iamtrustworthy

On 6/28/2024 at 7:57 AM, klfrodo said:

More would be better 😂 I just didn't want to burden you with too much. I'm sure you've got plenty to do.

It didn't work for today. You got me thinking and I'm gathering them by Sunday.

On 6/18/2024 at 12:38 PM, klfrodo said:

For educational purposes only

With your vast 20+ years of experience, could you share the top 2 or 3 mistakes people with travel insurance make that either cause you to SMH or cause the biggest problems with their claims. Also, share what they could have done differently to have made the claim process easier.

 

Or, maybe you've covered this in a blog that you could provide a link to.

 

Thanks

Hi klfrodo,

I didn't forget about you. I'm working on coming up with the top 2 or 3 because there are more.

I'll write something by Saturday afternoon.

Steve Dasseos

13 hours ago, Couple4funwithothers said:

I booked a cruise during hurricane season out of San Juan PR. We use future cruise credits and of course the cruise wasn't that expensive because It's not summer vacation but hurricane season. We booked a separate airfare arriving in San Juan a day early with a hotel before the cruise. And then on the return they stop in Miami overnight for which we have a hotel and then the next day returning to our home city. I assume the cruise line will not change embarkation and disembarkation ports but the itinerary. I'm not worried about an itinerary change more I cancellation of the crews.

 

I called a competitor’s insurance and honestly, I don't even know how they hire an agent that doesn't understand their insurance. They basically said they do not cover cruises, which I don't know if that's true, but he also said they don't cover delays or cancellations because of hurricanes. But it talks about inclement weather in their policy information which reads like I would need to be a lawyer to understand it.

 

What is covered on the trip by the companies individually themselves is as follows. The airlines I have tickets that if I cancel, they will give me a travel credit. Obviously if they cancel I can either be rebooked or in the event of a hurricane cancellation or something like that I believe they would refund it to my original form of payment if they're responsible and if they cancel for other reasons and the delay is too long basically. They have complicated fare rules but the gist of it is that if for some reason I don't wanna go I get a travel credit. If the flight is delayed and we must stay overnight, and we don't get there till the following day there's added hotel costs that the airline may or may not be responsible for depending upon if it's mechanical or weather related so I could potentially incur that cost. If the airline fails to be able to get me to my destination in time but I can find another airline and they don't cover the change that I decided to cancel and pay for a flight with another airline how would my insurance apply in this circumstance? Am I allowed for example to cancel and rebook if it won't get me to the cruise port in time? It might affect any hotels that I had that our past cancellation date because airline isn't getting me there in time for the stay.

 

The hotel will allow cancellation up to a couple of days before arrival, which I assume I should know by then if a hurricane might be canceling the trip. The same would be true for the return hotel. On the other hand, if something changes and I'm already part of the way and at the last moment they cancel I potentially could lose hotel money. I don't know what happens with companies like Priceline if there's a hurricane in San Juan and nobody can travel there but they've booked a hotel. This might be a separate question from the insurance because in theory they should allow me to cancel for a refund. But if they don't then what would happen with the insurance?

 

I paid additional money for the cruise which I called the cruise line, and they are uncertain what they would do although I know they know they just don't wanna say. I believe they will offer a future cruise credit and potentially a refund if you push them hard enough.

 

My question is how do I put all this together with insurance and what benefits would I get if something happened? Since it's not booked altogether airlines can affect hotels that won't let us use the excuse of the airline for example or the cruise won't let us use the excuse for the airline if we missed the cruise because of airline delays. We might have to cancel one airline and fly in another if I must get creative because of airline delays. What coverage would I need and are these things covered? One big one of course is would I get a refund for my cruise including the future cruise credits that have a value if I don't want a future cruise credit? They applied the value of the credits towards the cruise, but they could potentially say, “Oh, you have to sail within a year” of this cancellation. They could extend a portion at the future cruise credit and refund the portion that was not originally a cruise credit but they couldn’t tell me because they don’t want to answer but they know what they’ll do. Lousy games really. Have clear policies. And not wanting future cruise credit within a year they might not be able to go.

 

Some of the insurance covers medical expenses like having to fly because of a medical condition and trip interruption and all that. I looked over your specific insurance and it didn't look like it covered weather unless I get cancelled for any reason which is only 75%. I’m a little confused as well on your own policy stuff it did not read like some of the competitors which talked about inclement weather.

 

Any information would be helpful. Thanks

 

 

Hi Couple4funwithithers,

Thanks for writing all these details.

