Importance of travel insurance

[Sunset]

Here is a story of a cruise ship passenger catching the flu and gets a bill for $47,000 !!

The irony is he won the cruise so it was free, and came with $20,000 health insurance, but getting them to pay is not working.

https://www.fodors.com/news/news/passenger-catches-the-flu-on-norwegian-cruise-line-it-cost-him-47-000

 

[aaronc879]

I aways buy travel insurance including a separate service that offers evacuation to any hospital anywhere. I haven't used it but am glad to have it. One sad story I read was a woman whose husband died suddenly in Central America in a country where cremation was illegal. She either had to pay a massive sum to repatriate his body or bury him there. So she buried him there. I don't want DS and DDIL having to make that decision.

What is the ballpark price for something like that?

 

[ABQ2015]

The GeoBlue single trip plans are a better choice once you turn age 70. For the annual/multitrip GeoBlue plans, the maximum medical benefits per policy period reduce to $100K at age 70 to include medical evacuation, even if the annual policy was purchased at age 69. I would not feel comfortable with only $100K for medical evacuation.

Single trip policies with higher coverage are still available at age 70 and above although at a higher daily rate. The single trip difference between age 69 and 70 was an increase of about $5 a day, not too bad.

 

[athena53]

What is the ballpark price for something like that?

Last year I paid $315 for a one-year membership to MedJetAssist.

 

[38Chevy454]

Having trip insurance has never occurred to me, but as many previous replies point out, as we get older the need for it increases. I think it could make sense for a bigger international trip. Have to think about this more.

 

[pacergal]

Here is a story of a cruise ship passenger catching the flu and gets a bill for $47,000 !!

The irony is he won the cruise so it was free, and came with $20,000 health insurance, but getting them to pay is not working.

https://www.fodors.com/news/news/passenger-catches-the-flu-on-norwegian-cruise-line-it-cost-him-47-000

This is horrible!

 

[FIYes]

Yes, this is horrible….what a ridiculous amount to be charged….he had $20,000 travel insurance and that didn’t cover it!

 

[Sunset]

Yes, this is horrible….what a ridiculous amount to be charged….he had $20,000 travel insurance and that didn’t cover it!

As I read it, the cruise line only takes cash. Something I never thought about, and the charge rate for the cruise line "hospital" is outrageous !

The travel insurance hasn't paid him back yet, which is terrible of course.

He would have been far better off not winning the contest.

 

[Focus]

$47,000?!!!! This is insanity. It's not like they did open-heart surgery on the seas.

 

[CO-guy]

We have an upcoming BTD "trip of a lifetime" coming up and there's currently an "atmospheric river" bringing in a series of snowstorms. In addition to medical, evacuation, etc., our travel insurance policy also covers all of the non-refundables for this trip including flights, hotels, and other prepaid expenses.

Like an umbrella or a raincoat, I'm just hoping we don't need to use it.

 

[omni550]

Clark Howard, who used to own a travel agency when he was younger, had an article on travel insurance today. He suggests using insuremytrip which is like a consolidator... InsureMyTrip Review: Why We Like It and How to Use It

omni

 

[SecondAttempt]

Our BCBS Advantage policy is said by our agent (a family friend for years)to cover us for medical expenses when we're outside the US. In addition, where we are in something other than first-world countries where English is widely spoken, I buy evacuation insurance. This is primarily because I don't want one of us to be trying to manage the logistics of getting any needed medical attention and getting us home. Typically I use Travelex. The logistics is much more important to me than the financial aspects. We can sort out financial issues when we get home and, truth be told, we have enough money that if we lose on an issue it will not be a big deal.

I can't speak to your specific policy. But most US insurance policies cover urgent and emergency care outside the US but not routine care. And you have to pay the foreign provider up front and get reimbursed. You also may need to get preapproval for care if that is feasible. For most people traveling this is not a major problem. But it is a nuance regarding "being covered for medical expenses when outside the US."

When I looked into it for both Kaiser and BCBS, that's what I learned. We are covered for urgent and emergency care but not routine care. Frankly, unless I were a long term traveler I don't think I would seek routine care outside the US in most cases not for any reason other than the hassle. I know there are competent medical professionals all over the world.

On my recent trip to northern Europe I developed a cold bad enough that I considered a doctor visit. It was by far the worst cold I have had in 20+ years and worse than what I experienced when I had COVID. But ultimately I just went to a pharmacy and got some cough medicine and ibuprofen to manage the symptoms. I did consult with a pharmacist which can prescribe some drugs in that country but what she prescribed cost less than $10 so I did not bother filing any claims and there was no charge for the consult.

