iamtrustworthy

Agree. Its better to go direct to the travel insurance company because if you have a claim, you will be referred directly to the travel insurance company anyway. TA or cruise line cannot act on a claim.

 

Here is TOP 10 for travel insurance. We went with #1 CSA

 

http://travel-insurance-review.toptenreviews.com/

Hi cargo13,

> Its better to go direct to the travel insurance company because if you have a claim, you will be referred directly to the travel insurance company anyway

Unfortunately, for the most part, what you state tends to be true. But not always. There are agents out there who do take responsibility for what they sell and they will get involved with the claims process.

One of my pet peeves is when someone has a claim, the person / company who sold them the policy, and who collected a commission for that sale, then tells the customer "you have to work with the insurance company".

Technically that's true, but if that's how the travel insurance seller is going to be, what's the benefit of working with them in the first place?

I hope this helps you,

Steve

1. Buy @ final deposit of your trip.

2. Buy from the travel insurance company directly.

3. Make sure you buy CFAR (Cancel For Any Reason) which reimburses for your trip investment value (all or %) in the case of any cancellation/change of plans (like #Zika).

Hi cargo13,

If someone wants CFAR (Cancel For Any Reason) then waiting until the Final Payment is a mistake. For example, on the two plans CSA offers CFAR, CSA requires the policy be purchased within 24 hours of the initial trip deposit date.

Every other trip insurance plan requires it be purchased within 14 - 30 days after the initila trip deposit date plus a few other requirements need to be fulfilled.

I hope this helps you.

Steve

not that I'm hoping anything would ever happen but I see some Insurance companies give

1 million dollar coverage some offer $250,000 coverage what is adequate for the Caribbean ?

Hi dis2cruise,

Don't let those high limits scare you or convince you that the policy is better because of the high limit.

No matter where in the Caribbean you are, you won't need more than $100,000 in Emergency Medical Evacuation coverage. The most expensive Evacuation I've seen was $126,000 from S. Africa to Minnesota.

In December I saw an Evacuation from Panama to Florida (the man had a heart attack) that was $38,000.

I hope this helps.

Steve

I have a somewhat weird question.

 

Let's say my wife gets pregnant right before our trip and she is having a miserable time because of morning sickness on the cruise. Will travel insurance help us at all in the event that we want to abandon the cruise because of this?

Hi italianblend,

As someone already mentioned, a Cancel for Any Reason plan could help you. The one provision in it that may rule it out is that most plans require you can change your mind and cancel at least 48 hours before you leave while others require you can change your mind and cancel at least two days before you leave.

Now, it may appear I am confused because at least 48 hours before you leave sounds the same as at least two days before you leave. Those deadlines may sound the same, but they are not. Here's an example based on a Friday at 9:00 am departure date & time:

- A plan with the 48 hour rule requires you to cancel all your trip arrangements not later than 8:59 am of the previous Wednesday

- A plan with the 2 day rule requires you to cancel all your trip arrangements not later than 11:59 pm of the previous Wednesday

I’ve seen many examples of where those extra hours have made a difference between someone having a covered claim or not.

I hope this helps,

Steve

Hello - once again, perchance do you know which of the 'Primary/First Payers' will pay directly to the hospital upon contacting them when the emergency occurs?

 

TIA - bo1953

Hi Bo1953,

The Primary medical (aka "First Payer") isn’t better than Secondary (aka Excess) medical coverage, although it’s often sold that way. The only difference is the order in which claims are paid.

In addition, many plans, but not all, can arrange payment to a medical facility if needed to secure your admission (this doesn’t mean paying your full bill).

Also, what I just said applies to the medical coverage, not emergency transportation. Emergency transportation is arranged by and paid for by the insurance company.

I hope this helps you.

Steve

Some of you may recognize my user name as a longtime poster on these Travel Insurance boards....I say that only to restate that I know all about the fine print on Trip Insurance policies, I read them, I understand the limits, I pay attention to details as obscure as knowing "Reasonable Expenses" can be limited to Hotel and Food expenses in one policy and will be Hotel, Food, Rental Car, replacement clothing and toiletries in another.

