Newbie Question Regarding Travel Insurance

[ECC866]

  Hi everyone,

I am traveling on the QM2 for the first time in November, from Southampton to New York. I have a newbie question regarding the requited travel insurance.  It is something I have never done on any of my travels, however this is my first time ever at sea.  The Cunard website is very clear that it is required, especially for UK travelers (I am not), or if you have used a UK based TA (which I have).  

 

My TA has provided a link for the resources he has for insurance, and of course there is the Holiday Extra link on Cunard's website. I am just a bit confused.

 

Do I really need it?  If so, will they look closely at the policy? (the policy the TA is offering is less then than the minimum that Cunard requires).  

 

Thank you in advance for any thoughts or suggestions!

 

Edward

[Clewgarnet]

I strongly recommend getting it. If you end up, god forbid, having to be medevacced from the ship, that's a HUGE bill to be stuck with.

 

No, Cunard don't look closely.

[Winifred 22]

How would cover you any possible medical expenses or repatriations without it ?  To me travel insurance covering all eventualities is a must. You need to make sure the cover is sufficient and would not leave you funding any shortfall out of your own resources. 

Edited August 5 by Winifred 22

[Pear Carr]

I think you will find it is a requirement when completing personal details pre boarding that you name the insurer and emergency contact details.

[D&N]

16 minutes ago, ECC866 said:

 

  Hi everyone,

I am traveling on the QM2 for the first time in November, from Southampton to New York. I have a newbie question regarding the requited travel insurance.  It is something I have never done on any of my travels, however this is my first time ever at sea.  The Cunard website is very clear that it is required, especially for UK travelers (I am not), or if you have used a UK based TA (which I have).  

 

My TA has provided a link for the resources he has for insurance, and of course there is the Holiday Extra link on Cunard's website. I am just a bit confused.

 

Do I really need it?  If so, will they look closely at the policy? (the policy the TA is offering is less then than the minimum that Cunard requires).  

 

Thank you in advance for any thoughts or suggestions!

 

Edward

If you have booked through a UK agent, they have probably made your booking under UK terms and conditions. Those conditions in the brochure from Apr 24 to Jan 26 make clear that it is a condition of contract that you have insurance. There is no mention that it only applies to UK residents.

Regarding minimums; If booking through Cunard's French agents (we don't) the insurance offer doesn't match that in UK, but repatriation is either "actual cost" or "unlimited". So it doesn't show £2M but effectively if repatriation came anywhere near that, it would cover.

 

As post #4, you need to declare contact details for insurer, not the cover level. It's highly unlikely you will be asked to present proof of cover at check-in and even less likely that the fine detail of cover would be checked.

My advice would be to buy the best cover you can obtain for where you live, and if asked you have something to present. And of course you can give those details on My Cunard.

[Summergee]

Medical expenses on the ship are very expensive. My husband had a night in the ship's hospital and it was around $3000!

[D&N]

Typical travel policies in France, and I believe other parts of mainland Europe, offer medical cover limits of €150,000 or €300,000 with repatriation a separate item.

That's probably based on an assumption that you can be repatriated and your domestic health system would take over. My concern would be to end up in a New York hospital with something like a brain injury for an extended period and medics not permitting any transport. €300,000 might not last very long.

Luckily as UK expats in France we are eligible for Staysure Expat, which offers typical UK coverage of £10M.

[ECC866]

Thank you, everyone, for your thoughts and suggestions! It has definitely helped me with next steps.  Obviously no one intends to need this coverage, but having it in place is better for peace of mind.  

[IB2]

On 8/5/2024 at 8:09 PM, ECC866 said:

 

  Hi everyone,

I am traveling on the QM2 for the first time in November, from Southampton to New York. I have a newbie question regarding the requited travel insurance.  It is something I have never done on any of my travels, however this is my first time ever at sea.  The Cunard website is very clear that it is required, especially for UK travelers (I am not), or if you have used a UK based TA (which I have).  

 

My TA has provided a link for the resources he has for insurance, and of course there is the Holiday Extra link on Cunard's website. I am just a bit confused.

 

Do I really need it?  If so, will they look closely at the policy? (the policy the TA is offering is less then than the minimum that Cunard requires).  

 

Thank you in advance for any thoughts or suggestions!

 

Edward

Asking whether you need it or not, in terms of being able to board and make the crossing, the answer is probably no.  Despite all the stuff Cunard send you in advance about insurance, I have never known them to check or make a fuss about whether you have it or not, and suspect they’re really hoping you will buy their own promoted policy.

 

On the other hand, however, of the four TAs I have done, someone has been airlifted off for medical treatment on two of them.  Those passengers will either need to have been fully insured (including for cruises, which often aren’t automatically included within standard travel policies) or have very deep pockets, particularly if their airlift happens on the American side of the Atlantic.

 

Any passenger travelling without full cruise insurance cover does need to consider the risk they are taking if their heart provides unable to cope with seven days of non-stop eating and drinking and a calorie intake probably double that to which they are normally accustomed.  

