WARNING ! travel insurance thru your TA

We purchased our TA's travel insurance for our HAL May 2017 cruise. We had to pay the full cost of the travel insurance when the cruise was booked.

I DID NOT do enough research about the cancellation policy.

This week we decided to cancel the cruise because of personal reasons. Then we found out the insurance was NONREFUNDABLE after 14 days of purchase,

so we are out $1,000+ !

ONLY BUY HAL's cruise insurance.

I will not give out the insurance company's name for fear of ramifications to us.

DO YOU RESEARCH, I did not, and paid the price.

HAL's insurance is not paid until final payment is due 75 days before the cruse. Before that, there is no cost.

That works exactly like I would have expected it to work. I am actually surprised HAL's is refundable.

If you don't have an auto accident in the year, you don't get your premium returned. I figure if I don't take my trip the money I paid pays someone else who got sick.

That was a REALLY expensive loss though! I have never paid that much.

HAL's insurance is not refundable... and who would expect it to be.... it is, after all, insurance. However you do not have to purchase it until just before final payment which is a big advantage. Frankly, if buying insurance, you need to shop around and make a decision right for you BUT once you purchase, do not expect it back. I do like the fact that I can wait awhile to purchase if I decide to go with HAL's since I do tend to book early to get where I want to be on the ship.

Susan

We purchased our TA's travel insurance for our HAL May 2017 cruise. We had to pay the full cost of the travel insurance when the cruise was booked.

I DID NOT do enough research about the cancellation policy.

This week we decided to cancel the cruise because of personal reasons. Then we found out the insurance was NONREFUNDABLE after 14 days of purchase,

so we are out $1,000+ !

ONLY BUY HAL's cruise insurance.

I will not give out the insurance company's name for fear of ramifications to us.

DO YOU RESEARCH, I did not, and paid the price.

HAL's insurance is not paid until final payment is due 75 days before the cruse. Before that, there is no cost.

Exactly what did you expect? Why?

Sorry about that. Usually with travel insurance you can choose to purchase it at deposit either with a secondary company, as you did, or through the cruise line. Typically when you purchase travel insurance upfront with your deposit you do this so that pre-existing medical conditions will be covered. Many times when you purchase travel insurance outside of 14 days after your initial trip deposit pre-existing conditions are not covered and for many this is a big deal. I know that many travel insurances will cover cancellation due to illness or death of an immediate family member who is not travelling. Therefore it is advantageous to pay with deposit to cover all possible scenarios.

As you stated, it is good practice to research all travel insurance and weigh your options. I used to be a travel agent and I don't always go with the cruise line insurance. There are a slew of reasons I weigh when purchasing, but most of the time I use reputable secondary travel insurance providers.

HAL's insurance is not refundable... and who would expect it to be.... it is, after all, insurance. However you do not have to purchase it until just before final payment which is a big advantage. Frankly, if buying insurance, you need to shop around and make a decision right for you BUT once you purchase, do not expect it back. I do like the fact that I can wait awhile to purchase if I decide to go with HAL's since I do tend to book early to get where I want to be on the ship.

 

Susan

HAL insurance is not the only insurance you can buy up to final payment.

We purchased our TA's travel insurance for our HAL May 2017 cruise. We had to pay the full cost of the travel insurance when the cruise was booked.

I DID NOT do enough research about the cancellation policy.

This week we decided to cancel the cruise because of personal reasons. Then we found out the insurance was NONREFUNDABLE after 14 days of purchase,

so we are out $1,000+ !

ONLY BUY HAL's cruise insurance.

I will not give out the insurance company's name for fear of ramifications to us.

DO YOU RESEARCH, I did not, and paid the price.

HAL's insurance is not paid until final payment is due 75 days before the cruse. Before that, there is no cost.