Hi cherylandtk,

Thank you for letting us know about the delay on your claim when you did. I'm sorry that it took so very long for TripMate to pay you. I am happy we were able to speed it up.

Steve Dasseos

We are saling with 3 in a cabin and the 2nd & 3rd prices are discounted prices (so they say)

but we are spliting the costs evenly 3 ways.

If the 3rd person on the invoice gets sick and can't travel could we claim the equal amount to recover the costs or would it only be what the invoice amount states.

I hope this make sense

Hi dwardlaw,

You can't average the trip cost between all of you. If you do this it's likely you will under-insure the first person. And, if you wanted to cover a pre-existing condition, it would disqualify you because you'd end up under-insuring your trip cost (thus breaking most plans’ rules).

You might say, “isn’t the claim 100% of total trip cost?”. The answer’s no, because when you file a trip cancellation or interruption claim the trip insurance company will want proof of each individual’s per person trip cost.

The trip insurance company will then pay a maximum of up to each person’s insured amount. Since you have a cruise where the first person pays more that the 2nd & 3rd, you have to insure the trip on a per person basis.

I hope this helps,

Steve

Port fees and taxes are mostly refundable for. However, there are cruise lines that don't refund them so the only way to know is to ask the cruise line.

Also, I started a thread on this subject on Jan 23, 2010 that you might find helpful:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1127727

MedJet will help if your 'major problem' causes you to end up in a hospital. Other major problems, not so much. Is there anything specific you need covered?

Hi CantanaLobo,

MedJet is good, but it's not an insurance plan, so it doesn’t pay medical bills prior to to the transport. MedJet just pays the transport and related costs including medical expenses during the transport. Travel insurance pays medical costs prior to to the transport.

Someone can use MedjetAssist for the medical transport plus have a travel insurance plan for all its extra coverages including medical treatment prior to being transported. This is important because if they have a serious medical condition and are unable to be transported immediately because you are not stable, they will need to be sure those medical bills are covered.

I hope this makes sense.

I buy the insurance that can be primary when we travel and our normal insurance secondary. The deductible for our work insurance is awful!

Hi jenanderic,

Primary (aka "First Payer") isn’t better than Secondary (aka "Excess") coverage, although it’s sold that way. The only difference is the order in which claims are paid.

If you are under age 65 and have large deductibles and / or copays you are better off with travel insurance that has secondary medical.

A claim with secondary medical will take longer, but if your deductibles and / or copays are large enough it's definitely worth it.

I hope this helps you.

Steve

Our case is presently going on: We have now and always in the past used TravelSafe Insurance and for one our trips to St Maarten we couldn't go for medical reasons and I only insured Airline Tickets and we were reimbursed the full amount for those:

 

Now as for the current situation we were going on the Independence of the Seas on Feb 22nd from Phila, Pa to FLL and our flight amongst many others were cancelled that day so after many hours on the phone we just decided with various gambles on flights, etc., it wasn't worth it so I cancelled the whole trip: Because USAir cancelled the flight they reimbursed us all of the money we put out for tickets and baggage. Now as to RCCL they reimbursed us taxes, port charges and gratuities, but (I didn't mention to agent we had insurance) nothing else, very apologetic, mentioned we should have had cruise care, but it is what it is. So as I type this statement all of the paper work leading up to the cancelled event is in the hands of TravelSafe. I should mention that we insured the total amount of our cruise part only of which came to a little more than $1600.00 and that fee was $200.00 cancel for any reason, etc. So as of now we are looking for a little more than $1200.00 from the insurance company.

 

I know an awful lot of persons suggest flying the day before, etc., but for us its just another added expense and inconvenience and we are fortunate to have an airport that has a lot of non-stops flights to were we want to go. So when its time to rebook for next year, just like all in the past we will do the same thing.

Hi ronandcarla,

If you bought your TravelSafe policy from someone other than TravelSafe, make sure you get them involved in helping you with your claim now in the beginning. I believe that if someone profited from your business they have a moral obligation to help you with your claim. If you get the "you have to deal with the insurance company" line, that's technically true, but it doesn't mean they can't help you.

Here's a tip I hope will help you: write a cover letter explaining the entire story of what happened. You can send it in even though you sent your claim forms.

