Insurance: The Journey Begins

[CALMOM]

My prayers and thoughts are with you and your sister. Fortunately, I have never had to deal with an insurance but I would be curious to here the outcome. I hope all works out for you and your sister, you both have lost enough. May your brother in law rest in peace.

[Toto2Kansas]

Thanks for the update Pam. Now, waiting for the medical bill report. I wondered back when you said she didn't pay the bill onboard the ship if they would bill her after she arrived home. And it seems that is exactly what happened. I know we have always had to pay first, submit to our insurance companies, even if we know the charge will be denied, and then submit it all to Berkely.

I hope they come through and pay all the medical bills.

 

Please keep us posted.

[critterchick]

Pam, I am so sorry to hear of your brother-in-law's death. I had hoped he would make a full recovery.

 

If I may ask, was the care he received after arriving in the US covered by his insurance? That seemed to me to be the bulk of the expense, from what you posted on the other thread.

 

I hope you have a wonderful and healing cruise.

[cactusrose]

OK... here's an update on our Princess Care Gold insurance journey. It has two elements: my BIL's medical expenses onboard the ship and my sister's and my hotel expenses in FL while he was in ICU in FL.

 

The onboard medical bill: we were told while still onboard that the bill would be submitted directly to Princess insurance. That wasn't the case. Princess sent the bill to my sister, demanding immediate payment. Berkley Care requires her to submit the bill along with documentation to both Medicare and Anthem Blue Cross and then submit their response (with the documentation) to Berkley Care. We haven't heard back from them yet so this is still pending.

 

FYI, Medicare will not reimburse any medical expenses at sea if you are further than six hours from port. But we had to submit the bill to them anyway because Berkley Care required us to receive a denial from them. Anthem Blue Cross CA has a special form you submit if you are a Senior and you've been on a cruise. You submit the form to an address at either your embarkation or disembarkation port if you did so in the U.S. I found that interesting.

 

Our hotel expenses: we submitted our hotel bills and documentation on March 29th. Today (April 12), we each received a check. My sister's was for her half of their cruise cost plus the unused airport transfer. That was about half of her hotel cost but you should know that the maximum personal expense refund you'll receive is the cost of your cruise. (They paid X amount as a couple and BerkleyCare cut that in half.) As her companion, I was allowed $100/day for all of my personal costs (hotel, food, etc.) so my check wound up being about 2/3 of just my hotel cost. As I cruised as a single, my maximum refund would have been more than my sister's as my cruise cost was more.

 

We're not going to challenge or question this as in reading the contract and fine print after the fact, this is what it is. But if anyone is considering buying Princess insurance, you need to take this into account.

 

Pam.. . this is exactly what happened to us when my husband was taken off the Royal in Gibraltar and subsequently sent to Spain for a Pace Maker. The maximum Berkley will pay is $100 per day for expenses. On top of that since we were only 4 days into a 24 day cruise there was very little left to cover any of my expenses after reimbursing us for the 20 days we lost on the cruise. We were there for 10 days and I ended up having to pay for my own air and a good portion of my hotel, food and transportation expenses due to the cost of cruise limit. Still I was happy to have the trip interruption insurance. We were fortunate to have medical insurance that pays out of country so the real benefit from the travel insurance in our case was only the trip interruption benefit. After that experience we also took out a membership with MedJetAssist. As it turned out my husband had to have the Pace Maker replaced five months after we returned home and if we had had the MedJetAssist we could have had the original surgery done at a local hospital here in the US and saved a lot of money and time. I won't travel without it now.

 

I wish you and your family well and hope the future brings you sister some happiness.

 

Stacey

[Bucky3]

Pam - I followed your original post all the way to its sad ending. Do hope your sister is doing well.

 

Thank you for keeping us all informed about the complications involved with insurance. We very quickly received a check from Berkeley Care for our small claim from last fall. We were totally satisfied with the outcome as well as the care my husband received onboard. Surely hope all turns out well for you too.

 

We are now also considering MedAssist membership due to your experience.

 

May your upcoming cruise be a relaxing time for you. Bon Voyage!

[Coral]

Pam - I appreciate you providing the details of the insurance process.

 

When I have time, I am going to compare the $100/day to what 3rd party insurance covers (specifically Access America what I usually buy) as $100 day doesn't go far in some cities. I agree with you about not contesting that portion.

 

I am assuming that the medical will be paid with out any issues once the appropriate denials are provided.

 

We also buy medjet assist and have for a few years.

[cherylandtk]

When I have time, I am going to compare the $100/day to what 3rd party insurance covers (specifically Access America what I usually buy) as $100 day doesn't go far in some cities. I agree with you about not contesting that portion.

