That one time we traveled without trip insurance..

[jendeli]

Our very first Disney cruise was in Jan 2013. Our daughter came down with a fever and abdominal pain after dinner in Nassau. The ship's doctor ran some tests and sent us off the ship to the ER in Nassau for a possible appendicitis. The ER did not accept our insurance and in order to be seen we needed to pay a $1500 deposit and then pay the remaining balance when we left. Thankfully it was just a nasty kidney infection and we were allowed to head back to the ship. We also got lucky because the ship stayed in port until 1am that night so the crew could have some free time. We boarded the ship at 12:55 am. 5 minutes away from a hotel stay and plane tickets home!
When we got home I immediately filed a foreign claim with our insurance company and for the next few years it was 'lost', sent to the wrong department, or put in the system wrong.
Anyway pretty much a nightmare because every time I called, I'd need at least a half hour for the representative to catch up on the notes and history of the claim, and then was promised that it would be taken care of and to give it a few months to process. Well almost 4 years later and we finally got reimbursed for our claim! Woohoo! We used the money to pay the remaining balance of our next Disney cruise.
Never again will I travel without insurance.
What a pain in the butt!

 

[Donnainnj]

I had the same problem with a claim for Pink eye treated on the ship, since my insurance covers international it had to go through my insurance first after playing around for months I gave up. It was a little over $100.

 

[limabeanies]

It must be a great relief for the claim to be settled and awesome that you can use the money to pay off your next adventure.

 

[bumbershoot]

Weirdly, this story doesn't actually make me want to buy travel insurance. It shows me that my insurance will cover things!

I've gone round and round with insurance for a year for normal in-my-city things for a year before. Sometimes it happens. Having an international claim take 4 is a bit much but it worked!

 

[IBLarsen]

Weirdly, this story doesn't actually make me want to buy travel insurance. It shows me that my insurance will cover things!

I've gone round and round with insurance for a year for normal in-my-city things for a year before. Sometimes it happens. Having an international claim take 4 is a bit much but it worked!

I could see where OP realized regardless of the medical insurance, it was a very close call where they almost incurred expenses for hotel and flights home due to unforseen illness. Luckily, the worst of it was medical bills, but that could have easily been a very different scenario.

But also good to know that medical expenses can likely be reimbursed. Good to know the details before you go, just in case

 

[FigmentSpark]

OP - why didn't they accept the insurance you had? Because it was state insurance? I'm wondering if travel insurance would be accepted in that circumstance at all? You were lucky you had the $1500 to be able to front for insurance and so lucky the ship was in port late.

 

[jendeli]

OP - why didn't they accept the insurance you had? Because it was state insurance? I'm wondering if travel insurance would be accepted in that circumstance at all? You were lucky you had the $1500 to be able to front for insurance and so lucky the ship was in port late.

They didn't even ask what insurance I had, they just immediately said we don't accept foreign insurance. I'm pretty sure I still would have had to pay our of pocket and then filed with the travel ins company for a refund. I'd like to think that it wouldn't have taken 4 years though...We did get lucky that our insurance co. was willing to reemburse us. Also that we did not have to fly home and that it wasn't something that required a hospital stay and surgery. I can't imagine how much that would have cost!
Anyway too many close calls for us. We now cruise with trip insurance.

 

[Shanti]

They didn't even ask what insurance I had, they just immediately said we don't accept foreign insurance. I'm pretty sure I still would have had to pay our of pocket and then filed with the travel ins company for a refund. I'd like to think that it wouldn't have taken 4 years though...We did get lucky that our insurance co. was willing to reemburse us. Also that we did not have to fly home and that it wasn't something that required a hospital stay and surgery. I can't imagine how much that would have cost!
Anyway too many close calls for us. We now cruise with trip insurance.

Thanks for sharing. Yes, trip insurance is a necessity for cruises imo because of the need for overseas health insurance & for the ability to be medically evacuated, if necessary. Illnesses are easy to catch on cruise ships, and accidents can always happen, especially when swimming, boating, hiking, bicycling, etc.- the active stuff that people often do during cruise vacations. Even walking on a wet pool deck while balancing food trays, or hurrying up and down stairs can easily lead to an accident on a crowded ship.

