Recommendations for Trip Insurance

[crzgrl66]

Do you insure your trip through the cruiseline (RCCL for us) or insure with an outside agency? Anyone use an online insurance agency?

[eandj]

insurance is truly a personal need. If all you want is cancellation coverage, you can usually find that from your cruiseline. Those policies are pretty generic. However, if you have anything you need or want in particular, you will probably find better choices outside RCL.

For example....

If you are on any meds for a condition..like high blood pressure meds, you want to be covered for "preexisting conditions" . (If you fell, the company could blame the high blood pressure and not cover you for cut or break. ) This also would cover any people left at home that might have problems that you would have to fly home for. Elderly parents could be a big issue.

 

Look at your medical coverage. Does it cover you out of the country? If not, you need a good amount there. We always want to have the option of being flown to the hospital of OUR choice, not theirs. I really don't want to be sitting in a Caribbean hospital with a broken hip or concussion or whatever. Take me home!! or at least back to the states. ;)

 

Go to insuremytrip or tripinsurancestore and look at what's available out there. You can find policies there to compare to your needs and budget. Compare it to what RCL offers for the cost.

Good luck.

[Bowie MeMe]

I really believe in trip insurance. On our last trip Istanbul to Athens one of our travel partners had emergency gall bladder surgery the night before we were to leave. As far as we know she got the majority of her money (about $7,000) back. I have used both Access America and Travel Guard. I start with insuring the cruise and add other pre paid items like airfare and pre paid excursions a few weeks before the trip. I have had money refunded with illness the day of balloon trip over Africa ($800) and no money back for theater tickets in London day after subway bombing so it's hard to tell. Main reasons for travel insurance not from carrier -- financial problems with any of the providers, personal health and health of family members, preexisting conditions (that's why cruise insrance paid first and other items after they are set) and trip interuption insurance -- can't go on with tour for a few days illness or other. We have a yearly medical evacuation insurance policy with Medjet Assist ($250/yr). Home insurance covers personal items (luggage) I for one would buy a yearly travel insurance policy but have not ever seen one offered -- only per trip.

It is also acceptable to DECIDE to SELF-INSURE on short or cheap trips. This should be a decision and not just happen based on how much you would be comfortable with losing if you could not take the trip.

[Caribbean Sunsets]

Where ever you choose to purchase your insurance through, please make sure you read that fine print and fully understand your coverage.

[artmc1]

Do you insure your trip through the cruiseline (RCCL for us) or insure with an outside agency? Anyone use an online insurance agency?

 

For quotes from multiple companies try insuremytrip.com. Have used them in the past with no problems and lots of choices and information.

[mohavemommy]

I went through the above mentioned websites and was able to purchase insurance again for my upcoming cruise. One thing I did change this time was to choose one that serves as primary coverage. It was a pain having to submit a claim to my own health insurance last time before they would even consider processing a claim through the policy I purchased. The difference in premium this time was just a few dollars.

[highbridge5]

In general, I think you are wise to buy trip insurance from someone who does not have a direct financial interest in whether you take the cruise or not.

 

If you need to make a claim against the cruise line policy, I think that there is the potential for the cruise line or its agent to deny your claim or give you a real hassle because it saves them a couple $$.

 

I purchased mine through AAA.

[brooklynfc]

On insuremytrip is it quoting per person traveling or all travelers? Its confusing. Also, anyone used tripinsurance.com?

[kathyr]

Hi,

I just want to put out there that I looked at insuremytrip dot com, but also looked and bought our insurance, thru squaremouth dot com.

I dont know that the prices were any different - but when I went to the comparison page it was MUCH easier to understand, and compare insurances:)

And yes I agreed with one of the above poster- get Primary coverage.

I hope that is helpful.

Kathy

[cruiseinfoseeker]

Recently had to put through a claim with this company. They gave me no problems whatsoever. The claim was processed in the timeframe they promised.

 

I will continue to insure my trips with them.

[CanWeGoYet?]

Hi,

 

I just want to put out there that I looked at insuremytrip dot com, but also looked and bought our insurance, thru squaremouth dot com.

 

I dont know that the prices were any different - but when I went to the comparison page it was MUCH easier to understand, and compare insurances:)

 

And yes I agreed with one of the above poster- get Primary coverage.

 

I hope that is helpful.

 

Kathy

 

Another vote for squaremouth.com The site is easy to follow with comparisons between the companies on what is covered and not. Also got pre-existing coverage, if memory serves the policy I found was less expensive than on insuremytrip.

