Inexpensive approach to evacuation insurance

[Pam in CA]

Insurance is always a gamble, no matter how you phrase it. Accidents and the need to leave or cancel the ship can happen regardless of a person's age or health when boarding. I don't think I've taken a cruise that hasn't either had a death while onboard or someone taken off by ambulance.

 

I just returned from an 18-day cruise on a small (780 passengers) HAL ship and there were three incidents that I'm aware of and very likely there were more: one person was taken off the ship to an ambulance while we were in Bergen; another had an emergency appendectomy that caused the ship to turn around and sail at full speed for 11 hours back to Longyearbyne (Spitsbergen) to get her to a hospital and operation (successfull); and a lady at the table next to us likely had a stroke (very minor) at dinner one night (she was alert almost immediately and active the next day).

 

Most of the time, you are completely unaware if someone has been evacuated from the ship or has died as they are usually removed after most passengers have left the ship. I would guess that it happens a lot more frequently than you think.

[Opinions]

Some of the travel insurance policies I have looked at require you to be covered for all the non-refundable expenses of your trip in order to be covered for pre-existing conditions...I would check closely into this before not insuring for the full cost of the trip.

[sayaguru]

This hs been very interesting reading.

Obviously thing are very different from Australia.

There are no policies I have seen that ask you the cost of your trip so I guess that ype of insurance is not available here.

All policies just ask the length of your trip and where you intend to travel. Trip insurance is not that expensive here.

As I travel often I just get a policy that covers me for 12 months no matter where I travel. I just renew it every year.

[PescadoAmarillo]

But while looking on that site I did find another policy that just covers the medical and medical evacuation portion that the OP wanted.

Thank you! This is very interesting. There have been years (although next year is not shaping to be one of them) where we've cruised 3 months of the year, all booked last minute. This would have been great for that purpose!And thanks to Cruiseco for setting us straight about insurance Ts and Cs.

[cruiseco]

UMMM -- with all due respect, I would like to hear that (or better yet get that in writing) from a licensed insurance agent. Cruiseco, are you an insurance agent, a travel agent, or just an interested layman? I would like to know the authority behind your statement.

 

For example, one cannot choose to buy home insurance for a lesser amount than the value of the house. Doing so will have serious consequences in case of a loss.

 

Licensed insurance agent, former travel agent.

 

I am 100% certain that this won't void or decrease the other coverages. Here's from TravelSafe's FAQ's:

 

"If you insure an amount less than your total prepaid trip costs that are subject to cancellation penalties or restrictions:

 

1) the maximum benefit for the Pre-Departure Trip Cancellation and/or Post-Departure Trip Interruption will be limited to the amount of coverage they purchased (buy zero trip cancellation/interruption coverage, get $0 trip cancellation/interruption coverage -- makes sense); and

 

2) there will be no coverage available under the optional Cancel For Any Reason benefit, if purchased. Also, there will be no waiver of exclusion for Pre-Existing Conditions, as well as no coverage for financial insolvency or for a terrorist act. (note: financial default and terrorism are components of the trip cancellation/interruption coverage. If you don't want cancellation/interruption coverage anyway there's no downside here)"

 

As you can see, insuring $0 trip cost means that you get no trip cancellation/interruption coverage. That's all -- no effect on the medical or emergency evac coverages.

 

Here's from MH Ross:

 

"To determine the insurable cost of the trip add together the cost of all of your non-refundable pre-paid trip arrangements. If you insure an amount less than your full trip cost the trip cancellation/interruption benefit will be limited to the amount of coverage you purchase."

 

So, if your trip costs $2000 and you only insure $1000 for trip cancellation/interruption you're limited to $1000 -- no surprise there. But there is no effect on the medical or emergency evac coverages.

 

Here's from Access America discussing how much to insure and the consequences of not insuring the full amount:

 

"If an airline ticket costs $700, and the ticket is 100% non-refundable at the time of purchase, you would need to insure for the full $700 in order to qualify for the pre-existing conditions waiver (other requirements still apply)."

 

Again the only downside to not covering the full ticket amount is losing the pre-existing xondition waiver part of the cancellation/interruption benefit.

