Travel Insurance question: Is the Princess Vacation Protection enough or should I purchase additional travel insurance

[silvertear]

Hello everyone,

 

As per the subject line, I'm wondering if the Princess Vacation Protection (platinum plan) is enough or should I look to purchase additional travel insurance from another provider?  I'm hoping I never have to use any sort of travel insurance but I figure I'd ask if I should get one, the other or both the princess and 3rd party insurance to make sure I've covered all bases.  Thanks in advance for any responses.

[Coral]

It depends on where you are cruising and what your current health coverage is and what it covers.

 

My coverage outside of the US is not great and Princess's $20K limit on medical is very low. So I do buy something else. I recently bought a GeoBlue policy (just health coverage). I have also bought an Allianz policy.

 

There is an insurance portion of CC which maybe a better place to ask this question.

 

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

Edited June 8, 2023 by Coral

[lx200gps]

5 hours ago, silvertear said:

Hello everyone,

 

As per the subject line, I'm wondering if the Princess Vacation Protection (platinum plan) is enough or should I look to purchase additional travel insurance from another provider?  I'm hoping I never have to use any sort of travel insurance but I figure I'd ask if I should get one, the other or both the princess and 3rd party insurance to make sure I've covered all bases.  Thanks in advance for any responses.

Welcome to Cruise Critic ;o)   For most people, the Princess coverage is quite limited and can "beaten" easily by other insurance products. The only benefit that is worth it for many is their Cancel For Any Reason clause, which will allow you cancel a trip for ANY reason up to just before you travel. You would then receive 100% of the non-refundable cruise fare back as an FCC, where most other insurers offering CFAR coverage only go to 75-80%.

[gottagocit]

5 hours ago, silvertear said:

Hello everyone,

 

As per the subject line, I'm wondering if the Princess Vacation Protection (platinum plan) is enough or should I look to purchase additional travel insurance from another provider?  I'm hoping I never have to use any sort of travel insurance but I figure I'd ask if I should get one, the other or both the princess and 3rd party insurance to make sure I've covered all bases.  Thanks in advance for any responses.

Are you mostly concerned about coverage of the trip interruption/cancellation or health/medical evacuation coverage?  

As already said the cancel for any reason is a huge plus of the Princess coverage which btw includes flight cost booked thru Princess Easy Air. Yes many feel their medical limits are low should you have a serious health challenge while away so many do buy additional or even alternative plans. We’ve used Geo Blue for many years (never had a claim with them) but they only cover you will traveling outside the USA. Their annual coverage plans offer reasonable coverage and reasonable rate depending on your age and essentially unlimited travel over 12 months. It’s a branch of blue cross blue shield insurance. There are several companies offering similar plans. 
 

More than likely your current medical insurance will offer limited (or no) coverage while out of the country but it’s worth verifying just in case.
 

On a side note I will add that most if not all auto insurance companies in the USA will not cover you if you rent an auto outside the USA. Just something to be aware of. 

[Coral]

I didn't realize this was your first post - Welcome!

 

The one thing to be very careful about is pre-existing conditions. My TA has an Allianz policy that covers pre-existing conditions at final payment. Most you have to buy 3rd party policy at booking to cover pre-exiting conditions. Princess's policy has a 60 day look back window on pre-existing conditions.

 

This guy has been helpful and sells a variety of polices: https://tripinsurancestore.com  - Steve is one of the main people there and he has helped me when I have had complicated trips and I am not sure how to cover it.

 

I agree - the benefit of Princess's insurance is that you can cancel for any reason and get future cruise credit (percentage depending on which policy you buy).

[Coral]

4 minutes ago, gottagocit said:

As already said the cancel for any reason is a huge plus of the Princess coverage which btw includes flight cost booked thru Princess Easy Air. Yes many feel their medical limits are low should you have a serious health challenge while away so many do buy additional or even alternative plans. We’ve used Geo Blue for many years (never had a claim with them) but they only cover you will traveling outside the USA. Their annual coverage plans offer reasonable coverage and reasonable rate depending on your age and essentially unlimited travel over 12 months. It’s a branch of blue cross blue shield insurance. There are several companies offering similar plans. 

