cruiseco

The date a condition is officially diagnosed is not the sole determining factor as to when something becomes Pre-existing or not. Most plans have something such as this in their fine print:

"You, a traveling companion or family member are considered to have

an existing medical condition if you, a traveling companion or

family member:

• saw or were advised to see a doctor;

• had symptoms that would cause a prudent person to see a doctor;

or. . . "

So the date the diagnosis was made probably would take second seat to the date you (as a prudent person) originally made an appointment to see the doctor.

 

 

This is to warn readers that although Travel Guard were legally within their rights to deny us, do not expect them to show any sympathy or tolerance when it is impossible to comply with every detail of their rules

I'm not sure about the rules in Canada but here in California IT IS AGAINST THE LAW for a travel insurer to pay a claim that is not 100% supported by the wording of the policy and the proof of loss presented by the policyholder. Paying a claim based on "Sympathy" will put their license to do business at risk. They're heavily regulated and the wording of the policy is registered with the state and the state expects them to abide by the wording in ALL cases. They have no alternative but to deny the claim based ion the plan wording -- this is from the Travel Guard plans marketed in CA and probably identical to the plans marketed in Canada:

"Baggage and Personal Effects Proof of Loss: TheInsured must: (a) report theft Losses to police or other localauthorities as soon as possible"

as previously pointed out here, the number 1 rule -- overridinging any considerations about pre-ex conditions or not -- is that they only insure events that are unforeseeable. if your doctor has given a certain time frame for death to occur -- say, as in this case six months or less -- the cause of the cancellation and any related losses during the cruise such as evacuation will not be covered. The following is from Allianz

"However, travel insurance is meant to protect travelers against sudden and unforeseen events — not threats that are already on the horizon when the insurance is purchased." (their emphasis)

You can buy a policy and hope for the best but plan on it not paying off in the type of situation described. if it's in your medical records that the doctor has given some sort of estimate of when death might occur the death is no longer "sudden" nor "unforeseen"

yes, your husband PROBABLY DOES need coverage for pre-existing medical conditions. If you cancel for a pre-ex condition and your husband wants to cancel also (I'm going to assume he does) his reason can be because of a pre-ex condition of a traveling companion and the pre-ex exclusion can apply to him also. There are exceptions Some plans specifically do not apply the pre-ex exclusion to traveling companions. But unless you see that in writing you'd better assume the exclusion does apply.

Always check in the fine print who the exclusion will apply to. This is from one major insurer:

“Pre-Existing Condition” means an illness, disease, or other condition duringthe 60 day period immediately prior to the date Your coverage is effectivefor which You or Your Traveling Companion, Business Partner or FamilyMember scheduled or booked to travel with You"

If you have to cancel the cruise the insurer will ask for proof of payment -- either a cancelled check or a copy of your credit card statement. That's the date that will be used. As far as the insurers are concerned an invoice/receipt from the travel insurer is useless as these can be back-dated with little trouble.

 

For insurance coverage purposes, is it possible to be diagnosed with a terminal illness and be considered "Fit For Travel".

Insurers will not cover any situation that's expected -- only unexpected circumstances. When it won't be covered is if the illness is NOT being actively treated -- person is only receiving palliative care or hospice-like care. Or if the person has been given a time frame in which death might ensue -- 6 months, a year, whatever. In those cases the loss is expected and pretty much non-insurable.

Ant other situation is open to interpretation. If the person is being actively treated and the doctor will attest that at the time the policy was purchased there was still hope for recovery then it's possible to argue that this should be covered like any pre-existing condition. Your choices are to insure yourself including all of the plan's requirements to have the pre-existing condition exclusion waived and be willing to appeal any claim denial to your state's Department of Insurance. Or, buy a plan that has a "cancel for any reason" benefit. With that choice you know beforehand your maximum loss with little or no hassle.

Most insurers that cover for cancellation due to an employer not letting you go require that the time off to have been approved at the time the policy was purchased and/or the time the cruise was booked. You can't file a claim for having your vacation time yanked out from under you if you can't prove that it was given in the first place. There's a difference between not being able to get the time off (non-insurable) and having previously granted time off cancelled (Insurable). Booking a cruise without knowing if you'll get the time off ain't gonna cut it. And you had better have something in writing from the boss dated the day the vacation time was approved and something additional in writing and dated the day the previously approved vacation time was cancelled.

