Revisiting the insurance question again...

[coolerchick]

I have read all the posts about fellow cruisers getting insurance, the best place to get it and so on.

 

But my question is this - is there anyone who has been on a river cruise/going on a cruise that has NOT booked any insurance?

[Kamloops50]

I have read all the posts about fellow cruisers getting insurance, the best place to get it and so on.

 

But my question is this - is there anyone who has been on a river cruise/going on a cruise that has NOT booked any insurance?

 

People we know told me this story about their friends.

 

A couple and their friends bought a cruise to Hawaii . One couple bought insurance and the other one didn't . Husband of the couple that didn't buy insurance went to a doctor for a checkup. The doctor told him that he has a heart problem and will need heart surgery with in 3 days ( 6 days before cruise) . because they didn't have insurance they where out almost $10K for the cruise.

 

I have never travel outside of BC without insurance .

[Hoyaheel]

I have not bought insurance for any of the land trips or (ocean) cruises we've done in the past. But am contemplating doing it for the river cruise we're interested in - mainly because it's so far in the future and we might be traveling with older parents this time. Whenever I've decided against it in the past, it's with the knowledge that any money we spent would be lost, and that was a decision we could accept in those cases.

[coolerchick]

Yeh, I know - there are the horror stories.

 

And due to hearing them here, I'm still comparing prices and so on.

 

The reason I ask is that a neighbour of mine takes cruises every year (out of the country) I was talking to her about the best insurance to get and so on and she told me she never buys insurance. Nor do any of her friends.

 

Apparently, by paying with A

Amex it gives you some sort of flight coverage.

 

And she told me her medical insures her wherever she goes.

 

And the only thing she risks is losing the cost of the cruise - and if you had insurance, they would prob give you credits as opposed to a full refund.

 

Oh, well I suppose I was just curious as to how many of you did not buy insurance for your travels.

[TravelBugM]

We did not buy insurance for our cruise this past June and have decided not to buy insurance for our June 2014 cruise. My 87 year old mother is joining us next year and she has also decided not to buy insurance.

[coolerchick]

I have not bought insurance for any of the land trips or (ocean) cruises we've done in the past. But am contemplating doing it for the river cruise we're interested in - mainly because it's so far in the future and we might be traveling with older parents this time. Whenever I've decided against it in the past, it's with the knowledge that any money we spent would be lost, and that was a decision we could accept in those cases.

 

Yes, I too have traveled many times out of the country and never bought insurance.

 

However this is my first river cruise and the "rules" seem to be a bit different.

 

And another friend of mine that has been on river cruises said the exact same thing - that the money spent would be lost.

[sharpasice]

Funny you should ask about this today..here is a link from a story of a gentleman who did not purchase insurance for his river cruise. Interesting read.

 

http://elliott.org/can-this-trip-be-saved-2/help-my-cruise-is-gone-and-so-is-my-upgrade/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+elliottorg+%28Elliott%29

[coolerchick]

I just received that in my in box! And my friend sent me a link from Yahoo that says "should you buy travel insurance"... maybe it's a sign...:)

[orchestrapal]

We have always self-insured and recently figured out that if we had to cancel a

40 day cruise we would still be ahead. Yes we do have a yearly travel medical insurance.

[rahrah50]

A number of years ago we had to cancel a cruise as my husband found he was terminally ill about a month before we were to leave. We had purchased insurance and we received a full refund to our credit card not a credit on a future cruise. I never leave the US without it. I have used it for medical issues on the cruise as well and was fully reimbursed.

[robinlynn]

For many years, when my DH and I traveled around Europe, we never purchased trip insurance. Since we were travelling independently, it didn't seem like much of an issue.....

 

1. airlines cost-we generally used ff miles, which for a few hundred dollars, would get redeposited in our account if we cancelled.

2. hotels generally had a 24 hour cancellation policy.

3. Car rental- refundable with a short notice to car rental agency

*4- Most important- We were in our forties with no health issues.

 

Fast forward almost 20 years. Cruising now, so trip insurance to us is essential. Booked with Viking and paid total up front. I don't think I will ever do that again, opting next time for a line with a different deposit policy.

