Trip Insurance - Evacuation Question

[Trooper]

Hi,

DW and I just booked a European cruise for next May. 12 ports in 14 days including stops in : Amsterdam, Norway, Scotland, Ireland, GB, Belgium and France. I've been doing some research on trip insurance (a lot of it on this forum) and comparing it with coverage we already have on credit cards and our existing medical insurance.

Our credit card, Costco Visa, has trip cancellation/interruption insurance for $3,000 per cardholder ($6,000 total). Although the trip costs will likely exceed that we are considering self-insuring the difference.

Our medical coverage through CIGNA covers us outside the US as long as the care is "non-scheduled" -- either provided by an urgent care facility or an ER.

My question is concerning the evacuation coverage. Under what circumstances would one need to be evacuated either to a hospital or to the US, and is it worth the insurance? As you can see from our list of ports we won't be in any highly remote areas, so do you think we would be OK without the evacuation coverage?

Thanks.

 

[Scuba]

Hi,



DW and I just booked a European cruise for next May. 12 ports in 14 days including stops in : Amsterdam, Norway, Scotland, Ireland, GB, Belgium and France. I've been doing some research on trip insurance (a lot of it on this forum) and comparing it with coverage we already have on credit cards and our existing medical insurance.



Our credit card, Costco Visa, has trip cancellation/interruption insurance for $3,000 per cardholder ($6,000 total). Although the trip costs will likely exceed that we are considering self-insuring the difference.



Our medical coverage through CIGNA covers us outside the US as long as the care is "non-scheduled" -- either provided by an urgent care facility or an ER.



My question is concerning the evacuation coverage. Under what circumstances would one need to be evacuated either to a hospital or to the US, and is it worth the insurance? As you can see from our list of ports we won't be in any highly remote areas, so do you think we would be OK without the evacuation coverage?



Thanks.

Assuming you and DW are healthy, I wouldn’t be concerned about evacuation insurance in those destinations. Seems to me that you could access good quality care if needed while on your trip. Enjoy!

 

[DrRoy]

We have pretty good insurance as well and have decided to self insure. The savings add up.

 

[Lewis Clark]

My question is concerning the evacuation coverage. Under what circumstances would one need to be evacuated either to a hospital or to the US, and is it worth the insurance? As you can see from our list of ports we won't be in any highly remote areas, so do you think we would be OK without the evacuation coverage? Thanks.

I was on a cruise in the Galapagos Islands a few years ago. One of the passengers fell and broke a hip, and needed to be evacuated by helicopter off the ship (which was anchored near a remote island) to the major island in the Galapagos for emergency care. Then was evacuated again to Guayaquil, Ecuador for a longer stay in the hospital.

On a different vacation I was on a Caribbean cruise. We had a helicopter come by and pick up a passenger who had some serious medical issue. Never did find out what the medical issue was. It was quite interesting watching how low the helicopter was hovering over the cruise ship. I asked a crew member how often helicopter evacuations occurred, and was amazed to be told that they had a helicopter evacuation almost every week, considering that the ship was in port almost every day. Of course, one evacuation out of 5000+ passengers and crew is a pretty small percentage.

On a Baltic cruise, we had our itinerary changed to support an unplanned port stop to offload an injured/ill passenger.

The evacuation would only be necessary if the injury/illness were beyond the capabilities of the onboard medical staff. Evacuations happen, and surprisingly regularly (I know of 3 evacuations on a total of about a dozen cruises) but I wouldn't worry too much about it if you are in good health overall.

 

[braumeister]

Along the lines of Lewis Clark's post, we had a member of our group injure his back and require helicopter evacuation from the middle of Denali NP to an Anchorage hospital. I can't even imagine what that would cost. Fortunately, he had medevac insurance that covered it.

I consider it a wise precaution and have always had it. We use MASA Assist. There have been a number of threads on this topic and a search should give you a good deal of information and opinions.

 

[Alan]

I've seen too many medical evacs from ships, including one between the UK and Norway, to even contemplate not having insurance for it. You are healthy up to the point you are not. You are fit up to the point you fall down the stairs in rough weather and fracture your neck.

