Weigh in......travel insurance or no travel insurance?

[tutzig]

 

I will not criticize anyone who chooses to go without insurance; it's their money and their risk, and they can do what they please. But personally, I prefer to be covered.

 

That is so true.. That is the sad thing about the boards.. Some people feel that my way is the only way.. and if you dont agree.. Well you are crazy/wrong..

[FlightMedic555]

Obviously you will get a lot of different opinions, but then again, you asked.

 

I look at it this way:

 

I paid for the cruise because I could afford the vacation. If for some reason I could not go on the cruise I would be disappointed but financially I had the dollars to spend and this will not alter my lifestyle. Again, I will be a misearable unhappy person but financially I will be fine.

 

If I do begin the trip and miss a plane, have my baggage misplaced, etc. then the cost to "fix" this could mount up but again, it will not send me to the poor house. I recently came off of a 20 day trip on the Paul Gauguin which is pretty pricey and the insurance for the 2 of us would have been $1,500. Not taking the insurance for a couple of cruises easily makes up for having to pay out of pocket for SOME unexpected expenses.

 

If I get sick while on the trip I have good health insurance. I am really not concerned with the cost of the medical care as I would have the same cost if I was sick at home.

 

If someone in my family became sick and I had to leave the cruise immediately and purchase last minute airfare home, again, it will not change my financial status. I can afford that.

 

If I got sick on the cruise and needed medical evacuation back home I could go broke. I am in this line of work and recently we had a family pay $250,000 to bring their loved one to India from NY via an air ambulance. This would be financially ugly for me. For this reason I only obtain medical evacuation insurance and I make sure it is not limited to only $100,000. Companies like Medjetassist sell an annual policy for as many trip that you want to take that is quite affordable. Also, read the fine print in the policies. Most cruise ship policies include medical evacuation to the nearest hospital that can provide adequate care. If I became sick in Tahiti I would end up in New Zealand or Australia. I would get great medical care but I will want to get back to NY. Some policies may do that, some may not. Just read up to be sure.

[klscaz]

I always buy it and thankfully, only had to use it once for two different reasons; my husband's illness and to pay for a hotel room due to a delayed fight.

 

But, this month with only 62 days until my next cruise, I fractured my tibia bone at the knee. Fortunately, my doc thinks I will be getting around OK by then. However, it did give me piece of mind knowing that I had purchased travel insurance. I always do a web search and find the best value for the best coverage.

[mommabean]

I've never bought it. I've thought about it. My odds are better than yours are in the casino - if you are a gambler. I have far less to lose in a one time event than those who gamble over a lifetime. And I've probably already saved enough over all of my cruises for one loss, assuming I don't need to be airlifted which is extremely unlikely. The odds of needing to be airlifted are no better than hitting the jackpot. I'll pay my $20,000 if that happens and get $5000 back from our private pay insurance. That's their daily emergency transport limit.

 

If I could find a decent yearly policy, I'd consider it. But I don't want just medical coverage.

 

 

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[FlightMedic555]

I would be very careful about counting on a $20,000 medical evacuation bill. While I agree that the likelihood of needing medical evacuation is quite slim the risk:reward can be challenging. I don't believe that you can be flown anywhere for only $20k on an air ambulance. From the Carribean to NY you are in the $40k range. I guess from the Carribean to Florida may be in this range.

[swedie]

Only Health and MedEvac coverage we buy. About $60 pp for 1 million dollars of coverage for the week...I just sleep better.

 

:cool::cool:

 

Still researching our needs, may I ask what company you use and what medical it covers?

[shoppingfan]

I would love some recommendations if you are allowed to say which providers any of you have had success with.

 

thanks!

[believer33323]

Google "travel insurance reviews". That should give you enough of information as to the quality. As good as CC is, you are only getting a very limited reviews while some websites will give you many many more.

I use the "travel insurance reviews" web site

[photopro]

Have only gotten insurance about 4 times in all the years we have traveled and ... have used it twice. Saved us a LOT of money. I don't have a crystal ball ... do you ?

[mellerswa]

I would love some recommendations if you are allowed to say which providers any of you have had success with.

 

thanks!

 

Thankfully, I have never had to make a claim, but I am a regular reader and poster on DISBoards, and recently, someone posted about a good experience with TravelInsured. Because of that, I've tended to go with them. They also insure kids for free, so this makes it a very good choice for my family.

[believer33323]

Thankfully, I have never had to make a claim, but I am a regular reader and poster on DISBoards, and recently, someone posted about a good experience with TravelInsured. Because of that, I've tended to go with them. They also insure kids for free, so this makes it a very good choice for my family.

 

Free is not always free! Just be sure the coverage is the same as for you. Medical procedure costs are at least the same with youngsters (if not more) than it is with us.

[cruiseco]

Free is not always free! Just be sure the coverage is the same as for you. Medical procedure costs are at least the same with youngsters (if not more) than it is with us.

