Bummer - Didn't Buy the Insurance...

[sail7seas]

You have to check each policy but as a rule of thumb, most need to be written within between 10 to 14 days in order to cover any pre-existing condition. Each has its own specific rules. Remember, it may not be you or DH with the pre-exisiting condition but could be a parent/child etc

 

Glad to hear your DH is doing well.

 

[hot4disney]

I always get insurance..no matter what. You don't know what may happen. I have only been (un)?fortunate enough to use it once.

 

To be honest, I never take a trip where airfare is involved that I do not take insurance.

 

So sorry he is not up to it, but hope he starts feeling better soon!

 

Good luck!

[HeatherInFlorida]

CoupleOnTheGo, you would be much better off going to insuremytrip.com to take a look at less expensive policies than HALs. On the other hand, the cruise was such a good deal for you, in this particular case I'm not sure it would have been worth it for you. So glad your husband is doing well and is on the mend. That's the most important thing.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Heather, don't you have anything else better to do today?

 

Btw, I believe someone else pointed out that the posting guidelines prohibit making critical comments about spelling and grammar errors.

 

This isn't the first time you have misunderstood a post of mine.

 

Jade, what I should have done was report your post and have it deleted along with this one. Why not just offer a nice apology to Sail for your inappropriate remark and move on?

 

I definitely did not misunderstand your post.

 

And, no, nothing better to do than watch out for my friends today. Aren't I lucky? It's a good life.:D

[cruiseco]

Sail is your Medical evacuation Coverage part of your regular medical Insurance or do you have a separate policy..

 

We never took Insurance until we were on Medicare..Unfortunately Medicare will not cover medical out of the country & our secondary Insurance will therefore not cover us..However I'm also wondering if it is possible to get separate medical evacuation coverage & how does it work ?

 

Wonder if everyone is aware of the fact that even if you have Med. Evacuation Coverage the Dr. at the Hospital which the injured/ill passenger was taken must certify that their Hospital cannot adequately treat the patient & they must be evacuated home..Many Hospital Physicians will not certify that they cannot treat you..It absolutely does no good if the patient or accompanying member says they want to go home..

 

We had a case on the Prinsendam last April where the mother of a CC member became very ill & was taken to a Hospital in Manaus (in the Amazon)..No one in that Hospital spoke English & they did not discover that her Mom actually had either a Heart Attack or a Stroke...Her daughter called the Insurance Company & requested that her mother be evacuated..They refused to do it..There was another Hospital nearby with English speaking Dr.s but the ambulance took her to a different one.. Her daughter then borrowed $50,000 from her own bank to get her mother home.. It took almost a week & sadly her Mother passed away within a week after she returned home.. Perhaps her mother would still have passed away, but it can be very scary when you are in a country where you cannot be understood & don't know if the Dr. is competent...

 

 

With very few exceptions, travel insurance provides medical transportation to the "nearest adequate medical facility." Who decides what's adequate? The emergency services provider maintains an extensive database of medical facilities around the world and they know that in some areas the local clinin may be perfectly to treat a broken leg but not a heart attack or stroke. The final decision is made by the emergency services provider and the doctor on scene.

 

Overall they do a good job. They are VERY aware that screwups on their part can result in millions of dollars in damages in a law suit so they tend to be very careful as to where a client is transported.

 

Re: the story about an insurer not moving a patient from one hospital to another in Manaus. In Brazil it would have been maybe a $100 ambulance ride? If it was a good idea from a medical standpoint to make the transfer the insurer would have paid for it. If the woman's family could afford $50,000 to bring her home why didn't they pop for the $100 to take her across town? Without hearing the insurer's reasoning for keeping the woman where she was It's hard to pass judgment on the people who have to make those choices.

 

If you want to have full control over where you will be treated you need to step up to one of the premium services such as MedJet Assistance. They're pricey but, with some restrictions, they allow you to choose to which hospital you will be taken anywhere in the world. A lot of doctors use this plan because even though the doctors may be very competant they don't trust the blood supply in many areas of the world.

[Jade13]

Heather, you really have a problem.

 

The post had nothing to do with you, and I have already told you that you misread my post, as you have done in the past. Since you decided to correct my grammar, I am sorry for my grammatical error in that the two lines that you felt the need to cut and paste and bring to my attention should have been separated. It was not directed at any particular person.

 

Perhaps I should report you since you continue to attack me, but I have better things to do. Please drop it already.