Some European cruise lines mandate buying medical evac insurance. While living in the USA we booked a cruise on Fred Olsen and because we could not buy insurance through a UK company (as we were not UK resident) were required to produce proof that we were covered. This was back in 2013 and we took out cover through Amex.

 

[Taxman59]

This spring, my Mother and youngest sister were to go on a cruise. Sister then was scheduled for hip surgery, so the trip insurance allowed for the "free" substitution of my oldest sister (an RN) to go with Mom. A 2 week cruise, and 3 days in sister gets the flu (mild case) 6 days in sister is fine, Mom has flu and "other issues" (never did find out what they were). Mom and sister are put off the ship in St. Lucia and they spend 4 days in the hospital there (Beautiful views from the hospital room!). Then a med-evac flight to Ft. Lauderdale and another 3 nights there, this time with sister in a hotel room at night. Then a flight back to home cities (Mom to Cleveland with a nurse, and sister to Phillie). Total costs over $50k before the costs of the flights. Total cost to Mom and sister $0!
Insurance was well worth it!

On a side note, My sister being an ICU Nurse with 35+ years experience was able to monitor Mom's care, and I am not sure that Mom would have made it without her. Thanks Sis!!

 

[travelover]

I think evacuation insurance is necessary when you are expected to be too far away from a good hospital for ordinary transportation means to be adequate. I take it out when I go to Central / South America / Africa, etc. In the OP's case, I don't think I'd bother.

 

[Luvdogs]

We use Medjet Assist. We have coverage through our credit cards but Medjet says that they will transport you to "the hospital of your choice." If you are in Europe and have a severe illness/injury it can cost $100K to transport you back to the US.

I know of someone that it cost $20K to transport them about 1000 miles within the US.

To us it's worth the $400 or so per year. This is transportation only, not the medical part.

 

[Chuckanut]

Evacuation insurance is often the only travel insurance I have. Why? I believe insurance is best used for the big costly events that bust the budget not the smaller ones. Having to be medically evacuated to my local hospital in the USA could easily hit many 10's of thousands of dollars.

My trips, in comparison, are low-budget affairs using public transportation ($24 for a one week transit pass in Budapest!), Economy Plus seats, locally owned hotels that offer breakfast, walking two or three blocks away from the touristy areas to get an $8 lunch for $5.50, picnics, etc. etc. etc.

 

[COcheesehead]

I know of two individuals personally who had to be evacuated. For one the flight alone was $28,000. I would never think of traveling outside my coverage without additional insurance.

 

[Aerides]

I used to work for a big CC company, which provided global support to arrange this sort of thing - but it wasn't free except for some higher tier cards.

There was a monthly card holder newsletter in those days. We had a great story about one of these emergencies saving someone and getting them to a hospital for surgery.

A couple of months later I spoke with the card holders wife...because their account was overdue for the 5 figures of charges from the evac.

 

[OldShooter]

Like most insurance, just be sure to buy it the day before the disaster.

We routinely buy (only) evacuation insurance for many of out trips. The times we don't are when we are in a relatively advanced country and are traveling with a private guide/driver. Our main interest is the logistics. Neither of us want to be figuring out doctors, hospitals, airplanes, etc. if the other has a serious problem. Nor can we expect 100% attention from the leader of a group, even a small group.

International Travel News has run quite an extensive series of columns about trip insurance, including readers' experiences with various carriers. There is also a specialist trip insurance agent frequently mentioned, though I don't remember the name offhand. A guy named Wayne Wirtanen has researched and written much of the material. Go to https://www.intltravelnews.com/ and type "Wirtanen" into the search box. Example: https://www.intltravelnews.com/2019/emergency-medical-evacuation

 

[brett]

Our experience in shopping for and buying out of country medical insurance is that all of the good policies will include a large number for evacuation. This typically includes the cost for the travelers companion. These policies often include provisions to bring relatives to the patient's bedside.

