jebl Posted November 25, 2014 #1 Share Posted November 25, 2014 DH and I were booked on the Nov 2 sailing of Allure. The last weekend of Sept he woke up and could not walk. Docs suspect several TIAs or mini strokes. He went to the hospital for a week and then into rehab. The rehab is just not doing anything and he will be in the nursing home long term. Still not able to walk and mild dementia. But he has had a good run and will be 88 in Jan. I cancelled the cruise and the cruise care has just sent me an email that I can expect a check for the full amount that RCI did not refund. That's really good service. Thank goodness we always take out the insurance. I would never sail without it. Kudos to RI and to Cruise Care for their prompt action. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knittinggirl Posted November 25, 2014 #2 Share Posted November 25, 2014 DH and I were booked on the Nov 2 sailing of Allure. The last weekend of Sept he woke up and could not walk. Docs suspect several TIAs or mini strokes. He went to the hospital for a week and then into rehab. The rehab is just not doing anything and he will be in the nursing home long term. Still not able to walk and mild dementia. But he has had a good run and will be 88 in Jan. I cancelled the cruise and the cruise care has just sent me an email that I can expect a check for the full amount that RCI did not refund. That's really good service. Thank goodness we always take out the insurance. I would never sail without it. Kudos to RI and to Cruise Care for their prompt action. So sorry to hear of your dh. We had to cancel or very first cruise when dh fell and broke his hip. We too always get insurance. Sent from my KFJWA using Tapatalk HD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caleby Posted November 25, 2014 #3 Share Posted November 25, 2014 I'm so very sorry about your DH. Glad you purchased insurance. I hope that in the future he will at least regain some mobility. Thank you for sharing your story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ladysilver Posted November 25, 2014 #4 Share Posted November 25, 2014 I'm so sorry about what happened to your husband. I hope he improves in time. I'm also sorry you had to cancel your cruise but I'm very glad you had insurance. We don't cruise without it either. We had a health emergency a few years while on a cruise and the insurance saved us. Literally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ERIE 13 Posted November 25, 2014 #5 Share Posted November 25, 2014 Sorry about your DH. We always take out insurance. With the price of some of these cruises it sure pays to have piece of mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCI Cruisers 004 Posted November 26, 2014 #6 Share Posted November 26, 2014 So sorry to hear this ! Thank God for insurance ! Had to use it once ourselves. Hope everything works out ok for you ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cb at sea Posted November 26, 2014 #7 Share Posted November 26, 2014 Insurance is a good bet, if you can't or don't want to absorb the cost. For healthy, wealthy folks, it's probably a sucker bet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arizona Cruz Chic Posted November 26, 2014 #8 Share Posted November 26, 2014 Sorry to hear of your husbands condition, glad you had insurance and they are processing your refund, one less thing to worry about. *** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farfromreality Posted November 26, 2014 #9 Share Posted November 26, 2014 Insurance is a good bet, if you can't or don't want to absorb the cost. For healthy, wealthy folks, it's probably a sucker bet. I'm not sure how? I am looking at $60 for trip cancellation insurance alone for my (so far) $2300 trip. It would take 2300 / 60 = 38 flawless trips before I would pay more than the cost of one cancelled trip due to unforeseen circumstances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjdixon4 Posted November 26, 2014 #10 Share Posted November 26, 2014 Thank you for sharing your story about the importance of travel insurance (for those who are so inclined). God bless your husband and I wish both of you the best of health. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3red7s Posted November 26, 2014 #11 Share Posted November 26, 2014 sending prayers and hugs your way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilda Posted November 27, 2014 #12 Share Posted November 27, 2014 Judy, so sorry for your circumstances. Glad to hear that you have one less worry....thinking good thoughts for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IWORK2CRUISE Posted November 27, 2014 #13 Share Posted November 27, 2014 jebl, Thank you for sharing and I hope that your husband will be well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCI Cruisers 004 Posted November 27, 2014 #14 Share Posted November 27, 2014 Insurance is a good bet, if you can't or don't want to absorb the cost. For healthy, wealthy folks, it's probably a sucker bet. Really ?? A sucker bet ? I'd like to know how you figure this ! We were literally headed out the door to catch our flight for our cruise when we got the call my Dad passed! Thank God I took that sucker bet ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thechicagoans Posted November 27, 2014 #15 Share Posted November 27, 2014 (edited) OP - sorry to hear about your DH's condition. Insurance is by nature a business. Insurance companies would go out of business if they paid out more than they took in (premiums). The reason we take out insurance is that the individual cost and pain of a canceled trip for most non-wealthy folks is high so we want to protect ourselves against that. If you are worth a lot of money, it is cheaper to self insure. Here's a very simplified example: Cost of Cruise: $2,500 Cost of other travel/hotels/flights/prepaid arrangements: $1,000 Total Non-Refundable Cost: $3,500 Family A: Net worth: $100,000. Annual income: $75,000 Family B: Net worth $5 million. Annual income: $500,000 Let's say the average likelihood of having to cancel the cruise is 5% (1 in 20). The insurance company would lose money if the premium they charged to offer you the insurance for less than $175 (5% of the non-refundable cost). Let's say the insurance company decides to charge $245 for the insurance. On average, they make a $70 profit per insurance policy sold (excluding the cost of selling the