Trip Insurance for Medical - never purchased, any advice?

[mdurette]

I have never thought about this...but over the summer, while on vacation my husband ended up in the ER with immediate surgery to follow for his appendix. I started to wonder...wow, what would we have done if we were out of the country or on a cruise.

In March, we have a complex vacation. Flights across country to CA, 5 hotel nights, 1 train and 5 nights on a cruise. I'm not concerned about anything while in the US - but what about the cruise portion to Mexico ports.

Flights, train and hotel are all paid on points. Cruise is paid with Chase Sapphire reserve, so all those can be covered or cancelled.

I went to insuremytrip.com and there are a lot of options to consider. The one that I am not sure about is evacuation coverage. Is this the one important for the cruise along with medical?

 

[CalGalTraveler]

We always buy insurance for international.

Mexico is cheap. We bought coverage for 3 for 1 week for $49 Medical. We did not bother with evacuation because we paid for taxes on the trip with our Chase Sapphire Reserve which comes with $100k evac.if u pay for part of trip.

Europe or Asia we buy more because evac could run several 100k, and not easy to return to USA.

 

[MULTIZ321]

Check out www.squaremouth.com for travel insurance comparisons and reviews.

Richard

 

[Passepartout]

We always buy travel insurance for int'l travel within days of initial deposit to assure pre-existing conditions coverage. Faithful readers will recall my hospitilization, surgery, and evacuation home from Germany about 1 1/2 years ago. Don't leave the USA without it if you are on Medicare.

Jim

 

[WinniWoman]

In this day and age I would cover all bases with insurance. You just never know. After following Jim's saga in Germany, no way would I not get medical and evacuation travel insurance.

 

[VacationForever]

When we travel internationally we buy medical and evacuation coverage with GeoBlue Trekker Choice for multiple trips in a year. We rely on Chase Sapphire Reserve to cover trip cancellation and illnesses. We have successfully claimed through CSR twice in a row. First time was a doctor visit while on a cruise. Second time was cancellation of a major trip involving a transatlantic cruise and several flights. For the major trip, CSR paid the full claim of more than $8K. I also managed get back another $8K on other refundable excursions and such.

 

[easyrider]

I usually buy my trip insurance when I buy our airline tickets online at Alaska Airlines. Anymore, I buy trip insurance for all our trips. I never know if my insurance will be accepted in other states and I know it doesn't follow me Internationally. We were in Kona about six years ago and my wife had to go to the ER for antibiotics for her ear. This wasn't covered and ended up costing us about $800.

If you wait too long after you buy your airline tickets it is harder to find a decent rate that covers stable existing conditions.

Bill

 

[mdurette]

Thanks All - I didn't realize Chase covered evacuation. Since the cruise was paid with Chase...that should cover that part.
I will look into a simple medical plan. Good for us we have no pre-existing conditions at this time.


While we were in Maine with the appendectomy, DH said....well at least we are not out of the country. The surgical nurse joked and said yeah....they would have put you into surgery unit, harvested and sold all your organs and told your wife you died on the table. It was a joke and funny, but it has stuck in my mind!

 

[Passepartout]

We we were in Maine with the appendectomy, DH said....well at least we are not out of the country. The surgical nurse joked and said yeah....they would have put you into surgery unit, harvested and sold all your organs and told your wife you died on the table.

Not funny. People involved with US medical care promote the fantasy that ours is the best and no other country compares. Problem is that the numbers don't substantiate it. People in the US have lower life expectancy than any Western country- and higher infant morality. My experience in Germany convinced me that I could get superior follow-up cardiac care there for about 1/3 the cost- or less. The hospital that treated me seems to have a following of American patients coming there for subsequent care at far lower cost than in the US. - Enough lower to pay the airfare and expenses of staying in Germany. I considered it, too when my US cardio team suggested upgrading to an on-board defibrilator.
That said, for international travel, buy enough coverage to allow you to sleep, and make sure it's PRIMARY. Meaning you don't have to submit a claim to your US insurance first then wait to submit to the travel insurance after your primary coverage is paid. If you have no pre-existing conditions, you have more time to shop.
For your flights across the US and a cruise, there are low cost, fairly basic plans. Cruise ships have medical facilities too.

Jim

 

[bobpark56]

If you will be staying more than a week, or at more than 1 location, or making more than 1 trip, I suggest you take a look at some annual plans...especially those that cover repatriation (and major medical, if your regular insurance fails to cover you). GeoBlue's Trekker policies have fit our needs well and are not especially expensive. Two catches though: Not issued to those over 84, and (I think) you must reside in the U.S.

 

[WinniWoman]

I even take out trip insurance (to cover maintenance fees and the medical is an added bonus, though not really needed as we have a national POS plan (and next year hubby will have Medigap) for our 3 weeks of domestic, drive to timeshares.

Not sure what I will do for next year's timeshare weeks as I haven't checked rates yet.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

@mdurette Make sure it is Chase Sapphire Reserve Card. The other Chase cards don't have cancellation and evacuation. I also don't think it covers much for medical. However you can reduce the amount of insurance needed which will keep your premium lower.

 

[Janann]

In order to compare policies from multiple companies and purchase a policy, go to www.insuremytrip.com. The website is easy, and if needed, their app is helpful during the trip.

 

[dioxide45]

Just be sure that your trip dates cover your entire trip from the time you leave home to your expected return home. Don't just cover the cruise portion of the trip. If you do that there is no guarantee that any part of your trip will be covered, even the cruise.

For our last cruise, we bought AIGs (Travel Guard) Pack n Go plan. THis covered medical and evacuation along with trip delay. There was no coverage for cancellation. It is much cheaper than a plan that also included trip cancellation.

 

[rboesl]

For things like flight delay/cancellation and luggage issues I make sure the credit card I use covers that. For medical I found my UVCI maintenance fees includes medical including repatriation coverage. I upgraded for the additional $15 so it covers any trip I make where I am more than 100 miles away from home. That insurance is issued by On Call International

 

[rboesl]

I actually found another timeshare company that offers an annual Travel Insurance policy option for a reasonable price. I know there's several Grandview owners here on TUG. Well, Vacation Village owners can purchase an annual travel insurance policy for $89 that includes medical coverage and emergency repatriation. Unlike UVCI this insurance can be purchase any time of the year but must be purchased at least 10 days prior to your trip. The policy is issued by Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance company. The one interesting thing I noticed is there is also a pre-existing conditions waiver if "the insurance plan is purchased within 3 days of payment of the insured's billing statement of Maintenance Charges or the Effective Date of this plan is the date following the termination date of of a previous plan purchased through the same Property Management Company." This is a quick summary of their coverage.