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How important is the Cruise Insurance? [discussion and resources]

How important is the Cruise Insurance? [discussion and resources]

Old Dec 29, 2015, 9:56 am
  #61  
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Originally Posted by deant
Many insurance companies will not pay for the redeposit fee.
Travelex will reimburse redeposit fees provided you incorporate those fees into the trip price.
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Old Dec 30, 2015, 10:40 am
  #62  
 
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Also... "you should not buy it from the cruise line or tour company you are dealing with. If they should go bankrupt, you have lost your insurance. This might sound unlikely, but we did have 21 companies declare bankruptcy the same day so it does happen. Use a third-party company." on Cruiseable
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Old Jul 7, 2017, 11:58 pm
  #63  
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Was about to leave to Europe for an Amawaterways cruise.

No insurance.

My father-in-law died this morning.

We must cancel. No refund or credit being offered. Booked through Amex Centurion.

Any advice from the sages here?
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Old Jul 8, 2017, 3:05 am
  #64  
 
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Originally Posted by zrs70
Was about to leave to Europe for an Amawaterways cruise.

No insurance.

My father-in-law died this morning.

We must cancel. No refund or credit being offered. Booked through Amex Centurion.

Any advice from the sages here?
Condolences on your loss.

With respect to your cruise fee loss, you unfortunately self-insured. Have you checked with AMEX about any coverage?

If makes you feel any better about your financial loss, there are many cruisers who self-insure, assuming that those expensive trip insurance fees even out a rare loss that occurs.

Please let us know if AMEX helps.

Edit to add:

Depends if you are based in Europe: Yes!

https://www.americanexpress.com/laci...e_Benefits.pdf

or the USA: No!

https://www.americanexpress.com/us/c...fits/policies/

At least in the case of the Platinum card

Last edited by 747FC; Jul 8, 2017 at 2:03 pm Reason: Add info
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Old Jul 9, 2017, 5:28 pm
  #65  
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I have never purchase trip interruption insurance. Since I retired and went on Medicare, I am apt to consider buying insurance that includes medical, as Medicare does not cover one in a foreign country.

Recently, we went to Africa on safari which included three countries and remote locations. Getting medical of any sort would have been hard, quality care nearly impossible (the real risk, and uninsurable). We bought insurance for medical and for trip interruption (comprehensive policy had full coverage medical and transport). The medical insurance adds the dimension of providing coordination of resolving your issues (booking, reservations, coordinating with hospitals and specialty transportation). they have done it before, I have not.

We are going on a cruise soon to the Arctic (northern Europe). Getting good medical care will be easier, and closer and the ship is my transport. I will take the medical cost risk. Modest medical assistance is provided on board, and the ship will assist in coordinating relocation, if necessary.

Most countries will treat you free in an emergency and get you stabilized. Knowing the care quality available in nearby countries is a key in my mind. Medical care outside the USA is usually considerably cheaper.
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Old Jul 10, 2017, 1:53 am
  #66  
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You can also buy annual travel medical policies from companies such as Amex. They are secondary coverage, of course. (You have to be some distance away from your home, e.g., something like 100 or 150 miles, for them to be in force.) The annual fee is modest, but goes up a bit as you hit age 65 and above.
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Old Jul 10, 2017, 4:47 am
  #67  
 
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Originally Posted by ranles
I have never purchase trip interruption insurance. Since I retired and went on Medicare, I am apt to consider buying insurance that includes medical, as Medicare does not cover one in a foreign country.

Recently, we went to Africa on safari which included three countries and remote locations. Getting medical of any sort would have been hard, quality care nearly impossible (the real risk, and uninsurable). We bought insurance for medical and for trip interruption (comprehensive policy had full coverage medical and transport). The medical insurance adds the dimension of providing coordination of resolving your issues (booking, reservations, coordinating with hospitals and specialty transportation). they have done it before, I have not.

We are going on a cruise soon to the Arctic (northern Europe). Getting good medical care will be easier, and closer and the ship is my transport. I will take the medical cost risk. Modest medical assistance is provided on board, and the ship will assist in coordinating relocation, if necessary.

