I am sold on travel insurance now.

[rlkubi]

Suzski, first a very big thank you to you and your husband for your service to our country!

 

We always get travel insurance through insuremytrip also. We've only had to use it once because of flight problems and getting stuck in New York overnight. It covered the hotel and meals which was nice.

[girli565]

Today we transported a little girl from a hospital to an executive airport for a fixed wing medical flight to Canada.

 

Her family had come down to spend a few days at Disney and then take a cruise. After the first night there she had gotten sick, and they had been in the hospital since January! :eek:

 

Came home and bought travel insurance right away, kind of figured it was a sign not to travel uninsured.

 

When did you realize that you should get travel insurance? Or haven't you had that moment yet? :D

 

What company do you use?

 

Anyone ever have to use the medical portion of travel insurance?

 

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My husband is a paramedic and comes home with stories like this all the time. I always buy travel insurance for big trips like cruises and any type vacation that includes excursions. peace of mind.

[Creepella]

I'm fortunate to have travel-medical as one of my work benefits. The one time we took a friend of my son's with us, we insisted he be insured as well (bought through CAA). Would never risk being in a foreign country without being able to get medical care without worry.

[rajones007]

Don't any of you have a credit card with travel medical coverage built into it?

 

I have a couple credit cards that include it. It covers myself, my common-law spouse, and any of our kids who travel with us for hospitalization, evacuation, trip interruption, travel accident, rental car LDW, lost/delayed luggage, etc etc etc. It also includes trip cancellation insurance, which is very pricey on its own.

 

(And contrary to popular belief - I do not have to charge my entire vacation on the card to be covered. Just being a cardholder in good standing means I'm covered, regardless of how I paid.)

 

I don't know....Maybe it's not common on American credit cards. Or is it?

 

Canadians should look into it though. Be aware that all Canadian MC/Visa/Amex with travel medical and trip cancellation insurance coverage will have an annual fee, but it's worth it if you travel at all. One vacation a year and it's paid for itself, and with the cancellation insurance taken into consideration it is very good value for the money.(But be careful. Not all of them have trip cancellation insurance.)

[cat_eyes_rs]

I always get travel insurance and thank god I do. Almost 3 years ago, I had to be medically evactuated by the Coast Guard and ended up spending 27 days in a hospital in Florida (I'm from NC) and 17 of those days I was on life support. The travel insurance covered all my medical that my regular health insurance didn't cover, covered my parents hotel stay for a month and our hotel and gas expense to get back home once I was released from the hospital. They actually ended up paying me a couple thousand more than what my bills were, but no matter how much I tried to explain to them that they were overpaying, they didn't get it and kept telling me to keep the money. So, even though I almost died, I ended up paying nothing out of pocket and even made some money. I was only 33 at the time, so trust me, no matter what age, you can still suddenly get sick. Better safe than sorry.

[mikesteg]

Don't any of you have a credit card with travel medical coverage built into it?

 

I have a couple credit cards that include it. It covers myself, my common-law spouse, and any of our kids who travel with us for hospitalization, evacuation, trip interruption, travel accident, rental car LDW, lost/delayed luggage, etc etc etc. It also includes trip cancellation insurance, which is very pricey on its own.

 

Can you provide some web links? The U.S. and Canadian CC markets are substantially different. From what I've seen, the U.S. polices don't cover the major costs. Also, the wording on the U.S. websites is so ridiculously vague that I would never count on it. LDW, luggage, death benefit are usually covered well, but travel/medical... not so much.

 

I know the Canadian system is pretty different that ours to begin with. What is your coverage under the heath care system if you were injured overseas? Would you be covered somewhat regardless? In the U.S., apparently with a few exceptions, heath care coverage doesn't extend beyond the gangplank. :rolleyes:

[Creepella]

I am also in Canada, and my for-fee credit card only covers rental car and travel accident insurance. So, I suspect you may have a very rare card.

[TriciaEMTB]

I wonder if they carry clot busting drugs. Would suck to be having a STEMI and then having to wait hours to get off the ship.

 

They should build a cath lab in the ship :D get your stent, stay bed confined for a day, continue cruising.

 

I wonder if they do cardiac enzymes on board.

 

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[reno3]

We always get the insurance.

I have back issues and had to cancel a cruise a few years ago.

Received 100% of my money for the cruise and also the cost of my plane tickets.

[divngmedic]

They should build a cath lab in the ship :D get your stent, stay bed confined for a day, continue cruising.

 

I wonder if they do cardiac enzymes on board.

 

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I know most ER's around here have a machine in the ER that can run Troponins right there. Takes 30 minutes to run. That would be one expensive cath lab.

[rajones007]

Can you provide some web links? The U.S. and Canadian CC markets are substantially different. From what I've seen, the U.S. polices don't cover the major costs. Also, the wording on the U.S. websites is so ridiculously vague that I would never count on it. LDW, luggage, death benefit are usually covered well, but travel/medical... not so much.