 

[athena53]

I just read a news article with the inflammatory headline that UHC denied a claim for a US-based traveler who had a serious fall skiing in Switzerland and shattered a vertebra. He had traditional US-based health insurance which did not cover outside the US. I know UHC has had its share of bad headlines but it's sad that the guy didn't buy a travel policy. I defended UHC in the comments.

MSN

 

[Global Wizzo]

A reminder about the importance of travel insurance: sad story.

We befriended an elderly couple a few years ago while snow birding in Costa Rica. We got to know them over the years. This past week the wife was complaining of feeling fatigued. She collapsed on the stairs and was taken by ambulance to a nearby clinic. She was then sent by ambulance to the hospital 4 hours away. She had cardiac surgery, was in ICU and then sadly passed. The out of pocket cost will be approximately $35k, including ambulances, hospital, reparation of remains, flight change, etc. Unfortunately, he did not get travel insurance. He said ”we’re just two old people hanging out by the beach, what could happen?”

I know the loss of his wife is the primary concern, but the added financial burden only adds to a sad situation.

Hi,
We have had travel medical and other coverage since I retired.

I use GeoBlue Trekker and MedJet. Some overlap with evacuation. Geo Blue gets you to the nearest suitable facility. MedJet gets you to hospital nearest home.

I have used GeoBlue several times. Mostly minor stuff, but one head gash in Turkey and recently for an ER visit in Germany.

They have an international network. If you work the guarantee letter they pay in network directly. Never had an issue there.

They got mixed up on one direct reimbursement to me. Thought they had sent the check and it took a few months to sort that.

If you consider travel Medical coverage, look at the coverage limits for your age. Some companies that offer travel insurance have very low medical coverage limits. GeoBlue reduces with age as well. MedJet requires a Doctors clearance once you reach 76 for their Diamond coverage and that is only issued as an individual policy.

We bought a burial policy that turned out to be very reasonable. MedJet will return remains and alternatively, our plan will return remains/cremains as needed as a hands off process.

Overall, I have been very pleased with our coverage and service. Hope I never need the MedJet or anything major for the Trekker policy.

If you travel a lot, (We average an international trip every couple months.) consider separating medical from the travel stuff. Worst case I can eat the trip costs so we don’t worry about trip/baggage insurance. The limits are low and costs high.

 

[MrsHaloFIRE]

It's only now that I've entered my 60s that this has gotten on my radar. This makes me wonder: After what age do people start to get insurance before traveling? And do people tend to get it for trips that are longer rather than only a couple of weeks long?

I was 39 when I started buying an annual policy. Ive used it on road trips, cruise ships, and in Europe and IM 40s and healthy. Pays for itself every year.

 

[rt-texas]

Wow. I didn't realize any country forbid cremation. Not something most of us would think about but good to know. Customs and practices as well as "strange" (to us) laws are probably a good thing to research before going to any other country (maybe, any other state?)

Cremation is not illegal in CR. Lived there for four years and personally assisted a friend with his wife's remains after cancer.

Will say, make sure you have something. In CR specific, if you don't have insurance you will go to the worst of the public hospitals and someone is going to have to put a credit card down and they will keep charging until it hits it's limit. Then they'll ask for the next one.

Not unheard of occurrence in the expat community.

 

[Koolau]

Cremation is not illegal in CR. Lived there for four years and personally assisted a friend with his wife's remains after cancer.

Will say, make sure you have something. In CR specific, if you don't have insurance you will go to the worst of the public hospitals and someone is going to have to put a credit card down and they will keep charging until it hits it's limit. Then they'll ask for the next one.

Not unheard of occurrence in the expat community.

CR was once on my bucket list. Most things I've heard of it recently suggest I scratch that one off. YMMV

 

[isisdave]

I bought Allianz "Annual Premier Plan." Very quick and easy to BUY the plan Fortunately, haven't had to file a claim so I can't speak to how that somewhat important aspect will be.

This is what we have too. We bought the minimum interruption-cancellation coverage of $2000 per year, as we always charge everything to Chase Sapphire Preferred which covers these. But it has $50k medical and $500k evacuation. Plus $45k rental car coverage, which I hope they increase soon as darn near every car costs that much. $419 for two geezers over 70.

 

[jflynn4]

A reminder about the importance of travel insurance: sad story.

