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Insurance experiences


MommyAJ6
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We had to cancel our trip one month prior to sailing. We did have insurance. Our TA contacted the insurance carrier (while I was still at the hospital dealing with the discovered heart condition of my husband.) The next morning, I called the Ins. Co. and they had already mailed me the needed paperwork.

A lot of paperwork because we pay for our cruises in payments, but I mailed them the paperwork and received my check in approx 13 days. I also received my "premium back" with a letter explaining that the premium refund was minus $36 for processing. (WOW)

I work in a hospital near LAX. I KNOW the value of travel Ins.

Oh,,, they did not refund the flight fares, because we did not lose that money.

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Friend of the family got sick on a land vacation; over $100k in medical bills NOT including the rent for the apartment they got. They had to rent the apartment for a couple of months because the doctors wouldn't clear him to fly. Insurance paid for the medical and for his mother to fly over to take care of him. The rest was out of pocket.

 

My uncle passed away on a land trip and the hospital & mortuary would not release him until my aunt paid their bills in full, cash only. My aunt had credit cards with sufficient limits, but they insisted cash only. Eventually both places agreed to a bank wire. $15k+ no insurance.

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I had a cruise scheduled on Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas in Feb. 2015; my travel partner broke her hip a week prior to the cruise. Fortunately, we had taken insurance out and was fully refunded. Highly recommend taking insurance for any traveling.

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For serious medical issues, we recently had to cancel two latesummer TA cruises with hotel stays before and in between. No issues with the hotels, as they requiredno deposits and we could cancel up to a few days before.

The eastbound TA was on Cunard. I had taken the cruise line insurance and someof our deposit was not refundable (I thought and my documents soindicated). I called, explaining thesituation, assuming that I would have to make a claim on the insurance for thedeposit refund. However, they refundedthe entire deposit immediately. I wasvery pleased, but surprised. I wonder ifthis was because it was the Cunard insurance. Result was the same, but thehassle was non-existent.

The westbound TA was on Princess. I had not yet insured this leg, but had paidthe deposit with a Citi card that provides insurance. On 5/24 I sent the documents to Citi’sinsurer, and after about 10 days of silence, called to check status. I should have called before I sent anything,in order to get a claim number to attach to the documents. They had received the paperwork and gave me aclaim number at that time. A week or solater I got an email requesting documents – the list was what I had alreadysent so I called and they confirmed that this was a standard email they alwayssent and yes, they did have what they needed. On 7/3 the credit appeared on myaccount.

A happy ending – except of course for the medical issue butwe are working on that.

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Hubby had an attack of some sort on board the ship. We never did track down what it was, even with lots of tests. Anyway, Dr on board recommended he be seen in a land-side (Fort Lauderdale) ER before flying home to be safe. I used my smartphone to find a hospital in network (we have United Healthcare) and to book a car to get there, and off we went. The bills from the ER (for tests, CT, etc) came to over $25K before insurance kicked in. We met our deductible right then in February in South FL. Our travel insurance was secondary, through Travel Insured.

 

After all the EOBs were in, and I had paid the bills using a credit card, I sent all the EOBs and payment receipts, including the car we rented for the day, to Travel Insured and was reimbursed all the money we had paid. So, that year our deductible was covered with the travel insurance policy.

 

A side note: The ER in the Plantation Hospital is decent, and wasn't terribly busy at 8am on a Sunday morning. By noon, there was a horrible wait to get back. We made our 4pm flights back home since we got there so early in the morning. If we had not, my paperwork would have been more extensive. As it was, I waited to call TravelInsured until we got home and it was a business day.

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Last September when the 2 big hurricanes went through the eastern islands and Florida, I had a back to back scheduled out of Miami on the Glory. First week was eastern, second was western. As the time approached, the first hurricane had just wrecked the islands on the eastern itinerary. The second hurricane was heading for Miami. All the airlines canceled flights, and Carnival moved boarding from Sunday to Tuesday. I rescheduled flights to Tuesday. Miami began evacuating so airlines canceled flights again. Carnival moved boarding back to Wednesday. I went to reschedule for Wednesday and there was a single flight with only first class seats available. We flew into Miami right as Carnival announced boarding would be Thursday because the port was blocked by sunken boats. Since the eastern islands were damaged, itinerary was changed to a 3 day to Cozumel. We found a hotel downtown since much of the city was without power. Once on the ship, a storm was developing by Cozumel, so it changed to a 3 day to Nassau. The reason we were hellbent on getting on that cruise, aside from it being a back to back, was our travel insurance.

 

Our cruise insurance paid a flat $1,250 per person if the itinerary is changed before boarding if you elect to still go on the cruise. So, we knew making it to the ship would get us $2,500. It also paid another $250 per person because they changed the itinerary again after boarding. The insurance reimbursed us for the first-class tickets because we explained there were no coach seats available on ANY airline. They reimbursed us for taxis, lunch, dinner and breakfast, and the hotel. They did not refund anything that we already received a refund for, like Southwest gave us future vouchers. Carnival refunded the missed days and excursions. The itinerary was also changed for the second cruise for another $1,250 per person on a second policy. The customer service was in Tampa, so their hurricane damage had the office closed for two days. Even with that, they answered my emails right away with instructions to file a claim, and the checks came two weeks after everything was filed.

 

When it looked like we wouldn't be able to make it to Miami, we considered flying to Cozumel to meet the ship. The insurance would have paid for that, although good thing we didn't since the ship went to Nassau.

 

This was specifically CRUISE insurance through Nationwide, not general travel insurance. We found it through insuremytrip. I have filed claims two times since then for $250 per person when we had to miss a port, and each time the checks came exactly two weeks after filing. I get this insurance only for cruises. I use regular travel insurance for land vacations.

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My friend and I were on a shuttle from a Ft. Lauderdale hotel to the Port of Miami when she began to complain of pain in her stomach. By the time we arrived at the port, her pain had increased enough that she needed a wheelchair because it hurt too much to walk. We got checked in and after going to our cabin, she was crying in pain and throwing up. I called the Medical Center and took her down. The ship doctor did some tests and diagnosed her with pancreatitis! She was getting worse, got an IV and pain meds, then the Miami emergency squad arrived and took her to a local hospital. She spent 4 days in the hospital before flying home.

 

Medicare paid for her hospitalization but she missed the cruise....and she didn't have travel insurance. :( But there is some good news....Celebrity had a staff member who kept in touch with her even after she went home. They were very caring and actually gave her a 100% credit of her cruisefare to be used for another cruise!!! What a blessing, but a rarity....no one should ever count on that. My friend learned her lesson, though, and has not sailed without travel insurance again.

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