Do I really need insurance? And who has made a claim successfully?

[itutorfortravel]

No flames, please!!! I am asking a genuine question here...

We are getting ready to pay off our cruise and currently we have it on file that we are getting DCL insurance. I originally chose them b/c I was told that if you cancel in the penalty period that any non-refundable amount could be applied to a future cruise. Not sure if that is the case anymore, soooo....

We are driving, so we don't need anything like baggage insurance, travel delay, etc. (I don't think travel delay covers driving, does it?)

Our health insurance covers international destinations so we would have health coverage in the ports. What about the ship's doctor...how is that filed / covered?

The one thing I don't know about is medical evacuation. That one kind of concerns me. Can you get coverage for just that?

And what about trip cancellation? I had looked at Travlex Deluxe and it didn't even cover the entire cost of the trip with its cancellation...so what good is that?!

DH is wondering if we need to get travel insurance at all...what would you get in our situation?

Secondly, I'd like to know what insurance companies others have used and have had success making claims against? And if you don't mind sharing what were the circumstances, how good was the company to work with, and how easy was the process? Thanks!!!

 

[mommasita]

I would suggest insurance.

We use insuremytrip.com, and had to make a claim during a hurricane in 2004. We received basically every cent back. It was for over 1200.00. We had to dock one day early, and basically instead of flying rented a car to drive home. The insurance covered the rental, gas, meals, etc.

I realize you are driving, but you mentioned some good points. Medical to me is the number one. On every cruise I have been on, DCL or not, there has been someone evacuated with a medical emergency. You would need to check with your private policy on the ship's doctors, because that is automatically billed to your right then and there. The one time we used them for my DD's ear infection, it was something like 125$, and that was also reimbursed (same cruise).

I can not remember the amount of our insurance, but it usually ran something like 150$ for our family of 4. Considering the money we spend on our cruise, it was well spent IMHO.

 

[itutorfortravel]

I would suggest insurance.

We use insuremytrip.com, and had to make a claim during a hurricane in 2004. We received basically every cent back. It was for over 1200.00. We had to dock one day early, and basically instead of flying rented a car to drive home. The insurance covered the rental, gas, meals, etc.

I realize you are driving, but you mentioned some good points. Medical to me is the number one. On every cruise I have been on, DCL or not, there has been someone evacuated with a medical emergency. You would need to check with your private policy on the ship's doctors, because that is automatically billed to your right then and there. The one time we used them for my DD's ear infection, it was something like 125$, and that was also reimbursed (same cruise).

I can not remember the amount of our insurance, but it usually ran something like 150$ for our family of 4. Considering the money we spend on our cruise, it was well spent IMHO.

which insurance company carried your insurance? i know insuremytrip lists many companies...thanks

 

[mousetravel]

I use TravelGuard because it has really good prices. But if I had to cancel (other than medical reason), I would only get 50 percent refunded. I mainly got it for the medical evacuation, which is thousands of dollars IF you needed it. I'm also driving, so I don't need the extras. For me & DD, my insurance was $52.20.

 

[mommasita]

which insurance company carried your insurance? i know insuremytrip lists many companies...thanks

Looking back in my paperwork, it was Access America.

 

[NancyIL]

And what about trip cancellation? I had looked at Travlex Deluxe and it didn't even cover the entire cost of the trip with its cancellation...so what good is that?!

You need to purchase enough insurance to cover the prepaid, non-refundable portion of your trip. Travelex's trip cancellation does cover the entire cost of the trip IF you cancel for a covered reason.

I bought Travelex Travelite for a cruise with my sister, and she had to cancel a few days before we sailed because her husband needed bypass surgery. She got back all of her money, and she was in the 100% penalty phase. However, the insurance was purchased in the 21-day period after making the trip deposit to cover pre-existing conditions.

 

[itutorfortravel]

so does the pre-existing condition clause apply not just to the travelers, but to a family member (not traveling with you) who becomes ill and causes you to cancel or delay your trip?

 

[disneyfaninaz]

IMHO, compared to what you are spending on the cruise, a couple of hundred of dollars for trip insurance is a wise investment.

You'll have to check each carrier's contract as to how they define "Pre existing condition."

 

[kcashner]

The specifics of what each policy covers is contained in the fine print for the policy you are purchasing. It really can be confusing because not only are there many companies, but some companies offer more than one policy.

As to the question of the ship's medical services--they are billed to your KTTW card and need to be paid at the end of the cruise. You will be provided with documentation to submit to your medical insurer or your travel insurance to be reimbursed for the services.

Medical evacuation AND repatriation--check your medical coverage. If it covers an evacuation to a foreign hospital, will it pay for your return to the US??? This entire process happens rarely but can be frightfully expensive (as much as $ 30K.

Whether a pre-existing condition applies only to the traveler or to a first or second degree relative is a matter of the fine print.

Many people on the hurricane Jeane cruises had claims--The Magic came into port a day early in anticipation of the hurricane and the following 7 day cruise (which we were on ) became a 4 day. They called it 5, but we left port after midnight! Since we were already at WDW, we needed to extend our stay there. Those 2 extra nights were the most expensive of the trip as there were NO discounts available! They knew they had us. DCL gave us a partial refund for the trip. If you had trip insurance, you could be reimbursed for the price of early airfare (if you were on the 6 day) or the expenses of the days at WDW, etc. What you were reimbursed couldn't exceed what you actually had to spend on those things and couldn't exceed the limits in the policy--there were people on the cruise who thought they were going to get X number of dollars per day. That would be true only if they had to spend that much!

We have used TravelGuard and TravelInternational as well as the Access America thru DCL. Travelguard is usually the better deal and they cover kids free with the parent. You can compare policies at insuremytrip.com.

