Insurance... yes/no and who? (can't search)

[MelissaE1]

I know this has been asked numerous times, but I just can't get the search function to work. We are fast approaching our final payment and are considering getting insurance. I have a few questions:

- Did you or did you not choose insurance? Why?

- What are my choices for providers, and what company gives you the most for the best price?

- I know most of them cover for sickness, but does anyone know what happens if we declare war on someone and my husband has to go but is not active duty military? (He is a contractor/engineer and could be called on to follow his equipment as it is instrumental in saving lives.) I believe AccessAmerica said they would not cover this.

Thanks for any input!

 

[calhous2]

We've purchased insurance for both our cruises...once from Disney and most recently I purchased it on my own off the internet. The $200 or so you'll spend for the insurance is worth the piece of mind of knowing you won't lose out on the $4000 you spend on the cruise if something unforseen comes up. Plus many health insurance policies don't cover medical expenses incurred outside the continental US.

Check out these two websites to compare policies and cost:
insuremytrip.com and worldtravelcenter.com.

I went with Travelex Insurance as it provided the coverage I wanted and children under 18 get coverage for free if you purchase for all adults in the travelling party. It cost me about $160 to insure my family of 4 for our recent 7 day cruise.

 

[sjm]

[i I know most of them cover for sickness, but does anyone know what happens if we declare war on someone and my husband has to go but is not active duty military? (He is a contractor/engineer and could be called on to follow his equipment as it is instrumental in saving lives.) I believe AccessAmerica said they would not cover this.

IMO everyone should have travel insurance, not only for cancelation in case of illness, but in case of an accident, while on your cruise.

As far as you husbands situation, you will have to ask each insurance company. I hope you find one that will cover his needs.

Sue

 

[inkkognito]

Even though we cruise so frequently, we have never purchased the insurance and have been extremely lucky. We fly out of Chicago in the winter, and so far, since 1998 we have never had a bad weather delay going out, just returning home. Since 9/11, we have started flying out the night before and booking an MCO area hotel via Priceline as our own private "insurance." But that is our personal choice...if you want to cover all your bases, then insurance might be the right choice for you.
Also, check with your medical insurance plan to see what it covers. When I injured my knee on the ship, we had to pay up front ($700), but we were reimbursed in full after submitting the paperwork to our HMO. Hopefully other insurance companies are as good as ours was!
Also, you may have some limited coverage through your charge cards or other sources. We have a limited trip interruption policy through a discount program that we belong to. It doesn't pay a fortune, but any amount would help if we had a problem.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[Hygiene99]

we also have not purchased insurance,
we fly out the day before as to give our selfs time for something to happen , weather Strikes bad planes
and that seems to work for us peter

 

[albiats]

We always get travel insurance, primarily for the cancellation coverage if there were an emergency with an immediate family member.

We get it through our TA. I purchase it from a third party, because I read from several sources that it was better to do it that way. And I agree, I think it's better to separate the travel provider from the travel insurer so there's no potential conflict of interest with settling claims.

Another website that has info and online quotes is at: http://www.csatravelprotection.com/insure/default.ssc
They also have a phone number at 800-873-9855.

I haven't used their insurance before but I know it's possible to buy travel insurance from them as close as two days before your cruise or travel date.

hope that helps

 

[prymsu]

you should always purchase trip insurance. I had a cruise planned for January, and it looks like i will have to cancel. I only purchased insurance for the cruise portion through the cruise line. Now my mother is very ill, and it looks like i will cancel our trip. With all the new air fare restrictions, I am probably out the $670 I spent on getting our own airfare. I am waiting until closer to cancel the trip just in case they will let me reuse the airfare at a later date...

 

[disneyholic family]

prymsu
you might be able to get the airfare reimbursed with a doctors certification that your mother is ill...
i wouldn't write it off without making a claim...

as for travel insurance....we always take out travel health insurance, but until the cruise we had never insured the trip itself (since you can always get the airline fare back in case of illness or death)....
the cruise was so very expensive we wanted to make sure we would be reimbursed if we didn't make it...

