Travel Insurance Review with CC and Medigap Plan G

[Romer]

I am reviewing my Travel Insurance with upcoming Medicare Plan G that I start June 1st. DW starts April 1st. We both selected Anthem Plan G. Our Dr's said they pay the claims easier than other companies. We have been happy with Anthem service on my pre-medicare retiree plan the last few years

I have been using My United Club Card Insurance for Trip Cancelation along with a Geo Blue stand alone Annual Medical Policy

One of the big reasons I went with a stand along policy was Trip Evacuation Insurance. The Card use to only provide $150K of coverage, but now provides $1M

I can't say enough good things about the CC Travel Insurance. In the last year we had to cancel two trips, the last one being two cruises in Australia. Canceled both due to health reasons for events we hopefully are now through. With the Dr's letter and receipts for non refundable charges, I got a cash payment of almost $10K 2 weeks after I filed my claims. That was for 2 claims filed 10 months apart. No issues, no questions I just followed their template

For that cruise, the Cruise line wanted $1600 for insurance and we plan on going on 4 trips next year. The CC annual fee is a bargin compared to that along with Club Access and many other benefits like discount Uber Gift Cards, Free Global Entry/TSA precheck and others.

I had gotten the Medical policy which we have until August to cover medical and Emergency Evac.

Reviewing coverages today I learned something that surprised me! Emergency Evac only covers land originating Evacs. It does not cover air lift from a Cruise ship. Maybe you all knew that.

What I read is these evacs are handled by the Coast Guard or Navy as there are no commercial outfits sitting around with experience at sea air lifts. Often there is no cost associated with these, but I did find a few posts were 3rd hand people heard about charges for farther off land air lifts. I found if there are costs, the majority of Travel insurance does not cover this. You need a company like Masa if you wan't that coverage.

I found the following on Cruise Critic and can't verify if it is 100% accurate or if you have to be fairly close to land or not
We want to clarify "evacuation" costs. By International Agreement, the various Coast Guards (and military) around the world do not charge for their services. So being air lifted off a ship (which is actually pretty rare) will not cost you anything. It is what happens after that chopper lands....

Once the chopper lands is where the CC $1M Emergency Evac comes in. Apparently if you get sent to a Hospital and you are stable you can tell the benefits line" I am not comfortable with the care here and would get better care at home" and they will transport you back to the states. I read that, but can't confirm that is accurate. This is what my CC Plan says is covered in the $1M

For Medical coverage, I looked into the selected Anthem Plan G Medigap plan (all Plan G plans do) and it has 80% coverage for costs up to $50K once you cover the $250 deductible. $50K isnt a lot for a lifetime benefit, but in many countries, that will go a lot farther than here.

Comparing the annual GEOBLue coverage to what I have, I see if we have an issue it will be covered up to 80% on Plan G vs 100% on GeoBlue

I am thinking of not renewing the GeoBlue Policy as we will both be on the Plan G before it expires

It comes down to being willing to pay the 20% and comfortable that it won't exceed $50K. If I use a lot of the lifetime benefit, I can add an insurance policy later. It also comes down to willing to pay any medical costs on the ship

Also, if one of us gets sick, would an airlift be needed or another day until port under ships Dr care be good enough??

If I get a Medical policy with Evac it likely doesnt cover Cruise ship. The only one I found that does is Masa, but I am sure there are more.

Air Lifts from a Cruise Ship are rare when you consider the number of people on board. According to Google, it averages about 1 in 30 cruises. When you consider there are 1000 to 4000 passengers on each cruise, the probability of one of us needing an airlift are extremely low. If we do then depending on where, there could be no charges due to Coast Guard or Navy doing it. The ships tend to wait until the next port before moving people off to a hospital. From the Dock of the ship to the Hospital is covered under the Evac policies

Anyone done this same trade and decided they still wanted seperate Travel Medical? If so, why?
Anyone get insurance for a Cruise ship airlift? If so, why?

The other coverage which is less is the return of remains; 1K on CC vs $25K on stand alone medical policy

I appreciate any discussion on this. This forum always help me see things from a different perspective!