 

On our last cruise, we did not get "cancel for any reason" or pre-existing waiver". Found out later that if my 92 year old mother-in-law had gotten sick, our expensive insurance would not have covered us if she became ill, because being that old in itself is pretty much a pre exisiting condition.

 

But, to me, a more importantl reason to get trip insurance, is for coverage of medical costs, and even more important, emergency evacuation, a VERY EXPENSIVE situation.

 

I know personally of 2 separate cruisers who had health emergencies, and their costs would have been in the tens of thousands w/o insurance.

 

One was a fellow we know who was on his honeymoon on a Med cruise. While off the coast of Sicily, he had a severe cardiac incidence, which required immediate evacuation off of the ship (by helicopter) to a nearby hospital in Sicily. Most of the staff at the inadequately staffed and ill-equipped hospital did not speak any English, and it took two days to get him to a properly equipped hospital. His stateside insurance covered very little and they provided very little assistance in getting him where he needed to be. His evacuation costs were in the tens of thousands, not to his mention his out of pocket medical expenses.

 

My husband's secretary a few years back went on a Scandinavian cruise

with her sister, who developed a severe illness, who went through a similar situation. They were stuck for weeks there until she felt well enough to travel. I believe they had some insurance which covered some of the costs.

 

We have decided for our own personal peace of mind, we will never go overseas w/o good trip insurance. But even if we went independently again, hopefully in 2015, we will at the very least get insurance for emergency medical and evacuation. To us, this is even more important than any type of trip cancellation, since that can end of costing tens of thousands of dollars more than just trip cancellation.

 

Of course, since we have prepaid for our 2014 Viking cruise, we also had to add complete trip cancellation.

 

My suggestion if you are thinking of getting insurance would be to go to insuremytrip.com.

Call them and go on their web site. They represent most of the major companies and will compare and contrast all of the different type of coverages. They were great.

For us, in our mid-sixties, and my mother-in-law now well into her 90's, it is a no-brainer.

 

 

good luck!

Robin

[YoungDubFan]

This is a very personal decision and you are the only one who can determine if you can afford to lose all of the money that you have paid for the vacation.

 

Some people's personal health insurance will cover basic needs out of the country - you have to check to see if yours does. If you have Medicare only - it will not cover anything outside the US. Some people just buy a yearly medical insurance / evacuation plan. That is an option. It depends on how often you travel, where you travel, etc.

 

A co-worker of mine was on a fishing trip in the Bahamas and had a stroke. There was no hospital or clinic on the island he was on. He had to be med-evac'ed to the US and the cost of the medical ambulance was almost $20K. He did not have any travel insurance and had to pay this out of pocket. The air ambulance required 1/2 the payment up front before they would perform the transport. There was quite a bit of scrambling to raise this money and get it wired to the company. I felt horrible for his family who was trying to raise money while worrying about if he would even survive.

 

My aunt was scheduled to take a land trip to England and my grandmother (her mother) died 2 weeks before she was supposed to leave. She was able to cancel the trip, get a full refund, and reschedule the trip to a later date, because she had insurance.

 

As to getting the cost of the river cruise reimbursed if you have to cancel, if you purchase insurance from a 3rd party, you will get all of your money back, minus any deductible. You don't have to worry about getting a credit for a future cruise. If you purchase the insurance through the cruise company, they may give you a credit. This is another reason to get insurance through a 3rd party, such as http://www.insuremytrip.com or other site.

 

Maybe it is because I work in the medical field, but I fill out forms at least 2-3 times a month for patients who are filing claims with their travel insurance. Also - on every vacation I have taken out of the country in the last 4 years - I have met someone who has used their travel insurance policy.

 

I get travel insurance whenever I leave the US, but it is more because my parents are getting older and have health problems. I like knowing that if I have to cancel a trip because something serious happens to them, I will not lose all of my money. Also - if I am on a trip and something happens to someone back home, I have assistance to cut my trip short, get flights rearranged, and not be out any additional costs.

