GeezerCouple

Sorry. I guess I misunderstood, and thought that being "surprised" indicated that something else was expected. However, your post raises a very important reminder to some who might indeed have some incorrect expectations about how travel insurance, and especially medical/health care insurance, actually works in many cases. We started our first major trip (cruise plus land) by printing out ALL of the pages (!!) of our travel insurance policy to include in our "travel documents". That includes emergency numbers in case one needs help with translation at a foreign medical facility, or to try to get money wired in case that were to become necessary. Different insurers may have very different ways to handle these issues (or not...!). ==>> Especially KEEP those emergency phone numbers with you! We also upload copies of these documents (and passports, charge card fronts and backs, etc.) into the cloud so IF our docs happen to walk away, we can still retrieve the information. These are likely to be very stressful times, so having everything easily accessible can be really helpful. Likewise, we include the contact information for the travel insurance agent or broker one used to purchase the policy along with the emergency number for the insurer. They all can (and should!) be incredibly helpful when "bad things happen to good people who are traveling". 😧 And to repeat, we always have charge cards with a hefty total credit available "just in case" money, perhaps more than a small amount, is needed "now!" GC

Yes, as klfrodo already answered. However, be aware that to get the best coverage types, it may be necessary to START the coverage within 10-20 days of the FIRST payment, refundable OR NOT. (The range of time is because insurance is regulated by the states, so coverage terms can differ from state to state.) Many policies allow one to start by covering only the initial payments, and then increasing coverage as additional payments are made. We suggest that you CALL www.TripInsuranceStore.com to discuss the various choices. (The only summaries cannot possibly capture all of the specific circumstances of every traveler, etc. There is no extra charge to use them.) We have had quite a few claims, including some large ones, and all have been paid without any quarrels. GC

At least some third party travel insurers provide reimbursement for any such extra costs. One would need to double check the terms of the specific policy one has or is considering getting. Our travel insurance policy definitely would cover this, assuming the underlying reason is not excluded (and this case would almost definitely *not* be excluded). It would be covered, in our case, as "travel INTERRUPTION", not "travel CANCELLATiON". And out policies include coverage of 150% of the regular trip cancellation coverage, at least in part because often these last minute airline tickets can be much more expensive than what one paid months earlier. Also, this type of interruption may include a few (or many?) days of hotel and meal expenses that were never planned or included in original trip estimates (and certainly not it "pre-paid, non-refundable" payments). It this type of case, some of the original costs may not be recoverable, and then there are yet additional expenses being added... Yes, we have had claims for this type of situation. In our case, no change in flights were needed (but that almost did happen), but we needed almost a full week at a 5* hotel in a major foreign city. We had only planned to stay there one night. but I got sick, and the hotel called for an ambulance, at the direction of the physician that the hotel had previously called to come see me... twice, before he decided hospital care was needed. We also then got private transportation to the final part of our trip, which we were VERY fortunately able to recover! All of our claims were paid promptly, without any quarrel. [We get travel insurance through www.TripInsuranceStore.com - and it has been the vendor Travel Insured who has had the best coverage for our particular needs. We would NEVER rely upon travel insurance sold by the travel vendor, be it cruiseline, hotel, or tour group. Our coverage starts the moment we step out our front door, and does not stop until we walk back inside at the end of the trip.] Also browse through the Travel Insurance section of CC, or ask other questions there: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/499-cruisetravel-insurance/ GC

This is not at all uncommon, to request (er, demand) payment promptly, and occasionally... BEFORE starting treatment! These foreign hospitals usually do not have contracts with what are for them "foreign medical insurance companies". Almost all travel insurance, medical or otherwise, is a "pay upfront, GET RECEIPTS, submit receipts, get reimbursed". For some insurers, if it is a "serious sum", the insurer may be willing - and able - to work with the medical provider to either guarantee payment (getting agreement for a guarantee is, um, not guaranteed) or to wire the money. Wiring the money could take some time... We ALWAYS travel with several credit cards with a nice tidy sum total credit available, "just in case". I remember in one island ER, as DH was being wheeled off for treatment, I was escorted to the payment Office. There were signs on the walls about how they ONLY accept payment guarantees from the following travel insurance companies... and then there was a list of a few names many of us might be familiar with. I did not want anything to delay getting DH's emergency medical care, so I just handed over a charge card. Why would someone assume that hospitals (or any vendors) in some countries would just "accept" some "medical insurance" from some company in some foreign, distant country? They can, but why in the world would it be required for them to do so, especially if they've never signed any agreement with them about payments? For all the hospital/medical provider knows, there may not be any plan for that insurer to pay for ANY "foreign care" (er., think of USA's Medicare!). Or "that insurer" may not really exist at all! Why should the provider be expected to provide care, including possibly expensive care, and then have to try contacting some company they may have never heard of/from (and a company that they may have no way to compel payment!) for money? GC