I know of a few instances where Canadians ended up in Florida hospitals. The first thing that their out of country medical insurers ask the attending hospital physicians is how quickly can we airlift the patient home. They view it as a cost saving measure. In one instance the patient was airlifted home and the insurance company paid to have his RV brought home from FLL. All part of his policy particulars.

 

[brett]

Our experience in shopping for and buying out of country medical insurance is that all of the good policies will include a large number for evacuation. This typically includes the cost for the travelers companion. These policies often include provisions to bring relatives to the patient's bedside.

I know of a few instances where Canadians ended up in Florida hospitals. The first thing that their out of country medical insurers ask the attending hospital physicians is how quickly can we airlift the patient home. They view it as a cost saving measure.

We have found that the easier it is to buy the policy, on line from a third party , from a TA or auto club, the lesser the coverage is and the more expensive the policy is.

 

[Trooper]

Thanks everyone for the great responses. It's also good to know we can purchase the evacuation insurance without purchasing medical insurance.

 

[Trooper]

I consider it a wise precaution and have always had it. We use MASA Assist. There have been a number of threads on this topic and a search should give you a good deal of information and opinions.

Thanks braumeister. Do I read MASA's website correctly...$720 for 2 people per year? I guess with multiple trips per year it might make sense, but I'm seeing much lower quotes elsewhere.

 

[levindb]

Try Dan Boater

We have Dan Boater, which is basically medical evacuation insurance which will get you back home. The cost is about $100/year for a family. This is not medical coverage...it just gets you back home from a cruise ship or foreign country. You also do not get paid back for any portion of your trip that may be cancelled.

https://danboater.org/membership.html

 

[Rustic23]

Friends crossing the Atlantic. She broke her ankle on the second day. In Spain she underwent surgery and was flown back first class. Insurance paid for all.

 

[Clover5]

I am always on the lookout for business class sales... I’ll go as high as 3500 for super long flights like Singapore, Africa or Australia, I’d never pay their day to day price. Generally we can find Europe for around 1,800 on LX or AC. Sometimes you have to start from an inconvenient airport or take a stopover in China or the Middle East but for us the flights are part of the journey that we want to enjoy not just endure.

 

[Sunset]

We are healthy, but we get travel insurance for the year to cover multiple trips and make sure it has evac coverage.

We have see evacuations off nearly every cruise we have been on, sometimes twice on a cruise. Either by helicopter or small coast guard boat pulls up alongside to transfer the person off the cruise.

Even in the USA, I've read of cases where people are hiking / walking a trail and get injured, and they helicopter them out. That alone costs about $25K.

 

[braumeister]

Thanks braumeister. Do I read MASA's website correctly...$720 for 2 people per year? I guess with multiple trips per year it might make sense, but I'm seeing much lower quotes elsewhere.

That's just the rack rate.

If you join the Air Force Association (anyone can join for $20), you get their special rate. I pay $390 for Platinum level for the two of us. There are a number of "partner programs" like that where members get special rates.

 

[MichaelB]

Regarding emergency evacuation insurance, I like to read the policy T&Cs. One of the things that struck me was most of the policies required pre-approval, otherwise they would not pay. I looked for documented experiences, to see if this was enforced, but really didn’t find anything.

We do have trip and travel insurance, including emergency evacuation, through our credit card. I’d buy separate evacuation coverage if it included all situations, including real emergencies, where pre-approval was not possible.

 

[Trooper]

That's just the rack rate.

If you join the Air Force Association (anyone can join for $20), you get their special rate. I pay $390 for Platinum level for the two of us. There are a number of "partner programs" like that where members get special rates.

Thanks-that looks a little better. I am also wondering whether I can use MASA to replace my DAN dive insurance, which also provides evacuation benefits, as well as dive-realted medical information to the diver needing assistance. I'll look at MASA's policy details.

 

[brett]

The last longer term travel insurance we arranged was for six months out of county.

We were able to reduce the premium by 30 percent simply by taking a 2 or 3K deductable...cannot remember which. I would have gone with an even higher decuctable if it had been as financially attractive.