 

Here's from Global Alert:

 

"Do I need to purchase insurance for the total cost of my Trip? Answer

 

You must determine your premium amount based upon the total per person cost of your Trip, including airfare. You do not need to include the cost of any travel arrangements that are not subject to cancellation charges or restrictions. If you insure an amount less than your full Trip cost: 1) the exclusion for Pre-Existing Conditions will not be waived; 2) the maximum benefit for Pre-Departure Trip Cancellation and Post-Departure Trip Interruption will be limited to the amount of coverage you purchased; and 3) there will be no coverage available under the Optional Cancel For Any Reason Benefit, if applicable (i.e. if this option is selected under the Preferred or Preferred Plus plans )."

 

Same thing, insuring less then the total trip cost will mean you forfeit some benefits that are ONLY applicable to the trip cancellation and interruption coverages -- it will have no effect on any other benefits included in the plan.

 

They're all like this. If you want to buy a plan but reduce or eliminate the trip cancellation benefit just call the insurer before making the purchase and get it straight from them.

[Opinions]

 

 

 

If you insure an amount less than your full Trip cost: 1) the exclusion for Pre-Existing Conditions will not be waived; 2) the maximum benefit for Pre-Departure Trip Cancellation and Post-Departure Trip Interruption will be limited to the amount of coverage you purchased; and 3) there will be no coverage available under the Optional Cancel For Any Reason Benefit, if applicable (i.e. if this option is selected under the Preferred or Preferred Plus plans )."

 

Same thing, insuring less then the total trip cost will mean you forfeit some benefits that are ONLY applicable to the trip cancellation and interruption coverages -- it will have no effect on any other benefits included in the plan.

 

.

 

I am confused?...If you insure for less than the full trip cost the exclusion for Pre-Existing Conditions will not be waived...If you are not covered for pre -existing conditons won't it effect more than trip cancellation and interruption...Wouldn't it have a effect on medical benefits?...Since my wife and must be covered for pre-existing conditions I have always felt we must report the full cost of the trip in order to be fully covered...Are we mistaken?

[cherylandtk]

Opinions: in your situation, where you need to cover pre-existing conditions, then yes, you must cover the full trip cost. But there are lots of times that people do NOT need to cover pre-existing medical conditions, and for those folks, they can insure any amount of the trip cost, from $0 to full cost. This whole thread started about just covering medical evacuation costs for emergent care situations.

[cruiseco]

I am confused?...If you insure for less than the full trip cost the exclusion for Pre-Existing Conditions will not be waived...If you are not covered for pre -existing conditons won't it effect more than trip cancellation and interruption...Wouldn't it have a effect on medical benefits?...Since my wife and must be covered for pre-existing conditions I have always felt we must report the full cost of the trip in order to be fully covered...Are we mistaken?

 

No you're not confused. I'm confusing you because I did not think through all of the possible permutations before posting my answers here. So let's back the bus up.

 

Everything I posted previously applies to those that are worried about getting medical services or emergency evac while abooad with one exception -- and thuis is the part that went right past me -- and that exception is if they need medical services for an illness that falls under the plan's definition of a pre-existing condition.

 

In this situation it depends on the plan. For example, since CSA and Travelex and some others don't require that you insure the full trip cost to get pre-existing condition coverage then insuring less than the full cost of the trip would have no effect on the medical and evac coverages in this instance as long as you net the other requirements to get the pre-ex waiver.

 

With othere, like TravelSafe, if you don't meet every requirement for the pre-ex waiver (and in their case this means insuring for the full cost of the trip) and you need medical help for a pre-ex condition the coverage would not apply. BUT, TravelSafe automatically waives the pre-existing condition exclusion for medical evacuations/repatriations so you'd have the $1,000,000 evac coverage whether the evac is for a pre-ex condition or not.

 

Anyway, if you are considering insuring less than the full trip amount AND have a pre-existing medical condition you need to find out from the insurer the following:

 

Is insuring the full trip cost a requirement to get pre-existing coverage? If it's not, you're good to go as long as you meet any other requirements such as purchasing the policy within a certain timeframe.

 

If the answer is "yes" then you need to ask if the pre-existing condition exclusion applies to the medical benefit and also to the emergency evac benefit (as with TravelSafe it may apply to one but not the other).

 

Sorry folks, brain fade here.

[iamtrustworthy]

Most of the reliable policies that I have seen include a requirement that the policy purchased cover the 'full value of the trip' between the included dates. Perhaps Steve D. will be able to chime in here and explain further..or you could contact him directly at trip insurance store and ask.

 

If all the OP wants is the medical evacuation plan, the medjet assistance might be the more economical way to go if the full trip cost coverage is too expensive. It would also depend on how many trips are taken per year.

 

Hi cherylandtk,

 

I was away for a few days, which is why I hadn't answered earlier.

