Amadeus Travel Insurance Explained

[land lover]

Hi land lover,

 

I don't want to question their knowledge nor advice.

 

Here's what the Travel Safe Vacation plan's certificate says:

 

"Pre-Departure Trip Cancellation Benefits: If you cancel your Trip for a covered reason, we will reimburse you, up to the amount in the Schedule for the amount of prepaid, forfeited, non-refundable Payments or Deposits that you paid for your Trip, including up to $150.00 for the cost of airline-imposed fees to rebank frequent flyer miles for air flights to join your Trip."

 

I hope this helps.

 

Yes it does. Would all the policies have the same plan certificate? Is it just the coverage that makes the policy price differences?

appreciate your knowledge on this subject...

[iamtrustworthy]

Yes it does. Would all the policies have the same plan certificate? Is it just the coverage that makes the policy price differences?

appreciate your knowledge on this subject...

 

Hi Lori,

 

I'd be surprised if another seller was offering a plan with a different certificate. The Travel Safe certificate I have is the only one I'm aware of for their Vacation Plan.

 

It's not just the coverage that makes the policy price differences. The insurance underwriter uses complex actuarial tables to get their price plus they add in overhead (including commissions & other sales expenses) and their profit margin.

[Sadiebill]

Since this all started as a discussion about the Amadeus coverage, I want to describe how I expect it to work for me. I purchased the Amadeus coverage at the time of my cruise downpayment, with full payment due 90 days before the cruise starts. By doing that, I received insurance for the cruise cost of $4,315 for a premium of $200. For the extra $29 at the same time, I got "cancel for any reason" coverage. There are some significant drawbacks to this plan. One is the low medical coverage. The other is that if you use "cancel for any reason" all you get is a voucher for another similar cruise, and with a one year deadline. And there is minimal coverage for airiline tickets, and the other coverages are also minimal.

I then covered that by purchasing a regular travel policy before making any airline or other payments. This will cover plane tickets and other reservations, baggage, delay, and also medical care and evacuation up to $100,000 even when I'm on the cruise.

The real goal was to save a lot of money. I was unable to find any insurance package that will include the $4,315 I started with for only $200, which is the bargain from Amadeus.

I guess I should add that the only residence requirement that I worried about was resolved by finding that any US citizen is covered regardless of current location. Now I just have to hope that I don't need to test the plan.

[WIT]

Just finished reading an article in Bottom Line Personal regarding travel insurance which encouraged purchasing medical evacuation coverage which (if hospitalized) allows you to ELECT transport to the hospital of your choice. It has varying lengths of coverage and costs $85-$350. The author, Edward Hasbrouck, wrote two books in the Practical Nomad series of travel guides (Avalon). Has anyone done business with Medjet-Assist? Their website, with detailed descriptions is at:

 

http://www.medjetassistance.com/default.asp?partner=default

 

WIT

[cmthomas]

Very interesting find, WIT. From what I have learned in researching this issue the biggest exposure is medical evacuation. Second biggest is medical expenses in a foreign country if you are too ill to be moved. The rest, including the cost of the trip are known amounts and it may be wise to self insure on them.

 

It is a shame that they don't have a medical insurance benefit available to be purchased along with the evac. That would make it so much simpler to cover everything with one check!

 

Clarence:)

[Hlitner]

I would add my 2 cents (insurance does cost more than 2 cents) based on 30+ years in the medical insurance business not to mention more years as an international traveler. With the possible exception of very solid cruise lines such as those owned by Carnival Corp (Holland America, Carnival, Seaborne,etc) I would never ever consider buying a policy sold by a cruise or river boat line. Why? Because if these companies happen to go bankrupt (we can talk about Regent Cruise Line, Renaissance Cruise Line, etc) your insurance may not be worth much. Also, we generally find that these policies sold by the travel companies do not provide sufficient medical insurance (this is your major risk) or sufficient medical evacuation coverage ($50,000 should be the bare minimum here). The best advice is to stick with private highly rated insurance policies such as those sold by Travel Guard, CSA, etc. I strongly support the previous post which recommended insuremytrip.com as a great place to compare various companies. For those that hold an American Express card, you might want to call them and ask about their medical insurance coverage which is issued on an annual basis and a great buy for frequent travelers.

 

Hank

[WIT]

I would add my 2 cents (insurance does cost more than 2 cents) based on 30+ years in the medical insurance business not to mention more years as an international traveler. With the possible exception of very solid cruise lines such as those owned by Carnival Corp (Holland America, Carnival, Seaborne,etc) I would never ever consider buying a policy sold by a cruise or river boat line. Why? Because if these companies happen to go bankrupt (we can talk about Regent Cruise Line, Renaissance Cruise Line, etc) your insurance may not be worth much. Also, we generally find that these policies sold by the travel companies do not provide sufficient medical insurance (this is your major risk) or sufficient medical evacuation coverage ($50,000 should be the bare minimum here). The best advice is to stick with private highly rated insurance policies such as those sold by Travel Guard, CSA, etc. I strongly support the previous post which recommended insuremytrip.com as a great place to compare various companies. For those that hold an American Express card, you might want to call them and ask about their medical insurance coverage which is issued on an annual basis and a great buy for frequent travelers.

