Travel Insurance

[drewdrewcruiser]

What are the pros/cons of purchasing primary vs secondary travel insurance?  

[I_r_a]

Hi DD

 

What forms(s) of insurance do you now have?

 

Ira

[katiel53]

I  purchase primary insurance as I don't want to go through the trouble of perhaps getting rejected by my own insurance and thus delaying reimbursement.  My insurance  does not cover me out of the country, but in the past when I had to use the purchased insurance, I had to get the rejection first etc.

 

I don't see any con to getting insurance as primary other than it may be slightly more expensive.

[drewdrewcruiser]

10 minutes ago, I_r_a said:

Hi DD

 

What forms(s) of insurance do you now have?

 

Ira

Not sure what you are asking? 

[Clarea]

4 minutes ago, drewdrewcruiser said:

Not sure what you are asking? 

 

Primary insurance pays first, secondary pays after primary.

 

In other words, if the insurance is secondary, you have to file a claim with your primary first, and whatever they don't pay you then file with the secondary.

[Glide_Path]

Primary.  File claim with primary directly, they pay if terms and condition are fulfilled.

 

Secondary.  File with your primary first, what ever amount they pay (or don't pay), then you take the EOB/P  Explanation of Benefit/payment from the primary, and file a 2nd time to the secondary insurance.  Secondary usually slightly cheaper in cost, but takes way longer, and usually takes a lot more paper work and frustration to get paid/reimbursed.

[drewdrewcruiser]

4 minutes ago, Glide_Path said:

Primary.  File claim with primary directly, they pay if terms and condition are fulfilled.

 

Secondary.  File with your primary first, what ever amount they pay (or don't pay), then you take the EOB/P  Explanation of Benefit/payment from the primary, and file a 2nd time to the secondary insurance.  Secondary usually slightly cheaper in cost, but takes way longer, and usually takes a lot more paper work and frustration to get paid/reimbursed.

Thank you.  This helps a lot.  So now I just need to figure out if the cost savings for secondary is worth the increased time/frustration if I needed to file a claim.  I've purchased travel insurance in the past and never really thought about the difference between primary and secondary.  Never had to file a claim either. 

[tobyt]

Be certain that you ask if the secondary will pay if primary rejects. Example if you have an ear infection in Paris and seek care and primary only pays claims/ visits within their network be certain the secondary is NOT taking into account if primary paid.

[GeezerCouple]

5 hours ago, tobyt said:

Be certain that you ask if the secondary will pay if primary rejects. Example if you have an ear infection in Paris and seek care and primary only pays claims/ visits within their network be certain the secondary is NOT taking into account if primary paid.

 

Not sure what this means. The *point* of a policy being "Secondary" is so they WILL pay if the primary does not pay (or if there is not other policy).

 

Also, something to consider:  Some regular health insurance policies have limited lifetime out-of-country benefits (perhaps only $50k).  So IF you have that type of regular health coverage, then you probably WANT to get PRIMARY travel insurance. That way, you probably won't use up any of that quota on your regular policy, and can keep it for some possible need when you don't have travel insurance.

GC

[GeezerCouple]

I forgot to mention... there is a section of CC that is devoted to travel insurane

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/499-cruisetravel-insurance/

 

It's a good place to post questions, and also just to browse to "learn more".

 

GC

[ldubs]

38 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

Not sure what this means. The *point* of a policy being "Secondary" is so they WILL pay if the primary does not pay (or if there is not other policy).

 

Also, something to consider:  Some regular health insurance policies have limited lifetime out-of-country benefits (perhaps only $50k).  So IF you have that type of regular health coverage, then you probably WANT to get PRIMARY travel insurance. That way, you probably won't use up any of that quota on your regular policy, and can keep it for some possible need when you don't have travel insurance.

GC

 

Out-of-country coverage from my personal health plan is for emergency room/first aid type claims only.   But we have had secondary travel coverage still work when I had no primary coverage. We did have to show the claim was not covered by our health insurer.  IDK, I wonder if any of the travel policies that are secondary have a clause that requires underlying primary coverage.  Maybe that is what Tobyt was getting at -- IDK.   

