A different kind of cruise insurance question.

[talosian]

I have read dozens of threads on medical and emergency evac. insurance here and now I want to know how it really works if/when needed.

 

I have been looking at several policies and they seem to put the final decision (if respect to if they will cover something) in the hands of the "medical team" hired and paid for by the insurance company.

 

It seems the company will only pay if "WE" (company) determine something is "MEDICALLY NECESSARY" and "WE" decide if you need such-and-such a service.

 

Everything in the policies seem to give the company a lot of wiggle-room to deny coverage.

 

A couple of questions:

 

1. Has anyone here had a PERSONAL experience with either or both the company paying medical expenses; and what about EMERGENCY EVAC?

 

2. In the real World (Caribbean for instance), does the injured person have to front the money or will the medical/hospital/evac. people accept the insurance and get paid later.

 

3. Let's say (and I'm not trying to be funny here) you don't have (enough) insurance or more than a couple of thousand dollars on your crecit card (and no one to co-sign for you), what will the ship/country do for/with you?

 

Any personal experiences (or something you know directly and not hearsay or anecdotal) will be appreciated.

 

Thanks.

[elhenry]

We have had personal experience with an insurance company under sad circumstances: my father died on the March 31 sailing of the Norwegian Jewel.

 

<<http://articles.philly.com/2012-06-17/news/32283005_1_crew-members-port-canaveral-sofa-bed>>

 

He died before we could have him evacuated, so I cannot answer your questions there. But we needed to pay all our costs upfront (medical, in our case repatriation of remains). We then filed a claim with the travel insurance company. None of our claims were denied, but, not to be too cynical about it, death is pretty cut and dried. We did not leave the cruise, but the travel insurance company called and appeared ready to make arrangements if we wanted to do so. I believe we would have incurred those costs ourselves, but I do not know. The ship also assigned a "ship's agent" to assist us the day we arrived in port, and her company billed the travel insurance company directly.

 

Hopefully it will be money spent and never needed, but I cannot imagine traveling without it...

 

el henry

[dsrdsrdsr]

My father fell and was knocked out, and broke his wrist, in Norway a few years back. When I turned up at the hospital he was in the ambulance to transfer to a bigger hospital, and they asked for a credit card before taking him; but if I had turned up 5 minutes later, they would have taken him anyway. They wouldn't have tipped him out.

 

As for insufficient insurance, can't help you there. British insurance policies tend to start at about £1,000,000, so it doesn't come up.

[sirwired]

For the med-evac itself, all the arrangements are done through the med-evac company, so it's all pre-paid. The medical care you receive prior to the med-evac will be handled however your policy handles it. (Some policies will pre-pay major medical, some won't.)