A Happy Insurance Story!!

[cruznliz]

I'm not writing this as a cautionary tale, but rather to compliment Princess and Berkeley Care. If all the rules are followed everything will often turn out all right.

 

Back when we were in our 50's we cruised frequently without buying insurance and fortunately "lucked out". :o Then when we got to our 60's and read all the stories on CC, we decided it was probably a good idea to start getting travel insurance. :eek:

 

We were booked on the 28 day Sapphire Princess Hawaii/Tahiti cruise that is still going on without us. Sigh....:( 10 days before the cruise was to leave DH landed in the hospital for 6 nights with a bacterial infection. Up until 5 days before the cruise the doctors were saying "no problem, you can take your cruise". Then we talked to our own doctor and a specialist and they said "no way".

 

We sadly contacted our TA 5 days before the ship was to sail and she cancelled our reservation. We had purchased Princess Vacation Protection (Berkeley Care) and had been upgraded to "Platinum". We called Berkeley and they e-mailed us the form for our doctor to fill out and the forms we were to fill out. We faxed the completed forms to Berkeley and in exactly 3 weeks we had a full refund. I'm just delighted that this is all taken care of before the cruise is even over and before the holidays!!

 

Thanks Princess and Berkeley Care!

 

P.S. DH is just fine. We're searching for the next perfect Princess cruise! ;)

[rdsqrl]

I'm so glad your husband is better. How disappointing to have to cancel that awesome, awesome itinerary. I have to agree with you 100% in complimenting Berkley Care -- I've had two very good experiences with them (one med, one cancel-for-any-reason) in terms of promptness and courtesy. I'm happy your situation turned out equally well. Now, off you go and enjoy the planning for a new cruise. After all, 32.73% of the fun is the planning (yes, I have quantified that precisely down to the nearest 100th!).

[Pam in CA]

We, also, had an excellent experience with Berkley Care. Glad your husband is well as I'm sure it was a scary and anxious time for you.

[Whimsy]

I'm sorry you had to cancel your cruise but am glad that your husband is doing better. Glad the insurance was easy to work with to get reimbursed. While we hope we never have to use it it's good to know it works when you have to make a claim.

[Sanibel*Gal]

We also had a good experience with our claim last year. Also purchased the Barkley insurance & also received the upgrade to "Platinum" through Princess. We had a 10 Day Caribbean cruise booked for October when DH was diagnosed with Cancer in late August. Doctor said surgery was necessary as soon as possible but due to the nature of the operation he would not be able to travel in October. Our doctor filled out the insurance papers & we filed our claim right away. We were able to book another cruise in August with the help of Princess scrambling to find us a cabin but had to sail in 9 Days! We were so happy we were able to take a cruise after all, before his surgery & our insurance refund was waiting when we returned.:)

[Sea and Me]

I'm glad that your husband is doing better! I had an experience while cruising to Hawaii. I went to the medical center spent 2 1/2 hrs. there due to dehydration:( The medical staff were excellent. We had Berkeley insurance and since we were in International waters we had to submit to our own insurance first. Being denied we then submitted the claim to Berkeley which processed our claim quickly. I can't say enough about buying travel insurance, don't leave home without it:)

Carol

[Northender]

We don't have Berkeley, but just want to point out here that not buying the insurance is a big risk.

 

We missed our Emerald Cruise this past March due to my surgery in Feb and recouped our investment. Even Jetblue was fantastic.

 

Don't leave home for a cruise without it.:)

[Tedferg]

Ditto for us, Berkely, Platinum upgrade. Did not include airfare because we did ours separately. Stupidly I forgot to take $25 insurance from United. Berkely were very prompt and United said they will not charge us the penalty for rescheduling.

[Teacher_91]

I love a happy ending! Congratulations on a positive outcome to a negative situation! :)

 

I did buy the travel insurance when we booked our July 2012 Alaskan cruise, but have no idea if it was "Berkley" or not. After reading all the good things about this company, I sure hope it is. However, I sure hope I don't have to use it! ;)

[lafngas]

Not sure if they are still using Berkely care or not. I printed out a recent Princess Vacation Protection booklet and it said it was administered By Stonebridge Casualty.

What do those of you who are on Medicare do if you are not in the US? Medicare will not cover you if you are not in the US at all? Do you have to pay up front first with most or all travel insurance plans and then wait to get reimbursed?

Is that how all of them operate regardless of whether or not you have primary coverage that does cover you abroad?