[Jade13]

Heather, also fyi, your comment also makes no sense because up until last years cruise on Hal where we took the best available cabin left, we have always stayed in the Master Suite or Owners Suite, so I'm not sure your point. We never bought insurance either, so I guess we could afford the loss of over $10K on a cruise.

[sail7seas]

A multi-millionaire could not book a Master Suite or an Owners Suite on HAL. They do not have either.

 

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Thank you, Heather. I appreciate all of your contributions.

 

[HeatherInFlorida]

Jade, I did not correct your grammar nor did I cut and paste. I don't even think you made any kind of grammatical error. Here is your entire post with nothing deleted.

 

Posted by Jade (in its entirety):

S7S, last year was the first time we bought medical insurance. I guess someone who can afford Suites can afford the loss of the cruise.

 

I have medical good for World wide use, but unfortunately no evacuation...

 

I know your post had nothing to do with me. I just wanted to point out that you might not have realized that your post appeared to insult a CC member. Truthfully, it never even occurred to me you were talking about yourself.

[sail7seas]

Seeing as I seem to be referenced in this exchange, may I request we return to the topic at hand and not discuss anything to do with my personal finances. Heather.....I very much appreciate your friendship. Jade......let's get back on subject.

 

[serendipity1499]

With very few exceptions, travel insurance provides medical transportation to the "nearest adequate medical facility." Who decides what's adequate? The emergency services provider maintains an extensive database of medical facilities around the world and they know that in some areas the local clinin may be perfectly to treat a broken leg but not a heart attack or stroke. The final decision is made by the emergency services provider and the doctor on scene.

 

Overall they do a good job. They are VERY aware that screwups on their part can result in millions of dollars in damages in a law suit so they tend to be very careful as to where a client is transported.

 

Re: the story about an insurer not moving a patient from one hospital to another in Manaus. In Brazil it would have been maybe a $100 ambulance ride? If it was a good idea from a medical standpoint to make the transfer the insurer would have paid for it. If the woman's family could afford $50,000 to bring her home why didn't they pop for the $100 to take her across town? Without hearing the insurer's reasoning for keeping the woman where she was It's hard to pass judgment on the people who have to make those choices.

 

If you want to have full control over where you will be treated you need to step up to one of the premium services such as MedJet Assistance. They're pricey but, with some restrictions, they allow you to choose to which hospital you will be taken anywhere in the world. A lot of doctors use this plan because even though the doctors may be very competant they don't trust the blood supply in many areas of the world.

 

Cruiseco..Thanks for that info on Med Jet Assistance...

 

I believe her Daughter really did not find out about this other Hospital with English Speaking Dr.s until the Medical Evacuation people got there..And don't know the name of the Insurance Co, but do know she purchased it through her Travel Agent..Did not mention that our ship's departure from Manaus was delayed for several hours because it took so long for the ambulance to get there..

 

Also, as I mentioned, she Borrowed the $50,000 to get her Mom back home..It was such a sad case,,I don't remember all the details, but you can find it on the Roll Call for the Prinsendam Amazon Explorer in April 2006..

 

Coupleonthego...Glad to hear that your Hubby is doing better..Hope you get to go on that cruise very soon..Most Insurance Co. require you to purchase the insurance 14 or 21 days after deposit is paid in order to cover pre-existing conditions..Also on that WEB site you can compare the policies & see each Insurance Companies rating..When you are ready to go again, you will have other CC people more than willing to give you info on the Insurance companies they have used & if they have ever submitted a claim..We use the Travelex/Travel Lite policy, but never had to file a claim..There are many other on the site also known to be very good..If you are young, in good health & not worried about pre- existing cond. then you can purchase the insurance when you make final payment..

 

Stay Well Everyone & Hope the "Easter Bunny is good to you all..:) Betty

[Lvteks]

Another vote for MedJet Assist. Read about this several years ago in the Washington Post. Felt much better on our distant cruises. Important point is they will evacuate you to the HOSPITAL OF YOUR CHOICE...anywhere! Not the nearest available or competent....but anywhere. If there is room on the plane, a companion can go along. We pay $325 for yearly coverage good as long as you are more than 150 miles away from home. Doesn't have to be a cruise. I think it only works once per year. Need to check that out. A real benefit to consider.

 

Blessings,

 

Gail

[CoupleOnTheGo]

We sure do look at travel insurance in a different light after this experience and those that have been shared here. Being 30-somethings and in good health, we've just never considered the possiblility of misforturne on a vacation. The thought of having a medical emergency while travelling far from home is certainly scary...

 

Lvteks, thanks for the suggestion about MedJet Assist. I will look into that one as well. It seems like a reasonable premium for a years worth of coverage if I understand you correctly.

