Access America Ins vs Princess Travel Care

[ShipShapeinFL]

My TA is recommending

we choose Access America vs Princess TC. She says it is better coverage and less expensive. I've used Princess Ins before but never Access America. Can anyone comment on the differences on the two coverages?

[1FatPER]

My first thought is that your TA is getting a bigger commission from Access America :confused:

[sirwired]

Every single policy is different. You really have to read the policies to find the differences in coverage, exclusions, etc. Unlike Homeowners or Car insurance, there are no standard forms for travel insurance, so each policy varies wildly.

 

OTOH, they aren't usually that long, so you should be able to read them fairly quickly.

 

insuremytrip.com has a handy-dandy comparison chart for most of the major 3rd-party suppliers, but it doesn't include travel-provider policies, and you should still read the policy in full before purchasing.

 

For instance, some policies only allow the sickness of you or a travel companion to delay/cancel, while others allow a family members illness to delay/cancel.

 

One major difference is that I am pretty sure most travel-provider polices do NOT include pre-existing-condition waivers, and NONE include provider default protection.

 

I'd never buy a policy without non-traveling-family-member delay/cancel coverage, or one without a pre-ex waiver.

 

SirWired

[rmul]

I have to agree with your travel agent. We always use Access America. It does cover so much more. It covers us from the time we leave our house until we return home. It also covers the cost of our flights as well as all aspects of the cruise. The medical and dental coverage are great. I used the dental coverage in LA before we left on a cruise and they paid a good part of the dental charge. My opinion would be to take your TA's advice.

 

Jan

[Cruisin Sal]

I once had to file a claim with Access America. They were prompt and generous.

[ShipShapeinFL]

I once had to file a claim with Access America. They were prompt and generous.

 

It's good to get positive feedback on Access America. I have read so many customer complaints I have been thinking about just sticking with Princess TC.

[kymbakitty]

My TA is recommending

we choose Access America vs Princess TC. She says it is better coverage and less expensive. I've used Princess Ins before but never Access America. Can anyone comment on the differences on the two coverages?

 

 

Funny, I just purchased travel insurance today for our cruise in March 2010.

 

I haven't gone with a cruiseline's insurance since I learned better about 6 or so years ago.

 

I've used insuremytrip.com ever since. Access America is one I have used a few times....although this time I choose "Custom." Insuremytrip.com is wonderful for comparing coverages and providing a myriad of options. Also, if you ever need to call them, man do they know their stuff. I swear, the training for those positions must be extensive.

 

One of the things I always get is a policy that covers rental car insurance. You have to watch for it if you want it--sometimes it is extra, sometimes it is included. But you can typically get coverage for $25,000 on a vehicle that you rent whenever you are on vacation. This way, we can decline the coverage. We even do this for Mexico. I got insurance once for some ridiculously low coverage of only $400 or so...just to get the car coverage...not to mention the extras. Then I contacted one of their reps for something and I was told I didn't even need to put in the $400...lot's of people get the coverage for trip delay/trip cancellation/luggage/medical...here I thought I was being coy by getting a very small coverage amount and I didn't need to bother. Our insurance was something like $79 and insurance on the car alone for 12 days would have been twice that amount.

 

When you know better, you do better. There is no reason in the world to go with the cruiselines insurance with insuremytrip.com. I don't know all the issues with preexisting conditions, but I have seen that mentioned and some allow it, some don't.

 

I find it very easy to understand and again, you have any questions, you call them and you will feel very confident that your questions were answered correctly.

 

I would never purchase cruiseline insurance any more than I would pay for their pre/post trips (ouch...I can get their hotels and better for half what they charge!!!!). And the only time I ever get their flights is if it is starting/stopping somewhere different and I don't have enough miles to cover it on my own!

 

And trust me, your TA isn't making a dime on Access America. She just happens to know a way to save you MONEY with ADDITIONAL coverage. I tip my hat to her...she probably would get some sort of commission if you went through the cruiseline though. Sounds like you may have a good TA!!!!!!

 

Dawn

[Coral]

With the exception of "cancel for any reason" - the Access America policy my TA sells does cover a whole lot more then what Princess's policy covers.

 

So if your agent's policy is similar to my agent's policy - I think your agent is telling the truth. While agents do receive commission off of travel insurance, it really is not that much commission (probably just a few dollars). It sounds like the agent is looking out for their clients by offering a product that covers more.

 

I have had to file a claim with Access America and they paid promptly (within 10 days I believe). I sent the paperwork in to start the process while waiting for credit card statement copies and they went ahead and paid before I submitted the rest of the information that was originally requested. They were great to deal with.