> I assume the cruise line will not change embarkation or disembarkation ports but the itinerary.

They would if a hurricane was headed towards an embarkation and disembarkation port.

> We use future cruise credits

I need some more information:

- What do you think all your per person prepaid non-refundable trip costs including airfare, in cash and not future cruise or travel credits will be?

- What does your airline's Contract of Carriage state will happen if they are unable to get you to your destination on time?

Steve Dasseos
 

On 6/26/2024 at 6:22 PM, luckyinpa said:

I usually buy. and just did yesterday from you, the above plan for my cruises. i dont need CFAR coverage but i like the rest of the coverage in this plan.

 

is there any annual plan that has the same, or better coverage than that plan? 

 

or alternatively, if i got an annual plan, what do i lose vs the above plan?

thanks

 

 

Hi luckyinpa,

I haven't found an Annual Trip Cancellation plan that is good enough for me to sell due to their plan limitations, loopholes and with what's needed to cover the changes in travel since Covid started. Look at this this thread on my CruiseCritic.com TripInsuranceStore.com - Summer 2023 Q&A for more information:

Steve Dasseos

On 6/24/2024 at 4:27 PM, catspaw1 said:

NO you are incorrect. I did not book my cruises or an adventure to a bear/fishing lodge in the bush in AK with Costco and yet I was able to purchase the insurance. You must be a Costco member though which of course I am. Executive members also get 2% cash back on everything purchased except gas.

 

Geezer, of course I looked at the exemptions & I booked within 14 days of buying so our preexisting minor medical problems are covered. I research everything before we travel! Have done extensive traveling & lived abroad for 7 years. Trust me I do my homework. I also know that being a Costco member for over 30 years now that if I have a problem with a vendor I reach out to Costco. I know they vent their suppliers well.

 

We are leaving for a Celebrity cruise in less than 2 weeks so hopefully we won't have to use the insurance.

 

Geezer- are you a Costco member? Maybe that's why you don't know much about them. Costco does not sell junk! They would not be happy with the vendor if they don't do the right thing!

 

I have had problems with vendors in the past & Costco stepped right in. My husband says I would not accept moving anywhere unless a Costco is less than 15 minutes away! Love that store!

Hi catspaw1,

I'm a Costco member, too.

Did Costco give you a copy of the Celebrity invoice so you were able to insure the correct per person trip cost?

I don't know why, but some travel agents prevent their customers from seeing the travel supplier's invoice. This causes many people to not insure their correct per person trip costs which means that if they have a cancellation or interruption claim they don't get all their money back.

Steve Dasseos

6 hours ago, bcruisin2alaska said:

We are 6 hours drive from port of Mobile so no flight.. Looking at cruise INsurance 12-1-24-12-7-24. Just need medical coverage, including evacuation & cancel in case of emergency or cancel for any reason, don't know the difference. Can you offer advice on which policy to get (cost of cruise $1550). Since we are elderly my fear is needing air lifted from the ship or port in Mexico.  Thanks.

Hi bcruisin2alaska,

I'll need personally identifiable information from you to tell you the exact policy to get. I don't want you to reveal that here.

That said, when did / will you pay the first payment toward any travel arrangements on your trip? And, is the $1550 cost per person or a total for all the travelers?

Steve Dasseos

18 hours ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

Steve you said

You can lower the cost of a Trip Cancellation plan but there are drawbacks, what are the draw backs ?  and is there a big  difference in cost between   30k  50k  75k

Hi Gail & Marty,

These are the drawback:

- Get a more stripped-down plan (but you give up important coverages),

- Move to a different State that's not Virginia or Washington (but's it not always worth moving) or

- Take less expensive trips

As for the difference in the prices for large trip costs, if the trip length is a lot more than 31 days long, then the relative price of a policy has less of a price differential as the trip cost increase versus a trip of less than 31 days long.

Steve Dasseos

17 hours ago, 4catlover said:

Thank you Steve.  I’m looking at your website and it appears I can get the Hurricane coverage with a FlexiPax plan. Would I still need the “cancel for anything” add on? It is expensive so I would like to avoid buying that coverage. 

Hi 4catlover,

No, you wouldn't need to get the cancel for any reason, too.

Also, I have 3 other plans that include similar Hurricane coverage, but the FlexiPax is probably the better priced of the choices.

