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At what age does private ins become too expensive?


Markanddonna
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I have read that private insurance becomes more expensive as we age and that is when it is a better and more affordable idea to go with the cruise line insurance. At what age do you find this is true?

 

 

Who knows. Should be easy for you to price out both options and then come back and tell us what you find.

 

DON

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  • 4 weeks later...
I have read that private insurance becomes more expensive as we age and that is when it is a better and more affordable idea to go with the cruise line insurance. At what age do you find this is true?

 

At age 70 the insurance jumps to 10 to 12 % of the total travel cost including things like airfares ie .

 

We buy the cruise line insurance for the cruise & then buy Allianz to cover our airfares

 

In our case our Medicare Advantage plan (HMO) covers us for unlimited medical any where in the world for emergencies .Then we must get back to our local area doctors for further treatment . The lical area is what HMOs are all about for medical services ;but ,the emergency cost is unlimited :D

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At age 70 the insurance jumps to 10 to 12 % of the total travel cost including things like airfares ie .

 

We buy the cruise line insurance for the cruise & then buy Allianz to cover our airfares

 

In our case our Medicare Advantage plan (HMO) covers us for unlimited medical any where in the world for emergencies .Then we must get back to our local area doctors for further treatment . The lical area is what HMOs are all about for medical services ;but ,the emergency cost is unlimited :D

 

Have you ever read the "small print" on International Coverage? It can be a real "interesting" experience to file a claim. You have to first pay all your bill (out of your pocket) and then later seek reimbursement (which can take months). Most insurers require a very detailed bill, translated to English, with each billing item presented in US Dollars. And then, depending on your "Out of Network" Coverage you may only get a percentage of what the insurance company considers the Usual and Customary Cost....which can be substantially less then what has been billed. We spent a lifetime in the government medical insurance world....and even I would get frustrated :) The sad thing is that most of the Travel Medical policies are not much better when it comes to claims. ARGH!

 

 

Hank

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Hank, you are so right. We have had a very difficult year where we have had to cancel things due to illnesses, and a family death. Dealing with the insurance is a nightmare and does take months. And it seems they try very hard to get out of things. aarggh! Indeed!

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In my case I prefer to purchase insurance that acts as the primary coverage so we file any bills with them.

 

I am not 70 but in the end insurance comes down to the cost of the insurance, and how much risk you want to take should you have to cancel and lose all of the money you have paid or you become ill on the cruise and have major medical costs to deal with.

 

Only you can decide.

 

At one point someone might say I am willing to take the risk for the trip portion and only buy insurance for the medical part. One can do that with most companies by issuing the trip for say $100.00 and having a lower premium and using the insurance for its medical coverage.

 

As we have aged though we have also gotten medjet which would not cover medical expenses but would cover evacuation.

 

No right or wrong on all of this.

 

Keith

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  • 4 weeks later...
I have read that private insurance becomes more expensive as we age and that is when it is a better and more affordable idea to go with the cruise line insurance. At what age do you find this is true?

 

I am 76 and my husband is 86. We always use third party insurance because the medical amount limits and the evacuation limits on cruise line insurance are not high enough in our opinion. But even more mportant cruise line insurance does not cover pre-existing conditions.

 

So we look for insurance that includes pre-existing, has high medical coverage, high evacuation coverage and the coverage is primary, not secondary.

 

Because we also cover trip cancellation, etc our insurance cost is approximately 15% of total non-refundable trip cost, including airfare.

 

We could, if we chose, just cover the medical & evacuation for a cheaper premium.

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