Just bought Travel Insurance.. But not from Carnival!!

[lilybug23]

My DH and I were not going to purchase travel insurance until I read several posts about people being in sticky situations without it. So I did some research and through Carnival it would have cost us $200 for the both of us. I then called AAA since my DH and I are gold members, and got a fantastic price. I made sure it covers the basics and I added additional coverage just incase we have to cancel. AAA offered us $112 for the both of us! Cant beat that!! Go me! :D

[jerseygirl79]

Good to know. Thanks.

[firefly333]

Is it cancel for any reason?? Lots dont have coverage they think they do.

 

The new coverage from Carnival includes for hurricanes/weather, which few insurance policies cover.

 

I lost out when I had insurance because I had to go to my b/fs fathers funeral, so I wasnt related, no coverage oppps.

 

I find insurance doesnt cover the things you actually run into, stopped getting it now.

[G'ma]

My DH and I were not going to purchase travel insurance until I read several posts about people being in sticky situations without it. So I did some research and through Carnival it would have cost us $200 for the both of us. I then called AAA since my DH and I are gold members, and got a fantastic price. I made sure it covers the basics and I added additional coverage just incase we have to cancel. AAA offered us $112 for the both of us! Cant beat that!! Go me! :D

 

 

Good call....good decision. You just never know what will happen...

 

It's a good idea to buy 3rd party insurance like you guys did. It's usually much cheaper and has more coverage, I think.

[lilybug23]

Is it cancel for any reason?? Lots dont have coverage they think they do.

 

The new coverage from Carnival includes for hurricanes/weather, which few insurance policies cover.

 

I lost out when I had insurance because I had to go to my b/fs fathers funeral, so I wasnt related, no coverage oppps.

 

I find insurance doesnt cover the things you actually run into, stopped getting it now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, it is cancel for any reason and it does cover weather and hurricanes. That was additional but worth the price. We really contemplated not getting insurance but we just cant take that chance.

[firefly333]

Yes, it is cancel for any reason and it does cover weather and hurricanes. That was additional but worth the price. We really contemplated not getting insurance but we just cant take that chance.

 

Well, hopefully you never have to find out how good your insurance is. I knew I had insurance covering a rental car when conquest dumped us off in New Orleans after Ike .... never checked the coverage... only covered $20 pp. That time I had to go to my fiancee's father's funeral, we werent married no coverage.

 

I have insurance for my upcoming Triumph, but hope I dont need to know the details from experience...

[JohnnyCruiser]

Is it cancel for any reason?? Lots dont have coverage they think they do.

 

The new coverage from Carnival includes for hurricanes/weather, which few insurance policies cover.

 

I lost out when I had insurance because I had to go to my b/fs fathers funeral, so I wasnt related, no coverage oppps.

 

I find insurance doesnt cover the things you actually run into, stopped getting it now.

 

While being covered for cancellation is good, the real reason you want insurance is in the event you need medical evacuation back to your home city from a foreign port of call. Cancellation can only cost you the set amount you paid for the trip, but there is no upper limit on how much a medivac can cost you.

 

Having said that, I always go for the third party coverage. I've used the same company for both cruises and regular trips to foreign countries. That way I have a good idea of what I am covered for no matter who I am traveling with. I never thought to go through AAA though. I'll have to check their coverage out next time.

[cruisinmeme]

While being covered for cancellation is good, the real reason you want insurance is in the event you need medical evacuation back to your home city from a foreign port of call. Cancellation can only cost you the set amount you paid for the trip, but there is no upper limit on how much a medivac can cost you.

 

Having said that, I always go for the third party coverage. I've used the same company for both cruises and regular trips to foreign countries. That way I have a good idea of what I am covered for no matter who I am traveling with. I never thought to go through AAA though. I'll have to check their coverage out next time.

 

you said a mouth full there. most of us can suck up losing the price we paid for a cruise..... but a medical evacuation and medical cost amounting to over 100,000 is another story.

[recyclelady]

Speaking of insurance.....

 

I bought insurance thru Access America back in April after I booked our February 2010 cruise. I always do it immediately to make sure it covers anything that could be construed as pre-existing.

 

Access America has one of those pandemic exclusions. Of course, when I bought this insurance, no one had yet even heard of the swine flu.

 

I talked with an agent yesterday. She told me that they are going to extend coverage to all policy holders covering travel until the end of 2009. Apparently, this will not include us, even though we bought the policy so long ago.

 

About all I can think of is : If swine flu were to be the reason that any of us in our family could not travel, we better have a different diagnosis submitted! I am disappointed that the insurance company would not extend their 2009 extension to include everyone who had purchased the policies long before this pandemic was imagined or declared!