DCL used to allow you to transfer a cruise in the penalty period to a different date. However, I've read that they are now following the "letter of the law" and no longer allowing this.

 

[NancyIL]

so does the pre-existing condition clause apply not just to the travelers, but to a family member (not traveling with you) who becomes ill and causes you to cancel or delay your trip?

With most policies, pre-existing conditions also applies to non-traveling family members. My brother-in-law didn't have a pre-existing condition for heart problems, but I bought the insurance early because of other family members' pre-existing conditions.

In another thread, I mentioned two companies that cover pre-existing conditions as long as the insurance is purchased within 24 hours of making the final trip payment: CSA WebDirect Luxe and HTH Worldwide (both basic and preferred).

 

[ibouncetoo]

In another thread, I mentioned two companies that cover pre-existing conditions as long as the insurance is purchased within 24 hours of making the final trip payment: CSA WebDirect Luxe and HTH Worldwide (both basic and preferred).

Nancy, were these two companies ones that were offerd at insuremytrip.com (would love to do their side-by-side), or did you contact them individually?

thanks!

 

[NancyIL]

Nancy, were these two companies ones that were offerd at insuremytrip.com (would love to do their side-by-side), or did you contact them individually?

thanks!

Both are offered at Insure My Trip.com. However, the CSA policy is slightly less expensive if you purchase it directly from CSA, whereas HTH is the same price whether purchased directly from the company or through Insure My Trip.

 

[tvguy]

Would it be financially devestating to you if you had to cancel and did not get a refund?
Insurance companies would go bankrupt if they didn't charge more in premiums that they know they typically will have to pay out. So odds are, you are throwing your money away, however, if are one of the rare ones that has a claim, it can make a big difference.
I've done 8 cruises and Disney is the only cruise that I purchased travel insurance for. That is because is was soo much more expensive than the other cruises. I would have been unhappy if I had lost my money on the other uninsured cruises, but it would not have been financially devestating.
Sort of like your auto insurance, do you have a $100 deductable, or a $1,000 deductable? With 2 drivers under age 25 on my policy, I have the higher deductable. I save almost $500 a year on premiums, so as long as I don't have more than one claim every two years or so (let's hope not), I am money ahead.

 

[kcashner]

I used to not buy insurance....until I found out that I had no medical coverage outside of the US. I could afford to lose the cost of the cruise (wouldn't be happy, but.....) However, I wouldn't want to see the medical bills for an illness or injury abroad. We've been on a lot of cruises and have seen people evacuated from the ship on several occasions as well as knowing people were left at a hospital in one of the ports. Yes, older people have heart attacks, etc. But I've seen kids break a leg, etc. too.

I tend to buy less coverage than I need to fully cover the cost of our trip (do I need $1000 or $1500 coverage per person? I'll buy the $1000). This is basically like increasing my deductible. I still have the same medical and evacuation coverage.

 

[wwwosie]

I always read that if you buy your insurance from insuremytrip.com it's cheaper than disney. But I've priced it out and it's about the same. What am I doing wrong

 

[mikehn]

The cost of medical care all by itself should be enough to encourage anyone to buy insurance. Who cares about the cost of the trip. That is peanuts compared to the cost of medical care if you were to get really sick. I buy insurance because I like to be able to sleep well at night. And 9 times out of 10, thats all you get, is a good night sleep.

 

[Davids-Coco]

With most policies, pre-existing conditions also applies to non-traveling family members. My brother-in-law didn't have a pre-existing condition for heart problems, but I bought the insurance early because of other family members' pre-existing conditions.

In another thread, I mentioned two companies that cover pre-existing conditions as long as the insurance is purchased within 24 hours of making the final trip payment: CSA WebDirect Luxe and HTH Worldwide (both basic and preferred).

Thank you so much for this!!! We booked a rolling res a couple years ago. Missed out on the 14-21 day ones and would have been an issue anyway (I guess) because we have to add another person now. This is exactly what I was looking for.

ETA: Hmmm, neither of these are showing as options for me on insure my trip. And figured out why. CSA requires it to be bought within 18 months of departure. HTH is 12 months or less.

 

[lbgraves]

Regarding the cost of DCL insurance versus others...most companies have children insured for free with the purchase of an adult policy. We have been able to insure our trips for around $85 with Access America. The PC EB repo was $120 but that included our 15 day cruise, 5 days at DL and the travel to and from the ports home for the four of us. Another benefit is that DCL insurance does not cover pre-existing conditions. You can get coverage for these with other policies.

 

[DisneyRN1]

Hi,
For our upcoming B2B cruise, we will probably VERY RELUCTANTLY purchase the insurance. Without going into my personal BAD experience with the travel insurance, I just want to make sure that everyone knows that the insurance only covers injuries or illnesses during the actual travel. If you have an injury that will require additional care once you go home, the travel insurance will not cover it. It also will not pay anything untill your own private insurance/Medicare pays or issues you a refusal to pay. And in particular while cruising outside the U.S., it goes into a very confusing thing about the place of injury, and the closest American hospital. It has been about 8 months, and we have still not been reimbursed for the expenses we had to pay out of pocket.
Hopefully, our situation is not the norm, especially from what other posters have said. I am NOT!!!! advising people to refrain from purchasing the travel insurance. But just actually either read the policy(as if anyone could understand it) or, ask the issurer to explain the policy to you, and don't be afraid to ask questions.......Vicki

 

[Schachteles]

I am wondering about trip insurance...we have never taken it out before...we are doing the 7 night cruise in October and are flying in on the Saturday mornining the cruise leaves. We leave Minneapolis at 5am on Delta, layover for 50 minutes in Atlanta and then arrive just after 11am in Orlando. We have never been delayed heading to Orlando before, but of course this would be the one time it would happen...does travelers insurance cover those flight delays?!?