GeriatricNurse Posted September 13, 2022 #1 Share Posted September 13, 2022 If I were to choose one of three insurance companies, as follows, for Medical Travel Insurance, what would be your advice for me, based upon your experiences related to cost & claims? 1. Allianze 2. CAA 3. Manulife Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted September 13, 2022 #2 Share Posted September 13, 2022 Depends on what coverages you need/want What is the look back periord if you have pre existing conditions Check if they cover covid related issues I hear Manulife does We buy Trip cancelations/interuption with TIPS or RSA they also offer all inclusive packages I believe (medical ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisefan123 Posted September 13, 2022 #3 Share Posted September 13, 2022 We have used Manulife in the past. Will be using again for upcoming cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CDNPolar Posted September 13, 2022 #4 Share Posted September 13, 2022 A very close and good friend is an insurance agent that works in a brokerage. Her personal advice to us - as a friend and not as someone that is making money from us - is go with Manulife as they turn claims around very fast. Her other advice is to go through a broker as they can act as your advocate to the insurance company if you have a claim to speed up the processing of the claim. We have personally used many different companies - CAA, Manulife, TD, and others, but now based on our friends advice are using Manulife only. Fortunately for us we have never had to claim on any trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted September 13, 2022 #5 Share Posted September 13, 2022 You can buy any insurance but it is when you have to make a claim that counts 😉 Read & understand the fine print before you buy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minnitub Posted September 14, 2022 #6 Share Posted September 14, 2022 Manulife always, even after our trip was cancelled because of Covid and it took almost a year for full reimbursement, they still have the best coverage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CDNPolar Posted September 14, 2022 #7 Share Posted September 14, 2022 The other element is WHEN do you buy your trip cancellation insurance? We have been led up and down the garden path on this question many times. Some insurance packages offer "Cancel for any reason" if you buy within hours or days of booking your trip. Be careful of these because until you have made a significant or full payment, you may only lose your deposit if you cancel. We have a significantly expensive trip coming up that we pay for in full in one week's time. To this point we have only paid a deposit of $1,000.00 USD. The deposit is non-refundable. However, cancelation insurance would have cost us almost $1,000.00 CAD to cover the loss of the deposit, so we did not purchase cancelation insurance. We pay in full in one week, but the first penalty on that full payment is not for 30 days. So, we are not buying cancelation insurance for another 30 days. In the next 30 days we can cancel and receive full refund from the cruise line. We have talked to insurance brokers and companies individually. Our current and most trusted advice is not to purchase cancelation insurance until the first penalty kicks in. When you purchase cancelation insurance, it is effective immediately, so even if you have no money to lose from the cruise line, you cannot get your insurance premium back. That is gone. So, unless you have money to lose, don't buy the insurance until a penalty is in place. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted September 14, 2022 #8 Share Posted September 14, 2022 We buy ins the same day we book the cruise as we buy trip cancellation ins & have pre existing conditions I want to be covered Of course you could wait but as always READ THE FINE PRINT We have been able to transfer a policy to another trip when we canceled a cruise before final payment We book hotels/air / private tours (some require deposits) ahead of time Personal choice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CDNPolar Posted September 15, 2022 #9 Share Posted September 15, 2022 20 hours ago, LHT28 said: Of course you could wait but as always READ THE FINE PRINT We have been able to transfer a policy to another trip when we canceled a cruise before final payment Read the fine print is the key to this member's message. We have NOT been able to transfer to another trip in the past and lost the full premium. This may be different with each insurance company. The pre-existing condition clause is also interesting and I have had many a long conversation with an agent about this. This also may be different with each insurance company. Confusing for sure. A good example of this might be... I severely break a leg in January and have surgery and all is good I book a cruise in February and buy my insurance that covers pre-existing conditions A few weeks before the departure something happens with my leg that prevents me from going on the cruise - I am covered A bad example of this might be... I book a cruise in January, and buy insurance that covers pre-existing conditions - all is good, or so I think I severely break my leg somewhere between when I bought the insurance and when we depart for the trip. I need to cancel because of a complication of my leg - I am NOT covered - because this is not a pre-existing condition? The two examples above have been a thorn in my side when choosing when to buy insurance for years now as I get different responses from different people. This is where I am convinced that all insurance policies are written to trip you up and not pay... I have been explicitly told by both stories by different insurance companies. There is also the question of any pre-existing condition and the length of time that condition has been STABLE. Stable can be a different time frame depending on the insurance company and your age. Stable also gets into medication - dosage increase, AND dosage decrease or stoppage of medication. Adding medication. What this means is you also have to recognize the stable nature of your pre-existing condition between when you buy the insurance and when you travel. If you have a heart condition that is stable, but 45 days before departure your medication changes, and while on the trip, you have complications that can be tied back to the medication change, then you would be deemed NOT stable and they may not pay your claim. All this has confused the heck out of me and I still don't know who to believe and who to listen to. With that in mind, this is my rambling and understanding and it may or may not be accurate with your insurance company and your medical situation. All I can say is good luck to all when buying your insurance. First I hope you never need it, but if you do I hope it works as it should for you. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted September 15, 2022 #10 Share Posted September 15, 2022 We have had to use insurance a couple of times on pricey cruises We got most back except for the ins premium of course Better to have some insurance these days YMMV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
