We should have got insurance...

[Robin7]

We've never bought trip insurance. (This will be our ninth cruise.) I don't know why. I'd read about it off and on here since I joined, I guess I just never thought it 'applied' to us since we're young-ish (late 40s) and in good health. Of course, I never worried about lost luggage before I started reading Cruise Critic, either. Sometimes ignorance IS bliss! :D

 

We leave on Sunday morning for a 22-day trip to New Zealand and Australia, including 14 days on the lovely Volendam.

 

I took the kids to dinner tonight at a favorite restaurant. My husband was trying to finish up some last-minute work so decided to meet us there. We had ordered when he called my cell phone. "I'm just outside the restaurant, and I've been hit! Send your dad out!" (My dad is a retired California Highway Patrolman.) My husband was not hurt, but he could have been. Some idiot turned left right into him! We're soooooooooo lucky it was just the car that was injured. All I could (can) think is "We shudda got insurance, we shudda got insurance, we shudda got insurance."

 

We'll be getting insurance next time! I will breathe such a sigh of relief once we're underway.

 

Robin

[Cruisin'Lady]

So glad to hear that your hubby is ok! We don't have insurance either...hubby said we didn't need it. But he doesn't worry about things like that....figures our cc should cover any incidences...but I don't think it works that way.

[travelntreats]

Wow... what a scare that probably put on you. You still have time to take out insurance (w/out pre exsisting being waived) though. I personally like TravelEx, but you still can visit www.insuremytrip.com to get your insurance now !

[Robin7]

Wow... what a scare that probably put on you. You still have time to take out insurance (w/out pre exsisting being waived) though. I personally like TravelEx, but you still can visit www.insuremytrip.com to get your insurance now !

 

I had no idea we could still get insurance! Thanks!

 

Funny story: My in-laws are going on this trip with us. My father-in-law, age 75, rides a Honda Gold Wing. He took off a few days ago on a long ride with his other biker buddies. My mother-in-law told him he better not get killed because if he did, she was cremating his body, going on the trip, and would bury him when we got back! She was deadly serious. Still laughing....

 

Robin

[travelntreats]

Good Luck on the trip insurance... HAVE A GREAT CRUISE !

[fun*n*sun]

My friend convinced me to buy insurance by putting it this way....Say you buy insurance for 20 cruises and only need it for one, financially you still come out ahead. It's all about the bottom line for me :D

 

Hopefully nothing will happen, but the chance of something happening to you or one of your family members, an elderly parent, a child, something somewhere along the way that even leads to you needing to get home quickly from a cruise or missing it and needing to catch up...well we've all read the stories of people things have happened to. At some point over the 20 cruises those things could very well happen to any one of us. If nothing ever does, thank heavens, you've still had a lot less stress in your life knowing you were taken care of if it did. We haven't had to use it yet, but with the airline problems the way they are chances of not making the cruise even when you try to fly in early are getting greater and greater. A lot less stress knowing that you don't have to worry about the costs of joining your cruise at another port if your airline cancels and delays flights. I usually go to insure my trip, always found it less expensive for the same coverage than the cruiseline, just be sure to read the policy carefully.

[photomikey]

I went to insuremytrip and punched in some guesses about you and your trip costs.

 

The "package" prices ranged from $700 to $2000+. Assuming you purchased the cheapest one each time, you'd have paid $6,300 by now. Assuming something with a little better coverage (say, $1,200), you'd have paid $10,800. Haven't you done better things with nearly $11k than blowing it on insurance and the astronomical odds that you'll need it?

 

Different situations require different rationales, and I don't think trip insurance is wrong for everyone. But for someone who has the bankroll to vacation year after year, someone who is healthy and relatively young... Why piss away $10k (or $20k or $30k in the next ten years)? Put it in a bank account labeled "for emergencies". Then start putting that $40/day LDW for the rental cars in there, too. Someday you'll have to pay out of it. But odds are (BY DEFINITION) that you'll pay less in the end.

[donaldsc]

I buy a year policy for medical and evacuation since these are the really big ticket areas. I can afford the loss of the rest if necessary. Wouldn't like it but I can afford it.

 

DON

[travelntreats]

Photomikey....OK... you have totally lost me on this one..... how do you know how much they paid for their cruise package? do you know their ages? Do you know how much their air costs were to factor that in? .....And where are you coming up with the #'s what they would have paid by now ??? EVen if they opted to purchase insurance and used it, on a number of cruises, they would be coming out ahead in the end?

 

Either I am not understanding anything you are submitting or you are throwing out #'s that make no sense !