Steve Dasseos

On 6/22/2024 at 3:40 PM, 2InfinityNBeyond said:

I'm currently in recovery from complex knee surgery and approaching final payment with Holland America 90 days before the cruise, at which time cancellation fees begin. I understand I'm dealing with a pre-existing medical condition and that plans that offer pre-existing coverage would be wise (if I get a plan that I can meet the timing requirements), or even better CFAR since there are many unknowns. But CFAR plans cost a lot and only insure a portion of the cost.

 

What trips me up is the standard wording that when I purchase travel insurance, I need to be medically able to travel. Right now I'm not medically able, but the surgeon says that within 3 months I will be fine to travel. I also may be fine to cruise then but unable to handle the other rigors of travel. If I'm not able to travel right now, does that mean the insurance wouldn't be valid for me in 3 months on the cruise?

 

What should I be doing to protect myself best in this situation? Do I need a surgeon's note now stating that he expects I'll be okay to travel later? The best solution is probably to reschedule, but it's a very unique itinerary that isn't offered at another time.

Hi 2InfinityNBeyond,

I hope your recovery goes well.

Don't buy any insurance if you cannot travel today.

The insured traveler (you) must be able to travel / take a trip on the day you buy your travel insurance. It doesn’t have to be the exact trip you are insuring. Your doctor has to state that you could leave today on a trip. It doesn’t matter if your doctor says you’ll be able to travel later. You will not be covered if you buy travel insurance today. If you are unsure, ask your doctor if you can travel today.

Here's more information:

https://tripinsurancestore.com/what-is-medically-stable/

Steve Dasseos

1 hour ago, ontheweb said:

I have been over 70 for a while now, and DW turned 70 earlier this year (actually had her birthday while we were on a river cruise). Yes, I realize we could buy travel insurance from the cruise lines, but the medical coverage seems not to be adequate, and we basically buy the insurance for the medical coverage.

 

If it makes a difference, we have in the past mostly used Travel Guard. 

Hi ontheweb,

You can lower the cost of a Trip Cancellation plan but there are drawbacks. The only legal ways to lower the cost of the insurance are to:

• Get a more stripped-down plan (but you give up important coverages),
• Move to a different State that's not Virginia or Washington (but's it not always worth moving) or
• Take less expensive trips

Steve Dasseos

On 6/23/2024 at 7:35 AM, 4catlover said:

We have a Caribbean cruise on hold for September 2024, and we are looking to purchase trip insurance. We’ve had to use trip insurance in the past (2 times) due to hurricanes in route to booked all-inclusive resorts, so we are big fans of trip insurance. I’ve been looking at cruise policies and most don’t seem to cover cancellation due to hurricane predictions. Are there policies that allow one to cancel or reschedule a cruise due to a hurricane prediction? 

Hi 4catlover,

Yes, but only for a trip cancellation and not postponing or rescheduling a trip. You would have to have a plan that includes the 75% “Cancel For Any Reason” (CFAR) coverage.

Here's more information:

https://tripinsurancestore.com/cancel-for-any-reason-travel-insurance-plans/

Steve Dasseos

On 6/18/2024 at 8:51 PM, rizello said:

I don't have any pre-existing conditions, and I called my medical provider and they walked me through my coverage.  They said I am covered anywhere in the world for both emergency care and urgent care.  I think the main thing I might need is evacuation.  It sounds like they would cover, but it wasn't clear.

Hi rizello,

Chase Sapphire Preferred's exclusion of pre-existing conditions includes you, a traveling companion or a non-traveling family member.

Steve Dasseos

On 6/20/2024 at 10:08 PM, GenXer85 said:

some nutty stuff with my company.  My final payment is due in a little over a month and my cruise is then three months after that.  I would like to buy insurance that will refund me my cruise fare should i be layed off anytime during the 3 month window before the cruise.  I've been with my company for over 10 years.  What is a good company to use for this?  I found one that said if laid off 30 days before vacation, but that does not seem to be appropriate for cruises where you get into full payment 3 months in advance. I;m hoping by buying the insurance I'll have a better change of the terrible thing not happening.  Please advise.

Hi GenXer85,

> some nutty stuff with my company

Are they already hinting at or talking about potential layoffs?

Steve Dasseos

On 6/18/2024 at 12:38 PM, klfrodo said:

For educational purposes only

With your vast 20+ years of experience, could you share the top 2 or 3 mistakes people with travel insurance make that either cause you to SMH or cause the biggest problems with their claims. Also, share what they could have done differently to have made the claim process easier.

 

Or, maybe you've covered this in a blog that you could provide a link to.

 

Thanks

Hi klfrodo,

What does "SMH" mean?