[JohnnyCruiser]

you said a mouth full there. most of us can suck up losing the price we paid for a cruise..... but a medical evacuation and medical cost amounting to over 100,000 is another story.

 

Exactly. I can float the amount of the cruise if I have to, but $10K+ starts to hurt.

[grandmato4]

Well, hopefully you never have to find out how good your insurance is. I knew I had insurance covering a rental car when conquest dumped us off in New Orleans after Ike .... never checked the coverage... only covered $20 pp. That time I had to go to my fiancee's father's funeral, we werent married no coverage.

 

I have insurance for my upcoming Triumph, but hope I dont need to know the details from experience...

 

Its hurts to find out after the fact that one isn't covered for something:( Unfortunately way to many times people don't take the time to read and reread and ask questions and understand what they are purchasing before they purchase. It can be hard to know what the terms of the policy are actually saying and what questions to ask up front when you have no idea what is going to happen later but we try to think of every possiblity that's likely to effect us and ask many questions "before" we purchase any travel insurance but then get in writting the answer to our questions when I just can't figure out for sure what the policy is actually saying.

 

I'm a big advocate for purchasing insurance, but only after being certain one knows what they are purchasing and aren't purchasing;):)

[Steph123]

I purchased insurance for our Alaska cruise we were supposed to go on last month. We had to cancel because of a very serious infection after my husband had a minor knee surgery, he was in the hospital for 12 days which was thru most of the cruise. Ins co has recieved all our paper work, waiting for response now. With everything they wanted I had to fax 36 pgs.

[Shipshape7]

you said a mouth full there. most of us can suck up losing the price we paid for a cruise..... but a medical evacuation and medical cost amounting to over 100,000 is another story.

 

Amen! Always amazes me when people focus on cancellation. Obviously you can afford to loose the cost of the cruise and still eat. Cruises are not exactly necessities. Also, part of what you're insuring against is non-performance by the carrier so why buy it from the carrier? I used to think this was a long shot until we were booked on NCL Pride of America and she sunk in the shipyard while being built. It can happen. Thank you, OP, for the good word on AAA insurance. We've been memebers for years and never checked that out! I'm just about to buy insurance for our next cruise and will certainly look into AAA. Thank you again.

[Favorite AI Kelly]

The best insurance out there that I have found and have had to use it one time for an emergency situation is TRAVEL GAURD They cover alot more than the others and answer all your questions. I received my money very quickly after I sent in all the info they needed. I have used them every time except for my very first cruise. The number is 1-800-826-1300 You can look them up on line. I get the the Gold plan. TRAVEL GAURD out of Stevens Point Wisc.

[JohnnyCruiser]

The best insurance out there that I have found and have had to use it one time for an emergency situation is TRAVEL GAURD They cover alot more than the others and answer all your questions. I received my money very quickly after I sent in all the info they needed. I have used them every time except for my very first cruise. The number is 1-800-826-1300 You can look them up on line. I get the the Gold plan. TRAVEL GAURD out of Stevens Point Wisc.

 

I wasn't sure about mentioning specific companies on the boards, so I didn't say it earlier in the thread, but that's who we use as well.

[chiarigirl]

I used travelguard last year before my cruise. It ended up being around 100.00, my TA sold it to me and we had so much more coverage than needed. I blame myself for not researching it more. Anyways i looked at it this time through carnival and it was 65 per person, I'm 27 and my friend is 40 and it is typically by age so i was concerned that they were both the same price and did some investigating and was able to get travelguard at 52 for the both of us. It does not have cancel for any reason which i am okay with. It covers the two reason i buy insurance. Hurricane and medical evacuation. IT does not cover pre-existing conditions, which concerns me a tiny bit but i will just pray nothing goes wrong.

 

I have a congenital malformation and have had over 10 brain surgeries to help correct it and have my entire neck fused to my skull. However i have not had any major problems since january of 2006. So I'm just praying i dont knock a screw loose or anything. Dont laugh, but i went around for almost 6 months with a screw loose. I see a specialist in NY and live in OK so after about 6 months i emailed him and asked him about the clicking in my head. His reply was short, oh you must have a screw loose. Make a long story short i ended having the fusion redone and was hospitalized for 4 months. So i always worry about it when traveling out of the country but i have come so close to dying in the past i have learned why wait til retirement to travel, i need to enjoy life and live in the moment b/c you never know when that moment will end. Plus at 27 I'm a long way away from retirement.

[Tucker in Texas]

Amen! I used to think this was a long shot until we were booked on NCL Pride of America and she sunk in the shipyard while being built. It can happen..

 

 

I'm with you on that. I always bought the insurance because my MIL had Alzheimers. She passed away and later we booked the Norway. Almost didn't buy the insurance but because it was only $90, I decided "why not." Glad I did because the boat blew up! Who would expect that. We got our fare back from NCL (who didn't cancel for many months saying they would have it repaired) but we had non-refundable airfare to the tune of $400 or so.