My cruise insurance provider did explain that for regular medical care, we would pay initially then be reimbursed by the insurer (btw, making the trip insurance's health care "primary" will avoid the time-consuming hassle of the reimbursement having to be processed via your regular health care insurer first). However, my insurer said they would pay the exorbitant costs of a medical evacuation directly, since so many people don't have an extra $20,000 - $30,000 laying around in the bank. When off the ship, I always carry the insurance paperwork or contact info with me, in case of an emergency.

If you "can't afford" cruise travel insurance, you can't afford to cruise. It's a necessity for so many reasons.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Our very first Disney cruise was in Jan 2013. Our daughter came down with a fever and abdominal pain after dinner in Nassau. The ship's doctor ran some tests and sent us off the ship to the ER in Nassau for a possible appendicitis. The ER did not accept our insurance and in order to be seen we needed to pay a $1500 deposit and then pay the remaining balance when we left. Thankfully it was just a nasty kidney infection and we were allowed to head back to the ship. We also got lucky because the ship stayed in port until 1am that night so the crew could have some free time. We boarded the ship at 12:55 am. 5 minutes away from a hotel stay and plane tickets home!
When we got home I immediately filed a foreign claim with our insurance company and for the next few years it was 'lost', sent to the wrong department, or put in the system wrong.
Anyway pretty much a nightmare because every time I called, I'd need at least a half hour for the representative to catch up on the notes and history of the claim, and then was promised that it would be taken care of and to give it a few months to process. Well almost 4 years later and we finally got reimbursed for our claim! Woohoo! We used the money to pay the remaining balance of our next Disney cruise.
Never again will I travel without insurance.
What a pain in the butt!

Just a head's up - having insurance doesn't pay the bill at the ER. You still have to pay for everything up front, then make a claim with your regular insurance once home (most insurance medial coverage is secondary). Then you submit to the travel insurance people for whatever is denied under your regular insurance.

 

[MillauFr]

since so many people don't have an extra $20,000 - $30,000 laying around in the bank.

If you don't have $20 - $30k in savings you have no business taking a Disney cruise.

 

[SuperDry]

Just a head's up - having insurance doesn't pay the bill at the ER. You still have to pay for everything up front, then make a claim with your regular insurance once home (most insurance medial coverage is secondary). Then you submit to the travel insurance people for whatever is denied under your regular insurance.

It depends. As others have already stated, some travel medical is primary, and others are secondary. And, some will pay the provider up front, and others require you to pay the provider at time of service and submit for reimbursement later.

They didn't even ask what insurance I had, they just immediately said we don't accept foreign insurance.

Some travel insurance products that pay up front handle this situation by being able to provide the insurance company's credit card over the phone to the provider in case a covered situation is pre-authorized. This is how they get around the "we don't take insurance" issue: certainly the provider takes credit cards, as this is how the vast majority of foreign patients would pay even if they don't have insurance.

If the reason you want trip insurance is that you feel you don't have the ability to pay up front and/or don't want the hassle of filing claims and waiting, you better shop around. If you're not careful, you could easily get a policy that a) is secondary to your regular insurance, and b) requires you to pay up front. In that case, you've accomplished very little: you still need to pay up front, file claims, and wait. Just about all you've really purchased is coverage for your regular policy's deductible, and possibly coverage in the unlikely event that a medical evacuation is needed

 

[NHDisneyFan]

If you don't have $20 - $30k in savings you have no business taking a Disney cruise.

Lol. Thanks Suze Ormon.

 

[scrappinginontario]

If you "can't afford" cruise travel insurance, you can't afford to cruise. It's a necessity for so many reasons.

That's nice to say but not always a reality. I scrimped and saved for 7 years to pay for our first Disney cruise for 2 people. Not everyone is financially well off who go on a Disney cruise and sometimes the extra for 'travel insurance' when you have another provider who will already cover your normal travel insurance is the best route for them.

Is travel insurance a good thing to have? Yes! Is it possible for all? No. At the rate Disney cruises are climbing some people who are doing their 'once in a lifetime' cruise need to do it while they can as Disney cruises are climbing at a rate that they're able to save each year so they might never be able to cruise.

Just hoping to share another side of those on a Disney cruise.

 

[quickcat]

Lol. Thanks Suze Ormon.

Thanks for the laugh, that was a great response!!