Serious question: Why does anyone buy trip insurance unless old or tight budget?

[Hikini]

Things don't just happen to "old people". We were on a cruise a couple years ago where a man in his 50's had a heart attack. As luck would have it we were out in the middle of nowhere in Canada, and the ship had to turn around and go back towards land (several hours) and meet up with a Coast Guard boat that would take the poor man to land, and then board a small plane that could take him to a larger city where there was a hospital.

 

We were all glad to find out later in the cruise that the man survived, but I can only imagine what kind of bills he was racking up and I certainly hope he and his wife and kids had insurance for all of the extra expenses they incurred. The wife and kids stayed on the ship but when we arrived in the next port they flew to the city where he was in the hospital.

[smeyer418]

Unless they paid up front, probably nothing.

 

The country of Bermuda has zero power to collect from your assets in your home country.

 

oh I don't think so..

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enforcement_of_foreign_judgments

 

first Bermuda is a commonwealth nation. So I while I am not a UK lawyer I would think it might mean more.

[rusky123]

I had an argument with a 'banana boat' in Malta a few years ago After a few days in hospital, my hubby was put up in a very nice hotel, a cat scan, and many thousands of pounds later, I was allowed to fly home, on a special jet to a different airport in the UK, a driver was waiting for me in a very special well spring limo to drive us to our original airport where we had parked the car. The insurance was free with our credit card, a 1 trip insurance is usually about £20, our trip for a few days in Malta for a family wedding was under £200, our final bill for my accident was £10,000+. I did not have to pay a penny up front, my credit card charged itself, insurance for travel abroad for me is a no-brainer.

Travel insurance also covers us against the nastier elements of society, the thieves etc., our home and contents insurance does not cover much away from home.

Lets hope the worse does not happen, but paying a few quid up front just in case does give a little peace of mind x

[GeezerCouple]

Didn't know they sell medical evac insurance, but I can totally see buying that.

 

Buying complete trip insurance is a huge waste of money.

 

BTW getting a hotel and flying home unexpectedly from a port isn't cheap, but it's not prohibitively expensive. That's not a good reason to be buying trip insurance unless you are really low on funds.

 

The medical evac thing makes more sense, as that can indeed be very expensive.

 

So YOU should not get travel insurance.

(And hope you don't need medical care in a country where you have no insurance, AND they require payment in advance because they know the same thing you know - once you've been "cured" and left the country, they'll have trouble collecting.)

 

And most of us don't care to spend our money on poker.

 

That's why there are choices.

 

GeezerCouple

[tel2]

Have you looked into how much they would actually cover for a medical evacuation?

 

Have you looked into whether they would grant a medical evacuation of a port did indeed have a hospital to perform these services, even if at a lower standard than US hospitals?

 

For some reason I doubt that a trip insurance policy for a few hundred bucks is going to pay for an expensive medical evacuation if you break a bone.

 

Also many medical insurance policies WILL pay for these costs (or at least a percentage of them) as part of their "out of network" coverage.

 

Actually, my travel insurance covers all of those things when I select that level of coverage, which it have when we travelled to less developed countries. I do not buy the Ncl insurance. My personal medical coverage will cover some of it, but far from all of it.

[garycarla]

I do see why many people buy insurance - in case something happens.

 

But, at the same time they do are not prepared for unexpected out of pocket expenses that could be covered with a few credit cards. The vast majority of people that do not travel with cards, or do travel with one, but leave it on the ship... well, that is just crazy and illogical.

[luddite]

All insurance is a COMPLETE WASTE of money.

 

 

Until you need to use it.

 

Cruise insurance will also take care of medical stuff aboard the ship or at the ports stops.

 

Put your nickel on the counter and tell the guy what kind of candy you want.

[punkincc]

Unless they paid up front, probably nothing.

 

The country of Bermuda has zero power to collect from your assets in your home country.

 

Every report I've ever read about people who sought medical care outside the states stated that they have had to show ability to pay prior to treatment. Most people probably end up presenting a credit card, and then go home with perhaps 10s of thousands of $$ racked up on the card. Your credit card does have the power to collect from you after you get home, and hopefully you will have insurance to reimburse yourself. People with no credit cards, or low limits may be out of luck or end up being treated at facilities which may not have been their first choice. I am not taking that chance.

[tel2]

Unless they paid up front, probably nothing.

 

The country of Bermuda has zero power to collect from your assets in your home country.

 

Of course they do. They simply file a collection suit in the jurisdiction in which you have assets.

Terry

[sparks1093]

Not trying to be condescending here, but trip insurance is one of the worst value things one can purchase. It's pretty much throwing money away unless you have a high chance of using it.

 

I can only think of three scenarios where it makes sense to purchase trip insurance:

 

1) You are living on a tight budget, and the money you lose by not being able to go would be so financially devastating that you couldn't travel again for a long time.

 

2) You are old or in poor health, and there is a fair chance that something will change for the worse between now and your trip.

 

3) You have a family member who is old or in poor health, and there is a fair chance you will have to attend their funeral or final details, and have to cancel the trip.

