travel agent's insurance cover which also costs you.You can make your own arrangements without any cover but frankly if you are travelling to/ within the US especially, you are mad to go without cover for a very substantial amount but really any destination in the world would have a similar insurance cover requirement ...you need to consider contingency planning.

Glass half empty? Yes definitely !

We would never go without insurance no matter how confident we were..call us "chicken" if you like!

Yvonne

[Duanerice1]

Hi All,

Great topic. We do not usually buy travel insurance. We have world wide medical insurance which covers most expenses although not Medical evacuation. They way I see it, there are 3 main types of travel insurance. There is the trip cancellation insurance that refunds your money, there is medical coverage which pays Doctor bills then there is Medical Evacuation insurance which may fly you back home.

 

Many times these are all covered in one policy, especially medical expenses and medical evac, but you can buy them all separately.

 

Having been to India a few times, China, many cruises and all over the US, we have never bought travel insurance. With that said, I did by insurance for our Safari that starts in 8 days :) My Medical would cover us, but we will be out in the bush and needed to buy evacuation insurance from Flying Doctors. It's a long drive from the Serengeti back to Nairobi.

 

I know someone here mentioned they get annual insurance for $160 a year. That is awesome! The best I could do for a 25 day trip is $200 (for 1 trip). And yes, I researched and researched, talked to others that have been on Safari and that is the best we could come up with.

 

After reading all this, I might have to look into evacuation insurance. There were some good points for having evacuation insurance. Although, it is good to keep in mind that just because you have evacuation insurance does not mean you will get evacuated. It is up to the company and the Doctors. It usually needs to be life threatening.

 

I have medical coverage and don't care about the trip cancellation. Heck, we have saved so much by not having trip cancellation that I could have the next 2 trips cancelled and probably still come out ahead or close. And no, I am not wealthy, just playing the odds (with our money, not our health).

 

Whatever you choose, that's what's right for you.

enjoy,

Duane

[SandyR5]

Hi everyone - First of all, hi to Yvonne. That Med cruise was spectacular. I can see why you will repeat. Enjoy. Now, I'm going to post a new thread about year long trip insurance. I'm curious as to who offers it and what it would cost. If I get replies, great. If not, I tried. ;)

[lucky white heather]

Hi everyone - First of all, hi to Yvonne. That Med cruise was spectacular. I can see why you will repeat. Enjoy. Now, I'm going to post a new thread about year long trip insurance. I'm curious as to who offers it and what it would cost. If I get replies, great. If not, I tried. ;)

Hi Sandy... I'll watch with interest to see how that thread goes..it is all grist to everyone's mill !We pay a small monthly amount to our bank for travel insurance cover..the insurance lasts as long as the account has the monthly amount in the A/c but I am almost sure they restrict you to something like a 30 days long trip at a time..we've never exceeded that trip length to date anyway.Wish you luck!

 

best regards again, Yvonne ( and Ian)

[keela1eva2]

Here in the UK we would tend to have inclusive insurance rather than all the bits and pieces you seem to have.

We can opt not to take person possesions insurance if you have all risk world wide cover through your household insurance.

I never do this and I will tell you why.

My all risk cover is for around £2000 as well as single item for around £300. Most insurance policies will cover you for around the same amount.

I had a total loss of baggage about 9 years ago. Lost everything but fortunately not my jewellery camera etc.

The loss was just under £3000. I had to make a claim on both policies and yes they both paid out so that my loss was paid in full minus the £35 excess re the policy.

I would have lost out on £1000 had I not had both cover. I also had a Nikon camera stolen on a cruise Ship and I needed to claim this on my household insurance. I have had money stolen and again claimed this on my holiday insurance. Twice on cruises I have had to see the DR on the Ship both times on several occasions. Holiday insurance paid out. None of us knows when trouble will strike and yes like Yvonne maybe I am a bit chicken but I would rather be so than end up being bitten by a huge bill. I pray never to need acute medical care like being Airlifted etc but one never knows.

Hope you are well Yvonne Ian and especially Elliott.

 

Sue

[Sky Sweet]

As I stated in an earlier post, the only reason why I buy travel insurance is because I think it would be easier to deal with a travel insurer than our own health insurance company if an unexpected medical emergency occurred during a cruise.

 

I think that making a wedding for our daughter several years ago gave us a different perspective on the potential loss for the cost of a cruise itself than most cruisers because the hotel where we made the wedding required us to pay ninety percent of the contracted amount three months in advance, the florist required full payment sixty days in advance, the photographer required full payment thirty days in advance, the band required a thirty percent deposit when we signed the contract with them over a year before the wedding, and there was no insurance to protect us from these prepaid costs if anything went wrong.

[Karynanne]

As I stated in an earlier post, the only reason why I buy travel insurance is because I think it would be easier to deal with a travel insurer than our own health insurance company if an unexpected medical emergency occurred during a cruise.

 

I think that making a wedding for our daughter several years ago gave us a different perspective on the potential loss for the cost of a cruise itself than most cruisers because the hotel where we made the wedding required us to pay ninety percent of the contracted amount three months in advance, the florist required full payment sixty days in advance, the photographer required full payment thirty days in advance, the band required a thirty percent deposit when we signed the contract with them over a year before the wedding, and there was no insurance to protect us from these prepaid costs if anything went wrong.

 

I've only had to submit a claim to travel ins. just once (thankfully), and the travel ins. policy stated, that they would pick-up the residual amount, only AFTER my personal medical policy had paid. My medical policy paid all of it...so I didn't file a claim with the travel policy.

 

But my main reason to buy travel ins. is for the "unusual" expense that my personal policy doesn't cover. Lost luggage, air evacuation, add'l. hotel expenses, travel delay or cancellation, etc.

 

Karyn

[atb]

We never had purchased travel insurance - just didn't see the need.

Then - my sister's mother in law - had a stroke - 2 weeks before my nieces wedding - in Scotland.

Several of the in law family ended up not going to Scotland because MIL was still in hospital.

So then, we rushed out and got travel insurance for the 2 bigger trips - but not for the 2 smaller trips.

Not sure if we'll buy it again or not. :confused: :confused: :confused:

[jules40]

I never used to buy the ins but my parents always did !!!! my dad had heart attack on princess in 05 outside of cuba it was 5000 just for what the doctors had to do on the ship. and also the the transfers to hospital in lauderdale wayyyyyyy expensive. It was all covered by the ins that they only paid 99 dollars for and they also pd for our hotel while my dad was in the hospital in lauderdale. so now i buy it you just never know :)

[tompeter]

You can count us amongst those who learn from experience regarding insurance. Several years ago, booked our first cruise approx. 6 weeks before sail date. Said what do we need insurance for? One week before departure, my father had massive stroke and passed away. So, $3500 out the window. Now we know why we need insurance.

 

Tom

[Joyce and Tim]

Count us into the "only buy it for expensive trips" category. We've never bought it before (we usually book trips very close to sailing time) but did buy it for our upcoming Baltic-TA, which we booked last year. It's several thousand dollars; we both have elderly parents (and aren't young ourselves!) and kids/grandkids. Seemed worth a few hundred to safeguard ten times that much. I don't know if it was a good deal, but we'll be sleeping better.