You said you had cancel for any reason. Are you submitting this as a cancel for any reason claim? If so, which TravelSafe policy did you have?

Steve

Also be sure this person does know that most medical policies at home do NOT cover you outside the US. And I am sure Medicare doesn't either (if that is a factor)

Hi GTO-Girl,

First, Medicare does not cover outside the United States except in a few rare situations.

The Original Medicare Plan does not cover health care when you travel outside the United States, except for some emergency situations in Mexico and Canada. Go here to learn about your options for getting coverage.

In rare cases, Medicare can pay for inpatient hospital services that you get in Canada or Mexico. Medicare can pay only if:

- You are in the United States when a medical emergency occurs and the Canadian or Mexican hospital is closer than the nearest U.S. hospital that can treat the emergency.

- You are traveling through Canada without unreasonable delay by the most direct route between Alaska and another state when a medical emergency occurs and the Canadian hospital is closer than the nearest U.S. hospital that can treat the emergency.

- You live in the United States and the Canadian or Mexican hospital is closer to your home than the nearest U.S. hospital that can treat your medical condition, regardless of whether an emergency exists.

Important Information About Medigap Policies C, D, E, F, G, H, I & J

Your Medigap (Medicare Supplement) plan may provide worldwide coverage benefits for health care needs when you travel outside the United States. Medigap policies C, D, E, F, G, H, I & J provide Foreign Travel Emergency health care coverage when you travel outside the United States. Under these plans, Medigap policies pay for 80% of the cost of emergency care during the first 60 days of each trip after you pay the $250 deductible. Foreign Travel Emergency coverage with Medigap policies have a lifetime limit of $50,000.

You should check with your Medicare Supplement plan prior to traveling outside of the United States regarding your worldwide coverage benefits. Your Medicare Supplement plan will either tell you:

- “We pay whatever Medicare won’t pay, subject to deductibles & copays.” or

- “If Medicare’s not obligated to pay, we won’t pay either.”

Here’s why you’ll want to know how your Medigap plan pays:

- If your Medigap plan has a lifetime limit of $50,000 of medical benefits paid, I suggest you get a trip cancellation travel insurance plan that has Primary (aka “First Payer”) Travel Medical coverage. That way if you have a medical claim you are not using part of your lifetime limit.

- But, if your Medigap plan supplements (gives you more than the $50,000 lifetime limit), I suggest you get a trip cancellation travel insurance plan that has Secondary (aka “Excess”) Travel Medical coverage.

Next, the person could have a retiree health plan. The outside the USA coverage varies from nothing to everything. The only way to know for sure is to call your insurance company and ask this:

“If I get hit by a cement truck in _______ (any non-US destination), how much will I have to pay out of pocket?”

Plus, asking “If I get hit by a cement truck in the non-US destination, how much will I have to pay out of pocket?” reveals exactly what your deductibles and copays are.

If you just ask, “Am I covered by my insurance in the ________?” and they say “Yes”, that tells you nothing of any value.

No matter what answer the rep gives you, ask them to show you where in your plan’s Description of Coverage they are finding the answer for your future reference.

As for anyone not on Medicare, the only way to know for sure about your non-US (or in some cases out-of-state) coverage is to call your insurance company and ask the same questions about getting hit by a cement truck.

I hope this helps,

Steve

I thought I would make a new thread since I am still not 100% convinced that buying a policy with a pre-existing condition waiver will always protect you. It is based on this article I read:

 

Most issuers of travel insurance will waive the exemption for pre-existing conditions if you meet certain requirements. The same company cited above states that you, a traveling companion, or family member can have an existing medical condition and you will still be eligible for all coverage and assistance services, as long as:

 

You purchase your insurance within 14 days of making your first trip payment or first trip deposit.

You purchase trip-cancelation coverage that covers the full cost of all your nonrefundable trip arrangements.

You are medically able to travel on the day you purchased the plan.

The total cost of your trip is $50,000 per person or less.

As with the definition of conditions, those terms are typical. The main variation is that some companies establish a buying deadline as short as seven days; I've never seen any longer than 14 days.

Hi HLGW60,

I'm sorry I didn't get to this thread until today. Due to being a workaholic, I came down with pnuemonia. Thankfully, I'm almost back to normal.

