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Crusising with Medicare


johnmik1
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My wife and I are avid cruisers and will be turning 65 soon, and will then be covered under Medicare.We are thinking about an annual medical policy rather than insuring trip by trip.We are mostly interested in medical and transportation costs back to the US.I can't seem to find what I want on the internet.Does anyone have any experience with these annual policies?Thanks for any help!

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We have the same concerns and had been getting a policy for each cruise. But we just purchased Allianz Annual Premier Plan. Cost is $450 which covers both of us. Covers several things but most important to us is $500,000 emergency medical transportation and $50,000 emergency medical & dental. Website Allianz travel insurance.com. Phone 866 884 3556. Literally purchased it just this week so no experience with claims.

 

 

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Regardless of what type of travel insurance you decide upon, I also suggest that you take a serious look at MedJetAssist. Even though I have travel insurance on an upcoming cruise out of Tahiti, the extra $99 for MedJetAssist is very important, to me, being that far away from the U.S.A. and although healthy, also being 70 years old.

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We use our Mastercard insurance for the cancellation and interruption coverages and Geo-Blue for an annual medical coverage.

 

Their medical is primary outside of the US, but you must have Medicare or other active health coverage to qualify.

 

https://www.geobluetravelinsurance.com/products/multi-trip/trekker-5-overview.cfm

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  • 3 weeks later...
We use our Mastercard insurance for the cancellation and interruption coverages and Geo-Blue for an annual medical coverage.

 

Their medical is primary outside of the US, but you must have Medicare or other active health coverage to qualify.

 

https://www.geobluetravelinsurance.com/products/multi-trip/trekker-5-overview.cfm

 

We do the exact same thing. Geoblue has more coverage for medical than Allianz does. Medjet assist will only offer one service a year on some of their plans but the most is 2. We cruise more than 2 times a year.

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Hi,

I have been buying insurance for all my trips, some I might say have been pretty expensive. I would like to know if these policies that you are talking about have a cancellation waiver in case u are unable to start the trip.

Thanks, Elaine

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I checked with my credit cards, Visa only covers $3000.00 trip cancellation per person, and MasterCard covers accident, but I have to call and find out if that's only for trips that have started. My concern is if we cannot start our trip, due to an unforeseen illness, that I lose would lose my entire cost of the trip. The $800, that I paid for the insurance, covers me for everything, I have had claims 3 times, the last was in July when my SIL had a heart attack in Seattle prior and to us boarding the ship. I recouped my cruise, my Daughter and SIL cruise, and she was covered for her out of pocket, hospital, doctors, ambulance and change of airline tickets. I never travel without a good policy, you just neve know.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I get a supplement on my Medicare that covers me outside of the US provided trip is less then three months. It was an added cost on my supplement of $25 per month. Not all supplement do this but they are available. I will get to find out how it works as I went to the doctor on the cruise ship for a cold and got a bill for $3000.00

 

 

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  • 2 months later...

Every MasterCard and Visa offers different travel benefits. The best I've found is the Citi Visa that I have by being a member of Costco but others may offer similar benefits. It covers up to $3,000 per person for trip cancellation, delay/cancellation due to severe weather, trip interruption/delayed arrival, political/security evac and best of all, costs nothing.

 

If you're in relatively good health (they have a 30-day lookback period from the day you pay for the policy) and are under 65, consider supplementing the Visa coverage with the Travelex Business Traveler policy - you won't find it on the comparison sites - you have to buy it from Travelex. For $59 per year per person they provide $1 million evacuation coverage, $2,000 personal effects coverage, up to $600 for lost jewelry/camera/electronic items, coverage for business property - including laptop, PDA, phones, and for an extra $30 you get $50,000 of medical insurance. If you read the policy, you'll see that although they cater to the business traveler, there is no requirement that you be a business traveler. So for me and my wife - $178 per year for multiple trips. Also, you can buy this policy for a single trip - I think it starts at about $19.

 

Finally, just in case you get injured or hurt and are hospitalized and wish to come home to a hospital in the US, and your main travel insurance company refuses to evacuate you back to the USA (I know someone this happened to - even though he had evacuation coverage), I also bought the Med Jet plan - $345 for the two of us (using the AARP discount). Basically, if you are hospitalized and capable of traveling home or to a home hospital, they will dispatch a medical air transport to get you home upon your request.

 

So for me and my wife - $345 plus $89 plus $89 = $523 for an annual plan that covers all our trips throughout the year. Helps me sleep at night.

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We purchased annual medical coverage in the past but for the next while we are purchasing for each trip. I am retired and my partner still works and we found that we had to change plans due to one thing or another so didn't really travel as much as we thought. Now we will buy for the trip that we take.

 

We are Canadian so I make sure that there is coverage for repatriation back to Canada (feel more comfortable being home for medical treatment), etc.. Our health system is good across the country but not when we are outside the country so insurance in necessary. I wouldn't think that Medicare covers you outside the US.

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  • 2 months later...
Geo Blue is a 12 month policy. Good for many trips within that period and, I might add, less cost than most single trip policies we have had in the past. But it is medical only.

 

 

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Do these plans work if you have a Medicare supplemental plan (AARP UHC)?

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We have the same concerns and had been getting a policy for each cruise. But we just purchased Allianz Annual Premier Plan. Cost is $450 which covers both of us. Covers several things but most important to us is $500,000 emergency medical transportation and $50,000 emergency medical & dental. Website Allianz travel insurance.com. Phone 866 884 3556. Literally purchased it just this week so no experience with claims.