Below is my evaluation of the United Club CC, Current Medical Policy and Medigap Plan G. I am sure that other high dollar CC's have similar benefits. There are many other Travel benefits for Luggage lost and a few misc items that are not drivers for me

 

[Romer]

A couple of other threads I found on Plan G. I started a new thread because I was surprised about Cruise airlifts not included and using my CC experiance.

I will link these here for completness

International travel medical insurance with Medigap plan

Medicare (Medigap) Foreign Travel Emergency - used it?

During my travels across the US and the world, I have never bought trip insurance or travel medical insurance. Fortunately, I've never experienced a loss that would have been covered by insurance or by a credit card benefit, such as lost luggage. However, as I transition to Medicare with a...

www.early-retirement.org

 

[fosterscik]

We're another couple with Medicare G supplements, but we continue to hold insurance from GeoBlue and MedJet express (for no questions asked evacuation coverage). We are probably over insured, but the annual cost is minimal given the amount we spend in our travel budget (~60k/yr)

 

[Ebendana]

I recently went to a lunch seminar for MASA, and decided it was a reasonable investment to get the lifetime coverage...if nothing else it will give me "peace of mind" that I won't be stuck with any surprise out of pocket expense if I am traveling. In fact, I also just purchased an annual plan for my adult son and family, as they are traveling to S. America, and in case they get into a medical emergency I don't want it to be a financial catastrophe for them.

 

[Global Wizzo]

I am reviewing my Travel Insurance with upcoming Medicare Plan G that I start June 1st. DW starts April 1st. We both selected Anthem Plan G. Our Dr's said they pay the claims easier than other companies. We have been happy with Anthem service on my pre-medicare retiree plan the last few years

I have been using My United Club Card Insurance for Trip Cancelation along with a Geo Blue stand alone Annual Medical Policy

One of the big reasons I went with a stand along policy was Trip Evacuation Insurance. The Card use to only provide $150K of coverage, but now provides $1M

I can't say enough good things about the CC Travel Insurance. In the last year we had to cancel two trips, the last one being two cruises in Australia. Canceled both due to health reasons for events we hopefully are now through. With the Dr's letter and receipts for non refundable charges, I got a cash payment of almost $10K 2 weeks after I filed my claims. That was for 2 claims filed 10 months apart. No issues, no questions I just followed their template

For that cruise, the Cruise line wanted $1600 for insurance and we plan on going on 4 trips next year. The CC annual fee is a bargin compared to that along with Club Access and many other benefits like discount Uber Gift Cards, Free Global Entry/TSA precheck and others.

I had gotten the Medical policy which we have until August to cover medical and Emergency Evac.

Reviewing coverages today I learned something that surprised me! Emergency Evac only covers land originating Evacs. It does not cover air lift from a Cruise ship. Maybe you all knew that.

What I read is these evacs are handled by the Coast Guard or Navy as there are no commercial outfits sitting around with experience at sea air lifts. Often there is no cost associated with these, but I did find a few posts were 3rd hand people heard about charges for farther off land air lifts. I found if there are costs, the majority of Travel insurance does not cover this. You need a company like Masa if you wan't that coverage.

I found the following on Cruise Critic and can't verify if it is 100% accurate or if you have to be fairly close to land or not
We want to clarify "evacuation" costs. By International Agreement, the various Coast Guards (and military) around the world do not charge for their services. So being air lifted off a ship (which is actually pretty rare) will not cost you anything. It is what happens after that chopper lands....

Once the chopper lands is where the CC $1M Emergency Evac comes in. Apparently if you get sent to a Hospital and you are stable you can tell the benefits line" I am not comfortable with the care here and would get better care at home" and they will transport you back to the states. I read that, but can't confirm that is accurate. This is what my CC Plan says is covered in the $1M
View attachment 61365

For Medical coverage, I looked into the selected Anthem Plan G Medigap plan (all Plan G plans do) and it has 80% coverage for costs up to $50K once you cover the $250 deductible. $50K isnt a lot for a lifetime benefit, but in many countries, that will go a lot farther than here.

