Princess Platinum Vacation Protection

[dickinson]

If you have a medical claim do you have to first file with Medicare and then your secondary insurance before filing with Princess (or should I say aon who handles the claims)?    I tried calling  but recording says severely high call volume. 

[GeezerCouple]

4 minutes ago, dickinson said:

If you have a medical claim do you have to first file with Medicare and then your secondary insurance before filing with Princess (or should I say aon who handles the claims)?    I tried calling  but recording says severely high call volume. 

What does the written Princess policy say about whether you need to file with another insurer first?  There's probably a section about instructions for filing a claim, and it should state whether you need to file with other insurers first (and show they declined to pay, or perhaps any amount they didn't include, etc.).

 

When we get travel insurance, we get third party coverage, and we get "primary" coverage.  That means we are NOT required to file with any other insurer first.  It saves a lot of time, especially if the other insurance wouldn't pay much (or anything) at all anyway, which is probably what the case is with Medicare if you were not in the USA.

GC

[klfrodo]

8 minutes ago, dickinson said:

If you have a medical claim do you have to first file with Medicare and then your secondary insurance before filing with Princess (or should I say aon who handles the claims)?    I tried calling  but recording says severely high call volume. 

Yes, Princess is secondary. Therefore, even though Medicare won't pay, you must file with Medicare first, wait for the denial letter, then you file with your other insurance companies.

 

My denial letter only took a couple of weeks when I had to do this. On the claim, I specifically wrote that I knew that Medicare would deny and could they possibly speed up the denial process and issue the denial formally.

[Jersey42]

17 minutes ago, dickinson said:

If you have a medical claim do you have to first file with Medicare and then your secondary insurance before filing with Princess (or should I say aon who handles the claims)?    I tried calling  but recording says severely high call volume. 

Yes.  Princess, like all of the cruise line plans that I have seen pays secondary for medical.  So you must file with your primary provider first.  The Princess plan then picks up whatever was not covered by your primary medical insurance.

 

If you are on original Medicare without a supplement, then Medicare will deny the claim and the Princess plan will pay the usual and customary charges up to the plan's maximum.   This will take some time, but the plan should pay. (Edit: I just saw klfrodo's post that says the same thing, but offers some additional advice).

 

If you are on original Medicare with a supplement that pays for foreign travel emergency care (plans C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, M or N), then it can get more complicated.  Medicare will deny the claim, but the supplement will then pay 80% of the charges after the $250 annual deductible.  Then the Princess plan kicks in.  But whatever your supplement pays will count against your LIFETIME $50K foreign travel maximum.  If you are in this situation (Medicare with a supplement) , always find a plan in the future with primary medical coverage. It is simpler to file and it doesn't touch the lifetime $50K.

Edited February 28, 2022 by Jersey42

[Babr]

Contact them at www.aontravelclaim.com to begin the process. That will open a file for you as you begin to assemble the required documentation to submit the claim.

 

[dickinson]

Thank you all.  The only info I have from Princess states the coverages and the website to file a claim. (on their website every time I click on my state and download the plan nothing happens!) I went to the Princess claim website and it does state needing EOB's from primary/secondary insurance.   Medicare is my primary and my secondary is from my dh former employer (not medigap with a letter plan)  

I will file the claim with my secondary with the photocopy from the Medicare and You book about travel.  That is what the Aetna rep told me to do.  The only wrinkle (dh just thought of it) is that the medication I was given was over the counter cortisone cream.  If Aetna pays they will possibly take the money for the cream out of our HRA which means we are really paying for it because we use our HRA mostly for Part B premiums and prescriptions.  They may read the paperwork that the cortisone was a prescription even though it was over the counter strength.  We will have to check with Aetna tomorrow.  

[chubbypiggy]

My friend and I plan to each book our cabin as a solo passenger on 3 b2b2b Princess cruises.  If something happens (for example, one tests positive for COVID before the cruise, family emergency, etc) and one of us can't go on the cruise, then the other person does not want to go also.

 

Questions:  

If we both buy the Princess Platinum protection plan, and we link our bookings together, or one of us pays for both bookings, if one of us must cancel the cruise with a "covered reason", will the other person be able to cancel also and get a full cash refund?  Or the other person will have to cancel using "cancel for any reason" and only get FCC refund?  

[Jersey42]

35 minutes ago, chubbypiggy said:

My friend and I plan to each book our cabin as a solo passenger on 3 b2b2b Princess cruises.  If something happens (for example, one tests positive for COVID before the cruise, family emergency, etc) and one of us can't go on the cruise, then the other person does not want to go also.

