Should I buy travel insurance?

[Nana Dawn]

Well if nothing else, this thread has given me an education on what to look for when I do sign up for travel insurance. Many of us buy life insurance with the hope that it will never be needed and that's the way I look at this type of insurance. One thing I would like to pass along that I hadn't seen mentioned. We were cautioned on taking a policy through the actual cruise line. If they go belly up, there's no one left to take care of your claim. Even though the conversation was heated at some points, many had good points to share and I appreciate you all take the time to contribute.

[POOHISME2]

My husband AGE 35 had a Heart Attack last year on our cruise. The final bill for medical services on board was over $6,000- just for the ships doctor, meds and the medical facility. Thank God had cruise insurance. The other medical expenses we accrued (over $65,000-) were all covered including MY expenses. NEVER TRAVEL WITHOUT INSURANCE. It was so worth the extra $90- a person. We are cruising again in May and July and the same insurance company is covering us :)

[spatz]

I just saw yet another consumer report on tv talking about how buying travel insurance is "about as dumb as buying extended warranties" (CNN consumer watch,10/07/04 11:55AM CDT)

 

The last time I saw this was on MSNBC's Suze Orman show where she said that the only people who need travel insurance are those that anticipate a health issue or who have jobs that might require them to cancel at the last minute.

 

Are these sources right or wrong? Why?

 

 

are you a millonare? If not GET INSURANCE please.

 

spatz

[Smiles3usa]

I think that if you can afford to absorb the total lost of the cruise (airfare and assorted pre-paid hotels), you don't need cruise insurance (that's not to say that you want to lose the $$$---but just that it won't really effect your lifestyle--or your mental health). That's not to say that some medical emergency might not show up for which you might need the coverage--but then again, unless you always purchase insurance for all vacations, the cruise is nothing different--as far as medical emergencies go. Personally, we decided when the prepaid costs went over $8K, the $350 of insurance was worth it. But, I doubt we would ever insure a carribean cruise, or a med cruise with no hotel stays and low cost cruise air....those $2,500-$3,000 cruises, are not worth the $175-250 insurance cost...and since we have not purchased 5 of those, we saved rather well. No one ever wants to use the insurance, but insurance is not a panacea; it's there to save us when we really can't afford to lose.

[SF]

We want to get travel insurance as we always do but this time we didn't get it before initial deposit or right afterwards and we are now past the time where pre-existing conditions would be included. Does anyone know of an insurance company that will include pre-existing conditions (even at a little higher rate) if you're past the 10, 14, or 21 day period from initial deposit? Haven't left final payment yet.

[eastonce]

In the past we have only purchased travel/health insurance for long trips to Europe. However, I have now changed my mindset and from now on when we leave the country we will purchase travel health insurance. What changed my mind? ON a recent 7-day cruise to Mexico my husband had some severe health issues and it ended up costing us $10,000.00 + He was hospitalized on board the ship and also in Mexico for 2 days and had to have surgery. The insurance for all the trips we have taken in the past would have totaled a lot less than the $10,000.00 it cost us.

[Guest enjoycruises]

What companies have u all used? Up until reading CC I used to buy from the cuiseline. I have learned on here not to do that.

[budgetED]

This will be our 4th cruise and after reading the cruise critic boards, I decided I would purchase insurance. As others have said before, you buy it hoping not to have to use it. If an onboard emergency arises and you have to be airlifted off the ship, you're looking at about $50,000 for that alone. Not taking into account what services the ship doctor has provided and what expenses you will incur once taken to a medical facility. I was able to purchase insurance for an 8 day cruise for 4 people for $104. I'm not supposed to recommend the website where I went to "insuremytrip" (heehee). The price of insurance is more than worth it for the piece of mind it gives you.

[mafemass]

Wow! That is cheap! Y would someone NOT get the insurance?

[jff50]

I generally do not buy travel insurance, because the likelihood I will use it is so small. My employer provides insurance that will cover medical expenses, and evacuation if necessary. The chances of something coming up that would prevent us from taking the trip at the last minute are small, and I'm willing to assume the risk for the cost of the cruise.

 

That being said, I have purchased insurance in the past when travelling with my mother (over 80 years old). It increases the likelihood that we will have to cancel at the last minute, and Medicare does not cover medical services provided on the ship.

[cruisegirl25]

How soon do you have to get insurance? I was looking at travelguard and it said within 15 days. I booked these months ago. Is there anything I can do now?