I called Princess today and they were only slightly helpful in explaining this.

With health costs so expensive today I know of very few people who can plunk down thousands of dollars or more in a foreign hospital on their credit card or checking account and then have to wait for reimbursement.

Has anyone been able to get their travel insurance company to assist them while they are sick or hospitalized abroad?

[donna5]

Not sure if they are still using Berkely care or not. I printed out a recent Princess Vacation Protection booklet and it said it was administered By Stonebridge Casualty.

What do those of you who are on Medicare do if you are not in the US? Medicare will not cover you if you are not in the US at all? Do you have to pay up front first with most or all travel insurance plans and then wait to get reimbursed?

Is that how all of them operate regardless of whether or not you have primary coverage that does cover you abroad?

I called Princess today and they were only slightly helpful in explaining this.

With health costs so expensive today I know of very few people who can plunk down thousands of dollars or more in a foreign hospital on their credit card or checking account and then have to wait for reimbursement.

Has anyone been able to get their travel insurance company to assist them while they are sick or hospitalized abroad?

 

 

 

If you have Medicare and another policy that goes with it(HMO, Advantage ?) call them and find out if they will reimurse you. Some will reimburse up to the limits they pay their own providers. You should always get what they call the "Super Bill" itemized costs, not just the total amt. paid.

[lafngas]

My mom does not have any HMO,PPO,etc participation. She is strictly Medicare and at age 82 is quite alive and kicking! She is having me help her try to find the best policy that will cover her on a European cruise.

[Zawmor]

I have to agree with everything good said about the Princess Insurance with Berkely Care. On a Sapphire cruise from Vancouver to Bangkok a few years ago I had a heart attack the morning of our arrival in Hong Kong (too much strenuous excercise the day before in Taipei!) - Was evacuated to the Princess Margaret Hospital in Hong Kong and was there for a week being stabilized etc.... the pre-care in the Med Ctr on the ship was outstanding!

After the week, the Insurance Co. arranged for a Doctor to be flown in and I was taken back (First Class!) to Miami under his care, with a limo to Naples from there! and "tucked into bed" before the Doctor was driven back to Miami and on to his next case. The Hospital in HK would not release me after only a week without a Doctor being present to escort me home. I wanted no procedures there, although they were very professional and had an excellent Cardiac Division...but the day after I got home I had an Angiogram and within a week had 2 stents inserted in the blockages. I was very fortunate and doing fine now.

When all was said and done I did not have to pay one cent - although I did have to pay for the week's stay in the Hospital upfront - a mere pittance compared to the hospital costs here in the US!! Medicare paid nothing, of course, but between my Secondary and the Princess Insurance all was taken care of.

Don't cruise without Insurance.

[lafngas]

For Zawmor,

Your story is both really frightening and reassuring!

My mother does not have any secondary insurance-just regular old Medicare. Are you able to comment on how your situation may have been different if you had not had a secondary Medicare policy?

So, to understand you correctly, you did have to front some money to the hospital in Hong Kong but you did not have to pay for anything else upfront?

I am trying to help my 82 year old mom select the insurance policy that will suit her needs-either the Berkely care or possibly a policy booked through USAA which is fantastic.

Thanks in advance

[Sincity]

Glad your hubby is doing better and sorry that you missed your cruise. I always buy the insurance mainly for the medical coverage as I was told by my health insurance carrier that I am not covered abroad.

[Zawmor]

For Zawmor,

Your story is both really frightening and reassuring!

My mother does not have any secondary insurance-just regular old Medicare. Are you able to comment on how your situation may have been different if you had not had a secondary Medicare policy?

So, to understand you correctly, you did have to front some money to the hospital in Hong Kong but you did not have to pay for anything else upfront?

I am trying to help my 82 year old mom select the insurance policy that will suit her needs-either the Berkely care or possibly a policy booked through USAA which is fantastic.

Thanks in advance

 

Yes, I did have to pay the Hospital before leaving. Used a credit card and this was all reimbursed to me later. I paid nothing else upfront. Berkeley Care arranged everything else to get me home.

 

Medicare, of course, pays nothing out of the country. Without a Secondary Insurance of some kind my understanding was that the Princess Insurance would cover everything, but if you do have another Secondary coverage they require you to claim with them first, and what they don't pay then the Princess Insurance (in my case Berkely care) picks up.

 

Hope this helps. The main thing is to have some kind of Insurance and preferably with the cruise line you will be travelling.