[nubiangoddess]

I agree with squaremouth thats where i purchased my insurance for my upcoming trip and found a company that wasnt on insuremytrip.com which ended up being the best deal for it.

[Boatsie]

USAA has teamed with TravelInsured to offer trip insurance to its members. If you are a USAA member, you get to TravelInsured through the USAA website.

 

I saved 33% over what I would have paid for an identical TravelInsured policy from any other site ($200 vs $300). I even have increased coverage amounts on certain items for that lower cost (i.e. 50% increases in medical expenses and evacuation coverage).

[Lahinch_lass]

there are worldwide yearly travel insurance policies available in ireland and the uk for sure. I'm not sure how good their coverage is in relation to cruises, but they seem pretty comprehensive for any other type of trip. The only vacation type that seems to be called out specifically is ski-trips, you can opt to include or exclude winter sports coverage.

Also you can opt to include health insurance in totality for trips, or just a top-up on your normal health insurance policy.

[kc320]

On insuremytrip is it quoting per person traveling or all travelers? Its confusing. Also, anyone used tripinsurance.com?

 

 

The price quoted is for all travelers...

[ksacer]

Trip insurance is always a good idea, especially if you are cruising during hurricane season. I always purchase from Travel Guard (the protect assist/gold policy). It covers just about everything and children under 18 traveling with and adult are covered for free. I am loyal to Travel Guard because when me, my husband and my son were on a coach tour in Italy a few years ago, my husband broke his foot and we were unable to continue with the tour group. Travel Guard took care of everything for us. They took care of our hotel, our transportation to the nearest airport and arranged for our immediate flight home. Afterward, I filed a claim for our expenses and a refund for the unused portion of our trip. In 3-4 weeks I received a check in the mail which I immediately used to book a cruise :D. I just purchased a policy for a cruise we are taking 08/2010 and it totaled $110 for all 3 of us.

[iamtrustworthy]

I went through the above mentioned websites and was able to purchase insurance again for my upcoming cruise. One thing I did change this time was to choose one that serves as primary coverage. It was a pain having to submit a claim to my own health insurance last time before they would even consider processing a claim through the policy I purchased. The difference in premium this time was just a few dollars.

 

Hi mohavemommy,

 

While primary medical plans can save you time on a small claim, there are some other things you may want to consider.

 

What Do Primary or Secondary Medical Coverage Mean and How Do They Differ?

 

Primary Medical Coverage means your medical bills are paid from the first dollar. No "coordination of benefit" claim forms need to be filed. You need to know that many travel insurance plans with primary medical benefits will still ask on the claim forms if you have other medical insurance. If you say yes, they will process your claim as if you have secondary coverage.

 

Primary Medical Coverage works best if your medical claim is less than the coverage amount. That's because your travel insurance will pay the claim up to its limit. But, when the Primary travel insurance benefits are exhausted, your other insurance won't count your deductibles and co-pays as paid.

 

For example, here's what happens if you have a $70,000 medical claim with a travel insurance plan that has $50,000 Primary coverage:

 

1. You submit the $70,000 medical claim to the travel insurance. It pays $50,000 (its maximum)

 

2. You submit the remaining $20,000 to your medical insurance plan. Let's say it has a $5,000 deductible with a 20% copay.

 

3. Of this $20,000, your medical insurance plan pays $12,000 and you will be liable for at least that $8,000 ($5,000 deductible & $3,000 copay). You could be liable for more.

 

Secondary Medical Coverage means your medical bills are paid after any other coverage you have pays its share. This means that Secondary coverage will pay any deductibles, out-of-pocket expenses or co-pays up to its coverage limit. The only real drawback to a Secondary Medical plan is that it can be a lot of extra time-consuming paperwork, made worse by complicated prescription benefits.

 

For example, here's what happens if you have a $6,000 medical claim ($5,500 medical & $500 prescriptions) with a travel insurance plan that has $25,000 Secondary coverage:

 

* You submit the $6,000 medical claim to your medical insurance plan. Let's say it has a $1,000 deductible with a 20% copay and a $500 prescription deductible

* You wait.

* You get your medical EOB (explanation of benefits), but not your presription EOB.

* You wait some more.

* You get your prescription EOB.