 

Questions:  

If we both buy the Princess Platinum protection plan, and we link our bookings together, or one of us pays for both bookings, if one of us must cancel the cruise with a "covered reason", will the other person be able to cancel also and get a full cash refund?  Or the other person will have to cancel using "cancel for any reason" and only get FCC refund?  

I still believe that third party insurance is a much better option for most people, especially if you do not have good existing medical insurance that covers foreign travel or you have a pre-existing condition (read the definition in the Princess policy).  In any case, unless you are both in your 80s, or the 90% FCC cancel for any reason coverage is crucial, a good third party plan will provide better coverage for less money.

 

To answer your question - The other person SHOULD be covered with the linked booking because they are a traveling companion.  If it is a big concern, you may want to try to get an email response from Princess.  

 

The first covered reason in the policy says: sickness, injury or death to yourself, a traveling companion, or members of either of your immediate families which is diagnosed and treated by a physician at the time your cruise vacation is terminated. 

 

The second bolded text above is also critical, so make sure you see a doctor.  A positive COVID in itself is technically not a covered reason.  This pretty much applies to any travel insurance you purchase.

[chubbypiggy]

Thank you for the information.

[chubbypiggy]

If cancel a cruise under the "Cancel for Any Reason" and Princess gives FCC for the refunds, is there an expiration period that the FCC must be used for future cruises?  Thank you.

[Jersey42]

31 minutes ago, chubbypiggy said:

If cancel a cruise under the "Cancel for Any Reason" and Princess gives FCC for the refunds, is there an expiration period that the FCC must be used for future cruises?  Thank you.

Yes I have been told there is an expiration date, but I have never seen it published.  You definitely have a least a year, but I'm not sure if that is book by date or sail by date.  You might want to try posting this specific question on the Princess forum and hope the mods don't send it back here.  It is a Princess specific question, so they should be OK with it.  You are more likely to get responses from someone with recent experience on the Princess forum. If you get a definitive answer, please post it here too.

[chubbypiggy]

Thank you Jersey42.  I will post the questions on the Princess forum.

[chubbypiggy]

For my upcoming 3 b2b2b cruises, instead of buying from outside insurance companies, this time, I am considering buying the Princess insurance. I am Elite so I can buy the Standard plan and will get a free upgrade to the Platinum plan. 

 

More than 10 years ago, when I inquired about the plan, I was told the cost is 8%.  Is the cost still the same?  I can't remember if the 8% cost was based on only the cabin fare or the total cost (includes cabin fare and port charges/fee), anyone knows?   Thank you.

[Jersey42]

29 minutes ago, chubbypiggy said:

Thank you Jersey42.  I will post the questions on the Princess forum.

I just posted something too and see you beat me by a few minutes.  So many things have changed and given the policy document is somewhat vague (in my opinion), I hate to give you bad advice.  Hopefully someone has recent experience. The only way to be positively certain is to have Princess put it in writing, and the chances of that happening are pretty slim.  I will follow your Princess thread along with mine to see.

 

I still stand by my opinion to also look at third party insurance unless your ages make it prohibitively expensive.  The only other downside is if you need cancel for any reason coverage, a third party CFAR plan will cost more than Princess and only give you 75% back, but it will be in cash. 

 

If you CALL tripinsurancestore.com and ask them all of your questions, they will give you a definitive answer for any policy they sell.  They definitely offer policies that fully cover your cancelation if your traveling companion (as you described) cancels for a covered reason. Another repeat - Never consider the Princess plan unless you already have good foreign travel medical coverage.  Princess' plans are very weak for medical

[Jersey42]

13 minutes ago, chubbypiggy said:

More than 10 years ago, when I inquired about the plan, I was told the cost is 8%.  Is the cost still the same?  I can't remember if the 8% cost was based on only the cabin fare or the total cost (includes cabin fare and port charges/fee), anyone knows?   Thank you.

8% of base fare for Standard Plan.  If your are Elite you get the Platinum Plan for the same 8%.  If you end up canceling after final payment date (with or without insurance), you will always get your taxes/fees refunded in cash.

 

You can always do a dummy booking on princess.com and see the cost.  Make sure you are logged in so you get your elite upgrade.

[chubbypiggy]

1 hour ago, Jersey42 said:

I still stand by my opinion to also look at third party insurance unless your ages make it prohibitively expensive.  The only other downside is if you need cancel for any reason coverage, a third party CFAR plan will cost more than Princess and only give you 75% back, but it will be in cash. 