As far as using the plan marketed by the cruise line vs a third-party plan, it wouldn't have made a difference. No insurer in their right mind is going to (after the fact) second guess the actions of a ship's doctor if those actions did not cause a worsening of the condition . If the doctor did not that you need to be confined to your cabin and that you are not free to move about the ship, use the restaurants, etc that's the only opinion that will matter. The choice to remain in your cabin was yours. The choice to remain on the ship was yours. Since the doctor's opinion did not cause a worsening in your condition (which was already terminal) I don't see any insurable loss resulting from that decision based on a quarantine benefit. People become ill on ships all the time. I've spent a few days in my cabin because I felt lousy too but that's not a "quarantine" in any insurable sense of the word. So there's no insurable loss under any quarantine coverage. Even if you are in the ship's hospital that's not a quarantine. "Quarantine" has a specific meaning and what you experienced isn't it. Feeling too crappy to enjoy the cruise and staying in your cabin as a result isn't insurable other than covering whatever was charged to your shipboard account for actual medical services received.

You are only covered up to a maximum of $500. My attitude is that you insure for the big stuff (medical and evacuation) and self insure for the rest. Not worth making a big fuss over a $500 max loss.

 

DON

Just FYI, that's $500 per person

Many are including this feature with their regular "no-cruise" plans. Here's a couple of examples:

tRAVELsAFE

ITINERARY CHANGE

In the event Your Travel Supplier makes a change in Your Trip itinerary

after Your Scheduled Departure Date which prevents You from participating

in an event/activity Prepaid prior to departure and scheduled on Your Trip

itinerary, non-refundable Prepaid event/activity expenses will be payable

up to the Maximum Benefit Amount shown in the Confirmation of Benefits.

tRAVELINSURED:

ITINERARY CHANGE

In the event Your Travel Supplier makes a change in Your Trip itinerary after Your Scheduled Departure Date, which prevents You from participating in an event/activity Prepaid prior to departure and scheduled on Your Trip itinerary, non-refundable Prepaid event/activity expenses will be payable up to the Maximum Benefit Amount shown in the Confirmation of Benefits. $500

I hope that the guy at Nationwide that first suggested "Let's take a regular plan and market it as a CRUISE plan" got a huge bonus because this is brilliant. I've read through the fine print and have found nothing that stands out as a cruise-specific plan. That's not to say it's not a good plan but I wouldn't choose it just because it has "cruise" in its name.

The coverage through the credit cards varies quite a bit depending on the card issuer. So there's no valid comparison without knowing exactly which card and being able to read the card's fine print.

The coverage through the credit cards varies quite a bit depending on the card issuer. So there's no valid comparison without knowing exactly which card and being able to read the card's fine print.

Many insurers are avoiding providing medical coverage in large parts of the caribbean because of the mosquito-borne viruses down there

Almost any third party insurer will let you buy a policy up until the day prior to your departure from home. But you'll probably lose some benefits like coverage for pre-existing medical conditions, financial default, etc. Csa's custom plans actually become less expensive the closer you get to your departure date so they're worth checking out if your insurance purchase is close to your departure date

On anther forum someone posted that if you are evacuated for a medical emergency by the US Coast Guard there is no charge. Is that correct?

your tax dollars at work, just like you won't be billed by your local fire department to put your house fire out. But there are limits. If you're taken off a ship on an Alaska cruise you'll not be taken all the way home on the tax payer's dime.

So, if I've have no changes, I'd be covered for anything that happens that may be related to that condition?

On some plans, yes. On others, no. You need to read the plan's details and ask the insurer if you have any questions. Do not make the mistake of thinking that what applies to one insurer will apply to another

A pre-existing condition is whatever the insurance policy you purchase says it is. There will be a section, usually near the front, that has definitions of lots of words you think you know the meaning of, like: "Family", "Hospital", etc. Pre-existing condition will also be defined in that section. I just grabbed the definition from a Nationwide policy that someone posted a few threads down, and it says:

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Exactly right. it doesn't matter what you think a pre-existing condition is or what a doctor tells you it is, or what ramdon folks on the internet think it is, or what some other insurer says it is. All that counts is what the policy you're looking at says it is. All else ir irrelevent

iN THIS TYPE OF ARRANGEMENT IT'S ALWAYS A GOOD IDES TO HAVE SOME SORT OF INFORMAL CONTRACT SIGNED AND AGREED TO BY ALL OF THE GROUP MEMBERS. PERHAPS. "IF THE SIZE OF THE GROUP IS 11 EACH GROUP MEMBER WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR A TOTAL AMOUNT OF $XX. iF THE SIZE OF THE GROUP ENDS UP BEING 10 EACH GROUP MEMBER WILL BE RESPONSIBLE OF $XX. nO REFUNDS FROM THE GROUP OR THE VILLA OWNER FOR CANCELLATIONS. WE URGE EACH GROUP MEMBER TO PROTECT HIS INVESTMENT BY PURCHASING TRAVEL INSURANCE." GOTTA BE A LAWYER SOMEWHERE IN THE GROUP