[chasetf]

I buy a year policy for medical and evacuation since these are the really big ticket areas. I can afford the loss of the rest if necessary. Wouldn't like it but I can afford it. DON

So... you are willing to "eat" your entire cruise and air fares..... :confused: I guess I could if it was for $1K or so.... but a Med cruise with air and pre and post cruise hotels.... I wouldn't. ;)

[kenish]

Funny story: My in-laws are going on this trip with us. My father-in-law, age 75, rides a Honda Gold Wing. He took off a few days ago on a long ride with his other biker buddies. My mother-in-law told him he better not get killed because if he did, she was cremating his body, going on the trip, and would bury him when we got back! She was deadly serious. Still laughing....

 

You reminded me of what happened to us. The day before a cruise several years ago, my son crashed on his dirt bike. He was out for a few seconds and spent the evening in the ER being checked out. Fortunately we were cleared to travel, but at least we had travel insurance.

 

Ever since my son's incident we both agree to a 1 week pre-cruise moratorium on motorcycling, mountain biking, skateboarding, etc. and I drive to work instead of riding. Even though we insure our trips it would be sad to miss a vacation!

[cands]

Wow, this is an eye opener! Until just now I would not have believed that anyone would travel half way round the world to strange countries without having travel insurance.

 

What if you fall ill while visiting? The cost of medical treatment in Australia is not cheap, and although all Australians are covered by universal health insurance, visitors are not. You are also 14 hours by 'plane from the west coast of the USA. Imagine the cost of a medical evacuation!

It is not worth taking the chance. Please, please, get some insurance now and have a wonderful trip down-under.

 

Steve.

[DrTee]

Being young and healthy does not protect you from coming down with an illness or having an accident.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We've never bought trip insurance. (This will be our ninth cruise.) I don't know why. I'd read about it off and on here since I joined, I guess I just never thought it 'applied' to us since we're young-ish (late 40s) and in good health. Of course, I never worried about lost luggage before I started reading Cruise Critic, either. Sometimes ignorance IS bliss! :D

 

We leave on Sunday morning for a 22-day trip to New Zealand and Australia, including 14 days on the lovely Volendam.

 

I took the kids to dinner tonight at a favorite restaurant. My husband was trying to finish up some last-minute work so decided to meet us there. We had ordered when he called my cell phone. "I'm just outside the restaurant, and I've been hit! Send your dad out!" (My dad is a retired California Highway Patrolman.) My husband was not hurt, but he could have been. Some idiot turned left right into him! We're soooooooooo lucky it was just the car that was injured. All I could (can) think is "We shudda got insurance, we shudda got insurance, we shudda got insurance."

 

We'll be getting insurance next time! I will breathe such a sigh of relief once we're underway.

 

Robin

 

So glad that your husband wasn't injured.

But what a terrible way to start a cruise.

Do have a great cruise and try not to think about the car.

[hammybee]

I am glad to hear that your husband is OK. That's what really matters.

[fun*n*sun]

I went to insuremytrip and punched in some guesses about you and your trip costs.

 

The "package" prices ranged from $700 to $2000+. Assuming you purchased the cheapest one each time, you'd have paid $6,300 by now. Assuming something with a little better coverage (say, $1,200), you'd have paid $10,800. Haven't you done better things with nearly $11k than blowing it on insurance and the astronomical odds that you'll need it?

 

Different situations require different rationales, and I don't think trip insurance is wrong for everyone. But for someone who has the bankroll to vacation year after year, someone who is healthy and relatively young... Why piss away $10k (or $20k or $30k in the next ten years)? Put it in a bank account labeled "for emergencies". Then start putting that $40/day LDW for the rental cars in there, too. Someday you'll have to pay out of it. But odds are (BY DEFINITION) that you'll pay less in the end.

 

 

Wow, not sure where you got those numbers. I think if you buy your policiy within 2 weeks of booking your trip it is cheaper, but for our 20 day cruise to Europe for 3 people next summer we paid around less that $250 total for a good policy that covers pre existing and all. It covers all kinds of incidents that happen during travel and family illnesses, not just your own. I guess I've finally matured past the teenage thinking of "it won't happen to me" and take a few precautions in case it does.:eek:

 

Oh and more importantly...OP, I'm really glad your husband is alright. It's so frightening and the kind of moment that really brings those what if's home. This same thing happened to my husband many years ago, he was fine, but it really shook me up to think what could have happened, especially if I hadn't taught (nagged) him to wear his seatbelt.