* You submit the amounts shown as "Patient's Responsibilty" to the travel insurance. Unless you already satisfied some or all your deductibles, you'll be claiming payment for $4000 ($6,000 - $1,000 medical deductible & $500 prescription deductible)

 

Here's a little detail that's good to know: You probably will have to pay your medical bills yourself while on your trip. That's because travel insurance plans are "indemnification" plans (you will be reimbursed - indemnified) after your trip by the insurance company. Travel insurance is not a "pay on behalf of" plan. You don't just give the medical facility a card. In some cases, a few companies can advance payment to the medical facility, but it's on a case-by-case basis.

 

Here's another little detail that's good to know: Secondary coverage assumes you have other coverage that's Primary. If you have no other coverage Secondary, in effect, becomes Primary.

 

I hope this all makes sense.

 

Steve Dasseos

[compozer]

I always purchase from Travel Guard (the protect assist/gold policy). I just purchased a policy for a cruise we are taking 08/2010 and it totaled $110 for all 3 of us.

 

What value is that for?

 

I have always used Travel Guard and booked it myself. This time my TA added it thru TG and I just decided to go with her.

This cruise is $169 each for coverage up to $2500. If you up it to $3000 each, the cost jumps to $199 and up to $3500 is $229.

 

So far we are staying with the coverage up to $2500 which will just cover the cruise.

 

I know we can add coverage but not sure if I should add more. Our flights are thru points on our credit card which are nonrefundable and a $150 charge to change. BUT I don't think the insurance will cover it since we didn't pay cash. RIGHT??? So, if we need to cancel, we are out $300 for the air tickets and from checking prices are valued about $500 each so if you figure what gift certificates go for thru the points, we are using about $1050 worth of our points.

 

Haven't made any hotel reservations yet or car rental for four days but I believe in most cases we can get a refund. Still working on excursions.

 

How much extra stuff do you put on your coverage? thanks for any help.

[iamtrustworthy]

What value is that for?

 

I have always used Travel Guard and booked it myself. This time my TA added it thru TG and I just decided to go with her.

This cruise is $169 each for coverage up to $2500. If you up it to $3000 each, the cost jumps to $199 and up to $3500 is $229.

 

So far we are staying with the coverage up to $2500 which will just cover the cruise.

 

I know we can add coverage but not sure if I should add more. Our flights are thru points on our credit card which are nonrefundable and a $150 charge to change. BUT I don't think the insurance will cover it since we didn't pay cash. RIGHT??? So, if we need to cancel, we are out $300 for the air tickets and from checking prices are valued about $500 each so if you figure what gift certificates go for thru the points, we are using about $1050 worth of our points.

 

Haven't made any hotel reservations yet or car rental for four days but I believe in most cases we can get a refund. Still working on excursions.

 

How much extra stuff do you put on your coverage? thanks for any help.

 

Hi compozer,

 

You cannot insure the value of those points as they are counted as a $0 trip cost.

 

Was the $150 charge from your CC the fee to put the points back into your account?

 

Here's some more info about what to include:

 

What's Included in Prepaid, Non-refundable Trip Costs?

 

Your trip cost is your total prepaid, non-refundable costs. The best way to figure out this amount is if you broke your leg leaving your home at the start of your trip, how much money would you lose by cancelling your trip? Here are some common non-refundable costs you will forfeit if you were forced to cancel your trip at the last minute:

 

* All payments, including deposits, towards your cruise, tour, hotel, etc

 

* Pre-arranged transportation to the airport (ever tried getting to JFK?)

 

* Tuition for a class you're taking (for example - a cooking class in France)

 

* The rent on the property you're staying in (for example - the Italian villa or Florida condo). It doesn't matter if you are renting from a private party or a business. What does matter is that the rental agreement must have a penalty schedule showing your cancellation penalties.

 

*Theater tickets, event tickets, Disneyworld passes, etc

 

*Non-refundable airline tickets

 

More about airline tickets: Changeable does not equal refundable. Refundable means that if you cancel you will get 100% of your money back.

 

Q. Why is it important to know changeable does not equal refundable?

 

A. Because if you are thinking you'll just insure the change fee and not the entire cost you paid for the ticket, you will forfeit any plan benefits associated with having to insure the full non-refundable prepaid trip cost. The main benefits are covering Pre-Existing Medical Conditions and Cancel For Any Reason.

 

With most plans, if they say that you must insure any non-refundable travel arrangements that are subject to penalties they mean just that: non-refundable or subject to penalties. It makes no difference even if the ticket is changeable with a fee. It's still non-refundable and it must be insured.