 

[mcnuss]

As of the last couple of months, many airlines have put into place vey draconian polices regarding refunds. Most will not refund anything, even in case of illness or death. One guy at US Air compared plane tickets to theater or sporting even tickets in terms of their non-refundability! Now if I ever pay $1000 for a icket to a play, I will understand the analogy.

Bottom line -- get the insurance! And if not, make sure you know what your airline's policies are.

 

[disneyholic family]

mcnuss...

i was referring to the airlines we fly...
after this past summer i have made it a blanket policy in our family not to fly any United States airline companies.....unless it's an emergency and we have absolutely no alternative...
we found them to be so universally unfriendly, uncooperative, totally lacking in any service orientation....and just at a time when they should be going out of their way to winning back the flying public..

no thank you....i'll stick with a few tried and true foreign ailines that still know what service is...

 

[ppiew]

Being the contrarian that I am, I WILL fly domestic airlines - two reasons, they need our financial support and secondly, I really have no choice based on where I live. However, in many cases, the procedures/policies that have been instituted by the airlines, are in many cases, brought on by an unreasonable and demanding public. I have seen business people in particuliar (their companies paying for the tickets), reserve space on multiple flights during the day, and then whichever one they show up for they take - leaving unoccupied seats on the other flights. Flights CAN be changed, but only if you notify the airline PRIOR to leaving and with a substantial change fee (usually $100). Recently I experienced a mechanical delay with NWA, and they handled it VERY professionally. Updates every 15 min. or so and then rebooking people based on flight connections, and let those whose destination was where the flight was going be served last. Smart move! As a result of good communication, there was little complaining from the passengers. Personally, I would rather they fix a problem on the ground instead of at 40,000 feet!!

 

[mcnuss]

disneyholic family - you are fortunate to be able to fly non-US carriers. No choice domestically, of course, and my post was intended for that audience. (My preferred airline in teh whole world is BA.) You are right that service is secondary to US carriers. I am on a plane weekly, and I've watched it go downhill for years. 9/11 was just an excuse for the airlines to do what they've wanted for years - cut service.

ppiew - glad you had a good experience with NWA. The lawsuits filed against them 2 winters ago when they left people on planes on the tarmac in a snowstorm for 5+ hours must have been the wake up call. But please note that not all airlines will offer the $100 fee after 1/1/03. I stand by my comment to check carefully with your airline before booking any non-refundable or discount fare.

ps: I am one of those business people who do the dirty deed of reserving 2 flights for the same day. It's a fact of my life that if I want to get home from certain cities, I must do this. There is just not enough service to my home airport to risk possibly being stuck until the next day bc I have missed a flight. Believe me when I tell you that my company pays thru the nose for this "convenience". I just paid $1300 to go from Boston to Cleveland. IMHO - business travelers subsidize in large part the discount fares we all enjoy when traveling for pleasure. (and don't get me wrong, I enjoy my cheapie fares!! )

 

[disneyholic family]

my sympathies that you have to fly so much...
i don't think i would be able to....
i'd quit my job rather than get on another airplane in the united states...
this past summer we spent 6 weeks flying around the US on our annual visit...
i was in total shock at the quality of service....or more accurately the lack thereof....
and you're right, BA is a very nice airline...though there are many others that give it a run for its money.....
our 11 hour transatlantic flights were heaven compared to the hell of the domestic travel we experienced this past summer...

i've already informed all concerned that for our next trip to the states we will fly into JFK or newark and leave the US the same way...
but within the US we will only drive....regardless of our destination...

as for the $1300 dollar fare you mentioned....my sister had to pay the same amount about a month ago to fly from detroit to boston...i couldn't believe it when she told me that was the fare....i asked if she was buying the plane or just a ticket....and whether they offered additional mile high type services for that fee....i mean....what else would cost $1300 for 2 hours of being in a small space....and with no food....