I am looking to fly into FLL on the morning of my cruise (yes I know, not a good idea, but I do not have another option), my flight is scheduled to land at 9:30 am with the ship departing at 4:00. I was wondering if anyone could recommend a travel insurance policy that would cover if our flight was delayed and we would not be able to make it to the ship in time. Most policies I've looked at on cover if there is a 5 or 6 hour delay. However, I would need a 3 or 4 hour delay policy when calculating how late I could arrive at the ship. Any recommendations? Trying to find the most cost effective plan out there.

I like the Travel Safe Classic plan and their Missed Connection coverage:

MISSED CONNECTION

If You miss Your Trip

departure because Your arrival at Your Trip destination

is delayed for 3 or more hours, due to:

a. any delay of a Common Carrier (the delay must be certified by the

Common Carrier);

b. documented weather condition preventing You from getting to the

point of departure;

c. quarantine, hijacking, Strike, Natural Disaster, terrorism or riot.

We will reimburse You, up to the Maximum Benefit Amount shown in the

Confirmation of Benefits, for:

a. Your Additional Transportation Cost to join Your Trip; and

b. Your Prepaid expenses for the unused land or water Travel

Arrangements.

These benefits will not duplicate any other benefits payable under the

Policy or any coverage(s) attached to the Policy.

Only 3 hour delay required

ANY delay of a common carrier is OK

$2500 per person to cover the value of any lost days of the cruise.

Covers costs to rejoin the cruise

It's pretty all inclusive and their premiums are very reasonable

Biggest difference is that travel/trip delay generally not reimburse you for non-used, non-refundable trip arrangements lost because of the delay. Missed connection coverage will generally reimburse you for the value of any days of the cruise you miss while waiting to catch back up with the cruise. It's very possible to have claims against both the trip delay and missed connection coverages, when in doubt file under both.

OP, does your trip insurance only want the fact that you paid for medical care or do they want to also see the medical center's receipt for the type of medical care?

They ALWAYS want to see two things: Proof of the medical services provided (info from the doctor) and proof payment. Either by itself is not adequate.

Seven Corners failed me. They also wanted to make me jump through 12 hoops of fire to get reimbursed. I had purchased a comprehensive policy with pre-existing medical coverage intact.

 

My mother died of natural causes after I made deposits for our upcoming cruise vacation. Even though I submitted a death certificate stating that she died of natural causes, Seven Corners wanted me to obtain several statements from her previous doctors regarding her past medical care. I didn't know who her doctors were, I didn't live with her! How was I going to obtain these statements from her old doctors.

 

Needless to say, I couldn't complete the paperwork and wasn't reimbursed. I ended up losing $400 in deposits. Can you imagine the huge financial loss I would have endured if we were already on our vacation and this happened? For that reason, I will never use Seven Corners again. Not dependable in my time of need.

The term "natural causes" does not rule out pre-existing conditions which may be excluded from your coverage. Not all deaths from "natural causes" are covered. And not all pre-existing conditions are covered by the pre-existing condition waiver. So it's not unreasonable that they want more info. If you feel they are being unreasonable you can always contact your state's department of insurance to get their opinion. it's a no-cost service paid for by your tax dollars. If they agree that you have provided enough info to make a proper claim decision that's what will happen.

What about princess insurance, I get overwhelmed w/ all the reading about insurance policies. I simply want an insurance that will pay if someone in my family dies, needs serious surgery, car wreck where there in the hospital, and if someone who cruises w/ me becomes ill/hospital, etc and can't go, does the princess insurance cover this?

They all have limitations on what they will consider a "family member". So if you're worried about a specific person be sure the relationship qualifies. For emample, most will cover a domestic partner, but what qualifies as a "domestic partner". Others will only cover family members living in North America so if you have a chlld or other immediate family member living/studying/working overseas you may be out of luck there. Be sure to read the fine print.

I doubt anyone is going to go off on you :). That's the same thing I was wondering. He stated that Carnival bills you if you do go to see a physician and do not have vacation protection.

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CARNIVAL (LIKE ALL CRUISE LINES ) WILL BILL YOU FOR ANY MEDICAL SERVICES RECEIVED WHETHER YOU HAVE INSURANCE OR NOT -- EVEN THEIR OWN.

#1 cause of "slips and falls" on a moving ship --alcohol. Cameras are everywhere in the public areas so the ship's staff usually knows what happened. If the ship comps the medical treatment there's a reason.