 

Please tell your Dad we appreciate the job that he did, not a lot of people willing to do it...well we appreciate it except at the moment we're getting a ticket. I haven't gotten many tickets, but I have such a soft heart for men and women willing to put their lives on the line to protect us everyday that I even thank the officer for thier service after they give me a ticket :o

[DesertDogs]

Wow, not sure where you got those numbers. I think if you buy your policiy within 2 weeks of booking your trip it is cheaper, but for our 20 day cruise to Europe for 3 people next summer we paid around less that $250 total for a good policy that covers pre existing and all. It covers all kinds of incidents that happen during travel and family illnesses, not just your own. I guess I've finally matured past the teenage thinking of "it won't happen to me" and take a few precautions in case it does.:eek:

 

Wow! $250 for 3 people for a 20 day cruise sounds very cheap! What company? I have to check that out.

[cruz chic]

Being young and healthy does not protect you from coming down with an illness or having an accident.

That is so true! I'm 47 and pretty healthy. About a month ago I tore the meniscus in my knee. It hasn't been pleasant but I'll still be able to go on my trip. What if that had happened a day or so before the cruise? My parents aren't getting any younger either. The only way I look at it is if you are willing to take the loses then don't insure...but please don't think because you are young nothing can happen. I lost a colleague this year to cancer at age 44 a short 7 weeks after she was diagnosed. Had another die of a massive heart attack before he was 50. You never know what is behind the corner.

[fun*n*sun]

Wow! $250 for 3 people for a 20 day cruise sounds very cheap! What company? I have to check that out.

 

It was TruTravel insurance. I went and checked, it was actually $253. Doesn't have much for lost baggage and some incidentals like that, and doesn't have extra life insurance for accidental death, my credit card covers those things, but it covers all the major things I'm looking for, trip interruption and trip cancelation and evacuation. We have good medical insurance even overseas, but this is still pretty comprehensive. We got it within 10 days of booking our trip almost a year ahead of time so I think that makes a difference in cost. With things changing the way they are be sure to check if they cover your airline.

[dcsam]

My mother had to be medically evacuated while cruising in Mexico. She spent 4 nights in a rotten Mexican hospital. But it would appear the care she received was actually pretty good. Thank goodness she had insurance, but it was quite a process getting the money back. The insurance company even sent a nurse to accompany her back to the states, where a private car was waiting for them at the airport. They took her (3 hours) to our local hospital, where the nurse finally left. They almost sent a private jet, and that would have been covered. In all, this would have cost my mom a small fortune. We will NEVER, EVER take vacations without insurance. For all the times my mom didn't use the insurance... Well, it came through BIG TIME!

[iancal]

We occasionally buy insurance but never through a travel agent, cruise line etc. We have found insurance that has usually been at least as good, often better, at a reduced cost. It was a TA who actually recommmended that we go this route.

[Juanita462]

We had to cancel our 2 week cruise to Alaska due to my heart arrythmia -

yes, we had insurance and got every penny back again to put towards another cruise. We worked too hard and saved too long to swallow the loss of $3600.

 

We know a TA who had the same opinion - fairly young and healthy, well, her DH suffered a heart attack shortly before they were due to leave and she did not have insurance. They lost serious money on that one and never travels without it now.

 

I feel for you re the car accident - same thing happened to us - but full impact rear ended. The young woman driving got off with no injuries and only a few scratches to her vehicle while we have had 10 months of misery and doctor's visits, physio etc. People who drive carelessly and cause accidents have no idea what you go through as a result - the woman who hit us exchanged information and then took off, leaving us standing by the side of the road trying to tie our trunk down so we could get home.

 

Have a wonderful cruise - that is one of our favourite places to visit - it will be their spring and not too hot

[DesertDogs]

It was TruTravel insurance. I went and checked, it was actually $253. Doesn't have much for lost baggage and some incidentals like that, and doesn't have extra life insurance for accidental death, my credit card covers those things, but it covers all the major things I'm looking for, trip interruption and trip cancelation and evacuation. We have good medical insurance even overseas, but this is still pretty comprehensive. We got it within 10 days of booking our trip almost a year ahead of time so I think that makes a difference in cost. With things changing the way they are be sure to check if they cover your airline.

 

Thanks for the information. We purchased our insurance from TruTravel also. I think we got a good price too - $535 for 15 days to Hawaii but we are in a Suite so the total trip cost was expensive.

[Roz]

I'm always tickled by youngish people who say they don't need insurance because they're healthy. On one of my cruises, I saw a healthy man in his late 20s being airlifted off the ship due to a compound fracture sustained on one of the more active shore excursions. You never know when disaster will strike.

 

Roz

[Robin7]

In the future, we will buy trip cancellation/trip interruption insurance, but having just pulled out our private medical insurance, we're covered for that for our trip. Plus we have life insurance through work and our AmEx card. (If something happens to us, our kids are SET.) So travel insurance would just be duplicating coverage I already have in that respect. But the accident did suddenly make me realize we need trip cancellation insurance next time!

 

Robin