 

Q. Are all First or Business Class tickets refundable?

 

A. No, they used to be fully refundable, but now many have a non-refundable fee and you get the rest of the money back if you cancel the ticket. In this case, you are just obligated to insure the non-refundable fee.

 

Here's what are typically not prepaid, nor non-refundable trip costs:

 

• Lodging costs that you pay after you arrive

• The cost of meals

• Day trips, excursions and other side trips you arrange after your trip's departure

• The cost of souvenirs, gifts or other items you expect to buy on your trip

• Visa, passports

 

Also, Frequent Flyer tickets have a $0 trip cost.

 

I hope this helps you,

 

Steve Dasseos

[ksacer]

My trip is costing $2800. I am insured for 100% of that amount if I should have to cancel and up to 150% for trip interruption. If you go to the Travel Guard website your can checkout the "Protect Assist" policy it explains all of the other coverages, like lost baggage, trip delay, medical, etc. The policy is $55 each for me and my husband. My son is under 18 so his policy is free. Minors are free with the Protect Assist policy only.

[jrs2831]

USAA has teamed with TravelInsured to offer trip insurance to its members. If you are a USAA member, you get to TravelInsured through the USAA website.

 

I saved 33% over what I would have paid for an identical TravelInsured policy from any other site ($200 vs $300). I even have increased coverage amounts on certain items for that lower cost (i.e. 50% increases in medical expenses and evacuation coverage).

 

Thanks for posting this! I didn't even think about USAA as I've been shopping for trip insurance and am a USAA member. I also saved buying the policy through them.

[CRUISE4JANE]

insurance is truly a personal need. If all you want is cancellation coverage, you can usually find that from your cruiseline. Those policies are pretty generic. However, if you have anything you need or want in particular, you will probably find better choices outside RCL.

For example....

If you are on any meds for a condition..like high blood pressure meds, you want to be covered for "preexisting conditions" . (If you fell, the company could blame the high blood pressure and not cover you for cut or break. ) This also would cover any people left at home that might have problems that you would have to fly home for. Elderly parents could be a big issue.

 

Look at your medical coverage. Does it cover you out of the country? If not, you need a good amount there. We always want to have the option of being flown to the hospital of OUR choice, not theirs. I really don't want to be sitting in a Caribbean hospital with a broken hip or concussion or whatever. Take me home!! or at least back to the states. ;)

 

Go to insuremytrip or tripinsurancestore and look at what's available out there. You can find policies there to compare to your needs and budget. Compare it to what RCL offers for the cost.

Good luck.

 

With the insurance through the Carnival Cruisline. pre-existing condition only applies to the 60 days prior to getting the insurance. If you get the insurance at the time of booking (or within the time frame of 2 weeks I think) you are only looking at the previous 60 days for the insurance company to say it is pre-existing. Anytime before or after those 60 days, it is not pre-existing or so I was told.

[CRUISE4JANE]

Trustworthy: Whew! Thanks for the info. You couldn't have explained it any better. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to understand your explanation :).

[CanWeGoYet?]

 

 

 

Here's another little detail that's good to know: Secondary coverage assumes you have other coverage that's Primary. If you have no other coverage Secondary, in effect, becomes Primary.

 

 

I love the way you explained this in the post - I know this is from a ways back so I hope you are still following the thread. But I had thought secondary coverage plans are only good for people who have primary insurance. When I filed a claim back in 2010 for a visit to the ship's doctor, the first thing they (they trip insurance company) asked for was proof of my son's primary insurance, and then proof that the company had declined payment. I could be wrong but from what the rep on the phone said, it sounded very much like they would have refused to cover if we did not have primary insurance at the time.

[cruiseco]

I love the way you explained this in the post - I know this is from a ways back so I hope you are still following the thread. But I had thought secondary coverage plans are only good for people who have primary insurance. When I filed a claim back in 2010 for a visit to the ship's doctor, the first thing they (they trip insurance company) asked for was proof of my son's primary insurance, and then proof that the company had declined payment. I could be wrong but from what the rep on the phone said, it sounded very much like they would have refused to cover if we did not have primary insurance at the time.

 

A secondary insurer is always going to ask that question -- not so they can decline to pay but to make sure that you've already settled up with any primary insurer you may have.

 

The one exception that I know if is HTH which has several plans where the medical coverage (secondary) is only valid if you do in fact have some sort of primary coverage already in place. No primary coverage? No medical coverage at all from the HTH plan.