A CC (Ooops, "CruiseCritic") member recently (only 2-3 weeks ago) started this very mysterious thread: "MDR"? Typing the words out "will only take a couple of extra seconds." 😉 GC

When we travelled and had tiny vials of special eye drops (each little vial was for one application only), we asked the hotel to give us two ice buckets. We kept one filled with water and ice, and had the little vials in a double ziploc baggie. I put a few coins in with them to keep it fully submerged. The extra bucket was to request more ice as needed. It worked very well. (Using icepacks/etc., and getting that package through airport security took a lot of extra time, but we were prepared for that.) GC

I was always very curious. My first call to duty arrived about a month before the scheduled Court date. Unfortunately, I was moving in 2 weeks, not far away, but a different county. When I called (no email/etc., back then), I offered to be there anyway, but the clerk's office said that wouldn't be legal if I no longer owned a house there. Next time, I had been ill, and there was too much chance I'd be unable to serve even if postponed a short time. We just couldn't know. And then I guess I aged out? However, DH was called when he was a bit older. He showed up, and surprise... he was selected. He was also voted Foreperson. It was a heavy responsibility, because depending upon the outcome, the person might end up in prison for several-to-many years, and it was apparently a questionable situation. Huge responsibility! GC

Ages ago, this was "orienteering", on foot with a real compass, etc., through assorted forests, etc. I miss those days! (But notice our UserID name...! 🙄 ) GC

This is what I just posted on that other thread: ----------- Here is what our travel insurance policy states, explicitly, about jury duty: "... “Other Covered Reasons” means: a. You or Your Traveling Companion being hijacked, quarantined, required to serve on a jury (notice of jury duty must be received after Your Effective Date), served with a court order to appear as a witness in a legal action in which You or Your Traveling Companion is not a party (except law enforcement officers); ..." [emphasis added] Needless to say, other insurers may handle this differently, and perhaps our insurer handles it differently with other types of travel insurance coverages. This is but one example of why it is *SO* important to read the full terms and conditions (T&Cs) of the specific policy that one is considering! Many (most? all?) travel insurers give a short period of time (e.g., several days) for one to read in more depth or perhaps ask questions of others, during which one could request the policy be cancelled and money refunded. GC -----------

Here is what our travel insurance policy states, explicitly, about jury duty: "... “Other Covered Reasons” means: a. You or Your Traveling Companion being hijacked, quarantined, required to serve on a jury (notice of jury duty must be received after Your Effective Date), served with a court order to appear as a witness in a legal action in which You or Your Traveling Companion is not a party (except law enforcement officers); ..." [emphasis added] Needless to say, other insurers may handle this differently, and perhaps our insurer handles it differently with other types of travel insurance coverages. This is but one example of why it is *SO* important to read the full terms and conditions (T&Cs) of the specific policy that one is considering! Many (most? all?) travel insurers give a short period of time (e.g., several days) for one to read in more depth or perhaps ask questions of others, during which one could request the policy be cancelled and money refunded. GC

I guess if you don't like the civic responsibility that goes along with, well, civilization, you could try to find an island someplace and live like "Lord of the Flies" with some other similarly-minded people. GC

Uh, right. ... just like the Police and Fire Departments are "forced' and we have been "conditioned to just accept" these things. Also, ambulance service, roads, coast guard. Yep, "forced on us". And YES, we've been "conditioned" to "accept" the police, fire, etc.... when needed... 😡 GC

That can get tricky. Make *sure* that the coverages are equivalent, unless it's for part that one doesn't care about. For example, "pre-existing conditions" can cause problems (as in, "denials of claims") for some. But different insurers/policies can define "pre-existing condition" quite differently... or offer a policy where there are no restrictions about pre-existing conditions to start with. GC

