Insurance for elderly mother.

[vegidolphin]

I was looking into taking my elderly mother (82 years old) on a cruise next fall and was wondering what type of insurance I should purchase.

 

Our main concern is that -God forbid- either she is not in good health next year and the Dr. advises against her going on the trip or worse- that she passes away prior to the trip. She is not in great health currently but nothing that would prevent her from going on a cruise now, and she did fine a couple of years ago when on her first cruise. What provisions and coverage types should I look for?

 

We are not really concerned with other provisions such as medical expenses on the cruise or lost luggage or anything, just having to cancel completely prior to the cruise for health reasons. Any suggestions/advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thank You!

[arush5268d]

Just go for one of the higher levels of trip insurance that covers 'cancel for any reason.'

[marym933]

I don't think I would discount the medical coverage. If she is a US citizen, medicare is not good outside of the USA.

[Twin A]

I went through the same thing recently with my 81-year old Grandmother. I went to Squaremouth to compare policies that included medical, evac, travel interruption, and cancel for any reason (some policies only pay out 75% of non-refundable charges). The policy will be more expensive due to your mother's age and the cancel for any reason addition, but the peace of mind is totally worth it.

 

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[KenMo]

I'd for sure get something that covers a medical evac.

 

If she needs to be helicoptered off the ship, that will cost a pretty penny.

[Roz]

If your mother is a US citizen, Marym933 hit the nail on the head - Medicare is no good outside of the US. You can use in the US territory such as Puerto Rico, USVI, and Guam. Medivac is also not covered by Medicare anywhere.

 

Roz

[Happy2cruise]

You may want to call the insurances you have looked at directly and have them answer your questions.

 

We use Tripinsurancestore and they are always there to help us get the coverage and plan needed for our situations.

[kteachcruiser52]

You may want to look into medical insurance because there is no Medicare coverage outside the US. It would be possible she would have to receive medical care or be hospitalized in a foreign country.

[GeezerCouple]

You may want to call the insurances you have looked at directly and have them answer your questions.

 

We use Tripinsurancestore and they are always there to help us get the coverage and plan needed for our situations.

 

Agreed.

 

Speak with STEVE, who is in charge at TripInsuranceStore.com, and thus probably the most familiar with any special policies that would work for this specific situation.

There are some age limits on some policies, so he can find the ones that would be suitable for your needs.

 

The costs would be the same as if you went directly to the insurer, but the insurers will NOT be helping you to compare their policies with something else that might be better for you!

 

And as others have said, you probably DO want medical/evacuation coverage - ESPECIALLY in this case. Money/cost is one thing you do NOT want to be worrying about if she has a medical emergency on the ship or at a distant port.

 

And for very little extra money, you can probably add MedJetAssist.

What this does is, once she is taken to any hospital and admitted, YOU/SHE then get to decide if you would like to have her medevac'd to some OTHER hospital, ANYPLACE YOU WISH.

And you do NOT need to get permission from any insurance rep, nor would you need for any local physician to declare his/her hospital wasn't satisfactory for the medical/surgical needs, and that a transfer was thus necessary.

And this is very inexpensive coverage, because it's rarely needed. But IF it is, it can cost a true fortune.

 

You probably also want "Cancel For Any Reason" coverage, so even if there is no medically-required reason to cancel, YOU can decide if you think it "might be too stressful", and cancel. I think most policies allow somewhere in the range of 50%, 75%, or 90% refunds for this type of coverage. You'd make the right decision for her health, no matter what, but if that happened, "just to be prudent", then at least you'd get a big chunk of your money back.

 

We hope that all goes well, the insurance provides you with peace of mind during the planning and the trip, and that all goes well and you all have a wonderful time :)

 

GeezerCouple