 

Otherwise, it's a complete waste of money, yet I see many upper-middle class families waste their money on this garbage.

 

Someone please explain to me why they bother.

 

I normally don't reply before seeing what others have said before me, and I am sure others have said it but the primary reason that I get travel insurance is because I don't have $30k or more just sitting around for a medevac flight. Since a package insurance plan is not much more than a medevac only plan I go ahead and get that.

[rochelle_s]

Buying complete trip insurance is a huge waste of money.

 

BTW getting a hotel and flying home unexpectedly from a port isn't cheap, but it's not prohibitively expensive. That's not a good reason to be buying trip insurance unless you are really low on funds.

 

 

You obviously don't travel far from home, because it can very well be prohibitively expensive!

[slowhand]

Chicken Pox. Two days before our family was set to go on a Christmas vacation (Disneyland/LA) one of my kids came down with chicken pox. Then the other two did. Cancellation insurance saved the day, we were able to get a full refund of our flights/hotels and rescheduled for the following summer.

[Fishbait17]

I bought cruise insurance last year for a cruise that netted out at $15,000+ after CAS comps. I believe it cost me about $400 $500. We are not what I consider old (50), but had so much unstable stuff going on at home that I thought it was a good idea (not health stuff, just busy stuff). Sure enough, ended up canceling two weeks prior and got 75% credited back (approx $12,000) to use on our next cruise. Was worth it for me! :)

 

The other insurance features are far more important...

 

Robin

Edited July 22, 2014 by Fishbait17

[sparks1093]

Insurance companies are in the business of making profit -- usually a big profit.

 

So you are paying far more than what the benefits they provide are actually worth.

 

Now if you have to use it, of course you come out better than if you hadn't had insurance, but the value is very poor.

 

In my opinion, insurance should only be used to prevent a catastrophic loss, such as:

 

- Insuring against your home burning down or otherwise getting destroyed

- Insuring against your car being wrecked

- Insuring against you injuring someone else while driving and being liable for their medical care

- Insuring against major illnesses or injuries costing you hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars

 

These are losses that would devastate your finances and therefore insurance is smart, even if not the best value.

 

However, I see people doing things like buying dental insurance for $500/year when it has a maximum benefit of $1100. And I'm like, "What?!?!?!?"

 

Or buying an extended warranty for $12 on an item that costs $60.

 

The bottom line is that, if you can afford to eat the cost of the unlikely loss without a real effect on your finances/lifestyle, it is to your benefit to just take the chance.

 

The only exception is when you know there is a high chance something is coming.

 

For example, I won't fault the guy who is highly cavity-prone from buying dental insurance.

 

I won't fault the traveler in poor health for buying trip insurance.

 

I won't fault the guy whose mother is on her last legs buying trip insurance, knowing realistically that she could go at any time, and thus cancel the trip plans.

 

I think a lot of people aren't doing to proper research about what your regular medical plans would really cover in the case of an emergency. It might be a lot more than you think. I also think that some trip insurance purchasers are ignoring high deductibles, spotty coverage, or other loopholes that will only rear their ugly heads when it comes to using it.

 

I personally think it's a waste of money.

 

You don't need insurance for everything you do in life.

 

You may fault me all you'd like and look down on me for my decisions but rest assured I won't be looking up to you or caring that you find fault in what I do;).

[ema773]

Because you never know what can happen. My husband and I were on a cruise and received word that my father died unexpectedly from a massive heart attack. We had to fly home from Cozumel. Could we afford it if we didn't have insurance? Sure, but why risk it? It made a painful situation a little less painful knowing everything was covered.

 

Fast forward 3 years later. On a cruise with my grandmother who falls and breaks a hip on the ship while docked in San Diego. Travel insurance covered her 6 week hospital stay and her subsequent air ambulance flight back to Iowa. Without insurance the family would have paid $25K -$30K for the flights.

 

We will never cruise without insurance now. The first cruise we bought insurance for was the one where my father passed away. We cruised 2 times previously without incident. We were lucky.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bassmaster150]

My wife and I only get insurance when we are cruising overseas in Europe. When you spend $15-$18k for airfare, cruisefare, excursions, etc....$500 is mice nuts....but just in case. The other reason is that I am sure at some point with all of the foreign airports, we will get our turn at the lost luggage bingo game, and to at least have some $$$ to get more clothes is a bonus. When we cruise the Caribbean, we don't get insurance

[esp13]

Because the approximately $400 that the insurance costs is a far smaller hit to my budget and bottom line if not used than the $5000+ that will be lost if something happens and I have to cancel my cruise (which almost happened when a judge decided to reschedule a trial right into the middle of my vacation).

 

Also, having seen what happens when people don't have insurance to cover unexpected medical needs, I'd much rather "waste" that $400 every couple of years then face the alternative bankruptcy and financial ruin.

[vince_g]

The OP already made it clear what he/she thinks of insurance, so I don't see why anyone would bother trying to explain why other people buy insurance. It's none of his/her business anyway. Just another obnoxious post!

