Experiences with Oceania travel insurance?

[smoothsailors]

While Chase Sapphire Preferred does offer 10K Trip Cancellation coverage, please be aware that it does NOT apply if there are any pre-existing conditions...believe this is true of all credit cards.

 

Thank you, Flatbush Flyer, for mentioning the "door-to-door" dates...if we're renting a car to drive to/from an airport or port and home, we always extend the travel dates from pick-up to rental return just in case.

[Jancruz]

Thank you for sharing that..it is NOT what Chase told me and I will check again ..

Thanks again..

Jancruz1

[Flatbush Flyer]

Thank you for sharing that..it is NOT what Chase told me and I will check again ..

 

Thanks again..

 

Jancruz1

 

 

Don't know about Sapphire. But, UA Explorer (also Chase) does not cover trip cancellation that involves preexisting conditions. However, this probably had the same "look back" window (though it doesn't address it in the fine print).

[Flatbush Flyer]

Heres what I do..I have Chase Saphire which covers up to $10,000 each on our cards for cancellation and Alianz yearly health travel policy which is $254.00 per person per year..works for me and is not expensive..

 

Jancruz1

 

 

You may also want to verify that your Allianz yearly policy is a primary payer (as opposed to a supplement [or secondary] for your regular health insurance, thus requiring COB across multiple states [and] countries) and recheck the very specific amount and conditions for BOTH emergency and non-emergency medevac. (Not unlike "umbrella" home policies, annual business travel health policies require a certain level of basic regular insurance).

 

These clarifying dublechecks are also important since anyone treated in a foreign emergency room (medevaced or not) also needs to get home if discharged with MD orders to a more appropriate type/level of care stateside.

Edited August 16, 2015 by Flatbush Flyer

[Caroldoll]

Can I get that supplement that you have at my age? I thought they couldn't sell yearly in California and I know you are in California

 

I do use Chase sometimes, but $10,000 each usually doesn't cover the cruise cost.

 

Flatbush Flyer...you are smart. Thanks for all your information too.

[Flatbush Flyer]

thanks for the nice comment!

Actually -I don't think it's so much "smart" as it is "attentive to detail," which is because

 

A) I am a product (victim?:-) of "Cat Lick" elementary schools.

B) growing up in Brooklyn my parents made sure that I always understood: "never pay retail."

[silkman]

Can I get that supplement that you have at my age? I thought they couldn't sell yearly in California and I know you are in California

 

I do use Chase sometimes, but $10,000 each usually doesn't cover the cruise cost.

 

Flatbush Flyer...you are smart. Thanks for all your information too.

 

 

You can use the Chase card to cover the 1st $20,000 and buy the difference from an insurance co. I checked with Travelguard who confirmed that this is not a problem ....or you can "self-insure" for the amount over $20,000,depending on your risk tolerance.

[Iamthesea]

Wow...paying 13% should make you think twice. Never encountered that much of a charge in all our 14 cruises.

 

Take a look yourself at InsureMyTrip or CSA Luxe Travel Insurance.

 

Originally Posted by kimanjo View Post

DH & I are young-ish 53 and 54. We have no pre-esiting conditions, so I buy my Travel Insurance when I make final payment.

 

Just wait until you turn 55. :D Except for a long time thyroid condition and mild A-Fib (which I think was caused by my thyroid), I was also pretty healthy. Once I turned 55, I went to pot! I am 57 and recently had a major A-Fib episode in which we are still trying to balance medication.

 

My husband, at age 63, has had no biggies up until this year. He recently had a heart cathe, but thankfully, no other heart procedures at this time. So, we are both within that 6 month lookback period, and I will probably always be.

 

For our first few cruises (beginning back in 2000) we did not get travel insurance. Only when we started traveling with my parents (and also without them, thereafter) did we take out the insurance. We purchased the pre-existing type because of them...not us! Boy how times have changed. :rolleyes:

 

smoothsailors - Since we have similar experiences as you and you have actual had to make a claim (WOW...$45K and they continue to insure you. :eek:) I think we will look into TravelGuard Gold with the extra evac supplement and compare to CSA Luxe. We are not interested in changing our credit card and not sure about MedJetAssist. Seems I read something funky the other say about the way they do things. Maybe it was that they will get you to a hospital, but then you are on your own to get back home??? Don't quote me on that! I'll check into it further.

 

I just did read the following on MJA website that I found interesting considering that $25,000 is the amount of med evacuation that the cruiseline offers.

 

Unlike medical evacuation insurance, our members are not hemmed in by preexisting conditions, service territories or restrictions on the amount or type of travel they take. The cost of a medical evacuation can range from $10,000 to $25,000, while international evacuations can cost $100,000 or more.

