Anyone sail without insurance and regret it?

[jhoannam]

Just making sure it's worth the $200.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Just making sure it's worth the $200.

It's worth the $200. Unless your personal health insurance covers "out of country expenses" as well as "evacuation", you'll be paying a lot if anything happens. Medical evacuation from a foreign country can be upwards of $10,000 per event.

Most US health plans do not cover out of country, and that's where you are once you step aboard the ship.

 

[MunFam]

My theory is the reason I have never "needed" it was because I have always had it...the first time I sail without it...I will need it. Not risking that chance. No way. No way. Those foreign hospitals are not like the US where you can just walk in and get treatment and pay later. They want their money before they treat you, even if that means waiting while you literally die at their doorstep. If you do not believe me...start googling. There are ever horror stories here about people with strokes and heart attacks not getting treatment until money was wired from the US!!! Not.worth.it. With the insurance, they treat you right away, without it, you have to come up with that money...and I mean cash money...before treatment, so you better have a large line of available credit, or someone at home who does and can be reached in an emergency.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

My theory is the reason I have never "needed" it was because I have always had it...the first time I sail without it...I will need it. Not risking that chance. No way. No way. Those foreign hospitals are not like the US where you can just walk in and get treatment and pay later. They want their money before they treat you, even if that means waiting while you literally die at their doorstep. If you do not believe me...start googling. There are ever horror stories here about people with strokes and heart attacks not getting treatment until money was wired from the US!!! Not.worth.it. With the insurance, they treat you right away, without it, you have to come up with that money...and I mean cash money...before treatment, so you better have a large line of available credit, or someone at home who does and can be reached in an emergency.

Well, you still have to pay up front, even with insurance. Insurance just reimburses the costs once you are home, and (usually) after you've submitted to your primary carrier and been denied.

 

[HookdonWDW]

How much is your peace of mind worth? We pay for cruise insurance for the same reason we choose to travel with passports. The peace of mind of knowing that we are covered for the "what if's" is worth every penny to us. Everyone has a different threshold.

 

[darkwing818]

How much is your peace of mind worth? We pay for cruise insurance for the same reason we choose to travel with passports. The peace of mind of knowing that we are covered for the "what if's" is worth every penny to us. Everyone has a different threshold.

Absolutely Agree....

 

[Minniemiss]

.

 

[jhoannam]

Thanks everyone. we'll add it to our budget

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Insurance will not only cover those unexpected medical expenses, it will also cover travel delays or even missing the ship because of weather delays, etc. For what you're paying for the cruise, $200 is a drop in the bucket, but well worth the piece of mind. We never cruise without trip insurance and our passports.

 

[MickeyEarrings]

As mentioned above, travel insurance is not just for illness or injury. About every six months or so someone writes about travel nightmares causing them to miss their cruise. One I remember in particular spoke of bad weather somewhere else that kept the plane from coming to ther town, which would get them to port. So the flight was cancelled despite perfect weather. I will never sail without it.

 

[jiminyC_fan]

We had a personal friend that did not purchase insurance. She broke her leg one day prior to flying out and needed surgery. They were out 100% of everything paid for their trip including flight and cruise fare. 200.00 is much better to lose up front than 3000.00 or worse down the road.

 

[Madani]

Most US health plans do not cover out of country, and that's where you are once you step aboard the ship.

You should check with your current insurance company to find out exactly what coverage you have. When I talked to my insurance company about coverage in foreign countries, I was told that emergency treatment would be covered. For example, if I tripped on the dock and broke my arm the treatment would be covered. However, if I just had a bad case of seasickness and wanted to see a healthcare provider that would not be covered. That being said, I gladly purchased the trip insurance. As others have noted, emergency medical evacuation is not covered under my policy and can be a considerable expense.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

You should check with your current insurance company to find out exactly what coverage you have.

Medicare does not cover out of country. That I know. Regardless if it's emergency or not. I read a report of someone who required health services onboard a ship while on an Alaskan cruise. They received some treatment onboard the ship, and then were transferred to a hospital on land (in Alaska). The costs incurred onboard (health center, doctor) were not covered, the costs while in the hospital on land were (inside the US).