 

Access America has a ton of policies - they specifically wrote a policy for my travel agent's agency so it is difficult to compare with out looking at the actual policy. I specifically remember that the medical and travel evacuation amounts are significantly higher with Access America. I often travel with my mom and the pre-existing clause with Princess's policy is very confusing. It is far more straight forward with Access America and I feel more comfortable traveling with my mom with Access America as our travel insurance company.

[Gary72]

We unfortunately had to cancel a European cruise, but fortunately had ACcess America. They promptly refunded the money with no hassles...

[azbirdmom]

I have used Access America many times with no issues. I book directly with them on line. Their coverage is much more extensive than Princess Care and cheaper too. One thing that drove me from even considering Princess coverage is that Princess doesn't cover flights that you book on your own - they only cover their own. So they are more expensive and don't even cover self-booked air which was reason enough for me to look elsewhere!

[Colo Cruiser]

My first thought is that your TA is getting a bigger commission from Access America :confused:

 

Yes you are correct. ;)

[10splyr]

We booked a flight with Delta and purchased its air travel insurance which is Access America (we had other insurance for the rest of the trip), and my husband became critically ill and we had to cancel the entire trip. We submitted the claim for our airfare and, guess what? The insurance (Access America) we purchased through Delta for our air portion (1800+) was not covered because it had a 60 day pre-existing clause. All the rest of our insurance had a 6 month pre-existing clause and that was all covered. Had we purchased our insurance for the air portion through AAA (which also uses Access America) or some other auto club, it would have been covered.

 

So my message is: before you purchase the airline insurance for your air portion - if booking cruise/vacation/whatever separately - be sure you read the pre-existing clauses, etc. before purchasing. Had we purchased the same insurance through AAA, we would not only have save a few bucks on the insurance portion, we would have the $1800+ back instead of a credit on Delta that we have to use in June. AND from the Phoenix area to anywhere not in South America on Delta is not wonderful: think go to Salt Lake to get to Hawaii!!:eek:

 

And if you are not "of a certain age" then this probably is useless information On the other hand, if you have had flu/cold/pneumonia, then take heed as those qualify as "pre-existing conditions."

[Coral]

And if you are not "of a certain age" then this probably is useless information On the other hand, if you have had flu/cold/pneumonia, then take heed as those qualify as "pre-existing conditions."

 

There are several different policies with Access America and each one can be different so I agree, be very careful!

 

It seems that pre-existing conditions not only qualifies for those going on the trip but those left at home also (from what I can tell when speaking with reps). So if you have a parent who is ill who is not going on the trip - and you have to cancel for that reason, that situation may qualify under pre-exisitng conditions. This insurance stuff is complicated!

 

Sorry about your experience.

[sirwired]

Pre-ex clauses are a real Pain In The Rear and become a source of much arguing with insurance companies. Look for a policy that will waive the pre-ex clause entirely instead of futzing around with time limits.

 

The TG policy I always buy will waive the pre-ex clause if you buy within two weeks of initial deposit and insure the entire amount of your trip. Then, the only medical requirement is that you, personally, be physically able to travel on the day you purchase the policy. If you can meet that requirement, any pre-existing conditions you or a close relative might have become irrelevant. (Note: If you cancel due to illness or injury of a relative it must either be life-threatening or require your care.)

 

SirWired

[Embracedbylife]

We just recently purchased our airline tickets directing with American Airlines and paid for the insurance for the flight. Then we also purchased Platinum level insurance through princess. As princess does not cover the flight and acess america didn't cover the cost of the cruise we got both. Perhaps we could have gotten a different type of insurance through acess america to cover both? Seems like we are insured twice for medical expenses ect you think?

[unboringuy]

We purchase the coverage through Princess. Being Elite, we get the upgraded coverage at a fair and competitive price. And the big feature that we like is the "cancel for any reason." Since we both work and also have a houseful of pets that can get ill for no reason, we like the flexibility to get a 100% credit if we choose to cancel for a typically non-insured reason. Most of the other insurance products, if they offer "cancel for any reason" coverage, are much more expensive.

[10splyr]

We purchased our "Delta Access America" insurance the same day we purchased the tickets.

 

I do agree that if you are unsure of your ability (health/job/etc. reason) to travel, you should purchase the "cancel for any reason" insurance. And yes, it is expensive, so you have to weigh the cost of the insurance against your loss if you cannot travel before you purchase.

 

As it is right now, our Delta $1800+ airfare is almost useless to us in AZ as Delta flies to SoAm from here, and maybe Atlanta and a couple of points east direct, but otherwise, we have to fly to Salt Lake and then on. As an example: we are going to Hawaii in June and thought we could use it. HaHaHa:mad: from Phoenix we have to fly to Salt Lake, then Los Angeles, then Hawaii - or drive to Los Angeles, spend the night (due to flight times), and then on to Hawaii. So if we do that we will have spent another $500+- which would have paid for the "any time, any reason" insurance:p.

