Good Case for Travel Insurance

[Terre]

We have some friends whose wife went to Cancun with her daughters this past week and fell while there. She broke her leg so badly that the doctors in Cancun were not equipped to do the surgery and she had to be airlifted back to the U.S. Her husband had to fly down there and when he started making arrangements to fly her back he was told he would have to pay $20,000 cash up front before any arrangements could be made.

 

Fortunately, his son-in-law's business wired the money down so they could get her out, but then the pilot had to pay customs $2,000 for them to not have to go through customs before they left.

 

Another problem he had was trying make phone calls back home. Apparently the phones don't work as well after 5:00 p.m. and everyone at the hospital who could speak English had left for the day. He was very frustrated, but finally got her home and in surgery. The doc here had to put in a plate, pins, and do a bone graft! If he'd had the insurance, everything would have been covered. He may have still had to pay the $20,000 up front, not sure, but it would have been reimbursed.

 

We always get the travel insurance and fortuantely have never had to use it, but now I'm positive it's a good idea.

[Cheeky]

Wow ... that's awful. You just never know. On my last cruise, I saw a guy wobbling around with a cast on. He had broken it while on the cruise ~ not sure where he got his cast. He looked really miserable though.

 

Last year, while on vacation, I fell and broke my rib. I was quite thankful for my travel insurance. Of course, there's nothing you can really do for a broken rib, except I wasn't sure what it was. I was having problems breathing. At the end of the day, I was given prescription pain relievers. That also wouldn't have happened without the insurance.

 

Really, you just never know. And $20 000 to fly her home sounds outrageous to me, but I guess that's the price. How did she break her leg?

[normaxs]

Seems to be a regular thread about people who decide to save a little money and not buy insurance. Then when something happends before or on the cruise, they are upset at the cruise line not reimbursing them.

HAve never understood that reasoning but we each choose how to spend our money.

Recently my DIL had to leave the ship after one day because a death in her family. Her insurance is picking up her travel home, customs charge for leaving the ship and prorated cost of cruise time missed. Pretty good deal.

Norma

[Z'Loth]

And, you got folks who consider cruise insurance to be about the same as those extended warrantys. I don't buy extended warrantys for electronic, but I wouldn't dream of cruising without travel insurance. The primary concern is the emergency medical evacuation, and the secondary concern is medical insurance which may or may not be covered under your regular health policy. Everything else (lost luggage, travel delay, etc.) I would consider a inconvience compared to those two items above.

 

During the Spirit cruise in January, the ship did a U-turn and made a emergency stop at Cabo San Lucas. Two of the passengers had to get off (and one of them was a CC sister).

[Terre]

Cheeky,

 

She stepped off the curb, fell and broke her leg that bad! You really don't ever know...

 

We were on a cruise once and on the Rum Party boat. Of course the floor of the boat was wet, everyone was drinking, okay, drunk, and doing the Limbo. A lady fell and broke her arm on there. We saw her that evening with a cast, but didn't ask if the ship's doc put it on or if she went to a hospital in Nassau. Me thinks I'd prefer the ship's doc:eek:

We started buying the insurance in case our luggage was lost or we missed the sail off due to flight delays, but now I think medical emergencies is also a good reason to have it.

[hlsess]

I am always hesitant about getting insurance but always end up getting it-never used it yet !!!