 

Hank

Hank - I agree with some of what you said, but I should repeat the question I asked: Has anybody done business with these "transport to any hospital if you pay the fee" people? This is something important that could help many travelers if it is genuine. It begs for confirmation.

 

From another thread, I do not agree with many of your premises about security, but I commend your courage to make the subject a topic for public discussion. I think we could all learn something.

WIT

[WIT]

Very interesting find, WIT. From what I have learned in researching this issue the biggest exposure is medical evacuation. Second biggest is medical expenses in a foreign country if you are too ill to be moved. The rest, including the cost of the trip are known amounts and it may be wise to self insure on them.

 

It is a shame that they don't have a medical insurance benefit available to be purchased along with the evac. That would make it so much simpler to cover everything with one check!

 

Clarence:)

Clarence - Given the many variations they offer it is incomprehensible they would not have a combination of 'club' benefits and medical insurance. Until they do, I think the 'properly protected' traveler would have both solid medical and an acceptable evacuation policy. The rest of you folks are rolling the dice with your eyes closed.

[Blue Bryce]

Clarence,

you are right the Amadeus insurance is not as good as the one you can get through Travel Insure Int. directly . On our first river cruise the Legendary Danube we were confronted with the same question - actually it was brought up before on this board at about the time we made our reservation. We ended up going with Travel Insured directly because of the better coverage, but it was about $ 144 more than the Amadeus insurance, which is also underwritten by Iravel Insure Int. I guess Amadeus has some kind of a group deal, since they charge $ 199 regardless of age or lenght of the cruise, whereas when you sign up with Travel Insure Int. directly this is taken into consideration. If you are older and go on a long cruise the difference can be quite substancial. It all boils down how comfortable one feels with the lesser coverage.

[MVPinBoynton]

I normally use Travelex and after reading this most informative thread, I have purchased coverage for our Amadeus Nile tour for next year through Travel Insured. Thank you all for the great info.

[AliceS]

I actually read this entire thread and though I know that it is full of information, it gives me a headache. My eyeballs are spinning in my head. We take trip insurance, but these details give me a brain freeze. Too much information. You guys know your stuff. Give us novices a bottom line to follow. Basic, please. I would say, first, take the insurance on a long, expensive trip. Next, try to get the most for the $$$. Then, it's up to you pros.

[webfoot]

I actually read this entire thread and though I know that it is full of information, it gives me a headache. My eyeballs are spinning in my head. We take trip insurance, but these details give me a brain freeze. Too much information. You guys know your stuff. Give us novices a bottom line to follow. Basic, please. I would say, first, take the insurance on a long, expensive trip. Next, try to get the most for the $$$. Then, it's up to you pros.

 

 

I agree with Alice ... this does make your head spin .. but it has been helpful. We are a couple ... my husband is 65 and I am 60 ... he does not have Medicare as we have the federal government Blue Cross/Blue Shield. We are looking for something to supplement what we have. Using the information in the various postings here, I am looking at Travel Insured's Worldwide Trip Protector for our cruise next spring. Has anyone out there purchased this particular policy.

 

Thanks!!!

[iamtrustworthy]

I agree with Alice ... this does make your head spin .. but it has been helpful. We are a couple ... my husband is 65 and I am 60 ... he does not have Medicare as we have the federal government Blue Cross/Blue Shield. We are looking for something to supplement what we have. Using the information in the various postings here, I am looking at Travel Insured's Worldwide Trip Protector for our cruise next spring. Has anyone out there purchased this particular policy.

 

Thanks!!!

 

Hi webfoot,

 

Yes, we do a lot of business with Travel Insured. They are a fine company to work with.

[webfoot]

Hi Steve,

Thanks for the info ... the price is reasonable and the coverage looks like what we need. This thread has been quite a help ... thanks for all of your input.

[iamtrustworthy]

Hi Steve,

Thanks for the info ... the price is reasonable and the coverage looks like what we need. This thread has been quite a help ... thanks for all of your input.

 

Hi webfoot,

 

If you need other advice, let me (or us) know.

[happycruizer]

Hi land lover,

 

I like secondary medical coverage because of how it pays the deductibles & copays. Unfortunately there are a few other considerations when it comes to buying a policy and as you can imagine there isn't one plan that has all the best features.

 

Pre-existing conditions coverage is complicated. Here's how pre-existing conditions, medically stable and the lookback period fit together:

 

1) Any illness, disease, or other condition (no matter how minor) existing in the lookback period is defined as a Pre-Existing Condition if it's been treated, consulted on or had a change of medication during the 60, 90 or 180 day period prior to buying the travel insurance. This is known as the Lookback Period.