I recently bought GeoBlue for my Alaska trip as I spent several days in Canada before and Princess's insurance wouldn't cover my time before the cruise. It was quite affordable and worked out well for my situation. I also didn't file a claim but they have a good reputation.

 

For example - if you are going to Europe for a European cruise but decided to spend a week before touring on land and you buy Princess's insurance, Princess's insurance won't cover you for your land trip. GeoBlue is a great policy for that.

 

A lot depends on your current health insurance. Mine is awful outside of the US. Others have great policies.

[DCThunder]

1 hour ago, Coral said:

A lot depends on your current health insurance. Mine is awful outside of the US. Others have great policies.

Remember too, that Medicare provides no coverage outside of the USA.  I'm not sure about Medicare supplemental plans, but I'd suspect the don't either.  So if your only US health insurance is some blend of Medicare and Medicare supplemental, you'd absolutely need travel insurance for medical.

 

 I thought I'd never need insurance coverage.  A slip and fall taking all of 2 seconds changed my mind about that once and for all.

[LACruiser88]

We always buy the Princess insurance and also a yearly Trekker plan from GeoBlue for international medical and evacuation coverage.

[MustangGT]

1 hour ago, DCThunder said:

Remember too, that Medicare provides no coverage outside of the USA.  I'm not sure about Medicare supplemental plans, but I'd suspect the don't either.  So if your only US health insurance is some blend of Medicare and Medicare supplemental, you'd absolutely need travel insurance for medical.

 

 I thought I'd never need insurance coverage.  A slip and fall taking all of 2 seconds changed my mind about that once and for all.

We have a Medicare Advantage plan and it does cover us outside the US.  Gives us peace of mind.

[DCThunder]

4 minutes ago, LACruiser88 said:

We always buy the Princess insurance and also a yearly Trekker plan from GeoBlue for international medical and evacuation coverage.

I was looking at GeoBlue Trekker coverages.  One thing I noticed was that medical expense coverage dropped from $1M to $100K when you turn 70 up until age 94.  So you can't just look at the top line coverages, and not consider the fine print.

 

I'm no insurance expert, but I'd also wonder about the subrogation of the Princess coverage and then the GeoBlue coverage for a medical or medevac situation.

[Rick&Jeannie]

We have also purchased the GeoBlue Trekker.  That combined with the Princess Platinum and what little our Medicare Advantage plans give us seems like we should be well covered.  I also just subscribed to MedJet Assist for medical evacuation.  I thought it to be very well priced for what it does for you.

[JimmyVWine]

In the past I have used a Travel Insurance comparison website that allows you to filter in what sort of coverage you want and the amounts.  Such as Cancel for any reason, or Pre-existing conditions, or Medical only.  All of the companies that people are naming here are included in the tool.  Just do an internet search for a comparison website and I'm sure it will hit you right in the mouth.  Not sure I can share the name here.  

[CruiserN1]

We purchased the Princess vacation protection because my husband has had some health issues over the past 6 months that would make him ineligible for any other plan other than very expensive cancel for any reason plans. Even plans that state that they cover pre-existing conditions limit that to stable medical conditions. If you have a pending medical test or surgery at the time you buy the insurance, the pre-existing condition waiver does not apply and you cannot get coverage. It's 95% likely that we'll be able to cruise as scheduled, but just in case it was worth it for us to get the Princess plan. Also, we are going to Alaska so our health insurance would cover us for that.

[voljeep]

4 hours ago, DCThunder said:

.  I'm not sure about Medicare supplemental plans, but I'd suspect the don't either

Ours did - 100%, no deductible - all but the $28 medical records copy fee - this was NON-COVID

[Jersey42]

6 hours ago, DCThunder said:

Remember too, that Medicare provides no coverage outside of the USA.  I'm not sure about Medicare supplemental plans, but I'd suspect the don't either.

Many Medicare Supplement plans (lettered Plans C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, M, and N) offer foreign emergency travel coverage - with limitations.  They all cover 80% after a $250 annual deductible.  There is a lifetime limit of $50K.  It doesn't matter who your carrier is, thy all work the same.  The only exception is if you are a resident of MA, MN or WI. They all have state specific plans that are different from the other states.