policy, their overhead, etc.). Now let's say both Family A and Family B take the cruise every year for 20 years. Let's say that in these 20 years, each family cancels their cruise 1 time. Family A bought insurance every year. They paid $245 * 20 = $4,900 in premiums to the insurance company and got back $3,500 from the one canceled cruise. Family A's cost is the $4,900 paid in premiums. Family B was wealthy and decided to self insure. They never paid for insurance and therefore they just lost the $3,500 on the cruise they didn't take. Family B saved $1,400 over Family A in this example. That being said, it doesn't mean Family A is making a poor decision by purchasing insurance. Perhaps $3,500 is most of their vacation budget for the year and therefore, it would be really painful to miss out on having any vacation in a given year. Family B might spend $30,000 a year on vacations so losing a little over 10% of that is not a huge deal. Insurance is a business at the end of the day. Calling it a "sucker bet" is harsh but from an actuarial standpoint, it does have negative expected cash value. The value comes from the downside protection it provides. Family A paid just $70 per year for piece of mind. Personally, we don't take out travel insurance for short trips but always by international health insurance for any trip abroad and have bought travel insurance for a once in a lifetime trip we did. It all depends on your personal situation. Edited November 27, 2014 by thechicagoans Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarea Posted November 27, 2014 #16 Share Posted November 27, 2014 How would it affect the numbers if on one of those trips, they had to pay $50,000 for an emergency medical evacuation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc320 Posted November 27, 2014 #17 Share Posted November 27, 2014 How would it affect the numbers if on one of those trips, they had to pay $50,000 for an emergency medical evacuation? That's what I was thinking!! While I would hate to lose the cost of a cruise, it would not bankrupt me....a medical emergency in a foreign country very well could...$100 or so for insurance is a small price to pay for peace of mind.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harry0 Posted November 27, 2014 #18 Share Posted November 27, 2014 Op Hope all works out Ok here goes another insurance thread. I here the term"small price to pay for peace of mind" IMO this would be the opposite for me. If I pay $100 for somthing and dont use it my mind is not peacful. If I dont have to buy it I wont. I have the international medical coverage with my health insurance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaspercat Posted November 28, 2014 #19 Share Posted November 28, 2014 OP - my heartfelt thoughts to you and your DB. I always buy travel insurance and an annual policy versus one-of as it covers all out of province travel. Knock on wood I've never had to use it but won't travel without it. A lot do and a lot like others posters feel it is a waste of money. I feel the OP situation shows its not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaspercat Posted November 28, 2014 #20 Share Posted November 28, 2014 OpHope all works out Ok here goes another insurance thread. I here the term"small price to pay for peace of mind" IMO this would be the opposite for me. If I pay $100 for somthing and dont use it my mind is not peacful. If I dont have to buy it I wont. I have the international medical coverage with my health insurance. That works for you, not everyone has that. I have coverage with my work (Canada) but still take out the insurance. Not all company's cover everything. Just my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harry0 Posted November 28, 2014 #21 Share Posted November 28, 2014 I understand most Canadians do not have international coverage-thats a different ball game. I just bought a laptop and was offered a extended coverage plan for 20% of the purchase price which would cover everything for a year or two-I never buy those either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc320 Posted November 28, 2014 #22 Share Posted November 28, 2014 I understand most Canadians do not have international coverage-thats a different ball game. I just bought a laptop and was offered a extended coverage plan for 20% of the purchase price which would cover everything for a year or two-I never buy those either. Neither do a lot of american's....I have very good health insurance in country....out of country...ZIP... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare John&LaLa Posted November 28, 2014 #23 Share Posted November 28, 2014 45 cruises, no cancellations. 2 visits to ship doctor, BCBS paid everything. May consider insurance when we get older, not yet Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mr walker Posted November 28, 2014 #24 Share Posted November 28, 2014 (edited) How would it affect the numbers if on one of those trips, they had to pay $50,000 for an emergency medical evacuation? I think that's the thinking of most. Reallistically most who can afford to take a vacation could afford to lose the actual cost of the vacation, so not take out cancellation insurance. However, it is different matter when considering medical evacuation or medical treatment in a country where your exisiting health insurance will not cover you. It is possible that that could run to many hundreds of thousands of dollars. The ciphering above by chicagoans does not factor in this aspect - I could never venture outside of Australia without comprehensive travel insurance. Dismissing insurance as a sucker bet is very simplistic. Edited November 28, 2014 by mr walker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucymorgan Posted November 28, 2014 #25 Share Posted November 28, 2014 (edited) I am so sorry Judy about your DH's health. Hope things improve for you both. In Australia, we all have the public health system to use if ill (although we are encouraged to have private health insurance). When travelling overseas I think most people in Oz buy travel insurance and for the US it is more expensive than anywhere else in the world. Our media sometimes tells stories about travelers to the US without insurance being liable for > 50 or 100 thousand dollars and losing their house or life savings. Edited November 28, 2014 by jenibor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now