Would you buy insurance if you are not flying?

[Nowisthetime1]

It is a person choice. Just like your home. Some people take their chances feeling the odds of a fire etc. is small.

 

Just think of being air lifted off of a ship. Approximate cost is $100,000. Do you have that kind of money laying around? If not, it will probably cause you to loose your home and most that you have.

 

The $80 to $150.00 we have paid to insure, depending on how many days, is a peace of mind I would not like to travel without.

 

I too hate to spend the money, but just let me need it once and I will be ever so grateful.

 

Have a great vacation and cruise.

[texasnana]

We buy the insurance for the same reason others do. We are a bit older and we both have aging parents. Last cruise a lady need breathing treatments for the flu and i heard the cost was expensive. Also we were on a cruise that a man had to be airlifted from Mexico i heard the cost was $50,000 and he was only 25 yr old. For piece of mind i buy it all trips. Buy the insurance and be safe.

[Ken076]

another question. the policy im looking at regards a lot of the luggage things and evac things as secondary insurance. i dont have any personal insurance at all (im not a homeowner so no homeowners ins, no health ins, no renters ins.) so would the travel ins cover it right away or would there be any issues? the main reason i want the travel ins this time is for baggage claims, and travel issues.

 

Actually this is GOOD. If you purchase Secondary insurance and have no other personal health insurance and HO insurance, then there's no coordination-of-benefits that the Trip Insurance will have to do - so your secondary Trip Insurance will pay everything, upto the limits stated in the Policy!

 

Include airfare (less Govt Fees and Taxes), airfare and any non-refundable hotels.

 

Which Policy are you considering?

 

ken

[Mikayla's Mom]

So you've probably saved around 4K.

 

Lets assume you're at sea, you slip and fall down the stairs and hit your head. Suddenly there's an urgent need to get you to a hospital. An air lift will cost around 30K. Now you're in the hole by 26K. Add your hospital stay in there, rehabilitation, cost to get your loved ones from the ship to the hospital and on and on. You say you're self insured? You're not even close.

 

You will be covered under your insurance at home- assuming you have a plan in place. You may have to fight a bit to get them to pay for it as "in Network" but it can be done. If you can find a policy to cover theft or missed ports, etc that maybe worth the investment.

[Chief Cruiser]

I guess I'm in the minority. For us, it just doesn't make sense. We are in our 30's, kids are grown, we're healthy and we have a 20 minute car ride to the embarkation port. We never spend more than $1200 total for the cruise, so even if I had to cancel and lose the entire $1200, the money I've saved over the last 10 cruises more than pays for it. So the only thing left for me to worry about is a catastrophic illness or injury abroad. And that's something I just don't worry too much about. The odds of having to be airlifted out of Belize are astronomical. That's a safe bet I think. And like I said previously, if you are that seriously ill or injured that you have to be flown home, are you really gonna be worried about paying for it? I'll find a way. And if I don't make it, I've got plenty of life insurance, and covers me anywhere I die. I can count on one hand the number of medical emergencies we have had on ten cruises. And many of those were people in their 70' and 80's. Even if there's several we don't know about, it's just not a big risk.

 

With all due respect, it's not about the amount you pay for the cruise, it's the potential incurred debt that you will face in the event you have some type of castastrophic event. Anything can happen at anytime. While all the actuarial evidence you present say the "odds" of something happening might be relatively small, the potential still remains that a myriad of things can happen that could put you into major debt.

 

Having said that, it is a personal choice, and I respect yours not to buy the trip/medical insurance. But, if you are that unconcerned about anything happening, I find it odd that you do mention you have plenty of life insurance. If your theory is correct, then why pay the premiums now and save all that money so when you are in your 60's or 70's (which are the ages you noted that most incidents occured) and by then, all the money you saved would more than pay for your funeral. Obviously, the same philosphy you used to not buy the trip/medical insurance.

 

Again, let me say that it's no skin off my back if you don't purchase the insurance and that's cool if you don't, I just find your reasoning somewhat contradictive.

 

Just my thoughts..........

[eggypann]

I have to agree with Chief Cruiser. I sure wouldn't be willing to risk it when the cost of the insurance is so low. Don't use the cruise line insurance (my sister just paid double for half the coverage by going through the cruise line) there are many insurance options available. The thought of incurring thousands (and maybe even thousands and thousands) of dollars for some kind of freak accident or whatever - you NEVER know what life is going to hand you - is enough to make me want cruise insurance (for this cruise mine was $50). As I said in an earlier post, my friend tripped at the Dublin airport and broke her kneecap. Nearly 3 weeks in the hospital later she was able to fly home. She didn't pay a cent. You may think it won't happen to you - think again!!