[ColinIllinois]

The OP already made it clear what he/she thinks of insurance, so I don't see why anyone would bother trying to explain why other people buy insurance. It's none of his/her business anyway. Just another obnoxious post!

 

 

Yea, pretty much failed with his "Not trying to be condescending....." opening line. :rolleyes:

[sjbdtz]

I guess what I don't understand is why people are willing to waste hundreds on trip insurance, yet slog through the mediocre MDR food and say, "This food sucks, but $119 for the UDP is just crazy, so I'll just deal with it."

 

 

Some people have different value-perceptions than you do.

 

To some people, a $15 entry fee to a poker tournament, with a chance to win $500 is a good investment.

 

To others, spending $70k on a Mercedes makes sense, but they'll spend their weekends cleaning their own house because it's usurious that the Cleaning Company wants $300 to clean the condo....

 

 

To them, perhaps, insurance is worth it, and upcharge restaurants are not.

 

 

That's why we're all different people. It's what makes life interesting.

 

 

 

.

Edited July 22, 2014 by sjbdtz

[sjbdtz]

Yea, pretty much failed with his "Not trying to be condescending....." opening line. :rolleyes:

 

 

+1 for this.

[seeing this world]

I have a rider on my home insurance for any trip.(Manulife) I live in Canada and take day trips to the USA weekly.. you have cheaper gas and beer :D. This rider covers me for everytrip i take out of my provience or from home more than 100 miles . It has good coverage and is relatively cheap.. $116 a year and covers who ever lives in our home. I have my provincial health coverage but the cost of USA hospitals would only be partially covered . I have insurance on my visa card and as long as i pay even one payment for any trip on it i am covered. I have my work insurance and coverage through my husband work coverage. Do i have enough coverage for an accident in the USA .... maybe.. i hope..

 

I live near the Buffalo New York snowbelt. I took a cruise 3 years ago and flew out on thursday night for a Sat departure. I flew out on the last flight that left for 2 days out of Buffalo NY. I would of missed my cruise and not been able to meet my friend that flew in from Australia. Insurance would of covered me but I would of been able to meet up with the ship if allowed a day later had i missed my cruise due to weather.

 

I plan for a year for my holidays i am not going to let something get in the way, my insurance covers me..

 

Anythng can happen and i don't have luck on my side. My horseshoes are broken so i don't take a lot of chance when it comes to my money, well except the slot machines.

 

I like owning my house and not being bankrupt.

[david_sobe]

Not to beat a dead horse but.......

Why buy insurance for anything? Health insurance, car insurance, home insurance, liability insurance, etc. With the price of concert tickets, they even have concert ticket insurance in case you get ill and cant make it to the concert.

Sure if you never get sick, never get a storm or flood to damage the home, etc Insurance is a big waste of money. Part of me agrees. We are ripped off in south Florida with extreme home owners insurance. But insurance is peace of mind big time.

 

I have to laugh at the extreme rich people that think only poor folk get cruise insurance because we are so poor we may never see another vacation. One word....... STUPID :eek: Stop with the judgments!

[cruznbelle]

Can't really lump trip insurance into a single category or cost - there is pretty much every flavor out there to cover all kinds of gaps based on individual needs. Considering the OP didn't know about purchasing med evac insurance - shows that he/she hasn't done enough research to form an opinion on based on facts.

 

Me - I buy med evac for caribbean trips waiting until 15 days out to purchase thus avoiding jury duty issues etc... Like others have said - for Europe - I buy much more expense insurance - watching out for terms like 'secondary medical coverage', whether I'm allowed choice of hospitals (this can be very important), allowing to be accompanied by spouse if evac'd and whether insurer covers same class of airline tickets purchased. In 2007 I did end up off the ship in Monte Carlo and hospitalized - the cell phone charges alone were extremely $$$. And yes - the cost to us was up front starting at 660 EU/day for hospital and add on hotel/food/taxis for DH- but most was reimbursed within a month of returning home.

 

To each his own - but truely DYODD and check sites like insure my trip dot com and compare to find out what gaps you are not willing to gamble on when traveling. If you don't find anything of interest - you will be better informed and never surprised.

 

Cheers!

[rochelle_s]

Not to beat a dead horse but.......

Why buy insurance for anything? Health insurance, car insurance, home insurance, liability insurance, etc. With the price of concert tickets, they even have concert ticket insurance in case you get ill and cant make it to the concert.

Sure if you never get sick, never get a storm or flood to damage the home, etc Insurance is a big waste of money. Part of me agrees. We are ripped off in south Florida with extreme home owners insurance. But insurance is peace of mind big time.

 

I have to laugh at the extreme rich people that think only poor folk get cruise insurance because we are so poor we may never see another vacation. One word....... STUPID :eek: Stop with the judgments!

 

Agree with most everything you said but the bolded part. There's plenty that like to talk the big game and puff themselves up to be something they are not. Chances are pretty good that those with the thicker wallets don't waste a moments thought on how others spend nickels.

 

 

Rochelle