 

I know the Canadian system is pretty different that ours to begin with. What is your coverage under the heath care system if you were injured overseas? Would you be covered somewhat regardless? In the U.S., apparently with a few exceptions, heath care coverage doesn't extend beyond the gangplank. :rolleyes:

I'm covered worldwide. Outside of Canada I either have to pay up-front or hopefully the clinic/hospital can bill the insurance company directly. In todays connected world most places are able to bill directly.

 

(If, for some reason, you have to pay out-of-pocket, then the gov. only reimburses me what they typically pay our own doctors.

 

Here's an example with totally made up dollar figures: I'm uninsured. I go on a Disney Vacation to Orlando. I break my arm and have to pay a clinic/hospital in Orlando $5,000 to fix me up. I come back to Ontario and file a claim. A couple months roll by and I get a cheque in the mail for $2500. Why only $2500? Because that's their 'going rate' for a broken arm. If I broke my arm here at home, that's what they'd pay my local hospital.

 

You hear of that happening far too often.)

 

As for specific Canadian credit cards, here the TD First Class Infinite Visa (you have to scroll down a bit) - http://www.tdcanadatrust.com/products-services/banking/credit-cards/td-travel-cards/firstclasstravel.jsp

 

I have this card because 1)TD is my main bank, and 2)the TD rewards program is probably the best in Canada (it works out to a 4.5% return if travel is booked thru Expedia), and 3)they waive the annual fee because I have a specific chequing account with them.

 

It's only 8-day travel medical, which is kind of short if you ask me, and their cancellation coverage is only $1000 per person.

 

That's why I have this card, which I believe is the best credit card in Canada, insurance-wise:

http://www.nbc.ca/bnc/cda/productfamilymc/0,6326,divId-2_langId-1_navCode-15956,00.html

 

National Bank, despite it's name, really isn't that big of a bank. They probably do have branches in each province, but outside of Quebec and southern Ontario they just aren't that common.

 

That card covers me for trips up to 60-days in length, and cancellation insurance up to $2500 per person.

 

Neither of those sites give the particulars in great details, however. You get a big booklet when you receive the card that explains everything and gives you all the small print.

 

I am also in Canada, and my for-fee credit card only covers rental car and travel accident insurance. So, I suspect you may have a very rare card.

No, it's not rare. They are quite common.

 

A quick list for those who might be interested (no links, sorry...I'm too lazy right now)

-any CIBC Infinite Visa (and their Adventura Mastercards, too)

-Royal Bank Infinite Visa (Avion? I think. I think RBC also has a World Mastercard too, which probably has travel-medical included.)

-Scotiabank Gold something-card. (ooo, I just looked and I see that Scotia doesn't have ANY Visa cards with travel-medical, even their new Infinite Visa does not have it.)

-BMO World Elite Mastercard.

-the already-mentioned TD First Class Travel Infinite Visa.

-Desjardins, a huge credit union in Quebec, has a nice Odyssey Visa with fantastic coverage. They also have a Platinum that's even better, but it's invitation only.

 

And there are more out there. TD and National are the only ones I can speak for. The others MAY NOT include Cancellation Insurance (but probably do, in some form or another). Call your bank and find out for sure if you're interested.

 

The annual fees range from $99 to $120, or somewhere in that range.

 

It's worth it if you travel. Trip cancellation coverage is expensive on its own. It's usually about 5% of the total cost of the trip. So a $5000 family vacation would cost about $250 for Cancellation insurance if purchased separately.

[divngmedic]

I have my DAN insurance. I cover the whole family for 100 bucks a year.

[BoardwalkBabe]

We didn't purchase trip insurance on our very first cruise but we have for every cruise since then. For us, it makes sense as you never know what can happen and being covered means one less thing to worry about.

[TriciaEMTB]

I know most ER's around here have a machine in the ER that can run Troponins right there. Takes 30 minutes to run. That would be one expensive cath lab.

 

I know our ers do but wondering if the ships have that.

 

I wonder what their criteria is for medivac. Chest pain only or do they evaluate further?

 

I want to tour the medical bay.

 

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[VerbalT]

This might be a good place to ask this, because so far I haven't bought insurance. We're boarding a 7 day cruise to Bahamas in Baltimore in November. It's a few hours drive from our home, so we aren't flying there. My wife, son and I don't have any sorts of allergies to worry about. We don't have any pre-existing medical conditions. So I think the chances of us having a medical emergency are pretty low.

 

I'm leaning towards not bothering with it, but here's my question: If you sustain an injury on the cruise ship or food poisoning or something, isn't the cruise line responsible for that? Or do they waive responsibility in something we as cruise guests must sign?

 

Short of that, I don't see the logic in placing a bet on something bad happening during our vacation.

[LarsonG]

I have always bought travel insurance, but have never used it yet and really don't want to but it does give you peace of mind.

[MsSoCalCruiser]

Yup! Women are infamous for abdominal pain/nausea heart attacks as well as "silent" completely asymptomatic heart attacks.

 

Also a person's "small"ness is not an indicator for cardiovascular health. You can be skinny and still have fatty organs and CAD, high cholesterol etc.