Most countries will treat you free in an emergency and get you stabilized. Knowing the care quality available in nearby countries is a key in my mind. Medical care outside the USA is usually considerably cheaper.
Medicare Advantage Plans DO cover worldwide. Generally a $75 out of pocket. You do have to pay for services and file paperwork. I have an Advantage plan instead of traditional Medicare with NO premium just for this reason.
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Old Jul 10, 2017, 8:14 am
  #68  
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Originally Posted by bigbuy
Medicare Advantage Plans DO cover worldwide. Generally a $75 out of pocket. You do have to pay for services and file paperwork. I have an Advantage plan instead of traditional Medicare with NO premium just for this reason.
I believe that is only for emergency care, and "urgently needed" services, not routine care. Of course, emergency/urgent care is mostly what we are talking about in this thread, since it's about cruising/travelling.
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Old Jul 10, 2017, 8:52 am
  #69  
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Originally Posted by KathyWdrf
I believe that is only for emergency care, and "urgently needed" services, not routine care. Of course, emergency/urgent care is mostly what we are talking about in this thread, since it's about cruising/travelling.
My FIL's wife, on Medicare, needed emergency medical services on a cruise a few years ago and IIRC it cost her about $500 out of pocket.

We always buy a medical policy when leaving the country. My employer provided BCBS policy does not cover us when outside the US. It's not a huge expense, maybe $100 a week, but covers the stuff that would be cost prohibitive otherwise. They also throw in a few things you might not think of like helping you find doctors that speak English.
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Old Jul 10, 2017, 9:05 am
  #70  
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Originally Posted by zrs70
Was about to leave to Europe for an Amawaterways cruise.

No insurance.

My father-in-law died this morning.

We must cancel. No refund or credit being offered. Booked through Amex Centurion.

Any advice from the sages here?
Condolences for your loss. I don't expect that it will work but you might try a polite appeal letter to Ama not asking for a refund, but perhaps for a credit towards a future cruise.
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Old Jul 10, 2017, 9:28 am
  #71  
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Originally Posted by BamaVol
My FIL's wife, on Medicare, needed emergency medical services on a cruise a few years ago and IIRC it cost her about $500 out of pocket.
I was referring to Medicare Advantage, as opposed to just plain Medicare (in case you didn't notice the post I was responding to).

We always buy a medical policy when leaving the country. My employer provided BCBS policy does not cover us when outside the US. It's not a huge expense, maybe $100 a week, but covers the stuff that would be cost prohibitive otherwise. They also throw in a few things you might not think of like helping you find doctors that speak English.
Look into getting an annual travel medical policy, as it may save you money.
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Old Jul 11, 2017, 4:03 am
  #72  
 
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Originally Posted by KathyWdrf
I believe that is only for emergency care, and "urgently needed" services, not routine care. Of course, emergency/urgent care is mostly what we are talking about in this thread, since it's about cruising/travelling.
You are correct, but it also includes hospital stays. I use the Sapphire Reserve for the $2500 in medical and dental supplemental insurance for minor medical issues that do not require emergency care.
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Old Jul 12, 2017, 5:53 am
  #73  
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Originally Posted by bigbuy
You are correct, but it also includes hospital stays. I use the Sapphire Reserve for the $2500 in medical and dental supplemental insurance for minor medical issues that do not require emergency care.
I assume you mean hospital stays resulting from an emergency. So that would still fall under the category of emergency/urgent care.
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Old Jul 24, 2017, 12:19 pm
  #74  
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Here's an example of why travel insurance of some kind is important (or at least needs to be considered) https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/2017...-in-anchorage/

In this case, medical care isn't the issue as she is within the US so covered by her health insurance, but that doesn't pay for medical transport home.
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Old Jul 24, 2017, 12:33 pm
  #75  
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+1 - Air evacuation is almost never covered by standard health policies in the US. If you are an organized tour such as a cruise, the cruise line will be able to coordinate air evacuation, but won't cover that cost.

Air ambulance from Asia/Africa back to the US can cost $120K or more and if you are travelling on your own, can be difficult to coordinate all the clearances some countries require.

If all you require is a few sutures, that is fine. But, if the nearest surgical center you trust is half-way around the world, spending a bit on a policy is well worth it.

Add to that other associated expenses, such as being "grounded" in a hotel for a couple of weeks or having a spouse or friend who needs to stick around to monitor care, and the costs can become overwhelming to even the well-off.
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