 

Again - each person has to decide if they can afford to lose the cost of the vacation and / or pay out of pocket for medical / transportation issues back home. Personally I work and save for all of my vacations and can't afford to lose the money.

 

I hope you come to a decision that works for you.

[rahrah50]

YoungDubFan - Great job on your reply. I do have health issues and always use insuremytrip.com.

[id est]

...always use insuremytrip.com.

It seems to be too pricey. We always use tripinsurance.com. For example the insurance for our "Tulips and Windmills" cruise + air was $106.

See if let's say it was more than $200 I'd think twice if I need an insurance.

[Hoyaheel]

It seems to be too pricey.

 

Insuremytrip is a consolidator who gives you many many options of other 3rd party providers, so I'm confused as to why you think they are "too pricey"? I just came up with about 100 options for insurance for my trip....

[Coral]

I am one who buys insurance and also buys supplementary evacuation insurance so that I could be flown home as opposed to staying in a local (foreign) hospital.

 

I can handle eating the cost of the cruise, it is medical that I don't want to have to pay for when out of the country. My health insurance only covers 50%.

 

I have no problems with people not buying insurance. But, it drives me crazy when people post (mostly on large ship cruise boards) that "something happened unexpected and they can't go and want the cruise line to make an exception and give them credit or their money back". They stress "the unexpected" and we usually come back with "that is why we buy insurance".

 

None of us can predict when a parent has heart surgery, when a child gets ill or when a car accident happens. Or we can't predict when something like 9-11 happens (I had a trip on 9-12 that I couldn't get to), an airport is closed due to a security situation or weather delays that can last days (friend was flying to South America the day of an Earthquake and couldn't make their cruise as the airport was closed).

 

For those of you who self insure, you most likely would come out ahead. Those who posted on this this thread actually come across as the most knowledgable about the pros and cons of buying insurance and I am guessing they will not complain or expect exceptions if they do need to cancel and will lose money. I don't get that same feeling when looking at some threads on other boards.

[MarkBearSF]

We buy insurance if any of these is a factor:

(1) The trip is very expensive

(2) There is a significant likelihood of cancellation due to family or employment considerations.

(3) There is a question about the viability of the line.

 

For most river cruises, #1 would definitely be a factor - not just for the higher base cruise cost, but also the international travel. On a couple of occasions, I've bought for #2 - but thankfully didn't need to collect. As for #3 - it saved us when we were aboard the Rembrandt the evening they declared bankruptcy.

 

So, for cheap weeklong cruises from the US - usually not. For European vacations, including river cruises - yes.

 

I use insuremytrip.com to select the best policy. I never buy the line's policy; they will typically not protect you from a bankruptcy by the line - and are usually more expensive.

 

Finally, there was a comment that appeared to indicate that either you needed to buy air from the line to have it covered by insurance, or that it wouldn't be covered by third-party insurance. To clear up any possible misunderstanding - third party insurance should cover airfare and pre/post-cruise expenses - just include their cost when you purchase the insurance. NOTE - most often you must purchase the policy within 10 days or so of booking the cruise for the best coverage (details can vary by policy). If, like me, you purchase air much later, you can still estimate the fare and adjust as necessary later.

[Marty156]

We buy insurance if any of these is a factor:

(1) The trip is very expensive

(2) There is a significant likelihood of cancellation due to family or employment considerations.

(3) There is a question about the viability of the line.

 

Then there is the OTHER side of the coin.

In Australia there is no such thing as "cancel for any reason"

We had purchased travel insurance.

If you read the tale of woe on the link below, you can see what else can happen apart from healt.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1892421

In that case, travel insurance did NOT cover anything because the river cruise company took us by bus and stuck us in hotels!

So, even though your items 1 and 3 were applicable, it did not work out for us.

 

So, the question is why spend additional hundreds of dollars (sometimes) for an insurance policy that basically is not very useable?

[MarkBearSF]

If you read the tale of woe on the link below, you can see what else can happen apart from healt.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1892421

In that case, travel insurance did NOT cover anything because the river cruise company took us by bus and stuck us in hotels!