[MikeKool]

To Couple on the Go....

I think the insurance aspect has been throughly discussed. My recommendation is.......Throw yourself on the mercy of the court! Seriously though. You have nothing to lose by writing a letter supported by medical documentation. Be nice and remind H.A. you are NOT looking for a refund.....but perhaps some shipboard credit on a near future H.A. cruise. Just my opinion......but from experience it has worked for me. I was going to be out 100% of a 7-day Bermuda cruise and chalk it up under "lessons learned". After the ship sailed (without us) I wrote the letter figuring I had nothing to lose. I think it also helped I had a specific future cruise planned for the near future. Mine was a Celebrity cruise so one has to take all the negative remarks about customer service with a grain of salt. Sometimes things work out.....sometimes they don't. Good Luck in your quest for compensation and keep us informed.

[serendipity1499]

Another vote for MedJet Assist. Read about this several years ago in the Washington Post. Felt much better on our distant cruises. Important point is they will evacuate you to the HOSPITAL OF YOUR CHOICE...anywhere! Not the nearest available or competent....but anywhere. If there is room on the plane, a companion can go along. We pay $325 for yearly coverage good as long as you are more than 150 miles away from home. Doesn't have to be a cruise. I think it only works once per year. Need to check that out. A real benefit to consider. Blessings, Gail

 

Gail..That seems to be a very reasonable price..Howver do you still then purchase a seperate Medical Insurance & Cancellation Insurance policy? If you do, can you opt out of the other Insurance Companies Evacuation Portion..

 

Thanks for the info.:) .Betty

[mountainmare]

I was glad to see this issue come up--again. Like Sail--we have health and evacuation insurance, and generally do not take out trip insurance, weighing the risk that we take if a trip is cancelled over the cost of insurance. Indeed, if we had put the cost of insurance in an interest bearing account for each trip (cruise and land) that we have taken we would be booking a world cruise with the savings.

That being said we have trip insurance for our next big trip that includes Turkey and Eqypt, its a more expensive trip, the transportation costs are hefty and it is not an amount of money that we would be comfotable losing. I'm grateful to the information here that led me to insuremytrip.

The important thing is to remember that we are all posting here because we are the lucky few who have enough to be able to afford to cruise. We are part of an elite group..just think of the reactions that you get from friends when you tell them your plans for your upcoming cruise.

People have thought we were crazy in the past for not having insurance, but it really is a case of how much you want to bet on something bad happening and how much you are willing to lose.

[Jade13]

Just Fyi, I checked out the thread from the Amazon cruise in 2006. The women posted that they had insurance through AAA. So, I'm assuming they probably bought the cruise through AAA and then took out their insurance, or perhaps AAA offers independent trip insurance?

 

So, its a good idea to check to see who AAA uses as the underwriter. I actually booked once through this TA and they offered the insurance but I decided to get Hal's. So, I probably looked at the pros and cons at the time but can't recall now.

 

These policys are supposed to have "World Wide Assistance" but this women and her mother didn't get enough assistance to be told there was a better, bigger? hospital in the area.

[sail7seas]

I was glad to see this issue come up--again. Like Sail--we have health and evacuation insurance, and generally do not take out trip insurance, weighing the risk that we take if a trip is cancelled over the cost of insurance. Indeed, if we had put the cost of insurance in an interest bearing account for each trip (cruise and land) that we have taken we would be booking a world cruise with the savings.

That being said we have trip insurance for our next big trip that includes Turkey and Eqypt, its a more expensive trip, the transportation costs are hefty and it is not an amount of money that we would be comfotable losing. I'm grateful to the information here that led me to insuremytrip.

The important thing is to remember that we are all posting here because we are the lucky few who have enough to be able to afford to cruise. We are part of an elite group..just think of the reactions that you get from friends when you tell them your plans for your upcoming cruise.

People have thought we were crazy in the past for not having insurance, but it really is a case of how much you want to bet on something bad happening and how much you are willing to lose.

 

 

We are so on the same page. :)

The first five to ten cruises/trips that we did not insure were the risk. At some point, we reached a break even where if we had to cancel and we lost the price of a cruise, we would be about equal to the amount we had saved in unpaid premiums. Now, all these cruises later, we are very far ahead and while we would not want to lose the price of a cruise, we would still have saved a great deal of money by 'self-insuring'.

 

However, like you, we have a booking for a costly European cruise. The Eurodam Inaugural cruise. With air, pre and post hotels etc, that is going to be pricey and we plan to insure that trip. We will omit the evacuation coverage and hope that lowers the amount of the premium. I don't wish to risk the high cost that trip will amount to.