I won't get into the "medically able to travel on the day you purchased the plan" as that's been settled by all of you already. I need to learn to type faster. I'm sure GeezerCouple would beat me in any time competition.

Instead, I want to address the last thing that article you read said: "The main variation is that some companies establish a buying deadline as short as seven days; I've never seen any longer than 14 days."

I know plans that you can get within 15 - 30 days of the initial trip deposit date and others that you can get until the final payment that have the Pre-Existing Medical Condition Exclusion Waiver.

In addition, I know of five plans that don’t require the full prepaid trip cost to be insured as long as you insure a trip cost of at least $1.

Next, the reason there's a Lookback Period in all Travel Insurance policies is that everything the insured states is assumed to be true until there's a claim. At claim time all the requirements that needed to be met to have the Pre-Existing Medical Condition Exclusion Waiver must be proved.

Like GeezerCouple stated, an insurance company may not ask for everything, but they have that right. I know a claim where the doctor specifically told the insured (and they furnished that proof to the insurance company as part of the claim) not to travel 6 months before they bought travel insurance. The agent that sold it to them specifically asked if they could travel on that day and they said "Yes we can. It's ok with our doctor."

I hope this helps,

Steve

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jimsgirl

I thank you for your explanation, but , I just do not understand Berkely Care logic.

EVERYONE in USA knows that Medicare covers Medical costs ONLY if the treatment is given in the USA in USA, ( and that even in USA it is MEDICAL COSTS ONLY, no other event -such as not being able to take a trip - or continue a trip , so Berkeley Care is fully aware that even my costs for the ship or hospital in foreign country will not be covered by Medicare since they took place OUTSIDE USA.

Supplemental will pay the 20% ONLY AFTER Medicare pays the 80% of that which they think is correct, so -NO MEDICARE PAYMENT -,NO SUPPLEMENTAL Payment.

So knowing this, the requirement for letters from Medicare or Supplemental is simply superfluity on their part, just another road block, to delay payment whilst they try to think of some reason not to pay as per contract.

Hi Jimsgirl,

I, too, am sorry to hear about what happened to you on the QM2. I hope your recovery has gone well.

Next, I'm sorry I didn't see your comments before today. I've been laid up since Nov 9th, Here's a tip for you and pretty much anyone over age 50 (I'm 57): Don't go roller skating!

The reason Berkeley Care is waiting for your Explanation of Benefits form is because they have Secondary medical (meaning they pay what you other insurance doesn't). Your Medicare Supplement plan will likely cover you partially.

Here's a more detailed explanation of Medicare & Supplements:

Medicare Does Not Cover You Outside the United States

You can get Travel Insurance that fills in the gaps in your Medicare / Medigap Policies C, D, E, F, G, H, I & J

The Original Medicare Plan does not cover health care when you travel outside the United States, except for some emergency situations in Mexico and Canada. Go here to learn about your options for getting coverage.

In rare cases, Medicare can pay for inpatient hospital services that you get in Canada or Mexico. Medicare can pay only if:

- You are in the United States when a medical emergency occurs and the Canadian or Mexican hospital is closer than the nearest U.S. hospital that can treat the emergency.

- You are traveling through Canada without unreasonable delay by the most direct route between Alaska and another state when a medical emergency occurs and the Canadian hospital is closer than the nearest U.S. hospital that can treat the emergency.

- You live in the United States and the Canadian or Mexican hospital is closer to your home than the nearest U.S. hospital that can treat your medical condition, regardless of whether an emergency exists.

Important Information About Medigap Policies C, D, E, F, G, H, I & J

Your Medigap (Medicare Supplement) plan may provide worldwide coverage benefits for health care needs when you travel outside the United States. Medigap policies C, D, E, F, G, H, I & J provide Foreign Travel Emergency health care coverage when you travel outside the United States. Under these plans, Medigap policies pay for 80% of the cost of emergency care during the first 60 days of each trip after you pay the $250 deductible. Foreign Travel Emergency coverage with Medigap policies have a lifetime limit of $50,000.