So, even though your items 1 and 3 were applicable, it did not work out for us.

 

So, the question is why spend additional hundreds of dollars (sometimes) for an insurance policy that basically is not very useable?

 

By now. I think we've ALL read your complaints. (I sympathize, but it doesn't need to be spread to other, unrelated threads - and by the way your line was NOT in bankruptcy)

 

Insurance won't cover everything in all cases (and if someone from Oz can research and post the salient differences in coverage, I'd bet it would rate a sticky post here!). From what you've posted, you're pursuing legal remedies.

 

Sometimes stuff happens. You do what you can to limit the risk and hedge against losses - but I have a phrase I pull out in cases like when I was kicked off the ship in Halifax,

"The worse the experience, the better the story later!"

[RichardandMark]

I have read all the posts about fellow cruisers getting insurance, the best place to get it and so on.

 

But my question is this - is there anyone who has been on a river cruise/going on a cruise that has NOT booked any insurance?

 

imho,,,Always buy Insurance,,,,always....Mother Nature never tells what she is up to...

[gubby]

Our Health Insurance covers us for trip cancellation or delay up to $8K for each person for each trip. In addition it will also cover all medical costs including ship evacuation. The catch is that we must prove that we had not been out of the province ( not country) for no more than 62 days. That is not usually a problem with cruising although with our 3 cruises and time in Paris next month, we will be gone 60 days. All we do is use our CC ( each of us must have a verifying document) to purchase an article or service or be sure that we have our passport stamped or hang on to our boarding pass. I am amazed at the number of people who do travel with no insurance because they say they are perfectly healthy. There are millions of accidents, incidents, strokes, heart attacks every day. And no one knows when it can happen to you.

[Hoyaheel]

Finally, there was a comment that appeared to indicate that either you needed to buy air from the line to have it covered by insurance, or that it wouldn't be covered by third-party insurance. To clear up any possible misunderstanding - third party insurance should cover airfare and pre/post-cruise expenses - just include their cost when you purchase the insurance. NOTE - most often you must purchase the policy within 10 days or so of booking the cruise for the best coverage (details can vary by policy). If, like me, you purchase air much later, you can still estimate the fare and adjust as necessary later.

 

Thank you for stating this - this is one of the questions I have as we move forward to finalize a policy - we won't buy airfare for a while yet and I wasn't sure how to handle (I'll still confirm with the company before I actually buy a policy, but it's nice that what you state is what I was hoping to be the case:p) We also haven't decided if we're going to add on a pre-cruise trip with the cruise company or do it on our own (on our own is my strong preference, but if we're with parents, it might be easier to have someone else responsible for corralling everyone:rolleyes:)

[sharpasice]

Here is a page that may help you ..it explains the difference between Primary and Secondary when it comes to travel insurance. Hope it helps you in your purchase.

http://tripinsurancestore.com/how-primary-and-secondary-travel-insurance-medical-coverage-works/

[id est]

Insuremytrip is a consolidator who gives you many many options of other 3rd party providers, so I'm confused as to why you think they are "too pricey"? I just came up with about 100 options for insurance for my trip....

Just visit both websites and compare...

Too pricey because you could simply buy the same insurance from the original source: e.g. traverguard or Allianz... And you do not need insuremytrip as a midlleman.

Tripinsurance.com is NOT a consolidator.

[coolerchick]

Thank you for all your replies - this helps a lot.

 

We are both in our 40's.

Purchasing airline with our points.

Pre-cruise and after-cruise - not with the cruise - I'm booking that on my own.

 

So the only thing really is the cruise. I will definitely look into the evac medical - seems to be quite inexpensive (about 40.00).

 

I don't want to eat the cost of the cruise since we have saved for it too but I think we would be able to deal with it. It's so far off anyway, we don't pay the remaining amount until June. I've looked into full insurance and it's about 500 - now I know that is nothing compared to the cost of the cruise but it's a lot right now.

 

The funny thing is - when I travel - Murphy's Law ALWAYS rears it's ugly head. But we've survived, picked ourselves up and carried on.

 

Again, thanks for the suggestions.