Policies vary all over the place on this coverage for hotel costs if a travelling companion is hospitalized. The Trip Interruption benefit is what usually applies in this case, and all that I checked re-imburse the cost of unused days (in Pam's case, she finished the cruise, so there was no re-imbursement for unused days) as well as pay for your return flight home - up to the standard policy limit. Access America covers $100 per day BUT only up to a maximum of 5 days. Princess covers $100 per day without a number of day limit. Some policies make no mention of this being a covered expense.

[Coral]

Policies vary all over the place on this coverage for hotel costs if a travelling companion is hospitalized. The Trip Interruption benefit is what usually applies in this case, and all that I checked re-imburse the cost of unused days (in Pam's case, she finished the cruise, so there was no re-imbursement for unused days) as well as pay for your return flight home - up to the standard policy limit. Access America covers $100 per day BUT only up to a maximum of 5 days. Princess covers $100 per day without a number of day limit. Some policies make no mention of this being a covered expense.

 

Thanks - I will look at my Access America plan when I am home. It was written for my Travel Agency's company and does have different things (such as coverage for pre-existing conditions when purchased at final payment as opposed to 14 days of deposit, etc...).

 

I am aware of a situation in which Princess was considering not paying the $100 a day because the situation occurred towards the end of the cruise (and hospitalization in FLL after the cruise) and Princess was arguing that the cruise had ended, therefore, they were not going to cover hotel expenses after the cruise for the spouse. There are catch yas everywhere.

[grandmato4]

Thanks for sharing your outcomes with the insurance companies with us Pam. It is so easy to make assumptions when it comes to what insurance policies will pay for and sadly far too often those assumptions aren't completely accurate. A lot can be learned from your experience and hopefully it will help others in the future pay closer attention to what they are purchasing before doing so and help avoid frustration after the fact should they find themselves in a situation similair to yours.

 

Thanks for confirming my understanding of Princess's Berkley policy as far as what you and your sister have received for your expenses in FLL and the need to first submit the medical bills to Bill's primary insurance carriers for denial or payment before Berkley will make any medical payments. All this was my understanding of the policy but so sorry it had to be you and your family to confirm my thoughts.

[themerle]

Your journey has made me see the need to become aware of what my own insurance covers. Thanks for all the information you have provided.

[Coral]

Access America covers $100 per day BUT only up to a maximum of 5 days. Princess covers $100 per day without a number of day limit. Some policies make no mention of this being a covered expense.

 

I just looked at my policy and it is $100 a day for up to 5 days. There are a lot of things to look for! Thanks for pointing this out.

[ssbeagle]

It takes a while for the insurance to pay. We had to go through Medicare first, then Tricare and finally our Princess insurance. DH went to the ship's doctor last September and we finally received our payment from Berkley yesterday. They covered what other insurance didn't. Of course our problem wasn't as major as yours. I hope you get everything settled quickly and I am really sorry that your BIL did not make it.

[Lynda90]

Pam, thanks for the update and please do keep us posted on any further developments. Hope you sister is doing better! :p

[WCAB]

Pam,

 

Trying to determine what insurance policy is best appears to be very complicated. If not too much trouble, maybe at the end of this you could give a quick run down of what you would now look for in obtaining coverage. This might serve as a starting point for some as to what we need to be on the look out for and what questions to ask before deciding on a policy.

 

Carol

[Pam in CA]

Trying to determine what insurance policy is best appears to be very complicated. If not too much trouble, maybe at the end of this you could give a quick run down of what you would now look for in obtaining coverage. This might serve as a starting point for some as to what we need to be on the look out for and what questions to ask before deciding on a policy.

Carol, you are right in that it is complicated. There are as many variables as the people posting on CC. I'm hardly an expert and my purpose in posting our experience was to educate, at least from our experience which was highly unusual. I'm learning as we go along which I'm trying to share and my hope is that others share their experiences as well. That way, we all learn. Think of it as a Harvard "B" School teaching method with real life examples. :)

 

FYI, MedjetAssist has been mentioned several times and if you travel frequently either in the US or elsewhere, I highly recommend as an addition to other travel insurance. It's pretty reasonable compared to the potential cost of getting sick or injured when away from home.

[LoveSanibel]

Pam, so sorry to hear of your loss. Thank you for taking the time to educate everyone who reads these boards! What important information you have provided to the rest of us.

 

We are all lucky that you have been so kind as to share your experience and hopefully help someone else to read their fine print and become informed.

 

Good wishes to you and your sister and thank you!

[Pam in CA]

UPDATE: The insurance journey has ended. My sister has finally received the last of the ship's medical bills covered by insurance payments.

 

To recap, for us, Princess insurance plus MedJet Assist insurance were the best options for us. This might not be true for everyone as all situations and needs are different.

