To get insurance or not

[sassy5683]

Okay so we have already paid in full for our cruise and chose not to get the insurance. Just curious if we should get the insuraance and if so who through? the cruise line or through someone else....what is a decent price to pay? is it worth it?

[paul929207]

By not gettting insurance, you will have to pay certain expenses that while unlikely are possible. These could be:

1. Cancelling at last minute because of medical problem for either you, a traveling companion or someone at home (including parents, gparents, kids, gkids). Cruise line would not give you a refund for this.

2. Expenses to catch ship if missed due to late/cancelled flights.

3. Fly home during cruise due to medical emergency or death.

[uppitycats]

Okay so we have already paid in full for our cruise and chose not to get the insurance. Just curious if we should get the insuraance and if so who through? the cruise line or through someone else....what is a decent price to pay? is it worth it?

 

You don't need insurance if you don't mind paying for a cruise (and flights to the cruise port and home) if you can't go. Why might you not be able to go?: If you have an accident on the way to the port; if your flight is delayed, cancelled, you miss the plane altogether; you get sick, any travelling companions get sick, anyone in your immediate family gets sick (or dies) and you can't go.

 

And you buy insurance to pay for medical care: even for minor injuries, the ship's infirmary can be very expensive (think sprained ankle; meds for stomach upset; fever). None of this generally is covered by your current US medical health insurance (but check your policy to be sure). This means you will be billed for care (charged to your onboard account) and you'll be expected to pay for it before you leave the ship.

 

Or insurance to cover really catastrophic medical emergencies: you become very ill and need hospitalization at some foreign port (again not covered by your current health plan). Or have to be evacuated off the ship and to a home hospital. Think $30,000 minimum, and usually more.

 

Only you can judge your willingness to risk any of these things...and judge your bank account's ability to absorb the cost of these things.

 

The cost of trip insurance can vary anywhere from less than $100 to several hundred dollars, depending on the cost of your cruise (and air), whether you add in any hotel stays pre- or post cruise, other factors.

 

Getting cruise insurance from the cruise company generally costs more and covers less than insurance you might buy from other outside sources. You can google trip insurance and come up with a bunch of sites where you can comparison shop. One is insuremytrip.com I generally use TravelGuard or TravelEx. I have a pre-existing health condition and so always buy insurance, and always buy it within a couple of days of booking my cruise.

[jonyyuma]

There are several things to save money on on the cruise. I will never skip it, but I will buy the best I can afford. Coverage is usually reasonable, your medical care is dependant on it. JY.

[Arwenmark]

losing the cost of your cruise is the LEAST reason to get insuance, losing everything you own is a good one. The cost of getting injured or sick on a trip out of the country can be astronomical and can ruin you financially. Also if you have someone in your family that is not well even though you may be fine, and something happens to them at home while you are traveling, if you have the insurance, WITH PRE EXISTING condition waiver, you would be covered if you needed to come home early or cancel before you went.

 

There are other nice aspects but those are the biggest ones. Air lift can cost in excess of 50K

 

as to whom to get it with, try insuremytrip.com you can compare many companies and compare the coverages and select what fits you.

Do Not get insurance through the cruise line nor from your travel agent.

 

as to how much, that is based on your total non refundable trip cost and your ages when you book. also of course on the level of coverage you choose.

[Fredr]

Hello,

 

In big letters...GET THE INSURANCE! It is reasonable in price.

 

I can tell you that Access America is very good and generally that the cruise lines sell good coverage as well. Make sure that you get medical evacuation coverage as part of the package.

 

Got this coverage for every cruise...never had a problem until our 30th cruise then it was worth every penny.

[cb at sea]

If losing the $$$ you've already spent won't "break the bank", then you most likely don't NEED the insurance...

Insurance is a gamble....you pay for it, hoping you won't need it!

If losing the cost of you vacation will hurt you financially, then get insurance...it's a small price to pay.

If it won't hurt you to lose the money, then there's no need to spend the additional funds....should something occur to keep you from your vacation, you'll mourn, but you won't file backruptcy.....

Make sure your health insurance covers you for medical treatment while out of the country....that could be a huge expense, should you become ill or injured.