 

A Pre-Existing Medical Condition includes any condition that has been examined, treated for, consulted with, received advice on or had symptoms of. This also includes any adjustments or changes in any prescription drugs or medication.

 

2) If there exists a pre-existing condition, then it has to be "medically stable". This means that the person with that pre-existing condition hasn't already taken a turn for the worse and they are able to travel when they buy the insurance. Medically Stable also means that no medical condition is known, foreseen or expected to "take a turn for the worse".

 

If the traveler has the pre-existing condition, they have to be able to travel when they get their travel insurance. Don't call us or order a policy if you're being treated now (and can't currently travel), yet your doctor says you'll be able to travel later. You will not be covered at all. Learn more about Medically Stable here.

 

3) Therefore if the person has a stable pre-existing condition, then the only way the pre-existing condition exclusion can be waived is to buy the travel insurance by the deadline. Important: Keep in mind that the pre-existing condition exclusion is being waived when you buy the travel insurance by the deadline.

 

HELP PLEASE........... final payment for our Rhine River cruise is June 6, 2008. My DH had an accident with his chainsaw in March from which he developed a life threatening infection requiring multiple surgeries/skin grafts. He is still under a doctors care but is considered to be "medically stable"and can travel [though it might be uncomfortable]; does he qualify for pre-existing coverage?

[iamtrustworthy]

HELP PLEASE........... final payment for our Rhine River cruise is June 6, 2008. My DH had an accident with his chainsaw in March from which he developed a life threatening infection requiring multiple surgeries/skin grafts. He is still under a doctors care but is considered to be "medically stable" and can travel [though it might be uncomfortable]; does he qualify for pre-existing coverage?

 

H happycruizer,

 

I'm sorry to hear about your DH. I hope he recovers quickly!

 

Which travel insurance company are you thinking about getting the plan from?

[happycruizer]

iamtrustworthy, thanks for you response. I was afraid you'de miss my post.;)

 

I am looking at CSA or HTH as listed in post #34 in this forum. I normally do not purchase insurance until after final payment is made [guess I'll know better next time] so now I'm caught. I'm glad I had bookmarked this forum early in the planning stages. BTW, we are not on the Amadeus line.

[iamtrustworthy]

iamtrustworthy, thanks for you response. I was afraid you'de miss my post.;)

 

I am looking at CSA or HTH as listed in post #34 in this forum. I normally do not purchase insurance until after final payment is made [guess I'll know better next time] so now I'm caught. I'm glad I had bookmarked this forum early in the planning stages. BTW, we are not on the Amadeus line.

 

Originally Posted by happycruizer

HELP PLEASE........... final payment for our Rhine River cruise is June 6, 2008. My DH had an accident with his chainsaw in March from which he developed a life threatening infection requiring multiple surgeries/skin grafts. He is still under a doctors care but is considered to be "medically stable" and can travel [though it might be uncomfortable]; does he qualify for pre-existing coverage?

 

Hi happycruizer,

 

If you ever need to track me down, just google me. It's amazing how many people you can find on google that you didn't know how to reach.

 

Here's what your doctor needs to tell you before you buy either CSA or HTH:

 

< Your DH is 100% able to travel today if he was leaving on a trip today. He has no medical condition that would prevent him from traveling or will cause him to return home early if he was leaving today. >

 

The reason I said "today" is because one of the rules to cover a pre-existing condition is he must be able to travel on the day the insurance is purchased.

 

It doesn't matter when the departure date is. He must be 100% able to travel on the day he gets travel insurance.

 

You need to be careful when getting the answer. The wrong answer is "he will be able to travel by the time you leave on your trip". That's a different answer from being able to travel today.

 

I hope this helps you.

[MartiniWabbit]

Most of the travel insurance companies are listed on a website called:

 

insuremytrip.com

 

you can go in and put in your info and get an instant quote. There is also a toll free number you can call with any questions. And you can compare policies, i usually compare 4.

 

We usually buy all our trip insurance there unless driving to an ocean cruise, then we usually take cruise line insurance for Caribbean.

 

We just went on Medicare, and have supplemental that does pay medical out of the country but it's a lifetime amount. No evacuation coverage and we always make sure when traveling farther than Caribbean we have at least $500K medical each, you just never know. I had a niece that had to be evacuated from China by private jet w/doctor and nurse on board, luckily she had trip insurance.

 

Hope this helps.

[halbfl2]

We, too, use http://www.insuremytrip.com and have bgt our insurance for 2 upcoming cruises thru Travel Insured as they came out on top when comparing. Both DH and I have some health problems and always get the insurance within the first 14 days of making our reservations so we can cover anything they may construe as preexisting. Fortunately, we haven't had to make a claim as yet, but have a good friend that ended up w/a pulmonary embolism on a cruise last fall, and was in a hosp. in Athens for 2 wks. Fortunately, he didn't need a medical evacuation, but needed to be seated in 1st class on his trip home because he had to constantly stretch out and get up and move. They had insurance and as far as I know, it's covered everything including the wife's stay in a nearby hotel.