 

Here's how it works (just for the plans we offer) when someone insures a trip cost that's less than their full prepaid non-refundable trip cost:

 

Some plans let you insure a trip cost of $0. Other than covering pre-existing conditions, supplier financial default and "Cancel For Any Reason coverage", doesn't cause the insured to void their policy's coverage.

 

What it does change is that there's no trip cancellation nor trip interruption coverage. You do, however still have all other coverages including medical, evacuation, travel delay, baggage, etc.

 

Also, if you decide to add a trip cost later, you may not get pre-existing conditions, supplier financial default and "Cancel For Any Reason coverage" if you're past the deadline to get that coverage.

 

MedjetAssist can cover you, too, because it has nothing to do with your trip cost. Since MedjetAssist is not an insurance plan, it doesn't pay medical costs (just the transport). Travel insurance or your regular insurance pays the medical costs.

 

I hope this helps.

[cherylandtk]

Thanks Steve--I knew you would have the answers.

[iamtrustworthy]

Thanks Steve--I knew you would have the answers.

 

Hi cherylandtk,

 

Thank you. I'm happy to help. I did realize I didn't cover it completely, so here's some more clarification:

 

Some plans let you insure a trip cost as low as $0. Other than not covering pre-existing conditions, supplier financial default and "Cancel For Any Reason coverage", doesn't cause the insured to void their policy's coverage.

 

At a $0 trip cost there's no trip cancellation nor trip interruption coverage. So, if you wanted any trip cancellation & trip interruption coverage, you'd want to insure a trip cost. You do, however still have all other coverages including medical, evacuation, travel delay, baggage, etc. no matter what your trip cost is.

 

Also, if you insure an amount less than full prepaid non-refundable trip cost, you'll forfeit any pre-existing conditions, supplier financial default and "Cancel For Any Reason" coverage. There are also 2 companies who don't require you to insure full prepaid non-refundable trip cost.

 

I hope this helps, too.

[Solara]

Steve, Which are the two companies that you still can get pre-exsisting medical conditions covered if you don't insure the entire trip cost.

[Poulsbo Cruisers]

There was posts here on the board awhile ago regarding STA Travel insurance. It insures you based on days not value of your trip. Do not know all the policies in and out but you may want to do a search here on the board. I also remember it is insured by the same company that does Princess coverage - Berkely Care? Worth looking at if your trying to save money.

 

This poster is correct. STA Travel is a student travel association (you don't need to be a student or the age of a student) that offers an insurance policy that is based only upon the length of the cruise. You will not pay more because of your age or the cost of the trip. Check them out at http://www.statravel.com/cps/rde/xchg/SID-0A536D8E-3972CC54/us_division_web_live/hs.xsl/travelinsurance.htm

 

A trip that is up to 8 days in length only costs $48 per person. A 9-15 day trip only costs $70 per person and a trip that lasts 16-22 days is only $100 per person. Why worry about coverages and insuring for less than the full amount of a trip when an option like this is available?

[cherylandtk]

I have used STA travel in the past, but I still compare policies for each trip. You really must read the fine print in order to determine the better choice for you on each specific trip.

 

As an example, my next trip will be 9 days, because we are going to the port a day early; a 'standard' travel policy was $72 per person and gave me both faster (5 hrs vs. 12) and more ($750 vs $500) trip delay coverage and also gave meprimary medical coverage vs. secondary coverage. Although the STA policy has higher medical and repatriation coverage, I chose the standard policy because I am more concerned about trip delays on a cruise. On my last land-based trip I chose the STA policy.

[cruiseco]

Steve, Which are the two companies that you still can get pre-exsisting medical conditions covered if you don't insure the entire trip cost.

 

Somewhere in the plan's fine print you'll find their list of requirements to get the waiver of the pre-existing condition exclusion. If insuring the full non-refundable cost of the trip is not on the list then it's not required. For example, this is from Travelex:

 

"If You have purchased a program where pre-existing conditions are waived, the Company covers these pre-existing conditions provided:

 

1. The protection plan was purchased within twenty-one (21) calendar days of the initial Covered Trip payment;

2. On the date of purchase of the protection plan, You were Medically Fit;

3. You had not filed a claim for Trip Cancellation/Interruption due to sickness or injury within 90 days prior to the purchase of the protection plan;

4. You do not have a sickness excluded by General Exclusions "m)" and "n)";

5. The pre-existing condition exclusion applies to all amounts over the Maximum Waiver Amount shown on the Confirmation of Coverage except for Medical Evacuation/Repatriation benefits which are not subject to the Maximum Waiver Amount."