 

And aside from that, flying isn't even fun any more.

 

My lesson learned: purchase your own insurance unless you are buying the whole package from the cruise line. And the reason we opted to purchase our own airfare was that Princess wanted $1980 per person air for the same cruise we were going to do with our own airfare of $1800 for two. Live and learn. We have been on more than 25 cruises and never had a problem until this one - and it wasn't a cruise problem. Only a money one:eek:

[sirwired]

We just recently purchased our airline tickets directing with American Airlines and paid for the insurance for the flight. Then we also purchased Platinum level insurance through princess. As princess does not cover the flight and acess america didn't cover the cost of the cruise we got both. Perhaps we could have gotten a different type of insurance through acess america to cover both? Seems like we are insured twice for medical expenses ect you think?

 

Yes, you are now covered twice for med expenses. In addition, insurance bought through travel providers is often (usually?) more expensive than purchasing from the insurance companies directly, and the coverage is usually less. For instance, NO provider-purchased policy includes default protection. Most do NOT have pre-ex waivers. To top it off, if you purchase from the provider, you are also paying for the cut of the fee to the provider from the ins. co.

 

All the major travel insurance companies have combo policies that will let you insure the whole trip with a single policy.

 

SirWired

[Embracedbylife]

This is very interesting info! Thanks!

[JMG]

We always go to insuremytrip.com. We learned from these board that it is far better to get with 3rd party coverage than to get insurance from the cruiseline that you are sailing. Our coverage protects us from the time we book the cruise. I have had medical claims that were paid immediately and our last cruise I got hit with a supeona for jury duty. I did not have to report until the Monday after the cruise but our flights were booked for that Monday. The insurance covered the cost to switch the flights to Sunday plus the additional fare cost associated with traveling on Sunday vrs Monday.

 

Who cares if your agent gets a larger commission. It is the coverage that you get with one vrs the other that is the important issue.

[tedwit]

Since I retired I have been a home based travel agent. I have always used Travel Guard which is a part of A.I.G. The coverage is much better than Princess and less expensive. I recently had two couples traveling together on the same cruise. The husband of one of the couples became Ill and thought they might have to cancel. I checked with Princess and they said that only the one couple with the illness was eligible to cancel and be reimbursed the other couple could not cancel. I checked with Travel Guard and they said that their policy would also cover the other couple if they both had Travel Guard, also the airfare was not covered by Princess if booked separately. Thankfully both couples were able to go on the cruise. Access America is probably a lot like Travel Guard and I would recommend not using a cruise line policy. I usually give my clients both prices and explain the difference in the coverage and usually they select the private policy.

[Lynda90]

With the exception of "cancel for any reason" - the Access America policy my TA sells does cover a whole lot more then what Princess's policy covers.

 

So if your agent's policy is similar to my agent's policy - I think your agent is telling the truth. While agents do receive commission off of travel insurance, it really is not that much commission (probably just a few dollars). It sounds like the agent is looking out for their clients by offering a product that covers more.

 

I have had to file a claim with Access America and they paid promptly (within 10 days I believe). I sent the paperwork in to start the process while waiting for credit card statement copies and they went ahead and paid before I submitted the rest of the information that was originally requested. They were great to deal with.

 

Access America has a ton of policies - they specifically wrote a policy for my travel agent's agency so it is difficult to compare with out looking at the actual policy. I specifically remember that the medical and travel evacuation amounts are significantly higher with Access America. I often travel with my mom and the pre-existing clause with Princess's policy is very confusing. It is far more straight forward with Access America and I feel more comfortable traveling with my mom with Access America as our travel insurance company.

I have also switched to Access America. They will also cover air fare where Princess does not. My air fare for an upcoming cruise is quite expensive, so I did want it included. Total price is quite a bit cheaper than Princess even including the air fare.

[pmatawan]

I buy an ANNUAL Policy from Access America. since I travel many times during the year, I find this policy fits my needs. The one time I had a claim, they paid it quickly and completely.

[ShipShapeinFL]

My final payment is due next week, and I am reading good things about Access America here so I think I may chose them instead of Princess. They do cover more for medical expenses and evacuation than Princess. The thing I like about Princess is the cancel for any reason. You just never know.

[Borrego]

After reading many of your posts, I decided to go to insuremytrip.com and enter information about my April Hawaii cruise from LA for which I have Platinum coverage from Princess for $86 each.

 

The quote from Access America was $259 and from Travel Guard $256.

 

Unless I did something wrong, it would appear Princess has far and away the best price. I always buy travel insurance but have never needed to use it. Like so many, I find the policies confusing. I can only hope that if I fall ill or get injured while on the cruise, Princess will come thru for me.