Not a chance with that budget. GC

I sometimes wonder about the "pool" of prospective jurors who would/could be available for such an extended time period, and some are even longer. They may not meet every day (but perhaps some do?), but one can't plan regular work around something like that. Who are they likely to be?' Okay, retirees who would/could postpone those cruises and other vacations, but younger folks...? ?? GC

To those posting recently (most of this thread is about a year old), in case you haven't read all of the previous posts... Please consider calling a travel insurance agent or a broker (who deals with several insurance companies and would therefore have a nice variety of policies to discuss). TALK with them. Not only would you get to ask questions, but they can then ask questions of you... to help them decide which policies might be of most use for your specific needs. We are among those here on CC who recommend www.TripInsuranceStore.com They are VERY patient, answer questions (and more questions!), and they do not try to "upsell". And IF it were necessary, they can help with a claim. (We had them review our first claim form, "just in case", as we'd never done anything like that before. After that, we just fill it all out, include receipts/documentation, and send it off. But it's nice to know there is "back up" IF there were to be a problem.) It can be *very* difficult to read/understand ALL of the assorted "fine print" of an insurance policy, all of the Terms & Conditions (T&Cs). It's too late AFTER the fact to find out that something you thought was covered... wasn't... As I've mentioned elsewhere, we've had quite a few claims, including some large claims, and they were paid without nonsense, and *promptly*. Our ONLY "complaint", if that word could be used in this context, is that we needed to file any travel insurance claims, and especially that we needed to file several. 😞 GC

[emphasis added] Whoa. We are not suggesting they stop normal activities! This is about travel insurance. ... and whether there would be coverage should a specific medical event occur. And I can ASSURE you that *IF* OP has another detached retina while traveling (or perhaps other related medical "event") it **WILL** be up to the TRAVEL INSURANCE COMPANY to determine whether there was any related/relevant "pre-existing condition". They won't care what I say, and very *importantly*, they won't care one bit that *you* declared there was not any pre-existing medical condition. (... not unless you happen to be on that particular travel insurer's medical staff, with decision-making authority, etc.) Full stop. And whether there was a pre-existing medical condition will depend in good part on precisely how that particular travel insurance company (that specific insurer, not other insurers, and not other people) defined "pre-existing medical condition". Have you actually read the definition of "pre-existing medical condition" in several of the insurers' policies? Sometimes it is sufficient that one was simply seen within a certain period of time by a medical practitioner about something, or a medicine prescribed... or even a *suggestion* that a medicine be taken, even if the patient declines to get the prescription filled, or some medical test be taken... or even suggested even if the patient doesn't have it done... ... to have it be determined by the insurer that there was indeed a pre-existing condition. GC

Whether it is a "pre-existing condition" would depend upon the wording of the specific insurance policy one has, and also how the insurer "interprets" that. We always get coverage that has NO exclusions for pre-existing conditions, so the possible issue never comes up. GC

Yes, they'd probably need to call to get a no-cost change. However, the airlines often have a required minimum time change to get the freebie. Whether this is enough... I don't know. They'll find out when they call! (We'd never schedule it this close anyway, so a 1 or 2 hour difference wouldn't be a problem. Having the first flight arrive AFTER the second flight already left!?? Uh, yup, PROBLEM!! 😱 We want to relax at the end of a trip! 🙂 ) GC

This sounds like one trip... or have I missed that one of the locations is a stay back at your own home? It sounds like you should just insure this as a "trip", and make sure to get the types of coverages that *you* want. Different policies can have different coverage types, different exclusions, different maximum amounts, etc. I'd suggest contacting a travel insurance broker who could help you select from several options. CALL so they can discuss your specific situation with them to help you find the best fit. We are among many here on CC who use www.TripInsuranceStore.com (But again, CALL; the online policy summaries cannot capture the fine print, and your own situation may have special details.) GC

