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Travel Insurance--thru RC or Private company????


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3 hours ago, Love6grands said:

As a 1st time cruiser, is it best to purchase the travel insurance thru RC or a private company?  Our cruise is just a 4 night cruise to the Bahamas and CocoCay and RC is quoting $29.00/person which seems very inexpensive.  Is it sufficient?  Thanks for opinions!

It depends upon the coverage you want and your personal situation.  Royal's contractor offers lower limits than some, except for baggage, but their rates are often lower.  We have used and continue to use both Allianz and Royal (Arch/Aon).  As an older person, I worry more about health/accident coverage and possible medical evacuation.  It doesn't hurt to compare multiple carriers, but on a short cruise I might not over-analyze the data.

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In the US insurance is regulated at the state level so it's very important to dig into each insurance choice and understand how that maps into your specific needs.  Be careful when reading other opinions as each of us looks for different coverage or places more importance on one covered item versus another.

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3 hours ago, Jill said:

From what I understand Royal’s insurance covers the cruise only. 
 

We use Allianz and have a yearly policy. Covers ANY trip greater than 100 miles from home. 

We do the annual deal with Allianz as well...it covers ALL travel and has benefits for folks like us who are more "mature" in age. 🤣

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1 hour ago, mistertomatohead said:

There was a specific question about whether or not it’s sufficient. $50k sounds low for evacuation. The CDC says they typically cost 50k to 100k. I really have no idea. Hopefully someone has some data in this pandemic/inflation world we live in that’ll be helpful.

If by evacuation you mean a helicopter flight due to a medical emergency - my husband was airlifted last year and transported from our local hospital emergency room to a hospital that was less than 75 miles away and the amount charged was a little over $76,000.

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16 minutes ago, fireclan said:

If by evacuation you mean a helicopter flight due to a medical emergency - my husband was airlifted last year and transported from our local hospital emergency room to a hospital that was less than 75 miles away and the amount charged was a little over $76,000.

Yikes !  That was a land-to-land transfer.  Imagine what it would be to transfer from a ship to a foreign country !

Hoping all is well with Mr. Clan now.

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We recently purchased the annual Allianz Premier policy for $715 (ages 76/75).  We had previously used Travel Insured, etc. and one week coverage typically cost $350+ per week.  

We also have cruise line insurance for several of our upcoming cruises, purchased before buying the annual policy.  Having looked at the RCCL insurance it appears that the cruise line policy is more liberal in covering cruise related expenses and cancellations.  

Perhaps someone can share their experience in filing a claim with the cruise line insurance and what might not have been covered which would have been covered by an independent insurance carrier?

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2 hours ago, Thorntor said:

We recently purchased the annual Allianz Premier policy for $715 (ages 76/75).  We had previously used Travel Insured, etc. and one week coverage typically cost $350+ per week.  

We also have cruise line insurance for several of our upcoming cruises, purchased before buying the annual policy.  Having looked at the RCCL insurance it appears that the cruise line policy is more liberal in covering cruise related expenses and cancellations.  

Perhaps someone can share their experience in filing a claim with the cruise line insurance and what might not have been covered which would have been covered by an independent insurance carrier?

My In-laws are at the beginning of a claim with RC’s insurance.  RC directly submitted the $25k of shipboard charges to insurance rather than requiring payment before disembarking.  Not sure how it would work with a private/separate policy.

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We had to do a travel insurance claim for a trip where the airline cancelled flights due to weather several years ago.  The airline couldn't get us to our destination until four days later - too late for our tour.  It took about 45 days to get reimbursed and that was with the aid of our travel agent.

While 45 days may seem long, it is quicker than we got our Royal FCC. 😐 

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3 hours ago, Sharla said:

It's not only about the price of the policy, it's about what it covers. Allianz has more customizable plans than what Royal offers. 

Absolutely Agree.  I compared the RCCL policy, the Allianz Premier vs Basic, and the Travel Insured policies - side by side - before making our decision.  One may also want to consider their current health insurance and what it might cover in a foreign country.  I was arranging a church trip to Israel before covid hit and found that my health insurance had "Preferred Providers" in Israel.  I was very surprised. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

In this day and age, travel insurance seems more like a must than not. But each policy can differ widely, even within the same company depending on where/how it was bought.

I use my local AAA TA for booking, and they use Allianz as their travel insurance provider, and pricing is by age of all covered individuals. I learned that one of the AAA benefits with the plan is a "missed port of call" for if a scheduled port on the itinerary is skipped for any reason comes with a $100/port benefit up to $300/trip. TA said she's had many customers who have benefited from that and little to no documentation requested when filing the claim. If there is an annual plan that includes that benefit and I start bumping up my cruising more per year I'd definitely consider the annual plan.

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1 hour ago, Pooch said:

Can one obtain AAA travel insurance without booking through AAA?  We are members but use a different (MEI!) TA.

I would think you could go to Allianz website and reference your AAA membership # in your communications with theem.  I wouldn't think it would be any different than getting an AAA discount on other purchases, e.g., hotels or rental cars.  I have not tried that however -- we use our AAA travel agent.

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Recent cruise insurance through Travel Insured obtained by our TA...cost for both of us and was 129

Trip Cancellation up to 100% of Trip Cost
Trip Interruption Up to 100% Trip Cost
Trip Delay $300 (up to $100/day - 12 hours)
Change Fee up to $250
Frequent Traveler Reward up to $250
Single Supplement Included
Missed Tour or Cruise Connection up to $300 (12 hours)
Medical Evacuation and Repatriation of Remains up to $100,000
Baggage & Personal Effects $750
Baggage Delay up to $200 (12 hours)
Accident & Sickness Medical Expense up to $10,000

We have only had to use the insurance one time when my wife got the flu...we paid the charges on the ship and submitted the claim...took a few weeks to get reimbursed.

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17 hours ago, Pooch said:

Can one obtain AAA travel insurance without booking through AAA?  We are members but use a different (MEI!) TA.

I don't think there would be any problem with that. It's a service they offer (and a competitive one like most of the things they offer). I believe it can be booked through your club's AAA website (though each is set up different, so you'd have to explore your site). I think even if you had to end up talking to an AAA TA if you needed help with travel insurance they'd help you out, I've always found AAA more focused on giving you information and meeting your needs than getting one more sale (and had this happen before when I was shopping auto insurance and travel as well many years ago, but not completing a sale at those times).

And I think a good TA should always respect the fact that you have a good relationship with your current TA, but you may need help for a situation just outside the scope of what your current TA might be able to offer.

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On 9/14/2022 at 7:26 AM, Pooch said:

Can one obtain AAA travel insurance without booking through AAA?  We are members but use a different (MEI!) TA.

MEI sells Allianz policies. You can also use policies regardless of who your TA is. I don't know if there's a price difference tho.

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