You don't need to buy HAL's coverage. You need a TA who should have told you that you can wait to purchase the insurance until between 30 days prior, or up to final payment is due, depending on the underwriter. "Forcing" you to buy at booking is totally self-serving for the TA, as they get paid their commission after that 14 day recission period. Your money isn't at risk until then anyway. I've saved a ton by using outside insurers when compared to HAL's. Google travel insurance and you'll get a lot of options in underwriters, cost, and different levels and types of coverage.

HAL insurance is not the only insurance you can buy up to final payment.

Agreed. Our travel insurance, through our TA, is paid for at final payment. We have to declare that we want it when we book, for pre existing coverage, but we don't have to pay for it.

As stated by others, a TA cannot force you to buy insurance. It is strictly a voluntary purchase. Simply say, no, and then buy it prior to final deposit from whatever company suits you.

Agreed. Our travel insurance, through our TA, is paid for at final payment. We have to declare that we want it when we book, for pre existing coverage, but we don't have to pay for it.

You can also insure the trip in the amount of the deposit when you book the cruise to qualify for pre existing coverage. When you purchase non refundable airlines or hotels, contact the insurance company and increase the coverage. At final payment, increase the coverage. Etc.

But what OP said is correct. investigate before you buy.

Sorry you got burned.

Always do your due diligence when researching travel insurance. We never buy from the TA or cruise line we book with but prefer to purchase from Squaremouth or Insuremytrip

There was a time when we bought travel insurance through our TA but a few years ago they changed companies and we were not happy when we read the changes. Many things no longer covered under their newest insurance plan.

BUT, when we did buy the TA's insurance we did not have to buy it until we were ready to make final payment.

I have never heard of any insurance company who will refund your insurance even if you cancel the next day..

If your TA told you that you had to purchase insurance at time of deposit, then they downright lied to you!

However, if the TA told you that in order to get pre-existing coverage you had to purchase insurance at time of deposit IMO they were correct..

Therefore, if you do not have ANY Pre-existing conditions then you can wait to buy insurance.. There are not many passengers who DO NOT have some sort of pre-existing conditions..

I've always understood that that in order to get coverage for pre-existing conditions you must purchase it at deposit time & it is never refundable even if you cancel the next day.. HAL's insurance is not refundable either, but if you purchase it a final payment time the money you paid for your trip is refunded but again NOT the insurance..

Lets say someone in our party once had a "Heart attack" .. A heart condition would now be a pre-existing condition...Therefore it would behoove that Psgr. you to purchase insurance at deposit time.. But, (big but) even if that Psgr. cancelled in one or two days that insurance would never be refundable..

All Insurance companies are the same, so don't worry that an insurance company would try to get back at you..

However, it still hurts when someone has to cancel a cruise & forfeit that kind of money..

If I'm misinterpreting the rules, I know there are many posters who are very familiar with insurance..

All insurance needs to be looked at.

Your TA is not the only one who offers insurance and some policies require that you take it when you book your cruise. You do have 14 days to review and cancel, usually (some are less).

Pretty simple - read and review and say yes or no.

Sorry you learned an expensive lesson. It is very important to read this stuff right away. It's too easy to procrastinate and be too late :(

We book our insurance separately most times to get the coverage we need.

We do not buy travel insurance from/through our TA, from our bank, or from the auto club. We never buy HAL or any other cruise line insurance. Our TA makes the same recommendation to her clients for the same reason.

We find those offerings to be overpriced and the coverage to be much less competitive.

We do not buy travel insurance from/through our TA and we never buy HAL or any other cruise line insurance. Our TA makes the same recommendation to her clients for the same reason.

 

We find those offerings to be overpriced and the coverage to be much less competitive in regard to coverage,etc.

BTW, HAL's coverage isn't insurance. It's an in-house Cancellation Protection Plan, not subject to the same regulations and rate approval insurance companies are subjected to by the insurance commissions in the various states they are licensed to do business in.

