Credit card included travel insurance vs. 3rd pary travel insurance policies.

[CEOofVacation]

We have always bought travel insurance through a company like Allianz. Have never tried claiming. We now have Chase Reserve card that supposedly have built in travel insurance. This card also serves as primary insurance on car rentals and carries a $450 per year fee, with $300 rebate for travel spendings. This could be tremendous saving if it truly works. Anyone with experience in trying to claim through credit card companies? We are thinking of not buying travel insurance for future travels.

[BullDawg91]

Does the card cover medical expenses? That's the primary reason I get insurance.

 

 

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[CruiserFromSC]

We have the same card and are rolling the dice that the Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption that the card provides will be enough. We did, however, purchase additional medical and emergency evacuation coverage. When the two aforementioned services are not required, the premiums were very reasonable.

[easyboy]

You need to compare the coverage, amount limits, age factor and premium rates.

 

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[jelayne]

Our credit card also provides coverage however it doesn't cover medical expenses or evacuation coverage. The coverage for trip cancellation or interruption is not adequate to reimburse us for the cruise fare and air travel.

 

We have a annual plan that we supplement with a separate evacuation insurance and the credit card insurance as a back-up. We find the annual plan costs us less than individually insuring 3-4 cruises a year.

[thinfool]

Chase Reserve card that supposedly have built in travel insurance.

 

I suggest that you explore this....while it is true, if you have to use 'supposedly' then you are in doubt.

 

Credit card insurance works fine, has limitations and does not include medical benefits.

 

We use our credit card coverage for trip cancellation/trip interruption coverage and Geo-blue for annual travel medical coverage.

[CEOofVacation]

Does the card cover medical expenses? That's the primary reason I get insurance.

 

 

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It covers $2500. Both my husband's and my medical insurance policies also cover overseas medical expenses.

 

https://www.chase.com/card-benefits/sapphirereserve/travel

[jelayne]

Took a look at the info on the link and noticed that pre-existing conditions are not covered. You may want to check on that as there can be different interpretations of what constitutes a pre-existing condition.

I had cancer 5 years ago and have fully recovered but get regular 6 month scans to insure I am still cancer free. I learned that, with some companies, if I had a scan within 6 months of booking a trip and a later scan showed the cancer had returned then it would be considered a pre-existing and the trip insurance wouldn't cover a cancellation.

 

Also the evacuation insurance requires that their Benefits Administrator approve the evacuation along with a Doctor. We have evacuation insurance with MedJet which will evacuate us to where we want to go as long as we are able to be moved. I don't want to have a accident requiring major reconstructive surgery in a small town or 3rd world country and have the location and quality of my surgeon be the decision of a Benefits Administrator.

[bakersdozen12]

As an FYI on the medical evacuation coverage: check with your Group Term Life Insurance provided by your employer. Mine had this benefit for myself and my family members while traveling.

 

 

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[Flatbush Flyer]

Took a look at the info on the link and noticed that pre-existing conditions are not covered. You may want to check on that as there can be different interpretations of what constitutes a pre-existing condition.

 

I had cancer 5 years ago and have fully recovered but get regular 6 month scans to insure I am still cancer free. I learned that, with some companies, if I had a scan within 6 months of booking a trip and a later scan showed the cancer had returned then it would be considered a pre-existing and the trip insurance wouldn't cover a cancellation.

 

 

 

Also the evacuation insurance requires that their Benefits Administrator approve the evacuation along with a Doctor. We have evacuation insurance with MedJet which will evacuate us to where we want to go as long as we are able to be moved. I don't want to have a accident requiring major reconstructive surgery in a small town or 3rd world country and have the location and quality of my surgeon be the decision of a Benefits Administrator.

 

 

No credit card insurance has waivers of pre-existing conditions. So, even though CC insurance does not include medical coverage, the trip cancel/interrupt claims will be denied if the issue is due to a "pre-existing condition," I.e., recurrence or change (or first appearance of a medical issue), such as described by the previous poster) within the "look back" period (e.g., 6 months prior to deposit date).

Also, the CC insurance limits are generally not enough (ranging from $10,000 to $20,000, depending on the card) for premium or luxury cruises. Note that there's a current thread on the Oceania forum regarding how to effectively double that coverage.

On a somewhat related issue, readers should recognize that "medical evacuation" done by the coast guard or navy from a ship to shore, in most developed countries, does not cost anything. It's the movement from the initial stabilization point to a hospital (with the means to adequately treat the problem) that is costly.

 

 

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[fshagan]

I'm glad this post came up. We use our Costco Visa card to book travel and receive 3% back, and they do include some trip cancellation / trip delay coverage.

