Hello all!! I took some advice from the cruisemates here and called insuremytrip.com. My question now is, when you purchase insurance, do you pay the extra to include trip cancelation for a covered reason or do you just get the basics for lost luggage/travel interruption?
Also, my mother-in-law has been on a ton of cruises and has traveled all around the world. She is 78 years young and never once bought insurance. Has she just been lucky that she has never needed it?
I usually go full in, and still have a reasonable payment. That your mil has tossed the dice,and came up a winner for years, makes her a fortunate lady. Aside from just a health issue, that could become catastrophic, I have seen young and old, take nasty spills..an older gentleman, walked into a door, the side of his face was purple by the end of a cruise...a woman doing the limbo, fell,and ended up in a wheelchair...so you can see, accidents as well, should be factored into every cruise. Peace of mind comes sheap....
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It's up to you - I think insurance becomes more valuable as you get older. I know a lot of people here swear by it, but I am pretty sure that in reality most people (outside of CruiseMates) do not buy it.
But - if you have a problem that ends up costing you a lot of money and you come back here whining about it being someone else's fault, you are bound to be told "you should have had insurance."
Honestly, I usually mention it as an option, but I do not usually buy it, because I am cheap and careful. I do have a blanket policy to cover me if I ever need a med-evac, though.
Its hard to know the answer to your original question without knowing what the covered reason is. Trip cancellation should be covered by the policy, not an extra. I guess I don't understand your question, sorry.
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I am the editor, but I also speculate, ask questions and play devil's advocate. I reserve the right to change my mind.
The first quote was $30 and included baggage loss and delay and travel delay and did not include covered trip cancellation or interruption. The second quote did include these and $113.00. I hope this is a little clearer. Thanks.
I've been on 50+ cruises and thankfully have never had to make a claim on insurance. YET, I would never travel without full protection covering everything from baggage to full medical coverage, including a medi-evac if necessary.
What people MUST understand is that if they choose to not purchase travel insurance, they are SELF INSURING every eventuality.
All it takes is once unforseen circumstance, that could possibly leave you facing huge medical bills, and unforseen costs of getting home from a foreign port after time in a hospital out of country.
If you'd never go without health insurance at home, why would you want to risk it if you're travelling? Would you be without insurance on your home, or your automobile? It's all the same... without insurance you are accepting the responsibility of the risk.
Doing so is like going on a trapeze without any safety net.
Trip cancellation is one of the main reasons why you buy insurance - to cover your investment in the cruise (which can be $10,000 all added up).
You baggage is probably not worth that much. Travel delay is hardly insurable because all they probably gurantee you is that you will arrive at your destination - the airlines do that anyway.
Yes - go for the whole ball of wax.
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I am the editor, but I also speculate, ask questions and play devil's advocate. I reserve the right to change my mind.
If you have a medical claim, you first use your regular medical and then what they don't cover or pay, that is when the travel insurance kicks in. You just have to save every bill and paper to turn in and then the return claim you get from your medical insurance. As far as I know, none will cover having to be taken off the ship, that is the main reason I purchase insurance.
Personally, I kind of agree and disagree too with what the others have said.
To me, if I lose the cost of the cruise, I can absorb that and not be hurt too badly. However, if I'm in some 3rd world place and get hurt or really sick, I want to be taken to the best place possible for the finest medical care I can get. Bringing in a medi-vac to get you to a facility where you could be properly treated would cost thousands, if not tens of thousands--that's the main reason I take insurance-- Most people could afford to lose a couple of thousand without having to sell the ranch to pay for it-- paying $40-50 thousand for an air ambulance is a different story.
Re / the mother in law, I'd say she has been extremely fortunate and the more trips she takes without insurance, the closer she comes to the day when she will wish she had it.
I know someone who cruises with his elderly parents. His Mother fell onboard, and they had to leave the ship in Jamacia. While in the hospital, the son made the decision, right or wrong, that his Mother would not be treated there.
A med flight had to take them to Florida, where they live, but, the flight was not immediate.
Consider what I just wrote, and, now put yourself in their place, without the insurance they had. Pretty scary I would have to say. For the small amount, that insurance cost, the peace of mind is certainly worth it.
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One thought -- when you reach "that age" -- which many cruisers have, Medicare does NOT cover treatment outside the country. So trip medical insurance is vital at that point.
Travel reimbursement is not the reason to buy insurance. You have already paid for the cruise and if worst comes to worst you just won't get to take the cruise. You are no worse off other than the fact you could not take your cruise. It is not going to cause you a financial hardship. If you want to protect the investment then buy the travel reimbursement insurance.
What is going to cause you financial hardship is for medical care and evacuation. If you become injured or ill outside the U.S. the medical bills, transportation cost and repatriation can add up to six figures. Now that is a financial hit and one that most people can't afford.
Also there are parts of the world where payment for medical care is demanded at the time of treatment. You better have a large credit limit on your credit cards, a bunch of cash on hand or insurance, otherwise you will not be treated or sent to a far less desirable treatment facility.
I now have blanket travel insurance that covers me anywhere in the world and covers baggage loss and travel delay it also covers medical evacuation and repatriation. Depending on the cost of the cruise I will take out an additional insurance policy to refund the cost of the cruise.
Not having insurance is a gamble and one that, if lost, can have dire financial consequences. Buy the insurance.
Take care,
Mike
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I cruise the Celebrity Millennium to Southeast Asia.
"There is a great difference between being well traveled and just having been to many places." ~Me
I travel solo so recovering the cost of the cruise is important, since I pay double. You all make very good points about the insurance. I hope you all practice what you preach!! lol. I will keep the insurance I have in place. I am not enough of a gambler to do without. Although still fairly young (40s), I am often a product of Murphy's Law and know more than most that you never ever know what may happen or what life will bring!!
I allways buy insurance, including trip cancellation.
I have had to use it twice. It sure was a great thing to have when emergencies arose a few day before a cruise.
One time I had to cancel because of a work accident and another time we had a death in the family.
TM
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On my first cruise (Alaska) the subject of travel insurance never came up and none was bought; fortunately it wasn't needed, either.
For the second (Panama Canal) my TA did suggest insurance, but we did not bother with it, and again did not need it.
Then we booked a China trip with a Yangtze river cruise, all of which was both more expensive and further away than we'd been before. Since it would involve 5 flights it also offered lots of opportunities to get separated from our luggage or have a trip interruption, so we bought insurance. As it turned out, the day after our arrival my husband had a medical problem that we thought might be serious enough to send him home, but in fact turned out to be easily treatable. We never even approached our normal medical insurance, just sent a copy of the bill to the travel company and received reimbursement immediately.
We always buy travel insurance for medical treatments and med-evac. While the cost of the trip is something we could absorb if need be, medical can run into tens of thousands, not to mention I don't want to be trreated in a 3rd world country. Some good doctors, but it is a crap shoot. So we buy the kind that would airlift back to the US.
I was once treated in Jamaica. Not on a cruise, but an extended vacation there. The doc said I had tonsilitis. The thing is...I don't have tonsils, had them out as a kid.
Marty
Another Insurance Question
For the small amount, that insurance cost, the peace of mind is certainly worth it.
Medical insurance
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