Help with Insurance

[Souper Cruiser]

I could use some advice regarding travel insurance. We have 15 family members going on a cruise in June. I have been put in charge of investigating which insurance we should get and would love some sound advise. I am not sure how much insurance we need to purchase and if we should do it as a group. I don’t think we need anything too excessive but want to be covered in case any medical issues arise.

 

Here is a little background:

• We are cruising to Canada out of New York. We are driving the 2 hours to New York (thus no danger of missing a plane flight and losing our luggage.)
  
• We range in ages from 78 years old to 8 years old.
  
• Some family members have pre-existing conditions but we did not purchase insurance when we put our deposit down in August. (Too bad our TA didn’t mention it.)
  
• I believe we want to basically be covered in case of any major medical emergency for any of us.

Your wisdom would be greatly appreciated.

 

Deb

[Wennfred]

Someone here gave me this link, Although I never used insurance, this is the one most people on this website uses:

 

http://www.insuremytrip.com/

[janetz]

I would give everyone the link from the previous poster. Let everyone do their own...I mean that seems like alot to ask of you. Do some people have pre- exsisitng conditions? Etc, Etc...:o

[janetz]

There are a few that will still cover exsisitng conditions, although you may pay a little more. ;)

[D4]

When is your cruise? There are a couple policies that will cover pre-existing conditions if you buy the insurance BEFORE you make the final payment. So you might still have time to get one of those policies.

 

The website someone gave is an excellent one. However, I recommend reading the fine print of any policy (or at least most of it) before you purchase it.

 

I never cruise without trip insurance. If a medical evacuation were necessary, it could easily cost more than $30,000.

 

We've been on 11 cruises and I have always bought from these companies -- TravelGuard, Access America, Travelex, and Travel Safe. I buy whichever policy I think fits our needs best for each trip.

 

People in your group might have different needs. For example, Medicare does not cover health costs outside the USA. Some of your older family members might need a policy that has a lot of health insurance.

 

Something else to consider: I think Travelex still insures kids under 16 free when their parents are insured. (Too bad I didn't find that out until my youngest was 16!) For that reason, I'd recommend that as the top pick for any family with kids under 16.

 

For everyone else, I'd say it depends on their needs. You can probably narrow it down to a few policies and print out the comparison view on http://www.insuremytrip.com and let each family pick their own policy.

 

The price of each policy will vary with the age of the people going. Older travelers cost more to insure.

[FlightMedic555]

You are only going from NY to Canada. Excellent healthcare is available in the US and Canada, hence the requirement for medical evacuation is not really needed. Presuming you all have some type of health insurance that should surfice.

[LUPY48]

Try statravel.com it's by far the cheapest prices I've found. And you don't have to be a student to purchase.

[sharonna3]

LOL! I just posted a similiar questions on "Ask a cruise question" Board. If I get answers it might have info that might be of help to you and I'll check back here for info that might help me.

 

Here's to the answers we need.

 

Smiles,

 

Sharonnna

[Pookey Jones]

I've used Travel Insurance International on several recent trips and been more than pleased. I always buy insurance since we have had to cancel twice due to medical issues. You can find them on the internet and check out their policies and premiums.

[cgc33a]

I have always purchased insurance for my cruises, not only to cover myself, but in case my elderly parents decide to get sick when I am away (or about to go). I have always used insuremytrip.com but on one cruise when the folks came with me, it was cheaper to use Carnival's insurance for them than the outside companies (I used one that gave included the kids free). The independent insurers go by age of the travelers but the cruise lines do not. Using the cruiseline's insurance is often not recommended in case of carrier default but for that particular cruise, it was a "last minute" (about 4-6 weeks in advance) cruise so that was not so much an issue (we purchased more for the medical supplement etc).