You should check with your Medicare Supplement plan prior to traveling outside of the United States regarding your worldwide coverage benefits. Your Medicare Supplement plan will either tell you:

- “We pay whatever Medicare won’t pay, subject to deductibles & copays.” or

- “If Medicare’s not obligated to pay, we won’t pay either.”

Here are the Basics of What is Medicare and What it Covers:

Here’s the Official US Government Medicare website’s Q and A:

http://questions.medicare.gov/cgi-bi...er/std_alp.php

Medicare is the health insurance program for people over the age of 65. People under the age of 65 can qualify for the Medicare program with certain disabilities, and any age with End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD – permanent kidney failure requiring dialysis or a kidney transplant).

Medicare has four parts

- Part A (Hospital Insurance) - Helps cover inpatient care in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, hospice care, and some limited home health care.

- Part B (Medical Insurance) – Helps cover medically necessary services such as your doctor’s services, outpatient care, and other approved medical services not covered under Part A.

- Part C (Medicare Advantage Plans) – Medicare Advantage Plans are a replacement of your original Medicare Part A & Part B. Medicare pays private health insurance companies to “Manage” your health care. Many of the Advantage plans come in the form of a HMO or PPO. These programs are required to provide the same coverage that the original Medicare Part A & Part B provide. Some plans even have coverage for Part D which you will read about next.

- Part D (Medicare prescription drug coverage) – Helps cover prescription drug costs. If you are in the original Medicare program you may purchase a Part D plan from private insurers to help reduce your cost further. If you are enrolled in Medicare Part C, depending on which type of plan you have, may or may not allow you to purchase Part D. Check with your agent or call Medicare to verify your options.

What is a Medicare supplement policy?

A Medicare supplement policy is a health insurance plan sold by a private insurance company to fill the gaps in coverage from the original Medicare Part A & Part B. Sometimes called a Medigap policy. These plans will help you pay your share of the costs (coinsurance, co-payments, or deductibles) associated with Medicare-covered services. *You will need to qualify for Medicare Part A and Part B from above.

There are different Medicare supplement policies

Insurance companies can sell you only a “standardized” Medicare supplement policy. These policies are identified by letters (Plans A through L). Plans F and J also come in a high-deductible version. By law each type of Medicare supplement policy offers the same basic benefits, no matter which insurance company sells it. For example Plan D with company 1 has the exact same coverage as Plan D with company 2. The only difference between Medigap policies sold by different insurance companies is the cost.

What doesn’t a Medicare supplement policy cover?

They don’t cover long-term care (like care in a nursing home), vision or dental care, hearing aids, eyeglasses, and private-duty nursing. Please see www.medicare.gov for information on approved services.

Any new Medicare supplement policy issued today is guaranteed renewable

This means the insurance company can not cancel your policy as long as you pay the premium.

Prescription Drug Coverage

Although some Medicare supplement policies sold in the past covered prescription drugs, no new Medicare supplement policies are allowed to include prescription drug coverage as of 2005. If you want prescription drug coverage, you may want to join a Medicare Prescription Drug Plan (Part D) offered by private companies approved by Medicare.

When is the Best Time to buy a Medicare Supplement Policy?

Open Enrollment is the period that lasts for 6 months and begins on the first day of the month in which you are both age 65 or older and enrolled in Medicare Part B. During this period, an insurance company can’t use medical underwriting. They can’t refuse to sell you any Medicare supplement policy it sells. They generally can’t make you wait for coverage to start. Finally, they can’t charge you more for a Medicare supplement policy because of you health problems.

I hope this helps you,

Steve

Thank you Steve,

 

I've reviewed the detailed Evidence of Coverage and see no such limitation, but not being an expert, it's entirely possible I missed some wording. I'll find out when I next contact my supplier.

 

I want to explicitly express my thanks for the time you've taken to answer all the questions here, especially in my case when I made no secret of where I purchased it.

Hi hondorner,

You're welcome. I'm happy to help.

Unfortunately, the Evidence of Coverage sometimes leaves out what I consider to be important information, which in this case is when the trip needs to be completed. I suppose not everything can be included.

I suggest you ask John Hancock directly about your policy. Not because insuremytrip would give you the wrong info, but since this is a relatively obscure bit of information, they may not have it readily available.

