Cruise Insurance Question

[Ask4Jay]

We took NCL's policy and upgraded to include medical evacuation coverage. (We are both in our 80s.)

 

 

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[queenschick9b]

I have used both - recently have mostly used the cruise line.

 

I will always get it after my dad got injured in Dominica and the insurance (which was also access America I believe) covered all the medical costs on the island and on the ship as he had to spend the night in the medical center. There was no red tape and they paid the claim in an extremely timely manner ...tbh we were pretty shocked how easy it was. We thought it would be like some medical insurance with lots of fight and going back and forth.

 

Also until we had to use it that trip we had always thought it was just trip cancellation and the other family members who were with us corrected us.

Edited July 27, 2016 by queenschick9b

[Earthworm Jim]

Agree... well stated! We consider ourselves to be "self-insured"!

 

As long as your health insurance is good enough to cover a medical evacuation from a foreign country, that's a perfectly reasonable position to take. For the cost of the cruise, if the insurance is say 10% of the trip cost, and you miss one out of 15 trips and lose all your money on it, you'd still come out ahead without insurance.

 

But for the majority (I assume) of people who don't have coverage for a medical evacuation, taking the (admittedly small) risk of a $50k evacuation bill to save the $200 cost of an insurance policy is penny-wise and pound foolish. Yes, you'll probably never have that $50k bill. But can you afford it if you do?

 

If you only want the medical coverage I think you can just put $0 as the cost of trip, so you aren't paying to insure the trip cost. You'll just get the medical coverage and pay less for the insurance. But consult with someone who knows what they are talking about (such as Steve at TripInsuranceStore.com or any other knowledgeable travel insurance retailer) before you do that. I'm no expert.

Edited July 27, 2016 by Earthworm Jim

[pe4all]

NCL travel insurance does not cover any pre-existing conditions. As a result, we get outside insurance. We use Travelguard Gold, and have had to make 2 claims - both which covered all expenses.