Steve

On 6/17/2024 at 9:17 AM, travelingla said:

We are heading to Alaska for a 10 day land trip on our own - -not thru the cruise line nor any tour company. Can I purchase insurance for the 7 night cruise we are adding to the end of our trip?  Will it pay for just the cruise if for some reason we have to cancel either the entire trip or the cruise if the land portion is not included in the quote?

 

Thank you. Your information is so helpful!!

Hi travelingla,

I appreciate your kind words.

You're able to buy insurance for the seven night cruise but you would still insure the entire length of the trip. Nearly all the plans I have are the same price for trip of up to 30 days long, so adding on the 10 days isn't going to affect the price. You also wouldn't need to insure any of the value of the land trip.

If you cut your trip short due to a covered reason (ie - you get hit by a cement truck) and returned home early, then the travel insurance would reimburse you the money you lost on the cruise.

Steve Dasseos

8 hours ago, SpokanChik said:

We live in the US and will be traveling to Vancouver, Canada, for a cruise to Alaska. When filling out the form for travel insurance, is our destination Canada or Alaska? We will be spending more time in Alaska, but our first destination is Canada.

Thankyou! 

Hi SpokanChik,

I'd pick USA, but I don't know any plans that would penalize you if you selected USA or Canada.

Steve Dasseos

On 6/15/2024 at 3:03 PM, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

Hi If you use AARP Gift cards are you still covered with Insurance .

Hi Gail & Marty sailing away,

Yes. You would use the amount you paid for the gift cards as your insurable trip cost.

What you also will want to find out is if there are any scenrios where you will receive a refund back to the gift cards if you cancelled your trip.

Steve Dasseos

21 hours ago, land64shark said:

Thank you. This helps so much.

You're welcome.

16 hours ago, horseymike said:

For the record, I have purchased travel insurance through Steve’s insurance agency, he and his staff were most helpful with any and all questions, as well as assistance with a detail or two that needed to be corrected.

Thankfully we did not need to file any claims , but we felt very confident that Steve and his staff would be there to assist with that should the need arise.

Hi horseymike,

Thanks for the feedback.

Steve Dasseos

12 hours ago, Ashland said:

Hi Steve,

I hope you can answer my question post #14 & follow up #16.

Thanks so much.

Hi Ashland,

Sorry about that.

> Do we need to also purchase cruiseline insurance for any onboard medical expenses?

No.

And, your Advantage Plan may have non-USA coverage for when you are out of the network. It's worth finding out.

Steve Dasseos

17 hours ago, donanddiane said:

Hi Steve, please provide me with the names of the insurance companies that underwrite your travel insurance, what their financial ratings are, and the rating agencies that provide those financial ratings.  Thank you very much.

Hi donanddiane,

The names of the insurance companies are listed in the Certificates of Insurance and vary from State to State. I have no idea what all their financial ratings are and al the rating agencies that are involved.

Steve Dasseos

11 hours ago, CarolinaKathy said:

My mom is 98 and in assisted living. Nothing new has been diagnosed recently. She is just getting more frail all the time. The rest of my family is in good health.

Hi CarolinaKathy,

It's likely that your mom has something that is defined as a pre-existing medical condition that could affect your trip.

I don't want to get into your personal information on a public forum, so if you want to discuss this further and also find out about your choices for a trip cancellation plan, would you either email me at steve@tripinsurancestore.com or call us on 1-888-407-3854 or 1-816-282-6858?

Steve Dasseos

On 6/11/2024 at 2:56 PM, land64shark said:

Thank you Steve. So how does it work if you purchase the policy within the 14 day (or whatever) time frame after first deposit and you are are "medically stable" for the lookback period at that time, but then have an event or even just a medication change/adjustment thereafter? But then you are medically stable again by cruise time? This is clear as mud to me.

Hi kand64shark,

There is only one Lookback Period which is the number of days prior to the purchase of the policy.

Any new diagnosis or medication change does not create a pre-existing medical condition exclusion because the policy was already in effect.

Steve Dasseos

6 hours ago, CarolinaKathy said:

Our health has been pretty consistent for the last 60 days. Mostly, the usual old age aches and pains. 

What about your non-traveling family members?

7 hours ago, Laurab23 said:

Mother and daughter taking cruise. Only daughter gets insurance. Has to cancel because family member gets sick and both have to leave cruise. Does daughters insurance cover both?

 

Laura

Hi Laura,

No. The Mother has no Trip Cancellation coverage.

Steve Dasseos