senorjim Posted September 16, 2022 #11 Share Posted September 16, 2022 On 9/13/2022 at 4:24 AM, GeriatricNurse said: If I were to choose one of three insurance companies, as follows, for Medical Travel Insurance, what would be your advice for me, based upon your experiences related to cost & claims? 1. Allianze 2. CAA 3. Manulife Whoever you choose I suggest you read the fine print and especially the exclusions. Some insurance providers may exclude medical evacuation from sea. A helicopter lift from the ship could cost you +- $50,000 Jim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gubby Posted September 16, 2022 #12 Share Posted September 16, 2022 2 hours ago, senorjim said: Whoever you choose I suggest you read the fine print and especially the exclusions. Some insurance providers may exclude medical evacuation from sea. A helicopter lift from the ship could cost you +- $50,000 Jim I am not questioning the fee-I just wonder where you found it. These are fees that many would like to know. Is the 50K in US or Can dollars. What country is the pickup? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
senorjim Posted September 16, 2022 #13 Share Posted September 16, 2022 1 hour ago, gubby said: I am not questioning the fee-I just wonder where you found it. These are fees that many would like to know. Is the 50K in US or Can dollars. What country is the pickup? We did a behind the scenes tour on a Princess ship and the Medical Doctor suggested to check our travel health insurance to see if we are covered for evacuation from sea. HE is the one that quoted the $50,000 for a helicopter evacuation. Likely just a ballpark and I have no idea what currency. At the time we used Blue Cross Travel Health and our policy at that time there was an exclusion. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gubby Posted September 16, 2022 #14 Share Posted September 16, 2022 Thanks Jim. I had been looking for this info, so your post was quite timely. I have added the question to my list to our insurance company as that is huge cost if one doesn't have coverage. We were covered by Gobal Excel on our last cruise, and were so happy and impressed with the way our medical emergency was handled. No helicopter evacuated though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeriatricNurse Posted September 16, 2022 Author #15 Share Posted September 16, 2022 4 hours ago, gubby said: Thanks Jim. I had been looking for this info, so your post was quite timely. I have added the question to my list to our insurance company as that is huge cost if one doesn't have coverage. We were covered by Gobal Excel on our last cruise, and were so happy and impressed with the way our medical emergency was handled. No helicopter evacuated though. In the end, I choose 'ALLIANZE', (which does INCLUDE 'MediVac', Ship to Shore)! Also, their coverage limit is $10,000,000; (same as 'Manulife'), whereas CAA is (only) $5,000,000! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gubby Posted September 17, 2022 #16 Share Posted September 17, 2022 We have used Alliance before. Their coverage was good for cancellation, but they were very slow with payments. However, it is coverage we most want, and in the end, they did pay. At one time, our medical Insurance was also with them, and they covered ALL my spouse's hospital expenses in a private heart institute in Naples, Italy. No complaints with Alliance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CDNPolar Posted September 17, 2022 #17 Share Posted September 17, 2022 On 9/16/2022 at 8:05 AM, senorjim said: Whoever you choose I suggest you read the fine print and especially the exclusions. Some insurance providers may exclude medical evacuation from sea. A helicopter lift from the ship could cost you +- $50,000 Jim I have asked Canada Life many times about medical evacuation insurance, and all I get is a very generic: "If after receiving emergency medical treatment a person remains hospitalized and requires continued care, Canada Life may arrange for the person's return to Canada where the person's health permits a medical transfer." I have again asked for more specific information as we are leaving later this year for Antarctica and it is definitely suggested that you have evacuation insurance for Antarctica. Does anyone else know anything about Canada Life's policy on this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted September 17, 2022 #18 Share Posted September 17, 2022 Most policies will only evacuated you IF your condition is stable & the attending physician deems you fit to travel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CDNPolar Posted September 17, 2022 #19 Share Posted September 17, 2022 Has anyone used "World Nomads" insurance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted September 17, 2022 #20 Share Posted September 17, 2022 27 minutes ago, CDNPolar said: Has anyone used "World Nomads" insurance? I always look at the underwriter in their case it is AIG Then check how well they pay out 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeriatricNurse Posted September 18, 2022 Author #21 Share Posted September 18, 2022 13 hours ago, gubby said: We have used Alliance before. Their coverage was good for cancellation, but they were very slow with payments. However, it is coverage we most want, and in the end, they did pay. At one time, our medical Insurance was also with them, and they covered ALL my spouse's hospital expenses in a private heart institute in Naples, Italy. No complaints with Alliance. Allianze had the the lowest quote, (for the best coverage), as compared to Manulife & CAA! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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