 

 

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Is there a limit on the # of days per trip? GO Blue is 60 days, Med Jet is 90 days.

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My wife and I are avid cruisers and will be turning 65 soon, and will then be covered under Medicare.We are thinking about an annual medical policy rather than insuring trip by trip.We are mostly interested in medical and transportation costs back to the US.I can't seem to find what I want on the internet.Does anyone have any experience with these annual policies?Thanks for any help!

 

Try Travel Guard, "annual insurance for business travelers". Like you my dh and I are under Medicare. We are in good health. We often change our travel plans, so buying insurance through a cruise line , linked to a trip did not make sense for us. We self insured for many years as a result. We started buying insurance through Travel Guard, on line a few years back. We have never had to use it but still feel it is good to have.

 

We basically want medical emergency insurance and emergency evacuation coverage. The Travel Guard business travel plan fit the bill for us. It runs $518 for us on an annual basis. It covers a few delayed travel issues as well, as part of the package.

 

I found the insurance by calling Travel Guard and was told any one can by the "business traveler plan".

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Every MasterCard and Visa offers different travel benefits. The best I've found is the Citi Visa that I have by being a member of Costco but others may offer similar benefits. It covers up to $3,000 per person for trip cancellation, delay/cancellation due to severe weather, trip interruption/delayed arrival, political/security evac and best of all, costs nothing.

 

If you're in relatively good health (they have a 30-day lookback period from the day you pay for the policy) and are under 65, consider supplementing the Visa coverage with the Travelex Business Traveler policy - you won't find it on the comparison sites - you have to buy it from Travelex. For $59 per year per person they provide $1 million evacuation coverage, $2,000 personal effects coverage, up to $600 for lost jewelry/camera/electronic items, coverage for business property - including laptop, PDA, phones, and for an extra $30 you get $50,000 of medical insurance. If you read the policy, you'll see that although they cater to the business traveler, there is no requirement that you be a business traveler. So for me and my wife - $178 per year for multiple trips. Also, you can buy this policy for a single trip - I think it starts at about $19.

 

Finally, just in case you get injured or hurt and are hospitalized and wish to come home to a hospital in the US, and your main travel insurance company refuses to evacuate you back to the USA (I know someone this happened to - even though he had evacuation coverage), I also bought the Med Jet plan - $345 for the two of us (using the AARP discount). Basically, if you are hospitalized and capable of traveling home or to a home hospital, they will dispatch a medical air transport to get you home upon your request.

 

So for me and my wife - $345 plus $89 plus $89 = $523 for an annual plan that covers all our trips throughout the year. Helps me sleep at night.

 

My concern is do these policies cover you if you have not departed you are paid in full, and there is a medical emergency of a family member or yourself prior to departure and to need to cancel your cruise. Our trips cost more than $3000. Pp.

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The Chase Sapphire Reserve will cover your expenses if unable to travel due to illness up to $10,000. Will provide emergency evacuation up to $50,000 due to illness and emergency medical up to $3,000. I then buy GEO BLUE for additional medical as I am over 65 and total trip is usually longer then three months. The card has annual fee of $500 but $350 in direct reimbursement for any travel expense. Have not found a better travel card.

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  • 2 weeks later...
We do the exact same thing. Geoblue has more coverage for medical than Allianz does. Medjet assist will only offer one service a year on some of their plans but the most is 2. We cruise more than 2 times a year.

 

But will you be med evaced more than twice in a year??????

 

 

Typically, a med evac event will be serious enough that you will not be cruising for a while.

 

And it also depends on age, plan, and where you live. Some of their plans have no limits. But I do remember limits for expats, living outside the US, over a certain age.

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When we traveled with my parents (ALL of us were over 55 at the time), we found that a 3rd party insurance gave us better coverage and a cheaper price for my wife and I.

 

But my parents, at 87, the third party insurance was INSANE. So we insured them through the cruise line (RCCL). They have a fixed price.

 

Good we did, my mother had a right hemisphere aneurysm pop. She was hospitalized in Halifax, and eventually med evaced back to the US.

 

The med evac was quoted at $29,000 (Halifax to DC), and the insurance only covered $25K, but they never billed the extra.

 

Insurance covered the hospital, med evac, hotel for my Dad, and even a refund for the missed part of the cruise for both of them

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  • 3 weeks later...
My wife and I are avid cruisers and will be turning 65 soon, and will then be covered under Medicare.We are thinking about an annual medical policy rather than insuring trip by trip.We are mostly interested in medical and transportation costs back to the US.I can't seem to find what I want on the internet.Does anyone have any experience with these annual policies?Thanks for any help!

 

 

 

I used square mouth to help me find an annual plan with medical and evacuation to supplement my chase sapphire reserve card whic already covers almost everything I want including up to $10k of trip cancellation per person for all the normal reasons if any of your trip is charged to them. I ended up with a group called April. Get Blue had some disclaimers that didn't work for me. I don't remember. Maybe the maximum length of trips covered. Anyhow, I chose April because it's medical and evacuation were primary so I don't have to fruitlessly try to bill my home medical before they will pay for it. Anyhow as you can read in this post it is a very personal thing. I did a lot of research on credit cards. I now have a grid of all the benefits of all my cards. I also used a few search engines to check out plans. I did like squaremouth better than insuremytrip. I think they did better quality control and had a better selection of plans.

 

 

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