Comparing the annual GEOBLue coverage to what I have, I see if we have an issue it will be covered up to 80% on Plan G vs 100% on GeoBlue

I am thinking of not renewing the GeoBlue Policy as we will both be on the Plan G before it expires

It comes down to being willing to pay the 20% and comfortable that it won't exceed $50K. If I use a lot of the lifetime benefit, I can add an insurance policy later. It also comes down to willing to pay any medical costs on the ship

Also, if one of us gets sick, would an airlift be needed or another day until port under ships Dr care be good enough??

If I get a Medical policy with Evac it likely doesnt cover Cruise ship. The only one I found that does is Masa, but I am sure there are more.

Air Lifts from a Cruise Ship are rare when you consider the number of people on board. According to Google, it averages about 1 in 30 cruises. When you consider there are 1000 to 4000 passengers on each cruise, the probability of one of us needing an airlift are extremely low. If we do then depending on where, there could be no charges due to Coast Guard or Navy doing it. The ships tend to wait until the next port before moving people off to a hospital. From the Dock of the ship to the Hospital is covered under the Evac policies

Anyone done this same trade and decided they still wanted seperate Travel Medical? If so, why?
Anyone get insurance for a Cruise ship airlift? If so, why?

The other coverage which is less is the return of remains; 1K on CC vs $25K on stand alone medical policy

I appreciate any discussion on this. This forum always help me see things from a different perspective!

Below is my evaluation of the United Club CC, Current Medical Policy and Medigap Plan G. I am sure that other high dollar CC's have similar benefits. There are many other Travel benefits for Luggage lost and a few misc items that are not drivers for me
View attachment 61366

I am reviewing my Travel Insurance with upcoming Medicare Plan G that I start June 1st. DW starts April 1st. We both selected Anthem Plan G. Our Dr's said they pay the claims easier than other companies. We have been happy with Anthem service on my pre-medicare retiree plan the last few years

I have been using My United Club Card Insurance for Trip Cancelation along with a Geo Blue stand alone Annual Medical Policy

One of the big reasons I went with a stand along policy was Trip Evacuation Insurance. The Card use to only provide $150K of coverage, but now provides $1M

I can't say enough good things about the CC Travel Insurance. In the last year we had to cancel two trips, the last one being two cruises in Australia. Canceled both due to health reasons for events we hopefully are now through. With the Dr's letter and receipts for non refundable charges, I got a cash payment of almost $10K 2 weeks after I filed my claims. That was for 2 claims filed 10 months apart. No issues, no questions I just followed their template

For that cruise, the Cruise line wanted $1600 for insurance and we plan on going on 4 trips next year. The CC annual fee is a bargin compared to that along with Club Access and many other benefits like discount Uber Gift Cards, Free Global Entry/TSA precheck and others.

I had gotten the Medical policy which we have until August to cover medical and Emergency Evac.

Reviewing coverages today I learned something that surprised me! Emergency Evac only covers land originating Evacs. It does not cover air lift from a Cruise ship. Maybe you all knew that.

What I read is these evacs are handled by the Coast Guard or Navy as there are no commercial outfits sitting around with experience at sea air lifts. Often there is no cost associated with these, but I did find a few posts were 3rd hand people heard about charges for farther off land air lifts. I found if there are costs, the majority of Travel insurance does not cover this. You need a company like Masa if you wan't that coverage.

I found the following on Cruise Critic and can't verify if it is 100% accurate or if you have to be fairly close to land or not
We want to clarify "evacuation" costs. By International Agreement, the various Coast Guards (and military) around the world do not charge for their services. So being air lifted off a ship (which is actually pretty rare) will not cost you anything. It is what happens after that chopper lands....

Once the chopper lands is where the CC $1M Emergency Evac comes in. Apparently if you get sent to a Hospital and you are stable you can tell the benefits line" I am not comfortable with the care here and would get better care at home" and they will transport you back to the states. I read that, but can't confirm that is accurate. This is what my CC Plan says is covered in the $1M
View attachment 61365

For Medical coverage, I looked into the selected Anthem Plan G Medigap plan (all Plan G plans do) and it has 80% coverage for costs up to $50K once you cover the $250 deductible. $50K isnt a lot for a lifetime benefit, but in many countries, that will go a lot farther than here.