Edited August 7, 2019 by ldubs

[crystalspin]

Our GeoBlue Trekker (annual plan) requires subscribers to have a primary health plan.

 

I always thought that was so you didn't wait until you were ill, then go on a trip for their coverage!

[SRF]

20 hours ago, drewdrewcruiser said:

Thank you.  This helps a lot.  So now I just need to figure out if the cost savings for secondary is worth the increased time/frustration if I needed to file a claim.  I've purchased travel insurance in the past and never really thought about the difference between primary and secondary.  Never had to file a claim either. 

 

Does your current plan cover you when traveling outside the country?  If yes, secondary is fine.

 

If no, secondary may take longer.  But if your current is Medicare only, then secondary it not a big deal.  This based on dealing with an medical issue on a cruise for my Mother.

[iamtrustworthy]

What Does Primary (First Payer) or Secondary (Excess) Medical Coverage Mean & How Do They Differ?

 

Primary (First Payer) Medical Coverage means your medical bills are paid from the first dollar. No “coordination of benefit” claim forms need to be filed. You need to know that many travel insurance plans with primary (First Payer) medical benefits will still ask on the claim forms if you have other medical insurance. If you answer “yes”, they will likely submit your claim to your other insurance first and process your claim as Secondary coverage. All our companies say the answer should be “no” if they want it processed as primary.

 

Primary (First Payer) Medical Coverage works best if your medical claim is less than the coverage amount. That’s because your travel insurance will pay the claim up to its limit. But, when the Primary travel insurance benefits are exhausted, your other insurance won’t count your deductibles and co-pays as paid.

 

For example, here’s what happens if you have a $70,000 medical claim with a travel insurance plan that has $50,000 Primary (First Payer) coverage:

- You submit the $70,000 medical claim to the travel insurance. It pays $50,000 (its maximum)
- You submit the remaining $20,000 to your medical insurance plan. Let’s say it has a $5,000 deductible with a 20% copay.
- Of this $20,000, your medical insurance plan pays $12,000 and you will be liable for at least that $8,000 ($5,000 deductible & $3,000 copay). You could be liable for more. Here’s how: Gayle B. says: “I work for Blue Cross Illinois. Please keep in mind if your travel insurance pays primary to the providers, those medical providers do not have to apply the Blue Cross discount so the billed charges may be quite higher. I would check carefully and call your Blue Cross customer service number on the back of your ID card before you make a decision”.

 

Secondary Medical Coverage means your medical bills are paid after any other coverage you have pays its share. This means that Secondary coverage will pay all deductibles, out-of-pocket expenses and co-pays up to its coverage limit. The only real drawback to a Secondary Medical plan is that it can be a lot of extra time-consuming paperwork, made worse by complicated prescription benefits.

 

For example, here’s what happens if you have a $6,000 medical claim ($5,500 medical & $500 prescriptions) with a travel insurance plan that has $25,000 Secondary coverage:

- You submit the $6,000 medical claim to your medical insurance plan. Let’s say it has a $1,000 deductible with a 20% copay and a $500 prescription deductible
- You get your medical EOB (explanation of benefits), but not your prescription EOB
- You get your prescription EOB
- You submit the amounts shown as “Patient’s Responsibility” to the travel insurance. Unless you already satisfied some or all your deductibles, you’ll be claiming payment for $4000 (80% of the remainder of this: $6,000 – $1,000 medical deductible & $500 prescription deductible)

 

Here’s a little detail that’s good to know: You probably will have to pay your medical bills yourself while on your trip. That’s because travel insurance plans are “indemnification” plans (you will be reimbursed – indemnified) after your trip by the insurance company. Travel insurance is not a “pay on behalf of” plan. You don’t just give the medical facility a card. In some cases, a few companies can advance payment to the medical facility, but it’s on a case-by-case basis.

Here’s another little detail that’s good to know: Secondary coverage assumes you have other coverage that’s Primary. If you have no other coverage Secondary, in effect, becomes Primary.
 

I hope this made sense,

 

Steve

Edited August 11, 2019 by iamtrustworthy
I forgot the ending