[niborHS]

I confess that I did not read all the posts, but I think my experience is worth telling. We started cruising when our sons were on 5 & 8, and always took the insurance in case we cancelled at the last minute due to illness. However, it came in very handy on another cruise. My husband had a serious jet ski accident in St. Martin one year. First of all, the x-ray cost and the ship medical cost could not be covered by our regular insurance because the bills were not coded properly. That was over $1000 alone. Also, when on a cruise ship, the last thinkg you think about is calling your primary care physician to go through the proper referral channels. We called our orthopedist, whe recommended a doctor at SPecial Surgery in Manhattan (we are from the NY area). Our own medical insurance did not cover 20% of the doctor and the hospital because we had no referral, another large cost. Also, we were reimbursed for the days of the cruise that my husband did not use, including the night he spent in the ship's hospital before he was medivac'd to NY. The insurance would have covered a medivac to Miami, but I convinced American Express Platinum service to cover his medivac to NY, so that's what we used. SO, the moral of the story is, if you have car insurance and don't expect to have an accident, why not buy cruise insurance.

[gregbarbra]

If you can't afford the expense of something happening (appliance breaking, car collision deductible, loss of a cruise,l oss of life, etc) then you should have insurance for those things. Otherwise, you are wasting your money. If it was such a great deal, why would companies bother to sell insurance? In the long run, they will come out ahead. It is like taking insurance when playing blackjack. If you want to never lose when a dealer has blackjack, you will take insurance...but in the long run, it is a losing bet. For all cruises we take, we pay for it ahead of time, so whether we go or not doesn't matter, it still costs us the same. For every 5 cruises we don't take insurance, we have saved enough to take another one simply by not taking insurance. Of course, if you feel you have a great chance of something causing you to have to cancel a cruise (ie you are prone to accidents), it may be a good bet for you.

Just my opinion......

[budgetED]

For every 5 cruises we don't take insurance, we have saved enough to take another one simply by not taking insurance. Of course, if you feel you have a great chance of something causing you to have to cancel a cruise (ie you are prone to accidents), it may be a good bet for you.

Just my opinion......

According to what I paid for insurance ($104 for 4 people), even 5 cruises would only be $520 of insurance - still not enough to pay for another cruise. At any rate, insurance is a personal decision and I couldn't afford the medevac helicopter($50,000). I think that alone was reason enough for me to spend on insurance.

 

Cruisegirl- I believe the 15 days you speak of was that you had to have purchased insurance within 15 dyas of initial booking to cover pre-existing conditions. I bought insurance a week ago and that only puts me 10 days before my cruise.

[SLU Billikens]

I have been browsing this thread and am getting an education. I have never purchased insurance (4 cruises, 5th coming up) because as far as I knew the cruiseline was the only one offering it. And that is prohibitively expensive. I believe around $100 per person and with a family of 5 just decided to take the risk. Like someone mentioned, I can soak up the expenses of the lost cruise and airfare and not loose a meal (I would feel it but not really have my lifestyle affected). However if I can get all 5 for $100-$125 I might consider it.

 

Where are you getting such good premium rates?

 

What are the rest of you paying per person for insurance on a typical 7 day cruise?

[SLU Billikens]

Another question, I admit I have not read every post on this thread, started skipping when the anger came out. However, medical evacuation insurance only seems to make sense to me.

 

Can some of you name some reputable companies offering such a product?

 

Also, does such a policy cover evacuating back to the US if someone back home gets sick? My mom has been sick and she is not going with us.

 

Sorry if this was discussed somewhere that I missed.

[budgetED]

SLU- Check out insuremytripdotcom. You'll be able to compare various insurance policies/coverages and find the one that best suits your needs.

[cruiser1999]

My mother-in-law was hit head-on while driving 1 mile from her home 2 weeks before my husband and my last cruise. The $100 per person insurance through the cruise company (Princess) was well worth it. We had so many critical activities taking all our time and attention - she was in intensive care requiring surgery after surgery so we weren't capable of thinking about anything else - we were zombies at that point. We dreaded what we would have to go through to cancel the cruise. There was absolutely no way we could leave with what was going on and we weren't sure how the insurance company would handle this since we ourselves weren't injured. They were wonderful - it was a simple process and we recieved all of our cruise money back except for the insurance charges.. We had booked our airfare on our own and unfortunately Northwest Airlines wasn't as easy to deal with but all in all, the cruise insurance was worth every penny. We had no idea we would not be going on that cruise..

[S.S.Oceanlover]

I have been browsing this thread and am getting an education. I have never purchased insurance (4 cruises, 5th coming up) because as far as I knew the cruiseline was the only one offering it. And that is prohibitively expensive. I believe around $100 per person and with a family of 5 just decided to take the risk. Like someone mentioned, I can soak up the expenses of the lost cruise and airfare and not loose a meal (I would feel it but not really have my lifestyle affected). However if I can get all 5 for $100-$125 I might consider it.

 

Where are you getting such good premium rates?

 

What are the rest of you paying per person for insurance on a typical 7 day cruise?