I'm not quite following. If the airline is changing flight times significantly, it should be possible to have the flights adjusted without change fees. I'm not sure I would have just "waited" if my flight "dissappeared" for a few weeks (rather than a very short time, perhaps while a website was updated) without making sure there were suitable plans in place. (What if that flight had never been "put back"? And the new time certainly does *not* seem suitable!) The longer one waits to contact the airline to make any adjustments, the less likely it might be that seats are still available on a flight at a suitable/preferred time. Unfortunately, airlines do not always notify passengers when there are non-trivial flight time changes. We've had connecting flights, both on the same airline, same ticket, where suddenly the "first flight" was re-scheduled... to arrive several hours *after* the second flight was scheduled to depart. And yet we heard nothing from the airline; we found out by monitoring regularly. Because it was the airline's responsibility, we were then allowed to get ticketed on a different schedule that we preferred, but one that had previously not been allowed. This had involved award travel, so there had been no "award seats" remaining. After the flight time switcheroo, we had our choice of any flight if there were *any* seats at all. But we had to be very pro-active. That shouldn't be necessary, but... it can be. 😠 GC

When we looked into the possibility of getting an annual travel insurance plan, one thing was explained to us that we hadn't thought about (having never before thought about an annual plan at all, so no surprise!): IF one hits the maximum amount that can be covered/paid and still has other trips planned within that year, it may be too late to get any useful coverage for the remaining trip(s). That is, if "single trip" policies required starting the coverage within a certain timing of the first payment, or any other "deadline" of any sort, that may be impossible if one is "caught" suddenly needing to insure a trip that one thought would have been insured with that annual plan. That alone made it a non-starter for us. Also, the maximum total amount of coverage, at least when we investigated annual plans, was woefully low, given the totals that our trips had rather quickly started to cost. [That "total cost" issue was sort of a good news problem, as it meant we were having *such* good times, that we had pretty quickly upped the budget once we started this stage of our lives! 🙂 ] But for some situations, annual plans could be very useful indeed. Just make sure that "all the fine print" would work for you, or that you are willing to be fully/partly unisured for a trip or two at the end of the "coverage year". That could work for "trip costs", which are capped, and mostly predictable... but medical costs could be something else entirely! And *double* check about pre-existing medical conditions (including how the specific policy defines those) and maximum payments if you are looking for that type of coverage. Your questions about whether "trip cancellation/delays or just medical" costs are covered can only be answered by carefully looking at the Terms & Conditions of any policies that YOU are considering. What others have experienced could be very different. Some of that could depend upon where the travelers reside, given how insurance tends to be regulated. GC

Just terrific mental images...! 😱 GC

Well, it's more than just a "thanks". It's nice to know if there is any point in posting... Is the person asking for information even bothering to read any of it? GC

I can't speak to the differences in specific limits such as medical or medevac/etc., between "cruise line" and "third-party" insurance. For one thing, there are different types of policies of each, so there's no exact comparison like that possible. However, one very important reason we would never get "cruise line" insurance is that it wouldn't cover a lot of our travel. We may stay someplace for a few days prior to the cruise and ditto elsewhere afterwards, and these are *not* likely to be only the two ports. For example, if our cruise ends in Italy, we may spend several more days in other Italian cities, etc. Third party coverage would insure us from the moment we walk out the door to start our trip to the moment we walk back in. And we get to select from a variety of coverage choices. However, in our case, we've found one insurer/policy that works well for our needs AND they have paid without quibbling for several claims, including some large claims. And they've paid within about 2 weeks of our submitting all of the required documentation. Note: RECEIPTS are required; the insurers have a right to prevent/detect fraud, etc. But this has not been a problem. We've never had a receipt questioned, be it for medical costs, extra hotel nights, alternate transportation, or the refund of the full cost of an entire cruise and land trip that was cancelled before it started (twice, alas). [Edit added for full disclosure: We once forgot to get a receipt for the *tip* for avery small taxi fare, so the tip amount was declined. The amount was far too small to fuss over. The taxi fare was paid without question.] We are among those here on CC who work with and recommend www.TripInsuranceStore.com They are a broker (no extra charge to the travelers) who work with several vetted insurers. CALL them, and they'll speak with you and help you figure out what the most appropriate coverage is for your specific needs. (They do not try to upsell; quite the opposite.) We remain grateful to those here on CC who recommended TIS to us just over 10 years ago. Our very first large trip including a luxury celebration cruise, was cancelled at the last minute for medical reasons, and we got every cent back, when otherwise, it would have been a "100% cancellation penalty". GC