Reasonably priced travel insurance

[Frwinkley]

I’m in the process of booking a cruise (not Disney) and cruise line wants to charge almost $500 for trip insurance. Any there anymore affordable options?

I want the ability to cancel in the event of sickness of one of the travelers or death in the immediate family. Anything else will be covered by our medical insurance.

Any advice?

 

[starry_solo]

insuremytrip.com is what a lot of people recommend.

Google travel insurance and you can find a lot of options. But the cancel for any reason is going to be pricey.

 

[LuckyMamaInDE]

I just insured my trip for next year. If you read all the descriptions of the various trip insurances offered on the site which can't be named, you will find that most (all that I looked at) included cancellation and interruption insurance in the case of illness/death of family members.

 

[tvguy]

With travel insurance you are buying almost entirely peace of mind. It is one of (if not the the most) profitable types of insurance sold because claims are rare.

Shop around, but only after reviewing what coverage you may already have from your credit card, etc.

9 cruises, I have purchased travel insurance just twice.
1) On DCL because it was the most expensive cruise I have taken (by double), because were were traveling Christmas/New Year's week...a heavy travel period and bad weather period. I bought it through Disney, but I don't recall what I paid.
2) On Celebrity, on the cruise I took 2 weeks ago, primarily because full coverage was only $49.

 

[LynnTH]

Yes - go to insure my trip dot com - then compare rates. You can select those with "cancel for any reason". That is what we always get and then look at Medical amounts they really can vary in the different policies and usually not much difference in price. I can usually get insurance for the 4 of us for around $200 or so.

We have had to file claims twice.

One was just for dr's visit on the ship and medicine - was reimbursed for it all
One time DS fell on the basketball court (his fault - screwing around). Went to Ship's Dr. They did xrays - was broken in 2 places. They put on a temp cast. Then they made arrangements for us in Cozumel the next day and took us to the hospital. More XRays - had to rebreak the break and then a new cast put on.

Price for everything was about $2500 (had to pay there). Did claim when we got home and was reimbursed everything except a $50 fee. I never go without insurance on cruises. You just never know what can happen.

 

[Jimsig]

Anything else will be covered by our medical insurance.

Any advice?

Most people think of trip insurance of covering the "what happens if I can't make it and have to cancel." But as @LynnTH said sometime you have to visit the ships doctor and guess what? They don't take insurance so you can't always rely on your own insurance. Especially if it required a medical evacuation.

We had to file a claim when my DW had to be admitted to the hospital less than 30 days before our Alaskan cruise. She was due to have a surgery after we got back but they had to push it up and she would not be fully recovered for 3 months. Because it was a preexisting condition we make sure we get a policy that covers that. We are also sure to ask her doctor if she is OK to travel when we make our initial payment as that is a key in getting covered. Luckily it happened before and we had trip ins we left but I can imagine the nightmare if she had to have been evacuated off the ship and we didn't have it.

 

[MillauFr]

Just get the Chase Sapphire Reserve Credit Card and you get much better travel insurance for free. The coverage is much better than what Disney charges several hundred dollars for.

 

[Eastern]

Sapphire Reserve is nice but it's $450/year (offset by travel credits but still). Also it does not include medical. (Sapphire Preferred is $95/year and provides similar insurance)

Go to insure my trip dot com and price various policies. You can compare side by side and read the terms and conditions. Generally, it costs about 10% of your total trip cost for insurance. Less for more restrictive policies, and more for ones with greater coverage.

 

[tvguy]

They don't take insurance so you can't always rely on your own insurance. Especially if it required a medical evacuation.

Other things to consider, where is your cruise going and are you a U.S. Citizen. If you are a U.S. Citizen and on an Alaskan cruise or a Caribbean or a Hawaiian cruise the Coast Guard likely will do the Medical Evacuation, at no charge.

 

[MillauFr]

The Chase Sapphire Reserve is really only $150 per year with the $300 travel credit. Plus it pays your TSA or Global Entry fees up to $100 per year. I like the free airport lounge access. Getting free food and drinks at SeaTac airport is a great benefit. It covers up to $100k in medical include evacuation coverage.

 

[DLgal]

The Chase Sapphire Reserve is really only $150 per year with the $300 travel credit. Plus it pays your TSA or Global Entry fees up to $100 per year. I like the free airport lounge access. Getting free food and drinks at SeaTac airport is a great benefit. It covers up to $100k in medical include evacuation coverage.

This is the best credit card ever for people who even travel only once or twice a year. I have had it since the launch and am never letting it go. The lounge access is such a money saver when traveling!

Although, to clarify, it won't reimburse TSA or Global Entry fees annually, but only once every 5 years.

We don't buy travel insurance anymore, just make sure we book everything with this card.

 

[kathy884]

Does your medical insurance cover medical evacuation. My husband's company's group insurance did. He's retired now, though, and my group insurance doesn't cover that, so I wanted to be sure to have adequate limits for that. I did some reading and knew what I wanted. Then I consulted with a broker from Insuremytrip. I gave them a call and had them send me details and quotes for three policies that looked good. From there I read claim reviews and reviewed policy provisions and then purchased one. Usually insurance is less than the ship coverage if you purchase thru a third party. And exception is for older people like my 82 year old dad. I still got him non-ship coverage, though, as I wanted higher medical and medical evac limits compared to what the ship had.

 

[tvguy]

Does your medical insurance cover medical evacuation. My husband's company's group insurance did. He's retired now, though, and my group insurance doesn't cover that, so I wanted to be sure to have adequate limits for that. I did some reading and knew what I wanted. Then I consulted with a broker from ************. I gave them a call and had them send me details and quotes for three policies that looked good. From there I read claim reviews and reviewed policy provisions and then purchased one. Usually insurance is less than the ship coverage if you purchase thru a third party. And exception is for older people like my 82 year old dad. I still got him non-ship coverage, though, as I wanted higher medical and medical evac limits compared to what the ship had.

I have never in 40 years had a policy that didn't cover medical evacuation and overseas medical care. But I have always worked for companies where some employees do travel internationally. Insurance rep says overseas medical care really is a no brainer for them since the full cost of medical care in most countries outside the U.S. is less than their negotiated rate in the U.S.

 

[tinatark]

travel guard. You can book your cruise and get the insurance (discounted) at costco.com. We've done that for our past several cruises.