[WesW]

recommend u read this tvl insurance 101 primer and then decide for u'rself:

 

http://www.travelinsurancereview.net/travel-insurance-101/

[alcpa1]

Sassy,

Independently booked insurance has limitations. In order to take advantage of most policies you must book within several weeks of the initial deposit. This covers pre existing conditions for example.

There are policies that can be booked later but they usually come at a premium.

Because DH and I both have health issues we always purchase insurance. We anticipate sailing this weekend but both of our mothers have cancer and if we cannot go we know this costly trip will be covered and we can focus our attention on dramatic changes in their conditions.

Do check Insuremytrip.com to compare the available policies than meet your needs.

[STARFISH*4]

read some of the HORROR stories from ONES who didnt get the INSURANCE:eek:

after my first cruise and not taking it...i NOW dont travel without it, and luckily THANK GOODNESS i dont have a HORROR story to tell:)

do yourself and your family a FAVOR...GET THE INSURANCE;)

[Traveler353]

Emergency airlift home can easily cost over $100,000. Do you really need any other reasons to buy it?

[jtm22372]

for a 100$ or so i would not take the chance on not getting it .mine was about 150 $ for the 3 of us you could spend that on one excursion .but not to protect you and the others with you ? makes no sence to me:confused:

[Krazy Kruizers]

We always buy insurance. Third party -- not the cruise line's.

 

We have had to use the insurance on 2 occasions. Well worth it.

[themaxydog]

A recent incident where an Australian on holiday had a medical problem in India and had no insurance. His wife appealed for help from the Australian public after the medical bills ballooned out to over $60,000 after 4 weeks in hospital. While the appeal was underway for a further $40000 to pay the bills up to date and get him home he died.

 

I am not saying the medical system in India is not as good as Australia but the bills remained after his death and the family not only lost a father but had substancial finacial debt. All of this because they chose not to pay a few hundred dollars worth of travel insurance.

 

I think there are enough horror stories here to justify this as the best insurance you will ever buy, not only for you but for your family.

[Lou33]

your medical care is dependant on it.

 

That is not always true. My health provider from work covers us when out of the country just the same as when we are at home. There are no limitations or exclusions. Yes, even medical evacuation. It makes no difference if we take a trip to Disney World, or go on a cruise.

 

Actually, when I speak to my friends and family, most have similar medical coverage when out of the country. Medicare is one notable exception. Many people who are worried about cruise insurance may already be covered by their health provider, but the sad thing is that few people bother to check.

 

Most travel insurance is secondary coverage. That means that you must pay all medical bills up front, wait for your health provider to pay your claims, then your travel insurance will pay the remaining expenses, which may be nothing more than small deductibles.

 

So for this reason, we usually skip the travel insurance. If for some reason, we need to cancel a cruise at the last minute, then we can pay for it with the money that we saved by not getting travel insurance over the years.

[uppitycats]

It would be interesting to set up a poll to see just how many "regulars" here can say what Lou says .. that his, and his family's medical insurance..will pay for medical evacuation, and medical treatment outside of the US. I've not heard of very many folks who can claim that. I know I can't -- and we have pretty good coverage offered by our state (my husband is a retired state employee), for which we pay $850 / month.

 

I always buy travel insurance. I'd have to do a BUNCH of travel (without coverage) to equal just ONE medical evacuation, even from somewhere "close" like in the Caribbean.

[Ontariotrekker]

I just got off the Oosterdam - 3 medivacs, 1 death and at least a couple of broken bones among my fellow passengers...get the insurance and of course hope you don't need it.

[Lou33]

It would be interesting to set up a poll to see just how many "regulars" here can say what Lou says .. that his, and his family's medical insurance..will pay for medical evacuation, and medical treatment outside of the US.

 

I remember seeing this poll a few years back, and I think it was something like 40% were already covered by their health provider outside the country, 60% were not.

 

But I think an even better poll would give a third option: "I really don't know for sure if I'm covered or not, so I just buy the travel insurance". Of course not too many people would bother to vote if they fall into that category.

 

I just started a new poll in this section. Cast your vote.

