Thread: Trip insurance has angered travelers and drawn state scrutiny

Fred Zemble suffered a major heart attack on a cruise ship last year, was rushed to a hospital in a foreign country, then airlifted back to South Florida for treatment. He figured his travel insurance would pay the bills.

Trip insurance has angered travelers and drawn state scrutiny -- South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

Originally Posted by MD11F

Fred Zemble suffered a major heart attack on a cruise ship last year, was rushed to a hospital in a foreign country, then airlifted back to South Florida for treatment. He figured his travel insurance would pay the bills.

Trip insurance has angered travelers and drawn state scrutiny -- South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

So would it be better to get the ins.from thru the cruise lines? we have our ins thru our TA in NY but if need to will get more thru Princess to be safe.
Thank you Debbie

Debbie, the safest thing to do is to buy 3rd party insurance. The cruise line insurance doesn't cover everything to the extent that other insurance does. If the cruise line stops operating you have no default coverage.

This is a very good place to go to compare trip insurance:
InsureMyTrip.com

You can compare coverage and price for many different suppliers.

Originally Posted by Char

Debbie, the safest thing to do is to buy 3rd party insurance. The cruise line insurance doesn't cover everything to the extent that other insurance does. If the cruise line stops operating you have no default coverage.

This is a very good place to go to compare trip insurance:
InsureMyTrip.com

You can compare coverage and price for many different suppliers.

Thank you, will look into this today. know our health ins will cover us on the islands if needed, as long as notify them we are going. so just want that extra little bit, cause you never know.

I always recommend 3rd party travel insurance to my clients because the coverage is typically better but in some instances (when the clients are over 70) the prices may be too high and they will opt for the lower priced cruise insurance.

Please be aware that in case of bankruptcy or supplier default due to financial reasons, the cruise line's insurance will not help you re-coup losses.

Which ever insurance you opt to purchase, please read the policy carefully to make sure you understand the inclusions and if there is something that you don't understand, please call the insurance company's customer service department. Although most travel agents can tell you the basics of the coverage and probably a good deal more, we are not claims adjusters and we will not be the ones determining your claim.

It's best to purchase 3rd party insurance for reasons already stated. I hardly ever sell the cruise lines' insurance policies because of their limitations and prices - except to those seniors that may benefit more by getting the cruise lines's policies.

In one of my other posts, I mentioned the difference between travel insurance and travel protection. You need to make sure you purchase travel insurance and Travel Insurance - InsureMyTrip.com is a good starting point. Usually, your travel agent will have a good working relationship with one or two companies they recommend and if they are a reputable agent, the insurance they recommend will also be reputable. The story in the post below is about a not-so-reputable company and unfortunately, there are several out there. But don't think just because they have a recognizable name that they're offering a good product. Good example; we use to sell AIG travel insurance but fired them because they were not providing our clients good customer service - they use to be a good company, but look where they are now.

I always recommend travel insurance, especially if traveling during the Winter or hurricane season because of obvious weather problems, any time when traveling to Europe or South America, and any time when traveling with young children or the elderly.

As I always say, you hope that purchasing travel insurance is a waste of your money because if you need it, it's usually not for a good reason. But if you need it, you'll be damn glad you've got it.

I have a good friend of mine who's a fellow agent and had a client who had the worse-case scenario occur; her husband had a heart attack and had to be flown to a foreign port. He lapsed into a coma for a week before dying. Her costs were around $100,000 and the travel insurance company paid everything. Needless to say, you can imagine what would have happened had she not had the insurance.

We buy it everytime we travel and luckily, we've only needed it once, but it wasn't for a major issue. Cost for the insurance; $45. Reimbursement received; $200. Having the coverage; priceless.

Pete

I agree completely! We always use travel insurance and have had to file a claim twice - once, my daughter broke her arm, requiring surgery and 7 days in bed - cancelled trip to Quebec.
2nd time - Hurricane delayed cruise for 2 days - insurance paid for our expenses in Florida while we waited out the hurricane - which were expensive because we were holed up in a Disney resort! ;-)

Maybe these aren't extreme cases, but in both situations, we came out ahead rather than suffering a financial loss

Trravel Insurance is ALWAYS a good idea!

Originally Posted by canarymoon

Trravel Insurance is ALWAYS a good idea!

I agree. Of the many clients I booked on various forms of vacations, just one has purchased travel insurance.Luckily, the others did not have need of it, all went well. I also sell 3rd Party Insurance which as stated is better.

I believe firmly in insurance. It is cheap compared to the expenses one can have if things go wrong.

The problem in this case is that the insurance was just like so much insurance these days - not worth the paper it is not printed on.