 

Here's from HTH:

 

"The Pre-Existing Condition Exclusion is waived provided you meet all of the following requirements:

 

1. the payment for this plan is received prior to/or within 24 hours of your final payment for your Covered Trip; and

2. you are not disabled from travel at the time you make your plan payment; and

3. the booking for the Covered Trip must be the first and only booking for this travel period and destination."

 

By contrast, this is from Global alert:

 

"The Exclusion for Pre-Existing Conditions will be waived if:

 

1. Your premium payment is received within 15 days of the date your initial Trip deposit is received;

2. You insure all prepaid Trip costs that are subject to cancellation penalties or restrictions and also insure within 15 days of the payment for those arrangements the cost of any subsequent arrangements (or any other arrangements not made through your travel agent) added to your Trip; and

3. You are not disabled from travel at the time you pay your premium."

[iamtrustworthy]

Steve, Which are the two companies that you still can get pre-existing medical conditions covered if you don't insure the entire trip cost.

 

Hi dteich1,

 

The 2 companies are HTH and Travelex. The way you know they don't require you to insure the full trip cost is that they omit that wording from their policy language.

 

You, do still have to get their policies by the applicable deadlines, though.

 

I hope this helps.

[Solara]

Thanks Steve, We bought HTH insurance thru you on our upcoming trip......I was just making sure I didn't make a mistake.......Thanks

[billie5]

Thanks again for all the great suggestions. Ironically, I just received in the mail a brochure from my travel agent which lists TripCare Classic Limited by Access America, covering everything but trip cancellation and trip interruption. (There is also a comprehensive version which includes the trip insurances). There is an annual version which covers all trips of less than 90 days (per trip) for the year, but this particular brochure is for per-trip insurance. The rates are interesting - here is what the Limited version covers:

 

Trip Cancellation: nothing

Trip Interruption: nothing (This is if you have to return home)

Missed Connection: $500

Travel Delay: $500

Emergency Medical: $25,000

Emergency Medical Transportation: $500,000

Baggage Coverage: $1,000

Baggage Delay: $200

 

Even though I would not care about the missed connection, delay, and baggage parts, the rates are interesting (this is per person and not per family obviously):

 

Trip of 5 - 8 days:

Age 31-59: $27

Age 60-70: $39

Trip of 9 - 15 days:

Age 31-59: $38

Age 60-70: $56

 

The upside is that these rates seem awfully low (a lot lower than what I saw at InsureMyTrip.com, which mostly include the trip part) and also that it includes substantial medical coverage. My Blue Cross-Blue Shield happens to cover me overseas, but there are always the UCR limits, a penalty for being out-of-network, etc., so it is nice to have that $25,000 for emergency medical and dental.

 

The down side is that the emergency evacuation part includes evacuation to the nearest appropriate facility, plus eventual transportation home, and not immediate evacuation directly to the U.S.

 

Still, if one is worrying mostly about the huge cost of a helicopter evacuation, this is very interesting, even if one is taking multiple trips. My wife and I are in the 60+ group, and have scheduled a 7-day Princess cruise, a 7-day NCL cruise, as well as our 12-day Oceania cruise, and I alone have a trip to Ethiopia of about 10 days. To insure both of us for all these trips adds up to $134 for DW and $190 for me, not bad considering our age and that it is for four trips.

 

Bill

[JerseyGrl]

I did something very similar to what the OP did for my upcoming cruise (tomorrow!). Since I live in NJ and the cruise is leaving out of NY and I am 26, I didn't think that I would have to cancel my cruise for any reason. Instead I got insurance for when I am on the cruise. Medical coverage up to $25,000, evacuation up to $500,000 and money towards flights home and luggage. This only costed $16 and for piece of mind it is WELL worth it! I told them that I didn't want cruise cancellation insurance so the price of the cruise isn't a factor at all (might even save you more money to do it this way)

[iamtrustworthy]

Thanks again for all the great suggestions. Ironically, I just received in the mail a brochure from my travel agent which lists TripCare Classic Limited by Access America, covering everything but trip cancellation and trip interruption. (There is also a comprehensive version which includes the trip insurances). There is an annual version which covers all trips of less than 90 days (per trip) for the year, but this particular brochure is for per-trip insurance. The rates are interesting... Bill

 

 

 

Hi Bill,

 

We work with Access America, though not as much as we did in the past. The only other important (imho opinion) thing I suggest you check can be found in the Certificate of Coverage. It's the policy's effective date.