 

 

 

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Tricia, this is so true. How many women know this? I know now;)

 

Now, I need to figure out which insurance to buy. I wonder if the insurance that I usually buy from Carnival is enough or do I need something else? I'm ready to book another cruise so I need to figure this out...soon.

[gilby]

How do you know which policy to buy on insure my trip. Just need to cover just the cruise, we have flight insurance.

[kayhold]

I always buy it thru insure my trip .com as well.

My son has a variety of complex medical issues (including a pacemaker). There is no way I would travel without it.

 

This is also a good argument for having a passport- if you had to be disembarked at a foreign port of call for treatment and then needed to get home from there......

 

I have called 2 times and done extensive research, but this is a common misconception. In an emergency, you can get an emergency clearance to go home in very very little time.

If you miss your ship, it can take up to 24 hours, but in an emergency, no, you will not be stuck.

 

I see this misinformation so much, so I'm not surprised its the general consensus.

 

We don't purchase it because our health insurance will pay if we are out of the country.

[UFQ202]

We always use Trave Guard. We were on the Conquest out of Galveston when Ike hit. They covered everything when we had to fly home from NOLA to Dallas. I heard that those with Carnival insurance did not get the same deal. We never cruise without it because you never know what could happen.

[pe4all]

My wife, son and I don't have any sorts of allergies to worry about. We don't have any pre-existing medical conditions. So I think the chances of us having a medical emergency are pretty low.

We boarded our Dream cruise with a perfectly healthy dd19. She had no pre-existing medical conditions at all, and was literally never sick. 3 days later after boarding we were off-loaded to a Belize hospital, and I was left with her as dh got back on Dream to be with special needs dd22. You never know what is going to happen. Luckily, dd19- after 3 days of iv antibiotics for an abdominal lining infection that mimicked appendicitis- was fine. Yes, the chances of having an emergency are low. That is why they are called "emergencies" - not "everyday occurances!":D We have always purchased travel insurance - this was the first time using it. It was even nice having a voice to talk to on the other end of the phone re-assuring us everything would be handled, and ok. They arranged flights back to the U.S., picked up all costs that my personal insurance didn't cover. (flights, hotel overnight in Orlando, food, days missed of the cruise, etc.) You will hear many different opinions on the "wasted expense" of TI. But for us, it is the next phone call after booking a vacation.

[relaxedPax]

This might be a good place to ask this, because so far I haven't bought insurance. We're boarding a 7 day cruise to Bahamas in Baltimore in November. It's a few hours drive from our home, so we aren't flying there. My wife, son and I don't have any sorts of allergies to worry about. We don't have any pre-existing medical conditions. So I think the chances of us having a medical emergency are pretty low.

 

I'm leaning towards not bothering with it, but here's my question: If you sustain an injury on the cruise ship or food poisoning or something, isn't the cruise line responsible for that? Or do they waive responsibility in something we as cruise guests must sign?

 

Short of that, I don't see the logic in placing a bet on something bad happening during our vacation.

 

They will treat your minor injuries or illnesses, but they are not capable of handling serious issues. If you are in port, it's not as big a concern, but if not, you may need to be airlifted out.

 

In addition, you want to be sure you are being treated by someone who is qualified. Your travel insurance will provide you with a medical referral.

 

You mentioned injuries on the ship, but what about while you're in port? Accidents happen and broken bones can result. Travel insurance will cover that. Your U.S. medical coverage may not (check with your provider for international restrictions). Also - the doctor will expect payment from you - they aren't going to bill your insurance company.

 

Just like your health insurance, you hope to never use the travel insurance, but it's purpose is to be there in case you do need it.

 

Most travel insurance is around 5% of your total trip cost. I would never travel without it.

 

Some of the situations covered by travel insurance:

• You become sick and can't travel.
  
• Someone in your immediate family develops an illness, even if they aren't scheduled to travel with you.
  
• Your house becomes flooded due to a hurricane.
  
• An Immediate family member back home passes away and you must return from your travels early.
  
• Your luggage is lost by the airlines.
  
• You twist your ankle and must visit a doctor while traveling.
  

[am588]

I used to buy cruise insurance through carnival "just in case", however 4 days before my last cruise my appendix had to be removed. I was relieved to have travel insurance as it'd cover if I had to cancel (or partial), however I'd like to have it totally covered and have my airfare covered. For my next trip, I'm looking to get insurance outside of Carnival

[Chef P]

I buy from Travel Guard..

[Maxiecat3]

I didn't ask my SIL if they had insurance as she had more pressing problems. I hope that they have some sort of coverage. My DB, SIL and 3.5 yr Niece and 2 yr Nephew were on the Disney Dream. My SIL and Niece were picked up by Coast Guard helicopter at 5:00 this morning and flown to Miami where my Niece is in ICU. I would rather not discuss the details but they feel they have found the problem and feel she will recover. My brother and nephew are still aboard and will not be able to get off until the ship arrives back at Port Canaveral Thursday AM. He will rent a car and drive down, while I plan on driving over tomorrow morning to help out until he arrives. She was fine when they boarded on Sunday, so you never know what might happen with an active child that showed no signs of a problem.

 

Gregg