Comparing the annual GEOBLue coverage to what I have, I see if we have an issue it will be covered up to 80% on Plan G vs 100% on GeoBlue

I am thinking of not renewing the GeoBlue Policy as we will both be on the Plan G before it expires

It comes down to being willing to pay the 20% and comfortable that it won't exceed $50K. If I use a lot of the lifetime benefit, I can add an insurance policy later. It also comes down to willing to pay any medical costs on the ship

Also, if one of us gets sick, would an airlift be needed or another day until port under ships Dr care be good enough??

If I get a Medical policy with Evac it likely doesnt cover Cruise ship. The only one I found that does is Masa, but I am sure there are more.

Air Lifts from a Cruise Ship are rare when you consider the number of people on board. According to Google, it averages about 1 in 30 cruises. When you consider there are 1000 to 4000 passengers on each cruise, the probability of one of us needing an airlift are extremely low. If we do then depending on where, there could be no charges due to Coast Guard or Navy doing it. The ships tend to wait until the next port before moving people off to a hospital. From the Dock of the ship to the Hospital is covered under the Evac policies

Anyone done this same trade and decided they still wanted seperate Travel Medical? If so, why?
Anyone get insurance for a Cruise ship airlift? If so, why?

The other coverage which is less is the return of remains; 1K on CC vs $25K on stand alone medical policy

I appreciate any discussion on this. This forum always help me see things from a different perspective!

Below is my evaluation of the United Club CC, Current Medical Policy and Medigap Plan G. I am sure that other high dollar CC's have similar benefits. There are many other Travel benefits for Luggage lost and a few misc items that are not drivers for me
View attachment 61366

Good evaluation. Way too many folks don’t understand they don’t have Medicare coverage until it is too late.

I carry the GeoBlue Trekker as an annual policy along with MedJet. Some evac overlap, but GeoBlue is to nearest suitable hospital and MedJet is from there home.

We also have worldwide cremation/transport/burial coverage as part of our estate plan.

The United card coverage looks pretty good. Who backs yours? Visa, MC or?

So far, we have self insured all the cruise and flight stuff. Flights are always recoverable for the most part. That said, Viking is known to be hard nosed with any refunds or credits.

 

[Lewis Clark]

I was on a Caribbean cruise a while back and one of the passengers needed to be air lifted off by helicopter. A crew member told me they had helicopter air lifts almost every week. I was pretty surprised given that the ship was in a port almost every day.

On a different cruise to the Galapagos Islands we watched a passenger get air lifted off.

Two years ago, friends were on a cruise around South America when the wife had a stroke. She broke three bones in her ankle when she fell. It was three days before the ship was able to get her off. After several weeks in a hospital in Chile, the cost of the air ambulance to fly them home was over $200,000. Good thing they had travel insurance.

 

[KarenF]

I still have an Allianz annual policy. It is inexpensive and covers $500,000 Emergency transportation. They also have local resources and help you find Emergency care.

 

[Go Bolts]

We had the GeoBlue coverage a few years ago during a trip to Italy. I seriously sprained an ankle during one day’s walking tour. Got approval from GeoBlue to go to hospital in Sorrento. They told me I had a fracture, wanted me to return the next day for a “consultation”, which no doubt was a precursor to surgery, which I would absolutely not choose to do abroad.

I saw an orthopedic doctor upon our return, who informed me NO fracture, or I was the fastest healer in history.

I did not pay a dime to the hospital, nor did I ever receive any bill. Surprisingly, neither did GeoBlue! I guess their national healthcare took care of it?

I left the hospital with a lousy, cheap splint which was quite inadequate. We got a proper walking boot at a nearby Farmacia which was out of pocket over $200. At the time, I was covered by a Medicare Advantage plan, which initially declined to reimburse me. FYI, Medicare has FIVE levels of appeals. I did appeal to the first level, the denial was reversed, and the plan sent me a check for 80% which was proper for durable medical equipment (DME). I later went back to Original Medicare and a high deductible Plan G supplement.