 

The above is in line with what I was saying in my original post. We buy the travel insurance that has the highest amount of medical evacuation coverage when flying overseas, but thought that $25,000 would be plenty for the Caribbean cruise considering that the islands are so close together and nearer Miami.

Edited August 16, 2015 by Iamthesea

[DOJO466]

Take a look yourself at InsureMyTrip or CSA Luxe Travel Insurance.

 

 

 

Just wait until you turn 55. :D Except for a long time thyroid condition and mild A-Fib (which I think was caused by my thyroid), I was also pretty healthy. Once I turned 55, I went to pot! I am 57 and recently had a major A-Fib episode in which we are still trying to balance medication.

 

My husband, at age 63, has had no biggies up until this year. He recently had a heart cathe, but thankfully, no other heart procedures at this time. So, we are both within that 6 month lookback period, and I will probably always be.

 

For our first few cruises (beginning back in 2000) we did not get travel insurance. Only when we started traveling with my parents (and also without them, thereafter) did we take out the insurance. We purchased the pre-existing type because of them...not us! Boy how times have changed. :rolleyes:

 

smoothsailors - Since we have similar experiences as you and you have actual had to make a claim (WOW...$45K and they continue to insure you. :eek:) I think we will look into TravelGuard Gold with the extra evac supplement and compare to CSA Luxe. We are not interested in changing our credit card and not sure about MedJetAssist. Seems I read something funky the other say about the way they do things. Maybe it was that they will get you to a hospital, but then you are on your own to get back home??? Don't quote me on that! I'll check into it further.

 

I just did read the following on MJA website that I found interesting considering that $25,000 is the amount of med evacuation that the cruiseline offers.

 

 

 

The above is in line with what I was saying in my original post. We buy the travel insurance that has the highest amount of medical evacuation coverage when flying overseas, but thought that $25,000 would be plenty for the Caribbean cruise considering that the islands are so close together and nearer Miami.

Both my Dh and I are well over 55 years old and we have never paid more than 10% for Insurance. DH has serious heart problems, mine are of the diabetes, hypertension ilk. When we purchase Insurance not one company has asked us what our problems may be and none have ever given us a quote of 13 percent of our travel costs. Just sayin;)

[Iamthesea]

We never purchase thru the cruise line. We use insure my trip or squaremouth. We too have pre-existing and are getting older and thus an increase in the amount for coverage. If you do decide on a plan make sure you read the preexisting clause and make sure you take out the policy within the days specified (usually 14-21 days after making initial payment). You can just insure the amount of your deposit then as you pay on account contact insurer to add it on. Of course price goes up every time you add on.

Unfortunately we had to use this insurance as we had to cancel an O cruise in April at the last minute due to my husband's bacterial pneumonia and resulting congestive heart failure. Fortunately we were still in the US as we would have been on a transatlantic the next day:eek: The insurer paid us within 4 weeks every cent we paid for the cruise. We were covered by our private insurance but the trip insurance paid co-pays and incidentals such as having to stay in Ft Lauderdale for 5 extra days, all meals, return plane fare.

I will not leave home without it. Also the hospital bill was over $59 thousand, a far cry from the $10,000 you are looking at.

 

Both my Dh and I are well over 55 years old and we have never paid more than 10% for Insurance. DH has serious heart problems, mine are of the diabetes, hypertension ilk. When we purchase Insurance not one company has asked us what our problems may be and none have ever given us a quote of 13 percent of our travel costs. Just sayin;)

 

I don't believe you ever mentioned what insurance you company you use.;)

[Flatbush Flyer]

Both my Dh and I are well over 55 years old and we have never paid more than 10% for Insurance. DH has serious heart problems, mine are of the diabetes, hypertension ilk. When we purchase Insurance not one company has asked us what our problems may be and none have ever given us a quote of 13 percent of our travel costs. Just sayin;)

 

 

Perhaps you don't fully understand the preexisting condition clauses. In general, there is no reason for the insurance company to ask you about your health upfront. If you file a claim that involves any kind of chronic issue (and even many acute ones) your medical records will be reviewed for qualifying events during the "look back" period.

[LHT28]

When we apply for insurance we have to fill in a medical questionnaire

Usually we take Trip Cancellation/interruption insurance as we have a medical plan through DH retirement package but are still asked about the pre existing questions

maybe it is our age that they ask both 65+ :eek: (when did that happen)

 

Maybe U.S. policies are different :confused:

[hondorner]

We always take trip insurance. We have never been asked any questions other than age and home state; never health. It's up to us to determine whether we need the waiver of pre-existing conditions.