 

[ZebraStripes]

We always purchase cruise insurance. My DD7 has a health condition that could change at a moments notice. If something happens at sea I need the reasurrance that we can get to a qualified hospital as quickly as possible. The insurance gives us a piece of mind both at home before the cruise and at sea.

 

[DOCTORRICK]

I am currently debating these issues myself. We are a group of 15, doing 3 catagory 3 rooms. This makes the total cruise almost $30,000!!!!!!
I have never gotten travel insurance before, but all I can think of, is an elderly relative dying 2 days before the cruise, and being out the entire amount.
When we travel, we usually don't go with a package. When you do that, most everything (except airfare) is refundable up to the day before you travel. However with the cruise, once you get within a month, there are substantial penalties.

We are traveling in Feb., so right now I am thinking I will hold on buying insurance until about 4 weeks before the cruise. I figure until 60 days out, you get a total refund, and from 30 to 60 days only out, you only lose $100 dollars per person. After that you lose a lot.

I went to http://insuremytrip.com, and got a price of about 900 for all of us. I'm really only worried about trip cancellation and losing the whole cruise price.

What do others think about my approach?

 

[disneyholic family]

that's why i took out trip insurance this time....
for the 3 day cruise in category 3 it was $5200....
while our airline tickets were over $10,000, i knew i'd be able to get a refund on those (a foreign airline with a heart in the case of sickness or death)....
so i took out the trip insurance for the cruise with DCL...
have you checked the DCL price?.....
for us it was $49 per person.....for 15 people that would be $735....

 

[DOCTORRICK]

For the 7 day disney's insurance is $60 per person. That would be a total of $900.
I haven't looked into it much, but I understand that disney's insurance is more restrictive than most private plans.

 

[LOVETHATMOUSE]

I think I am paying $99 each for dh and myself, and $59 for dd. I thought that was the price for everyone? How did you get $60 for the 7 day cruise? I have not made final payment, so I can cancel it. Looks like I will try other companies.

 

[mcnuss]

DOCTORRICK --

I think there are plans that are just trip cancellation and not all the rest. If you have AAA, sometimes they offer good plans. I think that in your shoes with $30k to lose, $900 is a small percentage and worth it for the peace of mind. I don't think that DCL's program is more restrictive than the others I looked into - it's offered thru one of the big cos (can't remember which...). But you do have lots of options - I just wouldn't risk so much $$. And I would do it at the 60 day window - some of the policies require that you purchase the insurance at the time full payment is made.

disneyholic - How I wish I could quit!!! And let me tell you that I feel your sister's pain - if she is flying from Detroit, then she must need to fly the dreaded NWA. No thanks! I fly US Airways shuttle between Boston & NYC most of the time, and it's not as bad as the "regular" flights (they even serve food & free wine & beer - but of course it costs $400 for a 36 minute flight....).
BC of FF, we are on US down to MCO on Friday (FRIDAY!!!!!!! ). Unfortunately I am now bound to them & United in a h**lish partnership. If you are really going to fly into JFK, you may want to try JetBlue. It is supposed to be FANTASTIC, although it may not go where you need to. A US carrier with great service - TV at every seat, and food! (Imagine that??)

 

[4nana]

We would rather be safe than sorry! Our group of 16 has a large chunk of change invested. Anything could happen to anyone of us at any time, so we feel better with some type of protection. I also have elderly parents to consider. We purchased ins. from 3 different Insurance Co.'s at: http://insuremytrip.com/. They were very helpful and answered all our questions. Depending on your age, it averaged about half the cost of Disney for comparable coverage.
MelissaE1, I suggest you seek more advise. We recently went through this with our SIL and learned he is not protected if his employer (DoD) cancels his leave to go overseas. Our son is military and his orders would have to be cut within 10 days (or so) prior to cruise for any type of reimbursement.
I hope this helps