Cancellation Question

[WAVTAM]

Rare for any insurance to cover preexisting.

[ropomo]

There has been some discussion of "evacuation" coverage in several of the posts above.  Not to be repetitive, but this is an area that you really must read the fine print.  The term "evacuation" may not mean the same thing to you as it does to the insurance provider.  Many travel insurance policies provide for evacuation only to the nearest "licensed" or "appropriate" facility which is not the same as being repatriated to the facility of your choice near your home (repatriation is generally provided only for your remains if you should die).  As example, the link provided above for the sapphire card only refer to "evacuation" and show general descriptions and do not represent the actual contract (the term evacuation is not defined or explained).  In this example, it may only provide service as I mentioned (it may be repatriation, but don't rely on generalized summaries of the coverage or assume that you know the legal definition of the term they are using).  The actual insurance terms and conditions (contract) will have a definitions section that gives precise meanings of the terms used if not laid out in the coverage section of the T&C.  The approach we have taken for trip insurance has been to focus on adequate medical, basic evacuation that gets us to a local facility and stabilized and cancellation coverage if desired.  We have layered on MedJet which is a service, not insurance and will, once stabilized, get you and your travel companion home or to the facility of your choice.  MedJet can be purchased for a single trip, annual or multi-year subscriptions and is very reasonably priced.  The annual subscriptions will cover you for all travel, domestic and international that is more than 300 mile from your home during the subscription period.  With this combination, you can then select a less expensive trip insurance policy and wind up with more comprehensive coverage and a lower net out of pocket cost.

[Babr]

Actually it is pretty common for travel insurance to offer waivers for pre-existing conditions if certain conditions are met such as time of purchase and fitness to travel.

Some conditions may not be eligible for the waiver, but for the most part, people routinely purchase insurance in order to take advantage of it.

 

The problem, as I see it, is that many do not think they have a pre-existing condition and dismiss the idea without realizing that any doctor visit or prescription change in the look-back period can be cause for denial if it can be linked to the reason for a subsequent cancellation.

 

Perhaps you were referring to travel protection provided by credit cards. Those plans typically do not cover pre-existing conditions.

Edited August 14, 2019 by Babr

[WAVTAM]

Totally agree with above.....We actually purchase Med jet with AARP discount with annual pass.

[Heidi13]

6 hours ago, WAVTAM said:

Reserve card ….

• Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance (up to $20,000 per occurrence)
• Baggage Delay Insurance (up to $100 per day)
• Lost Luggage Reimbursement (up to $3,000 per passenger)
• Trip Delay Reimbursement (up to $500 per ticket)
• Travel Accident Insurance
• Travel and Emergency Assistance
• Emergency Medical and Dental (up to $2,500)
• Emergency Evacuation and Transportation (up to $100,000 per occurrence)

This does not include the other benefits like Priority Pass card and free Global entry/TSA and 3x points off most purchase.

Those numbers will provide coverage for short cruises, but when spending $100K+ the only option was Viking insurance.

[Vineyard View]

1 hour ago, Babr said:

Actually it is pretty common for travel insurance to offer waivers for pre-existing conditions if certain conditions are met such as time of purchase and fitness to travel.

Some conditions may not be eligible for the waiver, but for the most part, people routinely purchase insurance in order to take advantage of it.

 

The problem, as I see it, is that many do not think they have a pre-existing condition and dismiss the idea without realizing that any doctor visit or prescription change in the look-back period can be cause for denial if it can be linked to the reason for a subsequent cancellation.

 

Perhaps you were referring to travel protection provided by credit cards. Those plans typically do not cover pre-existing conditions.

Exactly correct.  For Preexisting to be available, insurance  has to be purchased within a short window of time after the initial deposit (usually 7-14 days, but have seen 21 days) and you have to be fit to travel at the time you put the deposit on your trip. When we had a medical emergency last year, we had to wait until the doctor cleared us to travel not just domestically but stating international travel before we booked any further trips, or the preexisting component would not be in play. 

 

It is also often complicated wording on the evacuation portion as ropomo explained. We had to be extremely careful with this when we were on Safari in Africa several years ago, and had not really  understood this component until that time. So no, we do not only use our credit card coverage as our trip insurance, but rather as a layer on top of comprehensive coverage. 

 

Heidi, I have never spent $100k on a cruise so I cannot imagine all the research on so many things, including insurance!  What a journey you will be taking! 

Edited August 14, 2019 by Vineyard View

[Heidi13]

4 hours ago, Vineyard View said:

Heidi, I have never spent $100k on a cruise so I cannot imagine all the research on so many things, including insurance!  What a journey you will be taking! 

Affirmative - I researched insurance options for almost a week. Not many options available, actually only Viking, so read & re-read the entire document many times. Spent over a year researching ports, attractions & private excursions.🙂

 

We also have coverage on credit cards, but would never rely on it as sole coverage. Even with the Viking insurance, the medical component is only $100K. We don't visit the U.S, without $5 - 10 Million and that is above what our Provincial medical pays.

[Vineyard View]

What a journey of a lifetime!  You would know more than most what to look for. Your experience far far exceeds any of ours on the seas!  I love the research part of travel, but wow!  You and other world cruisers on this forum are sure the experts!