[SoCalTraveler]

As folks here have noted, the principal benefit to travel insurance is medical, especially medical evacuation.  I, too, have witnessed people being lifted off ships by helicopter. Here in the States you can use insuremytrip dot com or similar services.  That will let you compare policies.  And you can buy an annual policy, if you do multiple trips per year.  We have an annual policy from Allianz; there are others available as well.

[JimDee363636]

Although, as @SoCalTraveler has said, the biggest potential benefit of travel insurance is medical evacuation, the "trip interruption" part of the Cunard Care policy can also be fairly substantial. Just last week, I received a check for over $1,000 to compensate me for the two days (out of a 14-day QA sailing) I had to remain "in isolation" in my cabin as a result of testing positive for covid. My wife never came down with covid, so she was free to come and go as she pleased, and I was actually treated very well while in isolation---room service from the Britannia Club dining room any time I wanted it, free laundry, constant follow-up from the medical staff. And once my health insurer determines how much of my onboard medical bill they will pay (most of it was the $780.00 they charged for the anti-viral drug Paxlovid, which was well worth it---it's a wonder drug---the Cunard Care policy will reimburse me for any amount remaining.

 

And less than two years ago, on what was supposed to be a 35-day HAL cruise, I came down early on with an out-of-the-blue medical condition that the ship's doctor determined required surgery. I had to disembark the ship after seven days, and fly home from a port thousands of miles away from my home. The trip interruption compensated me and my wife for 80% of the cost of the cruise, plus the airfare home. It was a lot of money---about ten times more than the premium we had paid.

 

I did have that surgery---other than cataract surgery, it was the first surgery I've ever had (and I was 75 at the time). In fact, it was the first time I had ever been inside a hospital other than to visit someone. The whole episode opened my eyes to the fact that I wasn't indestructible. Be smart and get all the coverage you can afford.

 

Jim

[ECC866]

@JimDee363636 and @SoCalTraveler, thank you both for the feedback and personalized stories.  I am now working with my TA on securing the needed insurance.  It is always better to be safe than sorry!  

 

@JimDee363636, so sorry to hear that you took sick on your journey.  I hope you are fully recovered!  If I can ask, is Covid Testing needed prior to sail away? It isn't something I read on the website, but want to be sure to have done all that is required.  

 

Thank you again, both!

 

Edward

 

[BigMac1953]

Contrary to popular misconceptions, there is no charge for medical casevacs by Coastguard's helicopters or rescue boats, it's  the subsequent medical treatment that's astronomical.

[SoCalTraveler]

19 minutes ago, BigMac1953 said:

Contrary to popular misconceptions, there is no charge for medical casevacs by Coastguard's helicopters or rescue boats, it's  the subsequent medical treatment that's astronomical.

It's not just the subsequent care.  It's that even if you are in a fine foreign hospital, you need to get home.  And if your leg is in a cast your basic coach seat with a change of planes is not going to work.  We saw someone who broke their leg airlifted off of Iceland, presumably to a Reykjavik hospital.  I'm sure the care is fine, but you need to get home.   

[IB2]

35 minutes ago, BigMac1953 said:

Contrary to popular misconceptions, there is no charge for medical casevacs by Coastguard's helicopters or rescue boats, it's  the subsequent medical treatment that's astronomical.

And in the US or Canada....?

[BigMac1953]

25 minutes ago, IB2 said:

And in the US or Canada....?

 

Same applies.

[JimDee363636]

@ECC866

No, pre-cruise Covid testing wasn't required by Cunard this year (although it had been in 2022 on our QE cruise, but only because one country on our itinerary required it). I'm not aware of any cruise line that currently requires such testing.

 

And yes, thanks: I'm fully recovered. As I said, Paxlovid was---at least for me---a wonder drug. However, the QA's medical staff said that part of the reason for my rapid recovery was the fact that I had previously had every available covid vaccine and booster, including one just three months before the cruise. Covid may not be (for most people) as serious a disease as it once was, but it's still very much out there. It's still vital to get vaccinated.

 

Jim

[ECC866]

12 hours ago, JimDee363636 said:

@ECC866

No, pre-cruise Covid testing wasn't required by Cunard this year (although it had been in 2022 on our QE cruise, but only because one country on our itinerary required it). I'm not aware of any cruise line that currently requires such testing.

 

And yes, thanks: I'm fully recovered. As I said, Paxlovid was---at least for me---a wonder drug. However, the QA's medical staff said that part of the reason for my rapid recovery was the fact that I had previously had every available covid vaccine and booster, including one just three months before the cruise. Covid may not be (for most people) as serious a disease as it once was, but it's still very much out there. It's still vital to get vaccinated.

 

Jim

Thanks for the update and the info, Jim!

 

Definitely appreciate your perspective around COVID. Living here in the UAE before, during, and after the pandemic, was incredible.  We had some of the strictest but also most beneficial response to the entire situation - long after the rest of the world moved on. Here in Abu Dhabi we were still being tested and masked well into 2022.  Needless to say vaccination went along side all the protocols.  Even with all that, the virus still reappears in different forms today! 
 

Living thru the pandemic gave me a greater appreciation for travel and connecting with others, which is one of the reasons I am looking forward to my crossing in November.

 

Edward