 

1 hour ago, voljeep said:

Ours did - 100%, no deductible - all but the $28 medical records copy fee - this was NON-COVID

If yours covered you completely, you must be a resident of Massachusetts (or possible Minnesota).  Otherwise you don't have a Medicare Supplement (aka Medigap) plan. Some Medicare Advantage plans will cover you fully outside of the US.  Some employer sponsored retiree plans (typically government or military) will also offer this kind of coverage.  

[voljeep]

1 minute ago, Jersey42 said:

Many Medicare Supplement plans (lettered Plans C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, M, and N) offer foreign emergency travel coverage - with limitations.  They all cover 80% after a $250 annual deductible.  There is a lifetime limit of $50K.  It doesn't matter who your carrier is, thy all work the same.  The only exception is if you are a resident of MA, MN or WI. They all have state specific plans that are different from the other states.

 

If yours covered you completely, you must be a resident of Massachusetts (or possible Minnesota).  Otherwise you don't have a Medicare Supplement (aka Medigap) plan. Some Medicare Advantage plans will cover you fully outside of the US.  Some employer sponsored retiree plans (typically government or military) will also offer this kind of coverage.  

Medicare Advantage - thanks for the correction

[silvertear]

Wow, all the information in this thread is great to find out about.  There were a number of things that I didn't even consider about the insurance like the total medical cost, limitations on coverage and whatnot.  I suppose I don't need to worry too much as I'll be taking an Alaska cruise in September and I'm in fairly good health (no pre-existing conditions), but I will be picking up some additional insurance for medical coverage as the Princess plan's limits are on the low side.  Thank you to everyone who chimed.

[Coral]

1 hour ago, silvertear said:

Wow, all the information in this thread is great to find out about.  There were a number of things that I didn't even consider about the insurance like the total medical cost, limitations on coverage and whatnot.  I suppose I don't need to worry too much as I'll be taking an Alaska cruise in September and I'm in fairly good health (no pre-existing conditions), but I will be picking up some additional insurance for medical coverage as the Princess plan's limits are on the low side.  Thank you to everyone who chimed.

I wasn't worried about limits on insurance for Alaska as my insurance would cover me there. I was more worried my days in Canada before the trip that was not covered by Princess's insurance and I don't have good coverage there with my employer policy.

[dforeigner]

Instead of starting a new thread, I am going to piggy back into this one.  We normally purchase supplemental insurance outside of Princess.  Mainly in case we need medical evacuation.  We have never purchased the Princess Platinum coverage.  I understand that the $20,000 medical coverage is considered low.  We do have great medical insurance which covers outside the US.  We are heading to going on a West Caribbean Cruise.  

 

My concerns are, not familiar with hospitals outside the US, do you have to pay upfront or do they accept payment through the insurance company.  Will the Princess Platinum coverage be enough?  Thank you

[dickinson]

4 hours ago, dforeigner said:

Instead of starting a new thread, I am going to piggy back into this one.  We normally purchase supplemental insurance outside of Princess.  Mainly in case we need medical evacuation.  We have never purchased the Princess Platinum coverage.  I understand that the $20,000 medical coverage is considered low.  We do have great medical insurance which covers outside the US.  We are heading to going on a West Caribbean Cruise.  

 

My concerns are, not familiar with hospitals outside the US, do you have to pay upfront or do they accept payment through the insurance company.  Will the Princess Platinum coverage be enough?  Thank you

Outside the US you have to pay because they don't accept your insurance.  Have credit cards with high limits.  Princess Platinum is enough if your medical costs are less than $20,000.  If more than no.  Most people, including me, advise to get 3rd party insurance.  There is a forum here that deals strictly with travel insurance.  I suggest you read it.  Also, I would call Trip Insurance Store.  They are great.  There is currently a Q&A with the owner.  https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/2648-qa-cruise-insurance-with-steve-dasseos-of-the-tripinsurancestorecom-summer-2023/

[dforeigner]

Thank you

[ChangeOrder]

I don't get the Princess insurance. I buy a policy through CSA/Generali for each trip that covers everything. Cancel any reason, covers me from the moment I leave my house to begin the trip, reimbursement for the points I cashed in to buy the flights to Asia etc. The Princess policies are fairly limited when you want whole-trip coverage.