 

In my personal opinion, everyone should seriously consider a waiver opr pre-existing conditions. Depending on the company, their definition of a pre-existing company can vary -- and it's impossible to discover that information in detail.

 

As has been mentioned, all consideration of a pre-existing condition is based on a "look back" period, which can typically vary from 60 days to 180 days (that information is available on web sites like insuremytrip.com). Any medical thing that has happened outside that period is not considered pre-existing. Any medical thing that happens within the look back period could be a basis for a denial based on a pre-existing condition. As a far-fetched but plausible example, if you break your arm during the look back period, and later develop an embolism in your arm that could be traced to the break, and suffer a stroke as a result, you could potentially be denied.

 

The normal things that can trigger a denial based on a pre-existing condition include things like a change in medication, a diagnostic examination such as an cardiac echogram or EKG, and any new diagnosis during that period. Most of the policies I buy have a 180 day look back, and because of my 11 year-old heart diagnoses, I have both EKGs and echograms every 6 months, alternating. That's a diagnostic test related to my heart every 3 months on average. If I had a heart problem that caused a cancellation or interruption of a cruise, and did not have a waiver, I would be denied coverage.

 

I did have such a situation in March, 2010, experiencing a small stroke 2 days before a back-to-back 24 day cruise. Fortunately, I had a waiver and the insurance paid all monies that could have been lost.

 

The insurance for our 180 day world cruise was over $14,000. At the time of booking, in July, 2013, I insured the amount for which we were at risk -- $250 per person. That got me the waiver. It cost over $1,600 to insure $500, but was worth every penny. We paid the balance in July, 2014, the date of final payment, which was 6 months before the cruise was scheduled.

 

As it turned out, after the Insignia fire we re-booked for January 2016, and our insurance company (John Hancock, the only company that would insure a cruise of that length and cost), gracefully extended the coverage at no additional cost.

 

I will have complete examinations by my primary doctor, cardiologist and orthopedist (who injects my knees) in December, just prior to the cruise, which will include an EKG, echogram, diagnostics of my implanted defibrillator and xrays, all of which would trigger a pre-existing condition if I had not paid for the waiver over 2 years ago.

 

There is no situation on which I would rely on credit card or other "free" coverage, especially when it's very difficult to get an "explanation of benefits" that describes coverage in detail. I would also never rely on cruise line coverage for two reasons their benefits are often so low as to be nearly worthless, and they do not provide any coverage in the event the cruise line itself ceases operation for reasons such as bankruptcy. While I do not expect NCLH to go bankrupt, it's still something to consider.

Edited August 17, 2015 by hondorner

[DOJO466]

I don't believe you ever mentioned what insurance you company you use.;)

 

I have used Travelex, Travel Guard and a few others there depending on price and coverage. Roam Right was the insurer that paid on our claim this past April.

[smoothsailors]

So glad to hear that you were able to rebook and move your insurance over to January's cruise keeping the waiver...and thanks for the information about John Hancock.

 

I never thought we'd be able to consider a World Cruise with my husband's AICD and other concerns, but you're inspiring me to dream ahead!!! He's monitored wirelessly every 3 months...are there any provisions aboard for that?

 

We wish you Happy Planning and a WONDERFUL trip!

[hondorner]

So glad to hear that you were able to rebook and move your insurance over to January's cruise keeping the waiver...and thanks for the information about John Hancock.

 

I never thought we'd be able to consider a World Cruise with my husband's AICD and other concerns, but you're inspiring me to dream ahead!!! He's monitored wirelessly every 3 months...are there any provisions aboard for that?

 

We wish you Happy Planning and a WONDERFUL trip!

 

My Medtronic ICD is also monitored quarterly, by a device that can read the defibrillator wirelessly, but normally connects to the monitor center via standard analog phone (a land line). We no longer have a land line, and reside in a very rural area with few neighbors - none of whom have land lines. Thus, I was always scrambling to find a location with a phone jack near an electrical outlet! However, I signed up for a cellular device that connects to the monitor and searches for any cellular service, including international, to operate. I can initiate when the monitor transmits, so I can carry the monitor ashore anywhere in the world, get a signal and transmit. It operates on 110V service, so I do have to have a power converter as well as adaptor in ciuntrues with 220V power.

[smoothsailors]

Thank you SO much for this information! Do see that you are indeed in a rural, but beautiful, area...we're in Sarasota and still hold on to our landline both for the Medtronic monitor and communicating with FPL in a power failure. Great to know about being able to transmit while travelling as that monitor has saved us from unnecessary ER visits. We're definitely inspired by your World Cruise plans...we actually just came from his post change-out office interrogation and casually asked about taking a 6 month cruise. The doctor did look at me as though I was insane...but didn't say "no" either...hmmm!