 

Here is another vote for MediJet Assist. We personally know people who had to make a claim recently when he became ill while traveling. They were VERY satisified with the assistance and coverage provided to handle their needs.

[SF49erfan]

I hope your DH is on the road to recovery.

I can really sympathize with the OP. We also have always self-insured, figuring what we saved on insurance would pay another cruise. (We always book inside) Anyway, we had a 15 day out of San Diego to Hawaii, over Christmas and New Year's. The night before we were to fly out of Philadelphia to San Diego, DH ended up in the hospital with blocked arteries. There went the trip - Yes, we did lose the money (the airline and hotel were wonderful, but HAL - policy is policy. We had no problem with that.) The good thing is that his heart problem was caught here and not when we were in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. We have been on a cruise since, and did not get insurance.

[Lvteks]

Hi again, Here's our experience with MedjetAssist. We are late 60's, early 70's. We paid $325 for insurance covering both of us for a year. In addition We bought Travelx Lite for additional coverage...which is per cruise. Most important Travelex is primary for medical, no waiting to get your ins. co to pay then hassle with the travel ins. carrier.

 

Didn't opt put of anything and perhaps I might find a policy w/o Med evac. However evacuation with Med Jet is limited to one time each year. They have several plans for shorter trips. Ph: 1-800-963-3538 or http://www.medjetassist.com. Happy sails.

 

Blessings,

Gail

[serendipity1499]

Thanks Gail for the MedJetAssist info..Sounds very interesting..:) Betty

[cnmiranda]

We used to buy insurance all the time until we figured out what we spent in insurance came out to the cost of another cruise, ie, more than $1500 with 10+ cruises. So now we just buy insurance when the inlaws are travling with us or we plan to go out of the country. We purchased the best insurance for this round because FIL is 78 but very healthy. Doubt we'll need it but glad to know it's there just in case.

[mamaofami]

For our February cruise, we bought insurance from Access America through amex. It included baggage coverage and baggage delay, missed connection coverage, emergency medical transport($500,000), emergency medical and dental($25,000)trip delay and trip interruption($2,200) and it cost us $187 for both of us.

 

Now that I look at it, the medical and dental coverage($500) is probably not enough since we are on medicare and not covered out of the country.

[newmexicoNita]

My husband and I were looking forward to a 3-day repositioning cruise from San Diego to Vancouver but the unforseen occured... Earlier this month, my husband had emergency surgery for appendicitis. He was recovering well and we thought he'd be ready for this cruise. Unfortunately, he had a major setback as he developed a serious abdominal abscess which required another emergency surgery. He spent 7 days in the hospital and was just released today but with orders from the surgeon forbidding travel at this time. The Zaandam will set sail tomorrow afternoon without us. We didn't purchase the insurance when we booked because first, the cost was 50% of the entire trip which seemed really high to us, and second, we're young and normally healthy. I guess you just never know what's around the corner... I spent the afternoon on the phone cancelling the cruise and our three flights. All three airlines were extremely accomodating and waived cancellation fees and left us with credits for future travel within the next year. We will need to send in a copy of the doctor's letter explaining the circumstances and his orders against travel at this time. Unfortunately, HAL basically said we were out of luck since we didn't purchase the insurance. I could understand if this was a sold out itinerary and they could have filled our cabin but there are still cabins available. I was thinking of writing HAL a letter about our situation and including the doctor's letter to see if they'd consider extending a credit toward a future trip as the airlines have done. I am curious if anyone else has had a similar situation with a medical emergency and if they were able to obtain future cruise credit instead of being out 100% of their cruise fare.

I am sorry for your hubbies set back, what a bummer. As for HAl not understanding, all i can say is: that is the reason insurance is offered. Your travel agent could have offered you a lesser rate or you could have purchased over the internet. If HAL had allowed you to cancel and re-book they would have no reason to even offer insurance. NMNita

[I Luv Crusin]

Thanks for the reminder! I just realized that I need to look into insurance for the Eurodam next July!!! The TA ;) didn't even mention insurance and I almost forgot!

 

I usually don't bother with insurance except when I cruise internationally. This will be the 2nd time. I worry because we are leaving the kids "home alone" and want to be able to get home in an emergency. (PS, the "kids" are young adults, 20, 19 and 18 at time of sailing)

 

Darn, I think I forgot to get insurance for our Dec. cruise. So I'd better get off here and start looking!

 

To OP, I'm glad your DH is mending!