 

They are limited on what they cover, however; the list of covered reasons includes medical issues for the traveler or his family, except without any pre-existing condition waiver as others have noted. The maximum payout is only $3,000 per traveler, so it wouldn't cover all of our costs on our typical vacation. It also doesn't allow you to cancel for things like mandatory jury duty, work conflicts, etc. On the flip side, it does cover cancellation due to a terrorist event that happens after booking.

 

We have found the travel insurance policies generally aren't too expensive to add trip cancellation to our medical insurance, but when we retire I can definitely see the need for longer term medical insurance. We believe it's important to have medical, medical transportation, and reparation expenses covered at relatively high amounts, but others are fine with more risk.

[Gracie115]

Also the evacuation insurance requires that their Benefits Administrator approve the evacuation along with a Doctor. We have evacuation insurance with MedJet which will evacuate us to where we want to go as long as we are able to be moved. I don't want to have a accident requiring major reconstructive surgery in a small town or 3rd world country and have the location and quality of my surgeon be the decision of a Benefits Administrator.

 

 

We carry Medjet too.....had friends that did not and the cost to be transported home was unbelievably high and NONE of it was covered by their insurance for just the reason you state the "Benefits Administrator" said it wasn't necessary and the surgery could be done where they were.....which was in a remote 3rd world country...not where I would want someone to cut me open and then have to recover there until able to travel....Medjet provides us security for this kind of issue.

[MVPinBoynton]

I'm glad this post came up. We use our Costco Visa card to book travel and receive 3% back, and they do include some trip cancellation / trip delay coverage.

 

They are limited on what they cover, however; the list of covered reasons includes medical issues for the traveler or his family, except without any pre-existing condition waiver as others have noted. The maximum payout is only $3,000 per traveler, so it wouldn't cover all of our costs on our typical vacation. It also doesn't allow you to cancel for things like mandatory jury duty, work conflicts, etc. On the flip side, it does cover cancellation due to a terrorist event that happens after booking.

 

We have found the travel insurance policies generally aren't too expensive to add trip cancellation to our medical insurance, but when we retire I can definitely see the need for longer term medical insurance. We believe it's important to have medical, medical transportation, and reparation expenses covered at relatively high amounts, but others are fine with more risk.

 

When I looked at the Costco Visa Card T&C's, it showed $5,000 per person. I will have to check again. I also purchased a regular trip insurance policy for the excess on an upcoming cruise, which includes medical and evacuation, so the CC insurance made it a much cheaper policy.

[chisoxfan]

All good points. The big difference with CSReserve is that it includes 100,000 med evac, My medical does cover out of country so with the 10,000 cancellation offered by Chase I feel comfortable with this coverage for most of our cruises. (previous to CReserve I would buy separate med/evac.) I certainly consider the itinerary- on a port intensive 7 night Carib I would feel very comfortable with this coverage. On an extended cruise in more exotic locales and sea days I would certainly look to boost this (med./evac.)

[CEOofVacation]

All good points. The big difference with CSReserve is that it includes 100,000 med evac, My medical does cover out of country so with the 10,000 cancellation offered by Chase I feel comfortable with this coverage for most of our cruises. (previous to CReserve I would buy separate med/evac.) I certainly consider the itinerary- on a port intensive 7 night Carib I would feel very comfortable with this coverage. On an extended cruise in more exotic locales and sea days I would certainly look to boost this (med./evac.)

Do you mind sharing which company you buy from or some of the companies that you have looked at? Thanks.

[fshagan]

When I looked at the Costco Visa Card T&C's, it showed $5,000 per person. I will have to check again. I also purchased a regular trip insurance policy for the excess on an upcoming cruise, which includes medical and evacuation, so the CC insurance made it a much cheaper policy.

 

The discrepancy bothers me. Let us know what you find out. I had to log in and then click on a link to download a PDF with the coverage information. The price of the cruise is not really that much of a risk, so if they covered $6,000 of an $8,000 trip that would be OK.

 

When we retire and plan to travel more we'll look into MedJet and annual trip medical insurance. With one trip a year, on average, it doesn't really make sense, but two or more would make that more competitive.

[Flatbush Flyer]

All good points. The big difference with CSReserve is that it includes 100,000 med evac, My medical does cover out of country so with the 10,000 cancellation offered by Chase I feel comfortable with this coverage for most of our cruises. (previous to CReserve I would buy separate med/evac.) I certainly consider the itinerary- on a port intensive 7 night Carib I would feel very comfortable with this coverage. On an extended cruise in more exotic locales and sea days I would certainly look to boost this (med./evac.)