As we are anticipating more travel, we are also looking for good coverage. Appreciate this thread and keep those suggestions coming. Thanks.

 

[Romer]

The United card coverage looks pretty good. Who backs yours? Visa, MC or?

Its a Chase Visa card

 

[CalBird]

Its a Chase Visa card

I have the same one. They seem recently bumped up annual fee. I didn’t know they cover cruise cancellation.

 

[Romer]

I have the same one. They seem recently bumped up annual fee. I didn’t know they cover cruise cancellation.

We used it twice. Once when my mother-in-law passed away and the sceond time when My wife tested positive for cancer and had to start treatment. She is in remission now on once a month maintenance so we are traveling again. Both times they paid within 2 weeks after filling out the claim forms with required supporting information with no issues. The two trips came to $10K in reimbursements for non refundable portions since we were weeks away from both cruises with heavy cancelation fees.

The first trip we had our grown kids and their families with us in 3 cabins and they covered it all since I used the United Club Card to charge it. Well worth the fee in my opinon

 

[Luvdogs]

I carry the GeoBlue Trekker as an annual policy along with MedJet. Some evac overlap, but GeoBlue is to nearest suitable hospital and MedJet is from there home.

Another thing about Medjet vs some of the others-medjet says it will fly you to the hospital of your choice in the US-not just the closest/most convenient hospital. We have had Medjet for many years and luckily have never had to test that.

Air ambulances are extremely expensive as someone upthread said--six figures from overseas. I know someone who had to use an air ambulance from the US to Atlanta--about 500 miles and it was over 20K.

 

[ncbill]

Lifetime MASA looks interesting...anything the other major providers (e.g. Medjet) offer over & above?

 

[tenant13]

If you have Amex Platinum it will cover emergency evacuation - you don't even need to use it to pay for the trip.
My trips rarely qualify for any of the US based, CC related travel insurance since they last longer than required 60-90 days - usually for months at a time. So I'm stuck with World Nomads or Safety Wings which allow me to purchase insurance from outside of US for longer periods. I do have GeoBlue anyway - it covers first 70 days of every trip so I just supplement it with other coverage.

 

[walkinwood]

It is interesting how the coverage varies between the more basic (United Explorer or Chase Sapphire Preferred) and the more expensive cards (United Club or Chase Sapphire Reserved).

My cards (United Explorer and occasionally Sapphire Preferred) don't have emergency evaculation. So I opted for a 5 year medjet subscription - which comes out to about $375 (IIRC) a year for the two of us.

I'd like to hear if anyone has ever used this provision (taken from the Chase Sap. Reserve guide in the emergency evacuation section. United Club has similar wording.

Transportation to the Covered Traveler’s primary residence, or to
an appropriate Hospital near their primary residence, if they need
further treatment after having been treated at a local Hospital.

If this clause above is something that is easilly accessed - say with a doctor's note saying that you need further hospitalization & can handle the travel, these more expensive cards have good value.

Add to that the higher trip cancellation. We don't buy insurance for trip cancellation & usually pay extra for refundable hotel rooms. The additional cost of the higher end cards may be worth it if we don't have to do that.

 

[NoiseBoy]

FYI - I just bought a 2-week GeoBlue plan for my upcoming cruise and they have a new name; BlueCross BlueShield Global Solutions. The policy choices and prices seem to be similar, so it could just be a rebranding. However, I discovered that the BCBS plans did not show up in the results when I initially searched using InsureMyTrip.com so I had to go find them and that is when I found about about the name change.

Regarding medical evacs from cruise ships; on my last cruise I was discussing various cruise tips with a younger couple and they told me that, on their last cruise, the ship had to turn around and steam back towards land so someone could be picked up by a helicopter. I think the incidence of this may vary by cruise line as some of them cater to an older crowd. Princess and the U.K. based SAGA are two that come to mind.

To date, I have been buying my medical travel insurance for each trip but I think that annual coverage might be a nice BTD item for me. I do not insure against cancellations as the total cost for my 2-week trips usually comes to around $5,000. Less now that I have discovered cruising out of Miami. Can you say "free parking" at my local airport!