Insurance - Pros/Cons?

[rpouls]

I know this has been discussed before, and I did a search prior to posting this, but I'd like to hear the pros and cons of purchasing cruise insurance.

 

I'll be sailing in mid-June, flying from Cleveland one day ahead of time (pre-night stay, 5 min. from pier) to Miami, non-stop direct flight.

 

I've never purchased cruise insurance in the past, but I'm curious about the number of people who do/don't, and why.

 

Thanks in advance,

[cuyahoga11]

I know this has been discussed before, and I did a search prior to posting this, but I'd like to hear the pros and cons of purchasing cruise insurance.

 

I'll be sailing in mid-June, flying from Cleveland one day ahead of time (pre-night stay, 5 min. from pier) to Miami, non-stop direct flight.

 

I've never purchased cruise insurance in the past, but I'm curious about the number of people who do/don't, and why.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

I always do. Murphys law. If I dont, I will fall and break my leg 2 days before the cruise or worse yet 2 days after sail date.

[UpstateCruizer]

I've always purchased it and can't imagine not having it. It's one of those win wins for me. If I have and don't need it then it means nothing has gone wrong for me. If I have it and something goes wrong then I have it. I can't lose either way :)

[GTO-Girl]

I ALWAYS purchase trip insurance.....but I NEVER purchase it through the cruiseline.

 

You can get a better price and better coverage purchasing it elsewhere. I use www.insuremytrip.com to compare different companies & policies.

 

FYI we usually buy Travelex/Travelite because it serves as "primary" carrier. Some others act as secondary and will only pay after your insurance has been filed.

[fllady61]

If you have a weird job, or a medical condition, it is best to get insurance. If you are a young healthy person, why bother. We do not get it for short trips. Only for 7 day or longer trips.

[klfrodo]

Risk Management 101

 

$5000 trip $200 Insurance

 

Can you financially risk losing $5000? If so, then $200 is a loss up front.

If you cannot affors to lose $5000, then $200 is a small investment.

If no claims are made, In instance 1, you're $200 ahead. In instance 2, you're out $200.

If a claim of more than $200 is made, in instance 1, you're out $5K.

 

I cannot risk losing 5K. $200 is my investment.

[jessemon]

I know this has been discussed before, and I did a search prior to posting this, but I'd like to hear the pros and cons of purchasing cruise insurance.

 

I'll be sailing in mid-June, flying from Cleveland one day ahead of time (pre-night stay, 5 min. from pier) to Miami, non-stop direct flight.

 

I've never purchased cruise insurance in the past, but I'm curious about the number of people who do/don't, and why.

 

Thanks in advance,

There is an old saying.....

"It is better to have it and not need it....Than to need it and not have it "

It is cheap....My last cruise was $46 for the cost of my cruise and airline. Plus emg evac...hospital, dental, trip delay and so on.

have had to use it once for illness and got all back but the cost of the insurance......;)

[Cuizer2]

I know this has been discussed before, and I did a search prior to posting this, but I'd like to hear the pros and cons of purchasing cruise insurance.

 

I'll be sailing in mid-June, flying from Cleveland one day ahead of time (pre-night stay, 5 min. from pier) to Miami, non-stop direct flight.

 

I've never purchased cruise insurance in the past, but I'm curious about the number of people who do/don't, and why.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Purchasing insurance is a risk avoidance thing. You are trading a known small loss (the premium) to avoid the possibility of a large unknown loss. You purchase travel insurance for the same reasons you purchase auto, home, life and health insurance.

 

If there are no travel related risks (including medical treatment outside the country) that concern you, then there is no need to purchase travel insurance. If there are travel related risks that concern you, then you should find a way to avoid those risks. Travel insurance is one way, but not the only way, to avoid travel related financial risks.

[MDSue]

Cruise insurance is relatively cheap for the piece of mind it brings. I can't imagine having a medical problem onboard or in a foriegn port and having to come up with tens of thousands of dollars to get medical care. The way I look at it, there's no difference than driving a car without insurance. Nobody plans on having an accident or sudden illness, but it happens and everyone should be prepared. I have read too many posts on this board from people angry at the cruiselines when an injury or illness happens onboard and can't understand why they don't foot the bill. It's up to each individual to be responsible for their own needs and insurance is the way to assure your are covered if needed.