 

I never buy from the cruise line because I figure "the fox is watching the chickens." In other words, they have enough loop holes to drive a Mack truck through.

 

I bought our last insurance from Tru-Travel which was much cheaper than all the others on insuremytrip. Yes, it was $50 deductible and secondary. $50 I can absorb--$50K evacuation I don't want to, thank you. Tru Travel covered up to $1 million! I have more time than money to chase my primary carrier (Medicare) for reimbursement if I have to and in 30 cruises, I've never had to with the exception of the Norway. As it turned out, I had to make a trip to sick bay. $279 to roto-rooter out ear wax from my ear for a half a**ed job because I had to have it redone when I got home. I first had to find out what Medicare would pay. $68. It took Medicare their good time in paying it. In the meantime, I had an e-mail from Tru Travel "reminding" me that it was secondary. This told me that they weren't hoping I would go away or it was sitting in an in-box gathering dust. When I submitted the paperwork after Medicare paid up, I got my check within a couple of weeks. $279 did not put me in the food stamp line in the meantime (lol)

 

Tucker in Texas

[family cruisers]

Thanks for telling us. I have AAA and think I'll give them a call.

 

My DH and I were not going to purchase travel insurance until I read several posts about people being in sticky situations without it. So I did some research and through Carnival it would have cost us $200 for the both of us. I then called AAA since my DH and I are gold members, and got a fantastic price. I made sure it covers the basics and I added additional coverage just incase we have to cancel. AAA offered us $112 for the both of us! Cant beat that!! Go me! :D

[bleuseas]

The best insurance out there that I have found and have had to use it one time for an emergency situation is TRAVEL GAURD They cover alot more than the others and answer all your questions. I received my money very quickly after I sent in all the info they needed. I have used them every time except for my very first cruise. The number is 1-800-826-1300 You can look them up on line. I get the the Gold plan. TRAVEL GAURD out of Stevens Point Wisc.

 

I was a TA for awhile and TravelGuard is a very good product that pays up quickly. I've been using it myself. Never thought to use AAA, but may check into it next trip too and compare.

[gypsygirl]

I'm with you on that. I always bought the insurance because my MIL had Alzheimers. She passed away and later we booked the Norway. Almost didn't buy the insurance but because it was only $90, I decided "why not." Glad I did because the boat blew up! Who would expect that. We got our fare back from NCL (who didn't cancel for many months saying they would have it repaired) but we had non-refundable airfare to the tune of $400 or so.

 

I never buy from the cruise line because I figure "the fox is watching the chickens." In other words, they have enough loop holes to drive a Mack truck through.

 

I bought our last insurance from Tru-Travel which was much cheaper than all the others on insuremytrip. Yes, it was $50 deductible and secondary. $50 I can absorb--$50K evacuation I don't want to, thank you. Tru Travel covered up to $1 million! I have more time than money to chase my primary carrier (Medicare) for reimbursement if I have to and in 30 cruises, I've never had to with the exception of the Norway. As it turned out, I had to make a trip to sick bay. $279 to roto-rooter out ear wax from my ear for a half a**ed job because I had to have it redone when I got home. I first had to find out what Medicare would pay. $68. It took Medicare their good time in paying it. In the meantime, I had an e-mail from Tru Travel "reminding" me that it was secondary. This told me that they weren't hoping I would go away or it was sitting in an in-box gathering dust. When I submitted the paperwork after Medicare paid up, I got my check within a couple of weeks. $279 did not put me in the food stamp line in the meantime (lol)

 

Tucker in Texas

 

If someone has alzheimer and they fell on the ship, would they say "well, that was a pre-existing condition that caused it?" Just wondering.

[Brendako]

I purchased our cruise insurance at USAA and it is $74 for myself (49) and MIL (76) and covers everything I was worried about!!

:p

[Tucker in Texas]

If someone has alzheimer and they fell on the ship, would they say "well, that was a pre-existing condition that caused it?" Just wondering.

 

She wasn't cruising with us but I needed coverage in case I needed to get home in a hurry. I usually buy the insurance within a couple of weeks of depositing so I can get pre-existing coverage for us and for immediate family members who might be the cause of us canceling or cutting the cruise short. However, I have thrown the dice a couple of times and held off buying the insurance when we have booked a long time out so I can hang on to my money a little longer and to make sure we will indeed take the cruise. Once you buy it, you own it even if you cancel before final payment is due and you/they aren't out a dime.

 

If you have high blood pressure and take medication for it, they can just about call anything "pre-existing" that happens. Fortunately I don't but I don't know about immediate family members.

 

Tucker in Texas