 

as mentioned in another post go to http://www.insuremytrip.com

I believe with the travelex plan it doesn't cost anything to insure kids 16 and under. I find that for my situation Travelex lite is right for my family.

 

Bill

[bjboothman]

Two questions for anyone who is still reading this dinosaur ---

 

I'm aware that Princess insurance is more expensive than others, however, is it not true that Princess insurance will cover cancellations FOR ANY REASON (with a future cruise credit, not cash back) and that with Platinum membership, that credit is 90%. Yes or no? If this is true, it refutes the premise that one shouldn't buy cruise insurance for trip cancellation because many reasons for cancellation are not covered anyway.

 

And secondly, if I'm not mistaken, when we took my 16 y.o. daughter with us on our Princess cruise, using their insurance, we only paid for the two adults and she was free - so it makes it more affordable than was suggested above.

 

Disclaimer: this isn't a commercial for Princess insurance - sometimes I buy it, sometimes I buy something else; but I can see a certain value in using it, and have typically bought it for more expensive cruises ;) particularly now that I'm Platinum and get the free upgrade to 90%.

[KansasScrapper]

I had 3 sets of freinds go on the Caribbean cruise. The adults were in one room & two of the teen buys were in a diferent room, same booking mind you. While on the cruise one of the boys (age 16) had a seizer. The cruise line (not going to name it) made them have a doctors release for him to return to the ship. To my friends horror she found out that her sons were not covered but they (her & her hubby) were. So it was a misunderstanding all the way around (TA to cruise line that is). The cruiseline walked him off in Cozumel and to their nearest "doctors office". NO ONE spoke English (not sure why they couldn't find someone who did). Long story short my friends hubby went back to the ship to find someone to help them. He did finally and it cost them $10,000 to get that release. The seizer had past by the time they pulled into port. Had they of had the insurance on the boys it would of ALL been covered. No one knows what tomorrow brings. We always check now to be sure everyone in the "party" has the insurance. I have never had to use it but never want to be in a situation where I wish I HAD!!

 

When on our last cruise I checked with the airline. They will get you to the airport you if you miss a flight due to them. But what about getting from the airport to the ship?? You just never know.

 

I do by the insurance from whatever cruiseline I am cruising on. Our medical coverage does NOT cover us outside the USA, period! I also buy car rental coverage and a lot of people say not to. And this is why: While in Atlanta our friends rented a car and did not. Yes, their auto insurance covered it, BUT it was a claim on their insurance record plus they had to pay the $500 deductable. So if the insurance total is less than or is at $500 I take it and walk away. My insurance has NO idea. Just small things.

[vinceboat]

Wendy said "My insurance has NO idea. Just small things"

 

Wendy.

A bit of information for you. My brother who was in the auto insurance

field told me that the insurance companies have their own version of

the credit information bureaus that the banks use. They have information

on every ticket, accident, claims and other pertinent information that you

have generated for the last 7 years.

So- “They Know”

Vince Wirth

http://home.earthlink.net/~vincewirth

[shuttle-c]

If we are talking a trip from our home port of Florida and

we got a deal, we don't buy insurance. We are talking extended cruises purchased way in advance or lots of money for the trip, we do purchase the insurance.

[KansasScrapper]

The insurance company has to have a "reason" to pull anyones credit. I do check mine & if I was to see that my insurance pulled they better have a good reason. It is againist the law to pull without knowledge or reason. And good thing for them, they haven't. I have been with them for over 8 years. They have however requested my credit score (which ALOT of companies request on a regular bases). Your credit report does not show "auto things" like tickets, accidents etc. However, if you had something from say a lawyer sent to collections then yes it would show as a collection item. There is a bill sitting at capital hill that would NOT allow insurance companies to use your credit to price your insurance. That is so when they (the judge or policer officer) say it won't show up on your driving record, it doesn't. So I tried it with my hubbys ticket. I called our auto insurance they knew nothing about it. They have access to a different system then say I do at the court house. I did ask her while I had her on the phone if I bought insurance while renting a car and had an accident would they report it to them (my insurance comp). She said no. But she did say if I was giving a ticket and it was recorded on my drives lic then they would see it if they ever requested my DL report from the DMV. I do not know if a insurance comp here in KS could see something in another state or not. I have no reason to believe she would lie to me either.

[KansasScrapper]

Sorry forgot whatelse she said. She said they have no idea if I am renting a car let alone if I bought the renters insurance. She did mention though that some car rental companies will call and check that you do have up to date insurance coverage and if your policy will cover you on a rental car if you decline it. They are just backing themshelves. I still don't know why some rental companies wont let anyone under the age of 25 rent a car. Does your brother know by chance? I know some do but if they do it is at a higher rate.