[aggieastrosfan]

IMO, the biggest case for getting insurance is for med evac. Sure, if you're young you probably don't have to worry about a heart attack or stroke or anything like that, but that doesn't mean you won't need it. Slip and hurt your back, bust your head open, have a previously unknown medical condition that becomes life threatening...there's a million thing that could happen, and a med evac will most definitely cost in the 5 figures, possibly 6. Can you afford that? If so, skip the insurance. But if you're like the rest of us, $100-$200 is a small price to pay to avoid a $100k debt from vacation.

[LizaMM]

Age has nothing to do with it for me!!!

 

I always purchase it.

 

When I was 25 my HB (well...he was back then anyway!!) and I had a wonderful trip planned for many months to celebrate our anniversary back at the same resort where we had gone on our honeymoon. A few months before we were to go I found out I was preganant and I was ecstatic! 3 days before I was to leave I dicovered I was miscarrying and the day I was supposed to get on a plane i was in the hospital having surgery.....luckily we had rented a privately owned villa at the resort and the owners felt badly for us and did not hold us to the fee....you just never know.

 

Many years later....I am a single mom and I would never dream of booking something like a cruise and not getting insurance. There are just to many variables in life. I have never had to use it but at I feel it is a small expense for my peace of mind!

[Robert6260]

The decision for cruise insurance is simple. Are you willing to forfit the total non-refundable price of your cruise plus pay for trip dealys. If so, no insurance is needed. If you are not willing to forfit the price of your cruise and want compenestion if you miss the ship due to travel delays, then you need insurance,

 

I used to never get insurance when I was young. My parents and I were healthy, air tavel was consistant, and problems were few. The cruises I bookewd were cheap. No insurance was needed.

 

Now I am older, My mother is in her 80's, flight schedules are not reliable. I now also buy insurance to cover the cost of the cruis plus non-refundable airfare. You never know what could happen.

[falconfan]

It is not just about trip interruption, but it is also for illness while onboard. My wife was bit by a bug in St. Thomas and she had to see the onboard Physician. The bill was covered by our medical insurance as out-of-network and the travel insurance covered the deductible.

[chasetf]

As far as why buy insurance.....Don't forget your family back home. Anything can happen before you leave or while you are gone. We have traveled while our two elderly mothers were having health problems on and off.

 

My mother-in-law was hospitalized and died a few weeks before leaving on our Australia / New Zealand / Fiji trip. If it had been a few weeks later we would have had to cancel.

 

We always get it.... and thankfully never had to use it. :)

[WinnieinWA]

I always get it and have had to use it twice. Once when I got the flu and once when I got pneumonia.

 

Cost of insurance for both cruises combined: $140.00

Cost of Cruise for both cruises: $2500.00

 

Total cost of money lost: $140.00

Total cost of money saved: $2360.00

 

I won't have a home or car without insurance so why would I risk the price of a cruise without it? Ya never know when bad luck will rear it's ugly head and it is worth it to me strictly for peace of mind!

 

Insurance: never leave home without it!

(that and clean underwear)

[tiggerman101]

I get it. You just never know. Like another poster pointed out, I can only imagine what a med evac would cost without it. My parents had a 21 day Panama Canal cruise booked. About three weeks before the cruise my Mother found out she had lung cancer. She had to have surgery right away, etc and they obviously couldn't make the trip. They did have insurance and got the money back with little to no hassle. I am not sure how much it was, but you can bet it wouldn't have been good to lose it.

 

For the record. This was almost three years ago and she has recovered fine. She has had no trace of cancer after they removed part of her lung. They rebooked the cruise and had a great time on it.

[cruzinmom]

How far ahead of time do you have to purchase? We have a cruis planned for 3/7/09

[tiggerman101]

You can still purchase it. I bought mine for my upcoming March 22 cruise on the final payment due date.

[kaylahszoo]

I have had to use trip insurance twice. I had just boarded a Disney cruise when my husband called. I knew this was not a good thing, because he called the ship, and he never calls. My sister had died from a blood clot to her lung. Disney was wonderful. Escorted me off the ship, got me to airport, found a flight, shipped my luggage.. all while I was just in a stupor.

Second time was this summer. Again, Disney. My husband passed away. I knew it was coming, but if I had cancelled, I would have lost everything. So I waited to make a claim the day before ship sailed. I just couldn't cancel because it would have affected all the 4 other girls. I was a mess, but had the presence of mind to make sure the other 4 wouldn't be affected by my situation.

One recommendation. Purchase trip insurance when you book. I also go through www.insuremytrip.com . But on both of these trips, I was just part of a group of friends. I didn't book the cruise. Both times, the people I was traveling with bought the cruiseline insurance. Don't do that. Buy your own. Some have a 14 day, others 21 day period after making initial deposit. They then cover pre existing conditions. I was just lucky that I had a travel agent last time who fought tooth & nail to get me anything. They ended up giving me credit for another cruise.