 

In any event, really do appreciate learning about the cellular capability!

[hondorner]

I've had mine for just over 11 years. The first one was changed out after 5 years for one with a new battery. While the batteries have improved, I'm a bit concerned about leaving for 6 months with a 6-1/2 year-old battery. So, I had it checked in July and it will be checked again in early September to see how much it's going down. I suspect I'll be getting a replacement before the cruise.

 

If you ever drive to the east coast on state road 70 towards Fort Pierce, you'll pass our house about 4 miles west of Okeechobee. Wave as you go by -- or stop in! (it's the only house within a couple of miles in either direction)

Edited August 18, 2015 by hondorner

[Iamthesea]

I have used Travelex, Travel Guard and a few others there depending on price and coverage. Roam Right was the insurer that paid on our claim this past April.

 

Been looking over plans tonight. Are there any that are NOT secondary policies? I could have sworn that CSA was one, but now their policies are showing secondary for some items. :(

[hondorner]

Been looking over plans tonight. Are there any that are NOT secondary policies? I could have sworn that CSA was one, but now their policies are showing secondary for some items. :(

 

I can't answer that, but I can say that if you are on a Medicare or Medicare Advantage plan that has no foreign coverage, then you have no primary plan and there is no one to whom the secondary plan can look. That makes them primary whether they want to be or not, in my opinion.

Edited August 19, 2015 by hondorner

[LAexNY]

Been looking over plans tonight. Are there any that are NOT secondary policies? I could have sworn that CSA was one, but now their policies are showing secondary for some items. :(

 

We use tripinsurancestore.com. If you look on their site, you will see very good explanations of the different policies they write and the difference between primary and secondary - they offer both.

[Flatbush Flyer]

Been looking over plans tonight. Are there any that are NOT secondary policies? I could have sworn that CSA was one, but now their policies are showing secondary for some items. :(

 

 

We use Travelex "travel select," which is a stand alone comprehensive travel policy. No other primary insurance is required.

 

The Travelex "confirmation of coverage" document clearly states "first payer coverage." Of course, if you try to double dip another insurance, they reserve the right to examine your EOBs and they may move to recoup funds from the other coverage.

Edited August 19, 2015 by Flatbush Flyer

[Iamthesea]

Have you ever made a claim with Travelex?

 

I can't answer that, but I can say that if you are on a Medicare or Medicare Advantage plan that has no foreign coverage, then you have no primary plan and there is no one to whom the secondary plan can look. That makes them primary whether they want to be or not, in my opinion.

 

No, we are too young for Medicare. As I mentioned in my first post, our insurance, BCBS, will not cover us outside of the U.S.

 

I just don't want to have to go through the hassle of proving that our health insurance will not pay for anything before getting any reimbursements from the travel insurance and why I want the policy to say Primary.

 

We use tripinsurancestore.com. If you look on their site, you will see very good explanations of the different policies they write and the difference between primary and secondary - they offer both.

 

I use InsureMyTrip that is a very similar website with good explaination.

 

Does anyone know about Travel Insured? They have a good rating and they cover $50,000 more in Medical and $500,000 more in evacuation than Travelex for just a bit more in cost. They are also Primary.

Edited August 19, 2015 by Iamthesea

[Fam_Cruise]

Been looking over plans tonight. Are there any that are NOT secondary policies? I could have sworn that CSA was one, but now their policies are showing secondary for some items. :(

I always purchase a Travel Guard Gold policy within 15 days after making my initial deposit mainly for the two benefits bolded below. When the policy is purchased within 15 days of making one's initial deposit the following additional coverage are included:

 

• Pre-Existing Medical Condition Exclusion Waiver

• Trip Cancellation/Interruption due to Financial Default

• $250 additional Missed Connection

• $50,000 Flight Guard®

• Accident Sickness Medical Expense (Primary)

 

Also Gold policy includes $500,000 MedEvac coverage with an option of upgrading to $1,000,000 with evacuation to a hospital of your choice for an additional $5-8. When my trips include traveling to remote areas, I also go with this $5-8 additional option.

 

For those who have annual policies, purchasing this would be overkill IMO.

[Iamthesea]

Fam_Cruise - I looked at this policy, but it only seems to include $25,000 medical. And while Primary, the Med Vac is Secondary.:rolleyes:

 

:confused: I don't see anywhere where it includes the additional that you speak of here.

 

• $250 additional Missed Connection

• $50,000 Flight Guard® (What is this?)

 

Also, just so you know, the Med Vac upgrade is up to $11 (Still a deal!)