 

In brief, my brother-in-law suffered a ruptured bowel while on the Coral Princess the last sea day before arriving in Ft. Lauderdale. We were too far from land for him to be medevaced so he was disembarked the next morning and spent the next month in the ICU at Broward County Hospital, passing away on February 20.

 

Our expenses were:

 

Onboard medical: $8,000

Hotel for my sister: $3,700 (she stayed there 6 days longer than I did)

My hotel bill: $2,800

Transportation from FLL to CA: $0 (thanks to MedJet Assist)

 

Anthem/Blue Cross paid $6,400 of the medical bill, Princess insurance paid the rest.

 

Princess insurance covered $100/day of our hotel costs up to the cost of the cruise. I got most of my hotel costs back, my sister got just over 50% of it back.

 

My sister and I had our own air already paid that we chose to use. We could have gone on the plane with my brother-in-law to CA but my sister is afraid of small planes and couldn't do it. So, that expense was really not extra.

 

Thank god for MedJet Assist! Once we had a bed at Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo, CA, they arranged for a plane to be on standby within an hour which waited until the hospital prepared Jim for transfer and signed him out. A nurse accompanied him.

 

One thing that held up our submission to the insurance companies is that we initially thought we had to get the medical records from FL. We waited for weeks for a response before we finally contacted the doctor in CA who took care of my BIL for the last three days of his life. He was wonderfully responsive and provided us with all of the documentation needed.

 

Another thing that held up our submission to Berkley Care is that it took Anthem Blue Cross weeks to process the claim and pay the 80%. Once we submitted the claim to Berkley Care, it took about two and a half weeks from sending it off in the mail to check receipt.

 

Would we use Princess insurance again? Yes... and we have. For us, it worked out. There's no "one size fits all" because everyone's situation is different but I wanted to share our experience and encourage anyone and everyone to make an educated decision about whether to get insurance or not, and if you do get insurance, do your research and determine what coverage is most important to you.

 

Here's an excellent article from the LA Times on travel insurance. It's an interesting read: http://www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-money-20100530,0,1673742.story

 

My sister is holding a celebration of Jim's life by throwing a big party on Saturday with anyone and everyone who knew him invited to stop by. In January, we're taking the immediate family on the Sapphire Princess on a 10-day Mexican Riviera cruise and I've made arrangements with Princess to distribute Jim's ashes while on the ship. He would have loved the party and he loved to cruise. To us, it's a fitting way to say, "Bon voyage."

[Cruise Junky]

Pam, we're so glad to read it worked out with the Insurance.

[Coral]

Pam - thanks for sharing your experiences, wisdom and after thoughts with us.

 

I am so glad insurance paid well for your family.

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for the final update.

[compozer]

Pam,

thanks you for sharing your experience,

 

I'm so sorry for your loss.

 

Your January trip sounds like it will be perfect for Jim. I'm sure he will be looking down and smilling.

 

A friend passed a year ago and her dh had her ashes put into about a 14 inch disc. We took a group of boats out on Lake Michigan and her parents placed it in the water. It looked like it was made of paper mache and had a sailboat painted on the front and was designed to sink and decompose. We all placed flowers in the water. It was very touching.

[Raamo]

Pam,

 

I'm very happy this all worked out, we'll always remember the time on board with Nancy, Jim, and you. We hope to find outselves on another ship with Nancy and you.

 

Furthermore thank you for the details of the insurance, we sometimes take insurance even though we don't fully understand it. This makes some of those terms in the agreement make 100% sense.

[bobalink]

Hi Pam,

Thanks for the update. Your experience and the helpful information you provided convinced me to always get travel insurance.

You and your family have been in my thoughts and prayers.

The celebration planned for Saturday and the upcoming family cruise sounds like a wonderful way for the family to pay tribute to your BIL.

Blessings to you!

[DragonflyCruiser]

Pam, thanks for all the information! We have never been in a situation where the insurance was needed. We have always bought it and will continue to do so. Sometimes from the cruise line and sometimes not. We too have MedJet and wouldn't travel anywhere without it. I enjoy their monthly news letters that tell the 'to & from' locations they have flown. Nice to hear from you that they do such a great job. We travel a lot. Some are cruises and most are not. We always feel much more comfortable knowing MedJet is there if we need it anytime we are more than 150 miles from home. If you are a AAA member you can even get a discount.

[TracieABD]

Pam-

I just read through this entire thread with tears in my eyes. I am so sorry for loss, but I am glad that the business part has worked out to your satisfaction.

 

You and your sister will be in my thoughts on Saturday. I hope that you have the celebration of his life that you all truly deserve.

 

All my best,

Tracie-Lynn