 

If this plan is the same as their Classsic Limited I'm familiar with, the policy reads "Insurance shall be effective at 12:01 A.M. on the date the scheduled Trip begins." The effective date's the day after you buy it if you buy any trip cancellation coverage.

 

The reason the effective date's important is because of how a pre-existing condition is defined. Here's an example:

 

Today you're in great health so you buy a policy with an effective date of 12:01 A.M. on the date the scheduled Trip begins. Then, sometime in the months, weeks or days before you leave you end up having or getting a medical condition (no matter how minor). If that same or another related medical condition occurs while on your trip. you won't have any medical coverage for that condition because it'll be excluded as a pre-existing condition.

 

I hope this makes sense.

[Hlitner]

Suppose I told you that its easy to get 100,000 of air evacuation insurance plus $100,000 of major med (secondary to your own insurance) for $150 a year (and that is the total price for a couple). Keep in mind I said for 12 months, and it covers all trips more than 150 miles from your home for up to 45 days per trip. The policy is available from American Express to any card holder. If you are on Medicare I believe the annual premium goes up to about $250...but again this is for a couple. Of course if you want trip cancellation insurance, than you are going to pay a lot more! But, since we travel a lot, we have decided that we can handle to risk of trip cancellation (we would spend the money if we took the trip,,so its not a financial hardship) but the medical risk is huge. Its one thing to lose a few thousand dollars when you cancel, but I sure would not want to pay $70,000 for air evacuation from Egypt, Asia etc.

 

Hank

[cactusrose]

I've been looking into MedJet Assist and, I may be wrong, but I don't think they will provide medical evacuation from the site of the emergency to a hospital of your choice. I think their plan covers transportation from hospital to hospital. So due to the limited medical facility on a ship they may not evacuate you off the ship but require you to first be admitted to a hospital on shore.

[iamtrustworthy]

Suppose I told you that its easy to get 100,000 of air evacuation insurance plus $100,000 of major med (secondary to your own insurance) for $150 a year (and that is the total price for a couple). Keep in mind I said for 12 months, and it covers all trips more than 150 miles from your home for up to 45 days per trip. The policy is available from American Express to any card holder. If you are on Medicare I believe the annual premium goes up to about $250...but again this is for a couple. Of course if you want trip cancellation insurance, than you are going to pay a lot more! But, since we travel a lot, we have decided that we can handle to risk of trip cancellation (we would spend the money if we took the trip,,so its not a financial hardship) but the medical risk is huge. Its one thing to lose a few thousand dollars when you cancel, but I sure would not want to pay $70,000 for air evacuation from Egypt, Asia etc.

 

Hank

 

Hi Hank,

 

We get questions about the American Express plan you're referring to, but so far no one's been able to get a copy of the Certificate of Coverage for me to review. I'm not implying it's a good or bad plan, but as they say "the devil's in the details".

 

The reason I feel that it's a good idea to examine the Certificate of Coverage is because even though the travel industry uses seemingly similar or exactly the same terms, it's the way the Certificate of Coverage defines those terms that's important. The only way to know is to examine the applicable Certificate of Coverage.

[iamtrustworthy]

I've been looking into MedJet Assist and, I may be wrong, but I don't think they will provide medical evacuation from the site of the emergency to a hospital of your choice. I think their plan covers transportation from hospital to hospital. So due to the limited medical facility on a ship they may not evacuate you off the ship but require you to first be admitted to a hospital on shore.

 

Hi cactusrose,

 

I'm familiar with MedJet Assist since we work with their plans. You are completely correct - MedJet Assist is a hospital to hospital transport. The key to know is that it requires the covered person to be "admitted" to a hospital.

 

Also, MedJet Assist has "Air Transport Restrictions and Exclusions". It doesn't cover a person for everything. IMHO. it's better to know about what's not covered than what is covered when considering any insurance or protection plan.

[billie5]

I am not sure where Hlitner is getting his $150 figure from, unless he is referring to a much younger traveler. Since I am 66, I checked the AMEX Global Assist rates for an annual plan with travel of up to 31 days per trip. The family rate (ages 65 to 69) is $548 for the basic plan and $631 for the enhanced plan, which makes it competitive with a lot of other policies out there, more expensive than some. Or is there another AMEX plan out there, Hlitner?

 

Bill