 

 

Credit card's included insurance (any one of them - including Chase Sapphire Reserve Visa and United Explorer Visa) has no waiver of pre-existing medical conditions!!! So, if you have a new medical issue or exacerbation of a previous dx (even something as little as an Rx change) during the "look back" period (e.g., six months prior to date of cruise deposit) and that issue causes your delay or cancellation, your claim will be denied.

 

 

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[MVPinBoynton]

The discrepancy bothers me. Let us know what you find out. I had to log in and then click on a link to download a PDF with the coverage information. The price of the cruise is not really that much of a risk, so if they covered $6,000 of an $8,000 trip that would be OK.

 

When we retire and plan to travel more we'll look into MedJet and annual trip medical insurance. With one trip a year, on average, it doesn't really make sense, but two or more would make that more competitive.

 

I am glad this came up, since it is only $3,000 pp with the Costco card.

[chisoxfan]

Do you mind sharing which company you buy from or some of the companies that you have looked at? Thanks.

 

insure my trip (online broker)

[cargo13]

Not all credit cards' policies & coverages are the same. Even w/ high end credit card coverages, they can be used in tandem w/ travel insurance. This helped us: https://www.generalitravelinsurance.com/travel-resources/why-credit-cards-not-good-for-travel-insurance.html

 

Travel insurer acts as primary or secondary depending on your health insurance and credit card coverages. Our CSA plan did this seamlessly when we submitted a claim---granted we had to provide all the medical & credit card documentation but CSA handled the process with the other providers.

[PSU]

We have the Chase Sapphire card and had to cancel three cruises (one last year) and two this year because of a medical condition I developed.

Chase reimbursed the cost of the cruises with no problems (we were in suites). I believe there is a $20,000 limit.

We have been so pleased with the benefits of the card.

[lostchild]

We have the Chase Sapphire card and had to cancel three cruises (one last year) and two this year because of a medical condition I developed.

Chase reimbursed the cost of the cruises with no problems (we were in suites). I believe there is a $20,000 limit.

We have been so pleased with the benefits of the card.

 

One of my coworker had to cancel her honeymoon trip because of a death in the family. Chase Sapphire refunded her everything include her future husband's portion because she put it on her card. Although she has to say he is her "domestic partner" because he was not her spouse yet. But they didn't ask any question.

[CRZR58]

We are Canadian so we don't have US style medical insurance and our 'included in our taxes' medical isn't valid outside our province. Our Visa was the only insurance we had when my wife got sick on board a Carnival cruise before we left Miami a couple of years back. Ambulance plus 5 days in the hospital. Our out of pocket expenses were the flights and cabs, because we used them. Everything else was covered. In fact, as soon as I called the insurance folks they paid directly and we didn't even have to pay first and collect later. Got a cheque for the cost of the cruise within 6 weeks.

[JFontaine]

As always, read the fine print carefully. My credit card ($450 annual fee) defines the beneficiaries of the insurance very limitedly - the cardholder, my spouse and my children. It does not include my siblings and my parents, my significant other or his son, all traveling with me, all expenses paid for with the credit card.

[ghstudio]

There is a forum dedicated to travel insurance on Cruise Critic....interesting reading.

 

The key to travel insurance (and the difficulty) is knowing what coverage you have already through credit cards, medigap plans, your medical plans, etc.; knowing if you have a pre-existing condition (as defined by the policy); knowing how much medical insurance you need and finally knowing what the cost may be of getting home if the trip is cancelled.

 

The other key, over which you have no control because you aren't omnipotent is what might go wrong......because insurance coverage is very specific as to what they cover. For example, our cruise ship had a problem and the cruise was cancelled. We had to get home (barcelona to miami) on our own (we had only bought a one way to barcelona since the cruise ended in Miami). We though we were covered for this expense....after all celebrity cancelled the cruise...or interrupted the cruise. Nope....those weren't listed as covered...the insurance only paid us for trip delay! (it all turned out all right...but its an example of thinking you are covered and finding you aren't). Another is to carefully read the evacuation/hospital section....some policies will only get you to a facility that will (or claims they can) treat you. Try getting the insurance company to pay for you to return home if that remote hospital says they can treat your problem (thus medjet)

 

It's not easy but in almost every case, private insurance is better than the insurance offered by the cruise lines which tends to cover only the amount that the cruise line might get caught for if you didn't pay....eg $25000 evacuation will get you off the ship...but what about getting you to another hospital or home.

 

insuremytrip, squaremouth are a great help....