[Ken076]

You will be covered under your insurance at home- assuming you have a plan in place. You may have to fight a bit to get them to pay for it as "in Network" but it can be done. If you can find a policy to cover theft or missed ports' date=' etc that maybe worth the investment.[/quote']

 

Very rare, very unlikely - I would not count on this. If you're counting on Medicare to pay, you're really going to be disappointed. ken

[Chief Cruiser]

Very rare, very unlikely - I would not count on this. If you're counting on Medicare to pay, you're really going to be disappointed. ken

 

I called the office when my Dad and Mom cruised because both of them are on Medicare. Without hesitation, I was told emphatically that Medicare DOES NOT pay for out of country medical expenses. Just one more reason to purchase trip/cruise insurance if you're in that particular situaiton.

[Raven Days]

I didnt purchase it on my past 2 cruises, but I will in the future. I dont want to take any chances on losing money just because I was stingy.

[donaldsc]

Flying has nothing to do w it. I take only medical and evac as these items are the only ons that can cost me real money.

 

DON

[ivycruise]

Very rare, very unlikely - I would not count on this. If you're counting on Medicare to pay, you're really going to be disappointed. ken

It's important that everyone know what medical coverage they have. I've checked mine and know my coverages no matter where I travel to. Might be a bigger issue if your on medicare but many health insurances cover you no matter where in the world you travel to. The bigger item is that its Very likely it will be treated as out of network and only covered at 70-80% after deductibles are met. Bottom line is every individual should check what their covered for and be educated so they can make an informed decision.

[korr2]

We always get travel insurance. You never know. Just to be on the safe side. It does not cost that much more. :)

[cruisernh]

We did. For 110.00 it was cheap enough. Especially since we are going during hurricane season.

[GlendaleCruiser]

It's important that everyone know what medical coverage they have. I've checked mine and know my coverages no matter where I travel to. Might be a bigger issue if your on medicare but many health insurances cover you no matter where in the world you travel to. The bigger item is that its Very likely it will be treated as out of network and only covered at 70-80% after deductibles are met. Bottom line is every individual should check what their covered for and be educated so they can make an informed decision.

 

Yes, people definitely need to check. I retired from a Fortune 50 company and had coverage world wide UNTIL THIS YEAR. In the small print, the policy now says that they don't cover outside of the USA. So, I buy insurance with extra medical in case of evac, lost luggage and lost ports. Cheapest peace of mind there is.

[babies12]

We didn't buy trip insurance, never had. Now I wish we did. Last month I had a mild heart attack. Thank god It was only mild, however, I am now on meds and I have to take it easy. we are cruising next month. If I had trip insurance we would have canceled our trip and rescheduled for a later date. As it is, we will still go, but we will take it very easy, no hardy partying, I used to be a smoker, and now I am no longer one. So in the future, I will always be sure to include trip insurance as you will never know what will happen. BTW, I'm only 48, life is too short.

[klmorg]

We didn't buy trip insurance, never had. Now I wish we did. Last month I had a mild heart attack. Thank god It was only mild, however, I am now on meds and I have to take it easy. we are cruising next month. If I had trip insurance we would have canceled our trip and rescheduled for a later date. As it is, we will still go, but we will take it very easy, no hardy partying, I used to be a smoker, and now I am no longer one. So in the future, I will always be sure to include trip insurance as you will never know what will happen. BTW, I'm only 48, life is too short.

 

Glad to hear you're OK. My DH had a heart attack at the age of 47... ON our cruise. Like you, he WAS a smoker. He is fine now. I am so thankful we did have trip insurance... covered all sorts of CRAZY astronomical expenses. Enjoy your cruise!!!

[DocF]

While the missed trip, delayed baggage, lost bags, etc. coverage is a nice bonus, we would buy it if this was not included. We buy a policy with very high medical coverages and very high medical evacuation coverage. To our way of thinking, this is money well spent even if we never have to use it.

 

Doc

[poobears]

Our health insurance covers out of country and will cover evac so we don't buy insurance normally. We don't spend enough to worry about cancelling. I mean it would have to be a major event for us to cancel and in that case the money wouldn't matter, other things would be more important.

 

You just have to decide what amount you are willing to risk and make a decision. What's right for someone else may not be for you.

[scuabacruiser]

It is a person choice. Just like your home. Some people take their chances feeling the odds of a fire etc. is small.

 

Just think of being air lifted off of a ship. Approximate cost is $100,000.

 

Really?

 

An air lift will cost around 30K.

 

Or is this right?

 

We leave out from Miami in a couple weeks and we'll be driving down there. We still bought insurance though. We just know that we don't have the personal funds to pay if something were to happen while we're gone.

 

This sounds better. We don't buy into scare statics about insurance. If you ask the question and you are worried about it then yes, get it for your peace of mind and I hope you never need it. If you are comfortable with the level of your health/health insurance and know your financial status, then no. If you don't know, then do some research and phone calls to reliable sources until you do, such as your insurance provider.

[MileHiCrzr]

I have my 92 year old mom living with us - we cancelled a trip because of her health issues at the time - insurance saved us over $4000. I visited the ship's doc for a minor incident on my last cruise - the visit was the cost of the insurance, which they paid. Unless I'm willing to lose the money, I buy the insurance.