Steve Dasseos

I was thing more along the lines of a change in pre-existing condition when getting the new policy vs. the already in place could be problem for some but did not think of no longer getting coverage for such a long period.

Hi YoHoHo,

Part of what determines how a pre-existing medical condition is covered (or not) in a Canadian-issued policy versus a USA-issued policy has to do with how the Lookback Period is defined.

In a Canadian-issued Travel Insurance policy, the Lookback Period is a specific number of days before your departure date. However, in a USA-issued policy, the Lookback Period is a specific number of days before your policy purchase date when you are insuring a trip cost.

Here's an example:

- You buy a Travel Insurance Plan on August 20th for a trip departing December 1st and coming home on December 20th. You meet all the other eligibilty other requirements, too.

- On August 29th, you have an angioplasty (never had this nor anything related before) and get a stent that same day. You have a normal recovery.

- On December 13th, something happens with your arteries and you need emergency treatment on your trip.

- Will your Travel Insurance pay your medical claim?

USA-issued plan:

Yes, because the angioplasty happened after you bought the policy

Canadian-issued plan

No, because the angioplasty happened before your departure date

Note: this is different from having a Waiver of the pre-existing medical condition exclusion. Waivers still use the Lookback Period but are governed by more detailed contract wording.

Steve Dasseos

Mark, there are a limited number of companies that will offer insurance for a trip lasting 180 days. Our choice devolved to one, John Hancock, with their Gold policy. We paid over $14K for our category; we have friends who booked a higher category and paid $18K. In both cases we had health concerns that makes trip insurance necessary. Our concern about getting it grandfathered to the 2016 cruise is that John Hancock has changed their policy and no longer insures a trip longer than 100 days. Our agency, InsureMyTrip.com, is holding out hope they will continue to grandfather the coverage, but we won't know until we finalize our 2016 booking, submit the new information and send an email describing the circumstances to be forwarded to John Hancock. If they refuse, we'll be out the $14K and will be looking for new insurance. If it's any solace, we were insured for nearly a year and a half, and the only thing left they could cover would be delay or interruption of the trip.

Hi hondorner,

If you are keeping your same policy, but are just changing the dates, then all the original contract provisions will stay with the policy including the ability to cover a trip of over 100 days in length. That's because insurance is a unilateral contract.

However, there's another policy provision that needs to be ascertained. That is if your John Hancock plan had a time limit (x number of months) in which the policy had to be used after purchase. Some companies require travel be completed within 24 months after purchase, while other companies have no time limit.

That answer will guide whether you can keep your original policy or have to get a new one. It's not an arbitrary decision by the insurance company because they also are governed by their contract language.

Steve Dasseos

I always thought you could cancel your trip insurance anytime up until the trip started with no problem. No trip, no insurance needed.

Hi kimanjo,

When you buy trip insurance (or any other insurance policy issued in the USA) you have what's called a "Free Look Period". In most cases, a trip insurance policy will have from 10 to 15 days (depending on the policy) where you can examine to policy and cancel it for a full refund. The only exception is if you bought it at the last minute - then you have to cancel the policy before the trip starts.

Once you are past the Free Look Period, then whether you can cancel it or not varies from company to company. Some companies will refund the premium if you can prove you received a full refund on all your prepaid travel arrangements. Other companies will allow you to change the dates to a new trip where the starting date on the trip is within a certain period of time from the issue date of the policy. Another company will give you a credit to use within months of the date you cancel the policy. Other companies do not give you a refund.

In addition to what I just wrote, who cancels the trip determines if you can change or get a refund on some policies. I know some companies that if the Travel Supplier cancels the travel arrangements they will pay the reissue fee on an airline ticket, or the re-banking fee if you used a FF ticket for airfare you arranged on your own. Other ones will not pay the change fee or re-banking fee for airfare you arranged on your own.

What about the perceived ethics of an insurance company not refunding the price of the insurance? The justification for not giving a refund is this:

For all the months the insured has their trip cancellation policy, had something tragic happened, like the insured getting hit by a cement truck and being forced to cancel their trip, the insurance company would have paid the full claim. That's because the insurance company assumed the risk of a trip cancellation. I've never hear from any person making a claim that it's not fair that the insurance company has to pay such a large amount of money.