If you fall on the dock and are taken onboard the ship for treatment, that treatment would be considered "out of country" and not covered by many health plans. If that dock in in a foreign country and you are taken to a hospital on land, you probably won't be covered, either. If the dock in still in the US, and you're taken to a hospital in the US, you're probably good to go, depending on your specific health coverage.

Yes, it's important to check out what (if any) health costs may be covered by your personal plan. However, many plans that do cover some out of country costs, do not included medical evacuation. And that's a biggie.

 

[palenskec]

Can I ask a fairly stupid question? Do you purchase the insurance directly through DCL? Can you purchase it after you've booked your cruise??

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Can I ask a fairly stupid question? Do you purchase the insurance directly through DCL? Can you purchase it after you've booked your cruise??

Generally, it's best to not purchase insurance through the cruiseline (any cruiseline) You can find cheaper options with more coverage by using a third party insurance company. There are several travel insurance comparison sites (the best one, IMO, we can't link here). Just do a Google search for travel insurance comparison and you'll get several hits. You just put in the parameters of what you want covered and for how much, and they will show you several different companies policies that will cover you.

You can purchase travel insurance at any time. Some policies require purchase within a certain time period for pre-existing conditions. And some have to be purchased before final payment.

 

[jendeli]

We had an Emergency with one of or children on the Dream 2 years ago and had to visit the ER in Nassau. We still have not been reimbursed from our insurance company. We learned our lesson and now always purchase it before a trip!

We purchase ours through our insurance company, USAA. We paid $45 for a 5 day cruise.

 

[FindMeAFishingSpot]

Medicare does not cover out of country. That I know. Regardless if it's emergency or not. I read a report of someone who required health services onboard a ship while on an Alaskan cruise. They received some treatment onboard the ship, and then were transferred to a hospital on land (in Alaska). The costs incurred onboard (health center, doctor) were not covered, the costs while in the hospital on land were (inside the US).

If you fall on the dock and are taken onboard the ship for treatment, that treatment would be considered "out of country" and not covered by many health plans. If that dock in in a foreign country and you are taken to a hospital on land, you probably won't be covered, either. If the dock in still in the US, and you're taken to a hospital in the US, you're probably good to go, depending on your specific health coverage.

Yes, it's important to check out what (if any) health costs may be covered by your personal plan. However, many plans that do cover some out of country costs, do not included medical evacuation. And that's a biggie.

It's important to know what is included in your health insurance. I work at a health insurer. In our state, every insurer covers out of area and out of country coverage including emergency medical transport. I work in the product division, so we do a regular comparison of our plans versus our competitors and there is little variation. I do work in a state that generally has rich health care benefits with a lot of state mandated benefits. And while it's true that in most instances, you pay and get reimbursed, I've also been involved in cases where a member is abroad and can't afford the hospital payment and my company as insurer had paid in advance to get them home. We also cover repatriation if necessary.

I buy trip insurance for the unexpected travel problems - like illness prior to leaving or that blizzard that shuts down travel for days so we can't get to our destination! We've never used it, but I'm glad it's there. But if I had a medical issue while abroad, I know it would be covered.

 

[palenskec]

We had an Emergency with one of or children on the Dream 2 years ago and had to visit the ER in Nassau. We still have not been reimbursed from our insurance company. We learned our lesson and now always purchase it before a trip!

We purchase ours through our insurance company, USAA. We paid $45 for a 5 day cruise.

Good tip! We have USAA.

 

[MunFam]

Well, you still have to pay up front, even with insurance. Insurance just reimburses the costs once you are home, and (usually) after you've submitted to your primary carrier and been denied.

I guess that is different, with travel Guard, you give them the card, they make a call and the money is wired direct.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I guess that is different, with travel Guard, you give them the card, they make a call and the money is wired direct.

It depends if the insurance coverage you get has the medical coverage as "primary" or "secondary" Most are secondary, where you pay up front, and then submit to your primary health coverage once home, get denied, and then submit to the travel insurance company for reimbursement. There are some travel insurance policies that are primary and they are handled just as you handle your "regular" health coverage. As in, you go to the doctor, present your card and they treat you.