[GixxerGal]

That is not always true. My health provider from work covers us when out of the country just the same as when we are at home. There are no limitations or exclusions. Yes, even medical evacuation. It makes no difference if we take a trip to Disney World, or go on a cruise.

 

Actually, when I speak to my friends and family, most have similar medical coverage when out of the country. Medicare is one notable exception. Many people who are worried about cruise insurance may already be covered by their health provider, but the sad thing is that few people bother to check.

 

Most travel insurance is secondary coverage. That means that you must pay all medical bills up front, wait for your health provider to pay your claims, then your travel insurance will pay the remaining expenses, which may be nothing more than small deductibles.

 

So for this reason, we usually skip the travel insurance. If for some reason, we need to cancel a cruise at the last minute, then we can pay for it with the money that we saved by not getting travel insurance over the years.

 

 

 

And I thought we were lucky in UK --if this is the case why does everyone not have this insurance then ?? That covers *EVERYTHING* in your country.

 

I would NEVER dream of going anywhere without insurance -- if yourself or partner are injured/taken ill etc --and had to be taken from ship - to nearest hospital -- then relocated to maybe a specialist hosp . in the meanwhile Insurance are sorting repatrian ie - trained nursing staff to accompany the patient -plus the seats used for the *stretcher bed* the repatriation of the Medcical officer.

(meanwhile you/your partner ) would be in similar situation --Hotel stay whilst waiitng for you/partners re-location /repatriation .

We have *compare* sites here and each year when we re-new we *compare* insurance companies and their prices -- a yearly cost of £40 (GBP) for 2 with cancellation upto £4,000. (@ £40, Hardly breaking the bank )

 

Does the OP have house insurance etc then =-as like others have said its something we pay out and hope never to use --but hey - not advisable to go anywhere unless you have checked all *SMALL PRINT*

[Lou33]

And I thought we were lucky in UK --if this is the case why does everyone not have this insurance then ?? That covers *EVERYTHING* in your country.

 

In America, most people receive their health insurance through their employer. Many Americans would love to have my health plan, but it is available only to people who work at my company. However, many other companies offer similar plans, and many of those plans also extend health coverage out of the country. There is currently a big debate in America for healthcare reform, but that is another story.

 

I never said that my health plan covers *EVERYTHING*. I just said that my coverage is just the same whether I'm in America, or the UK, or in Aruba or the Greek Isles.

[johnfas]

Our next cruise, flight total 2808, Travel Guard total cost 126 for Travel Guard Expanded. Along with all the normal coverage, It also covers trip delay, interruption, baggage lost and delay.

[iheartbda]

My TA said he never bought insurance until he became a TA and saw all the times clients should have bought it.

[alcpa1]

Lou,

Does your insurance cover trip interruption if a family member dies? On our second cruise my distant cousin's mother suddenly died and their insurance covered the four members who left the ship in Barbados to return home.

Five years later my dearest friend left the ship by helicopter with her mother who suffered a heart attack. Two weeks later they flew home on MedJet. Thankfully they had insurance.

While you may have ample health insurance wherever you go, we do not and we have parents and children who could be affected by their own medical needs. We carefully select our travel insurance because we do know what our health insurance covers.

The different travel insurance that we have used through the years have provided us with peace of mind. It certainly helped when a suitcase with all of my dirty cruise laundry mysteriously vanished from both the airlines computer and conveyor belt. Do you recall the pictures of dumped luggage in Ft. Lauderdale years ago? Yep, one of those empty suitcases was mine. Thankfully the insurance paid a reasonable portion to replace the contents.

That is why we do not cruise without insurance.

[room010]

So many people seem to baulk at the idea of paying for insurance when they've probably spent many hundreds, if not thousands on their trip in the first place. The cost of the insurance is a FRACTION of what an uninsured person will have to pay if something does happen so to me it's well worth having for the peace of mind alone.

[sassy5683]

Thank you everyone for your input. Still not sure what we are doing yet but I know that it is past the date to buy from someone other than the cruise. It seems most want you to buy within 15 days or so. I THINK we can still get it through the cruise line though. Hubby seems to think we should just take our chances I am still mixed. Especially after hearing the majority of you here saying to get it!