If a trip insurance company had to refund the premium because an insured wanted to cancel their policy with the reasoning that they didn't use their policy, then shouldn't an auto insurance company be required to refund all premiums paid over 5, 10, 20, 30 or 40 years if the insured never had a claim? Of course not.

Something similar to cancelling a policy is changing the dates on the policy to cover a shorter trip as is happening with the Oceania Insignia WC. If someone elects to start the WC in Singapore on March 22, 2015, with the ship scheduled to sail the remainder of the original itinerary, then they should keep their same policy but shorten the coverage dates. Whether they get refunds, credit or not varies from company to company.

I hope this makes sense. If not, ask me here.

Steve Dasseos

Thank you everyone for continuing to add information on this thread. Since I originally wrote the post, I've known more than a few people who have received the prepaid taxes back from the cruise line when they cancelled their trip. However, some cruiselines didn't willingly give the refunds until the passenger pushed it.

I've also seen that the River Cruise companies tend not to refund them while the Ocean Cruise companies tend to refund the taxes.

What I've been telling people for the last nearly 5 years is to ask the cruise line.

Steve Dasseos

Now if they had MedJet and she was medically stable enough to fly (coma or not), she would be flown home with doctor/nurse on the plane to a US hospital where she would both get good medical treatment and insurance coverage.

 

BTW..that's the major difference between MedJet and other policies....most policies require that a) the foreign hospital state that they can't treat the patient or that the patient needs to be evacuated (home) for medical reasons. With MedJet, the foreign hospital you request medical evacuation and the only question for the foreign hospital is whether you are medically stable enough for air travel. There is a huge difference there.....which is why we never travel without MedJet Assist.

I like MedJet too. The only drawbacks with MedJet are they only use fixed-wing aircraft (so no helicopter evacuations off a ship) and they only do hospital to hospital transports so if you aren't admitted to a hospital they won't transport you.

However, if you have MedJet and a good trip insurance policy the overlapping coverages will take care of you.

My guess is Hotwire will give you some kind of credit/refund for goodwill.

 

I thought airport locations were suppose to extend their hours to accommodate delayed flights. That's complaint number 1. I understand you got a refund but telling you to wait until 5a is poor customer service.

 

I was pricing a rental car in Mexico through a third party site. They were offering insurance through Alliantz. The insurance would have had to be paid at the time of the reservation. It was made clear, if you clicked through and read the "fine print", the insurance was treated like trip insurance. I wouldn't get a refund if I cancelled my car.

Hi Lookingforfacts,

Be careful when getting a third party collision damage waiver for a rental car in Mexico. Many plans specifically exclude coverage when renting in Mexico as well as other countries.

The ones that come to mind are Ireland, Jamaica, Italy and Israel. Coverage is not applicable where precluded by law or in violation of the territorial terms of the rental agreement or prohibited by individual merchants. For example, Ireland has some kind of government regulation against foreign insurance.

I hope this helps you.

Steve Dasseos

I would assume the answer is "yes, they are refundable", because you wouldn't be taking the cruise. However, many people tell us that the Port Charges & Taxes are non-refundable.

I'm not a travel agent and I've been trying to find this answer for months, but I can't find the right answer.

The reason I want to know the answer is because if you buy trip cancellation travel insurance and want pre-existing medical condition, financial default & Cancel For Any Reason / Change Your Mind coverage, many plans require you to insure 100% of your prepaid, non-refundable trip cost.

Trip cancellation travel insurance plans are priced in trip cost ranges (ie - $3001 - $3500, etc). If you have to include the Port Charges & Taxes you may be pushed into a more expensive price bracket.

For example, you take a cruise where the cost is $3350 and another $175 for Port Charges & Taxes.

• If you are age 61 and you insure in the $3001 - $3500 range, you will pay approx $215 - $260 for a good plan.
  
• However, if you have to include the Port Charges & Taxes, you'll have to insure in the $3501 - $4000 range and you will pay approx $245 - $295 for a good plan.
  

Therefore, you will end up paying more for the policy than the increase in the trip cost.

It doesn't matter to me what the answer is. I just want to know what the right answer is.

Thanks in advance,

Steve Dasseos