 

With Travel Insured and Travelex, the two most popular plans that have a "kids are free" option (not all of their plans so check) the kids get the same benefits as the accompanying adults -- medical, emergency evac, travel delay, etc.

 

I'm not aware of any insurers that insure kids for free but at reduced coverage levels.

[mellerswa]

Free is not always free! Just be sure the coverage is the same as for you. Medical procedure costs are at least the same with youngsters (if not more) than it is with us.

 

The medical coverage is the same--it's per person, and the kids are not charged for the insurance, but they are considered a person.

 

The main thing I was warning against is the tendency to take the cost of the whole vacation and divide it by the number of people--if you're insuring cruise fare or outside excursions, kids are usually cheaper, so for the adult price, not the whole price divided by the number of people, that way if one adult can't go, you're not stuck with extra expenses.

 

I am absolutely with you--good medical coverage is essential, adult or child.

[triodes]

Not a "one sze fits all" answer for this.

 

I'll probably usually buy some level of insurance, but on the recently booked trip will purchase a high level.

 

Since I operate several small bricks and mortar locations, and my wife and I have parents in their mid to late 80's, and we have children and grandchildren - just too many opportunites for something to happen.

 

Plus, with us being in our mid-sixties, although we have excellent health stuff happens. As it did to my wife's ex-husband last summer. He had an allergic reaction on a cruise ship and was taken off the boat by a helo from Croatia. Never did hear the actual cost of that.

 

It also depends on the trip, length, where you are going, etc.

 

We've booked a 20 day Mediterranean cruise to numerous ports. By the time you get a cancelled flight or trip interruption, various delays - It doesn't take very much for you to get the insurance money back and more. Actually, if our flight to Venice is cancelled (3% possiblity) we may well be glad to have the coverage on that basis alone.

 

Big, big things to us - death/major illness in the family causing trip to be interrupted, and/or my wife or I having to be medivaced by helo to hospital (granted that is unlikely, but possibly extremely high costs)

 

I am purchasing a higher level of insurance for that trip than I would purchase if I were cruising in waters adjacent to the US.

 

It's a higher level of gamble, with more opportunites for something to go wrong.

[happy cruzer]

Beware the details. Many rush out and buy insurance for piece of mind, just to have it. And don't know what is in their policies. Many think they can cancel for any reason including work. Many think every illness that happens before the cruise is covered. For example, one cruiser broke a leg about 2 weeks before a cruise and wanted to cancel. The insurance would not cover the cancellation, because they were still able to travel. The exact details are important. It's not a simple get insurance or not question. Get insurance that covers what your concern is. For us it seems each trip is a bit different and each time, we get a slightly different policy. And sometimes we self insure, like our Canada cruise where the initial travel costs were low and medical and evac was covered by our regular medical insurance.

[IBoz]

A few years ago, we (myself, DH, DS and DD) planned a spring break cruise with friends. Our family booked two balcony cabins, 4 round trip plane tickets to San Juan PR, and prepaid a hotel for two nights. We also prepaid some excursions and the tips. I think our bill came to about $8,000, if I remember correctly.

 

Luckily, we purchased travel insurance that included coverage if our traveling companions had to cancel for a covered reason.

 

One week before the cruise, the other husband had a stroke at the age of 45. Long story short, they had to cancel. We chose to cancel as well, because we didn't want to travel without them, and didn't want to leave town while he was in ICU.

 

The travel insurance reimbursed their costs within about 3 weeks, and all of ours in about 4 weeks. The claim was easy to complete, mainly because I keep EVERYTHING, and had all the paperwork at hand.

 

That was the first time in my life I had purchased travel insurance. It hasn't been the last. I now purchase some sort of insurance for each trip. Like a previous poster, I don't always worry about some basic travel costs. If, for example, we are flying to PA to visit family, I don't get any. My health insurance covers me there, and I don't mind risking the airfare. For a cruise, especially if we have to fly to get to the debarkation port, I get insurance.

[Baseball fan]

My thought is that if I can do without the money, then don't buy insurance. In most cases, my insurance cost is so minimal compared to the amount I would lose if I had to cancel. I never plan on cancelling but you never know. Something could happen to me, traveling companion, immediate family....

 

And the good thing is, it also covers any flight delays and lost luggage too.

 

I always buy insurance even for vacations on land too. I do my research on insuremytrip.com and search by my requirements (where am I going, will I need medical evacuation, etc.)

 

I would rather not have to worry about losing all of my money if something happens.

[Jother]

It's a MUST! Just don't buy the insurance offered by the cruise lines.

 

I totally recommend using the comparison site, "tripinsurancestore.com." The people there are the most knowledgeable individuals I have ever encountered in the realm of travel insurance. They charge no fees (most comparison sites do not charge fees) but, in addition, they offer incredible advice and personal service. (And, no, I don't work for them).

 

Whatever you do, buy the insurance that best suits your needs and travel worry-free from that point on! Bon Voyage!