We befriended an elderly couple a few years ago while snow birding in Costa Rica. We got to know them over the years. This past week the wife was complaining of feeling fatigued. She collapsed on the stairs and was taken by ambulance to a nearby clinic. She was then sent by ambulance to the hospital 4 hours away. She had cardiac surgery, was in ICU and then sadly passed. The out of pocket cost will be approximately $35k, including ambulances, hospital, reparation of remains, flight change, etc. Unfortunately, he did not get travel insurance. He said ”we’re just two old people hanging out by the beach, what could happen?”

I know the loss of his wife is the primary concern, but the added financial burden only adds to a sad situation.

Might I also add that when buying insurance for a cruise - "never" buy the cruise line offered coverage.

Carnival, for instance, covers up to $10,000 Medical and $30,000 evacuation ---- no where near sufficient ---- and at a cost comparable to buying a policy from Allianz that covers up to $50,000 Medical and $500,000 evacuation (which should be the minimum coverage you'd want).

 

[shafer9]

A friend of mine had a stroke while on a cruise around South America last fall. She fell and broke all three ankle bones. Was a couple of days before they could even get her off the ship to a hospital in Chile.

She spent a couple of weeks in the hospital in Chile. Her husband had a hotel room all that time. The air ambulance flight back to the US was over $200,000.

We always get travel insurance for big trips. We don't get travel insurance for smaller domestic trips.

Same here.

 

[jj]

The GeoBlue single trip plans are a better choice once you turn age 70. For the annual/multitrip GeoBlue plans, the maximum medical benefits per policy period reduce to $100K at age 70 to include medical evacuation, even if the annual policy was purchased at age 69. I would not feel comfortable with only $100K for medical evacuation.

Single trip policies with higher coverage are still available at age 70 and above although at a higher daily rate. The single trip difference between age 69 and 70 was an increase of about $5 a day, not too bad.

While the medical coverage after age 70 drops to $100,000, the medical evacuation benefit remains at $500,000. That's my reading anyway...

GeoBlue International Travel Insurance

 

[Buckeye]

It's only now that I've entered my 60s that this has gotten on my radar. This makes me wonder: After what age do people start to get insurance before traveling? And do people tend to get it for trips that are longer rather than only a couple of weeks long?

You can get hit by a bus at any age and the costs are probably be more of a burden on a younger family. I think travelers of any age should be buying it for the medical and medical evacuation coverage (versus trip cancellation).

 

[OldShooter]

You can get hit by a bus at any age and the costs are probably be more of a burden on a younger family. I think travelers of any age should be buying it for the medical and medical evacuation coverage (versus trip cancellation).

We've been traveling internationally since we retired, about 20 years. We don't buy trip insurance as that is not a financial risk that is concerning for us, but we do buy evacuation insurance for trips pretty much anywhere but first world and English-speaking countries. My theory is that I want somebody there with experience to support DW or me with the logistics of health care and evacuation. Sometimes I will trust a travel company like Road Scholar to have our backs and skip he insurance.

 

[Sunset]

We've been traveling internationally since we retired, about 20 years. We don't buy trip insurance as that is not a financial risk that is concerning for us, but we do buy evacuation insurance for trips pretty much anywhere but first world and English-speaking countries. My theory is that I want somebody there with experience to support DW or me with the logistics of health care and evacuation. Sometimes I will trust a travel company like Road Scholar to have our backs and skip he insurance.

Pretty risky IMHO, as suppose you are hit by a car/motorcycle/scooter, what do you expect Road Scholar would do?
I suppose they would phone for an ambulance, but after that you are on your own as they have the rest of the tour to perform.

 

[OldShooter]

Pretty risky IMHO, as suppose you are hit by a car/motorcycle/scooter, what do you expect Road Scholar would do?
I suppose they would phone for an ambulance, but after that you are on your own as they have the rest of the tour to perform.

Their tours are operated locally by local travel arrangements companies. I'm sure those local resources would be brought to bear. RS is a $200M/year nonprofit and we have traveled with them a number of times. I am certain that these scenarios are very familiar to them and that the culture of the company would also bring resources to bear as well.

Also:
--------------------------------------------------------
Is emergency assistance and evacuation insurance included with Road Scholar programs?

Yes. Our commitment to your well-being is exemplified in our Road Scholar Assurance Plan. Whether you are on a program in the United States or abroad, every Road Scholar participant automatically receives this plan.
Designed specifically for Road Scholar participants, the plan provides 24-hour assistance in the event of an emergency during your program and insurance for emergency medical evacuation.
--------------------------------------------------------

YMMV but I think it is a very reasonable risk to take.