I have finally gotten it into their skulls that you have to book cruise insurance early. Because you never know what might happen to you. Or to someone in your group. Our insurance here in the USA is useless in other countries. I would never cruise without it.

[skylock]

On my last cruise at a resort in Cancun (grafton resort), saw a couple of women walking towards the bar. A big Iguana stuck his head out of a hole by the sidewalk and scared them. One fell. She was not a small woman and went down hard and somehow hit her leg and chin on the edge of the concrete. The ground was not level there. She busted her knee and her chin wide open and fell to the ground a good foot below the sidewalk. Being medical, I ran to help. She had also possibly broken her wrist. An ambulance was called.

 

I am not sure what happened after that, but I hope she had insurance.

 

You just never know.

[GoinCruisin]

IMO, the biggest case for getting insurance is for med evac. Sure, if you're young you probably don't have to worry about a heart attack or stroke or anything like that, but that doesn't mean you won't need it. Slip and hurt your back, bust your head open, have a previously unknown medical condition that becomes life threatening...there's a million thing that could happen, and a med evac will most definitely cost in the 5 figures, possibly 6. Can you afford that? If so, skip the insurance. But if you're like the rest of us, $100-$200 is a small price to pay to avoid a $100k debt from vacation.

 

SOOO true!! I don't know why people think that only old unhealthy people need travel insurance! You trip over one thing in Mexico, break your leg and then what? Check your insurance policy... even if you DO have international coverage, at what rate do you have it? And can you be taken to a US hospital? Healthy has not 1 single thing to do with insurance... I've known FAR more healthy people that have needed insurance than "non-healthy" people... bad things happen to healthy people just as often... and completely unexpected things. Last thing a person wants on vacation is to be stuck with a $50K bill... it's worth the what? $40 a person? just for peace of mind...

[pe4all]

We purchase it the day we purchase our cruise. (Travelguard) We just consider the cost part of the cruise cost. DH and DD both have pre-existing conditions, so it is a necessity for us. Luckily, have never had to use it, but it is there if we need it. I'd rather "throw out" $300 than $3000-$4000 (airfare, hotel, cruise for the Christmas holidays when we sail)

[shipty2]

Cruise insurance is a vague term. Do you mean cancellation insurance for a cruise or medical insurance? Or both?

We always get the best medical insurance. DH got blood poisoning on our honeymoon in Jamaica after getting a small scratch on his knee. By the time we got home he did not know where he was or who he was. He had to be carried off the plane in a stretcher-obviously he had boarded the plane fine. Things can go downhill quickly I learned the hard way .

 

However cancellation insurance I have never bought. I figure if I have to cancel then I have a much bigger problem than losing money. I would only cancel my vacation if a first degree relative died just prior to it. There is no other reason I would cancel as I have to book the time off work at least 6 months ahead.

[vacruizer]

Cruise insurance is a vague term. Do you mean cancellation insurance for a cruise or medical insurance? Or both?

We always get the best medical insurance. DH got blood poisoning on our honeymoon in Jamaica after getting a small scratch on his knee. By the time we got home he did not know where he was or who he was. He had to be carried off the plane in a stretcher-obviously he had boarded the plane fine. Things can go downhill quickly I learned the hard way .

 

However cancellation insurance I have never bought. I figure if I have to cancel then I have a much bigger problem than losing money. I would only cancel my vacation if a first degree relative died just prior to it. There is no other reason I would cancel as I have to book the time off work at least 6 months ahead.

 

 

Don't forget it also covers travel delays, lost luggage, theft of personal items, etc. It's not just cancellation or medical - can you afford to fly to the next port and pay for a hotel/meal for the next two or three days until you can meet the ship? And buy a whole new wardrobe if your luggage doesn't make it?

[klmorg]

I've told my story before on here, so won't bore you with it again, but my healthy (or so we thought) 47 year old hubby had a heart attack on our cruise just over a year ago. He is fine, thanks to the ship infirmary, Cayman Islands hospital and Jackson Mem. in Miami, but our bill (medical, air ambulance, flights for kids from Cayman to Miami, Miami hotel, etc. etc.) totaled over $110,000. Air ambulance from Grand Cayman to Miami was over $20,000 alone. The cost of our travel insurance? $41 per person. It covered everything, and paid very quickly. I mainly got it for cancellation. So I will NEVER travel without it again.