Travel Insurance

[happy daze john in oz]

I use the travel insurance included in my gold credit card. I pay $114 per year for it but consider it good value. I know it works as twice we have had to claim, car windscreen and cancellation of fully paid cruise due to my hospitalization. Not sure if you have similar in UK but I find it is very good system and much cheaoer than the usual travel insurance as a once a year payment covere ALL travel for thta year.

[Ivan Cloherty]

HI All.
Well I must be crazy or just an old salt, don't know what to call my wife!
Cheers Des

Attachment 13298

Try 'Hero'

[Captain Kong]

Hi Des ,
It is OK to fly to UK with no Insurance, Free Hospitals and medication. only one day in transit,
BUT if you went to the States and something happened then as it was with me, a BIG bill of thousands of Dollars.
On a Cruise ship the medication is expensive, I saw the Doctor on the ship last time before we got to Hawaii, it cost me $700 and all he offered was a bottle of Bysodol for indegestion when I was actually dying of severe Pancreaitis and gangrene gall bladder,
I had had a full medical check up at the Doctors before we left home. Everything was good. one week later BANG!!
Better to be covered. you just never know when something is going to hit you.
Cheers
Brian..

[Red Lead Ted]

Hello everybody
We are going on a 18 night Cruise on Fed Olsens "Balmoral" to the Canary islands, Madeira and Cape Verdie Islands, which means World wide cover for Insurance
OK I have the odd illness the main one being Chronic Pancreatitus ( nautical good times and self inflicted) also the wife has high blood pressure (mild )
The cost of our travel insurance for the 18 nights (Bloody Diabolical) in my opinion £ 1058. 00 with SAGA
(Send All Grannies Away) Insurance Company
No way would I have agreed to it but then thought about what happened to another member on here on a cruise in Hawaii ,
I soon changed my mind and paid up. It seems nowadays if you don't declare ALL medical conditions your insurance could be invalid. I suppose if you don't declare all its not worth taking out Insurance at all.

Your thoughts Gentlemen,

I'm sure I overpaid BUT.

Do what i done get the long haired one to glide off the **** end on her bingo wings untill you dock then meet her ashore. One less to pay for Terry.

[Roger Dyer]

When first I went 'cruising' in 1957 health/travel insurance could be obtained at minimal cost which, I might add, was directly proportionate to the level of medical assistance available, depending of course whether there was a 'doctor in the house' or, in my case, passenger aboard the ship on which I was a crew-member. Graham (Payne), your description of the extortionate cost of modern travel insurance is indeed most accurate, but as Kong rightly explains, the risks of omitting to provide oneself with suitable 'cover' (particularly in the U.S.) can result in complete financial ruin. For the 'peace of mind' of people such as we, who are not quite as young and 'bullet-proof' as we once were , travel insurance has become an added encumbrance for those wishing to seek out and enjoy the wonders of a beautiful world.

Sadly, in this modern age, 'travel insurance' has become the commercial buzzword(s) for organised extortion, or if you prefer, a metaphoric 'licence to print money'. I have a theory that the catalyst for this sorry state of affairs can be traced back to the cotton-wool existence that has been forced upon us by 'political correctness', a blight upon the world that continues to thrive, courtesy of a 'litigation crazy' society who have allowed themselves to be 'stoked up' by an avaricious legal profession. Taking full advantage of this 'golden goose' the Insurance industry has become a willing accomplice. If viewed in that light it might be said that man has become the victim of his own greed and folly. Right then, Graham, now that I've put you in a mood of depression it only leaves me to wish you and your dear wife a most pleasant, carefree, holiday. Have a great time, mate.


.....Roger

[happy daze john in oz]

Hi Des ,
It is OK to fly to UK with no Insurance, Free Hospitals and medication. only one day in transit,
BUT if you went to the States and something happened then as it was with me, a BIG bill of thousands of Dollars.
On a Cruise ship the medication is expensive, I saw the Doctor on the ship last time before we got to Hawaii, it cost me $700 and all he offered was a bottle of Bysodol for indegestion when I was actually dying of severe Pancreaitis and gangrene gall bladder,
I had had a full medical check up at the Doctors before we left home. Everything was good. one week later BANG!!
Better to be covered. you just never know when something is going to hit you.
Cheers
Brian..

Brian, all you have to do is turn up at the hospital in a Burqua or similar and no problems mate, all paid for by you and others.

[leratty]

We were in Tokyo a couple of years ago staying at the Peninsula hotel (some of the very best hotels in the world, Hong Kong beyond superb) my wife got out of a cab awkwardly & did her knee in. She said she was OK but by 8pm was in agony so we had to get a Dr in. He said it was very bad needed ex-rays etc. Then the next day taken to hospital in a Rolls Royce with a staff member for interpreting, we were there all morning, cost over US$10,000. Then taken back to hotel in Rolls Royce with wife in wheel chair had to stay in hotel for ten days as she could not fly. Hotel paid all bills, gave us a superb free meal anywhere we chose each evening, constantly kept checking on her comfort would not let us pay for anything even though insured. Reckon total bill would have exceeded US$30,000. How good was that?

[John Pruden]

grounded for life insurance cost more than the holiday i have a list longer than my arm?jp

[John Arton]

At present we bank with HSBC and have one of their advance accounts. HSBC are certainly not the best bunch of robbers around but one advantage of this type of account is we get free travel insurance world wide and having had to use this facility when the missus collapsed in New York 2 yrs ago I can only say that the travel insurance is top rate.
Fortunately madam was only suffering a minor problem but even so the bill for the 3 -4 hours spent in hospital came to $2000 which was settled before we left the hospital.
So check out your bank account they just may include free travel insurance as part of the package.
rgds
JA

[John Arton]

To late for the guys who have already booked and gone but
On the roger melly just now is an advert for an outfit called ALLCLEAR that says it offers competitive travel insurance for people with serious long term conditions.
just a thought
rgds
JA