 

I For 20+ years, we had always bought third-party insurance, mainly because we had always done only international cruises and a lot of Transatlantic cruises that had many sea days. For those cruises, third-party insurance has a much higher coverage on medical evacuation (in case we need a helicopter to take us to medical assistance).  Due to so many problems lately with flights, we decided to do 3 short b2b2b cruises (total 16 days) that do not require us to fly (the port is less than an hour drive from home) and we will hand carry our luggage and no 2 sea days in a row.  So this time, the most important factor to consider is to have CFAR (mainly for possible COVID issues).  That is why we are considering Princess protection.  

[Babr]

For the most part, third-party policies today treat COVID as any other illness. It is covered for cancellation, trip delay, or trip interruption.

 

What kind of COVID issue are you thinking might require you to resort to CFAR? 
 

I’m not trying to discourage you from having such coverage - just wondering why you think you need it for COVID.

[Jersey42]

34 minutes ago, chubbypiggy said:

I For 20+ years, we had always bought third-party insurance, mainly because we had always done only international cruises and a lot of Transatlantic cruises that had many sea days. For those cruises, third-party insurance has a much higher coverage on medical evacuation (in case we need a helicopter to take us to medical assistance).  Due to so many problems lately with flights, we decided to do 3 short b2b2b cruises (total 16 days) that do not require us to fly (the port is less than an hour drive from home) and we will hand carry our luggage and no 2 sea days in a row.  So this time, the most important factor to consider is to have CFAR (mainly for possible COVID issues).  That is why we are considering Princess protection.  

If you are sure you want the Princess plan, then purchase it when you book, or better yet at final payment.  

 

It sounds like you are really trying to do your research so you don't get hit with any surprises.  But based on some of your words, you might have some misunderstandings about trip insurance. So I still think it would be a good idea to talk with tripinsurancestore before purchasing anything.  They will not give you any info about the Princess plans, but they will spend as much time at you desire to answer all of your questions including what ifs.  You can then purchase something from them, think about it or be confident in you decision to purchase the Princess plan.

 

If you have not already decided, here are a few thoughts:

1. As @Babr said, you don't need CFAR to cancel if one of you gets COVID.  Just about any plan now covers COVID as any other illness.  Now if, you decide to cancel at the last minute because you are afraid you might get COVID, then you need CFAR.
2. If both of you have insurance, and one of you gets COVID, the other has a covered reason for cancelation with most plans.
3. Princess currently lets you cancel for any reason up to 30 days before sailing and you get a future cruise credit.  You don't need any insurance to take advantage of this.
4. Princess also currently lets you cancel up to sailing if you or a member of you traveling party tests positive within 30 days of sailing.  Again refund in the form of FCC and no insurance necessary. Unfortunately this will not work if one of you gets COVID. In this case, Princess defines the "traveling party" to include only people in the same stateroom. 
5. Emergency evacuation coverage should be fine in whatever plan you select for your back to backs. Princess only covers $75K, but that should be more than enough.  This coverage is to transfer you from a hospital to another hospital that can provide the necessary care.  It is not for a helicopter from the ship to land.   A helicopter from ship to land is extremely rare, can only happen when you are already relative close to land (not in the middle of the Atlantic), and normally would be free to you even without insurance.
6. Emergency medical (doctor, hospital, ship medical center etc) however is not the same in all plans. Even though the Princess plans are about the worst in the industry for medical, it does not matter as long as your current health insurance covers you outside of the USA.  

 

Sorry if I overemphasize medical, but that is the biggest potential unforeseen expense for most travelers.  If you cancel without insurance, the worst case scenario is you lose money you have already spent. Medical bills have the potential of being many times the cost of the trip. And the cost of the medical coverage is usually a small fraction of the cost for cancelation/interruption. 

[chubbypiggy]

Jersey42, thank you so much for such a thorough explanation!

[chubbypiggy]

Forgot to mention, that the main reason this time (since this time we plan to each book our own cabin), I am considering Princess Platinum protection is because of their CFAR.   Since we can cancel for any reason, I don't have to worry if something happens and we can't go on the cruises, we definitely can cancel without any problem and get all money refunded (FCC is fine since we cruise often).

 

 

[Babr]

Be mindful that the provision allowing cancellation up to 30 days before sailing applies to those that depart by Sept. 30, 2022.   (Use FCC by Sept. 30, 2023). I did not see the date of your proposed trip.

 

The Cruise with Confidence plans allows you to cancel within the 30 day window up to embarkation if you test positive. 
 

If you are sailing after Sept. 30, expect regular cancellation policies to apply unless COVID plans are revised or reinstated. Everyone is waiting to see how the cruise lines react to yesterday’s announcement by the CDC. 

Edited July 19, 2022 by Babr

[chubbypiggy]

My cruises are in Oct-Nov., so won't be able to take advantage of the Cruise with Confidence or COVID plans (unless extended).  To be safe, best to buy my own insurance.