We would never recommend HAL's or any cruise line's insurance to those who do not have terrific worldwide medical insurance. Cruise line policies generally provide $10,000 of medical (some go as high as $20,000)...which we feel is not nearly adequate. These days $100,000 of medical would be our minimum (we have $250,000 on our annual travel med policy). Folks get sucked in to cruise line policies because of cancellation provisions (which have a very limited liability) and do not pay a lot of attention to their medical coverage....which exposes you to unlimited liability. For insurance we always recommend shopping around for the policy that best meets your personal needs. And we currently recommend insuremytrip.com, squaremouth.com and the tripinsurancestore.com....where anyone can compare various policies from multiple providers.

Hank

The OP posted the same statements on the Princess board (where the Mods moved it to the Cruise/Travel Insurance board). Not sure what they are trying to achieve.

BTW, HAL's coverage isn't insurance. It's an in-house Cancellation Protection Plan, not subject to the same regulations and rate approval insurance companies are subjected to by the insurance commissions in the various states they are licensed to do business in.

Good point. I have never found any cruise protection lan to be much of a value for piece of mind. I buy from an independent insurance broker/agency immediately after deposit. I understand I will lose my money if I cancel, but that is preferable to me than not having pre-existing coverage. Because really, EVERYTHING medical would be preexisting. Sure, if i fell and broke my back, or probably is my appendix ruptured, it would count. But elderly parents were elderly already.

There are insurance companies that will cover pre-existing conditions if the policy is paid 30 days before final payment.

In the past when we have taken my elderly parents on a cruise, we purchased HAL's Platinum policy for cancellation and bought medical coverage with a separate company. The medical insurance was refundable up to the start of our trip.

Our PCC suggests not paying the insurance until final payment.

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Our PCC suggests not paying the insurance until final payment.

 

 

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And we would bet your PCC recommends that you buy the HAL insurance :). It is just one reason (among several) why we do not use PCCs...of even book direct with HAL or any other line. Our PCC used to call regularly and encourage us to book with her. I finally ask her if she could match the deals we get from several well known reputable cruise agencies. She told me that HAL could not match those deals...but we could still book with her and then she would transfer the booking to a cruise agency. I just laughed and asked her why I should jump through all those hoops, when I could simply book with one of my favored cruise agencies with a few clicks of the mouse. And that would save me thousands of dollars versus booking direct with HAL.

Before we get "flamed" by HAL cheerleaders, my post is not about HAL but about the entire cruise industry. The situation is the same with nearly all cruise lines (and we have been on 14). The reality is that cruise lines do not even want to compete with the high volume agencies (or consortium's) since they are such an important part of their business model. The "handholding" and outreach done by PCC's costs the cruise lines a lot money. They are years behind the airline industry who finally realized they could save lots of money by encouraging folks to book online (no toll free numbers or staff involved). We do know of one cruise agency that actually gives even better deals for those that book online (without taking up the time of any staff). And there are now some airlines that charge extra for those that want to deal with a human. Times are changing.

We would love to see HAL (and other lines) offer special prices for those who book through their own web site...without involving humans (and additional costs for the cruise line). The cruise line would then not have to pay a commission (which is often near 10%) or extra staff! But so far, the cruise lines do not want to undercut cruise agencies. If HAL would match the deals we get elsewhere....we would book with them in a heartbeat. But for now, it is like we are being paid hundreds or thousands or dollars to book our HAL cruises elsewhere.

Hank

We have always been able to transfer travel insurance to another cruise/trip if we cancel the original cruise prior to final payment date. This is "regular" travel insurance rather than cruiseline insurance. There is no refunded amount if the new cruise costs less and we do have to pay an additional amount if the new cruise costs more.

We have always been able to transfer travel insurance to another cruise/trip if we cancel the original cruise prior to final payment date. This is "regular" travel insurance rather than cruiseline insurance. There is no refunded amount if the new cruise costs less and we do have to pay an additional amount if the new cruise costs more.

I have had one of the major third-party travel insurers do this for me, also, but I'm not sure if they all will. It is worth looking into, however.