Trip Cancellation Insurance

[jtdlmc]

We don't need medical - we are covered on an out-of-country plan included in my DH employee benefits (yes, I looked into it and the policy is complete). Since I booked Early Saver I was thinking maybe we should have trip interruption/cancellation but the lowest price policy I could find is $292 for 4 of us. So now I'm wondering if we really need it. If there was any reason we couldn't go on our booked cruise we could pay $200 ($50 each) and rebook the cruise for a different time (as per Early Saver regulations). We plan to fly into the port city the day before and fly out the day after the cruise returns, so I don't see us missing the ship or returning flight due to late arrivals. Am I missing something?

[cherylandtk]

Without actual trip costs and your ages it is hard to tell if the price you were quoted is higher or lower than usual. It also depends on whether all four of you are in one cabin or two. But I suspect for just trip cancellation, that price is on the high side. I know several policies cover the children at no cost if the parents are covered.

 

The only other caution I would suggest is to verify that your medical insurance includes emergency evacuation coverage. You need at least $50,000 coverage for that, more is better.

[paul929207]

Does your medical cover emergency evacuation? this can cost tens of thousands.

 

How about interrupting your cruise because of illness or death of a family member at home?

[Three Rings]

Be aware of the cost to change your airline tickets, if that became necessary.

 

According to the rules for airline tickets we bought for last summer, the cost to make changes was $50.00 each. We thought that was reasonable. Luckily though, we had purchased travel insurance that covered the cost to change tickets if necessary...because it did become necessary. One of the two traveling companions became ill and couldn't return home until several days later.

 

At the time, the fare class for the original tickets was no longer available, and the true cost to reticket (for two) went from $100 to just below $900. "Travel Guard" covered the entire cost.

[jtdlmc]

Without actual trip costs and your ages it is hard to tell if the price you were quoted is higher or lower than usual. It also depends on whether all four of you are in one cabin or two. But I suspect for just trip cancellation, that price is on the high side. I know several policies cover the children at no cost if the parents are covered.

 

The only other caution I would suggest is to verify that your medical insurance includes emergency evacuation coverage. You need at least $50,000 coverage for that, more is better.

 

 

We are 48, 45, 19, and 9 years old. I put the cost of the trip as $3000 as a reference point, I didn't include the cost of airfare. We are booked in one cabin.

 

Our medical does not cover for emergency evacuation so I guess we should get that as well. But medical insurance is relatively low cost compared to trip cancellation, from what I've seen. Maybe once we are within 365 days of departure and more policies become available the prices will be more reasonable. Otherwise the price through Carnival will by our cheapest option as it was the same price for trip cancellation and medical as the lowest priced trip canc. insurance. But yet most others say Carnival is very expensive compared to the other companies - what am I doing wrong??????

[luvs2travl]

The cheapest cruise insurance for medical/medical evacuation/trip interruption is not always available through the cruise lines. Check out Travel-Ex and AccessAmerica. We have used both in the past and find their policies to be cheaper and more inclusive in some instances. You definitely want to have medical evacuation - that can run into the tens of thousands of dollars if needed.

 

Just a suggestion for you! Hope you & your family have a wonderful cruise! :D

 

Smooth Sailing Always :)

[Arwenmark]

Have you compared policies on insuremytrip.com ? and you need to include all your non refundable expenses, if you are planning to purchase with any waivers like the pre existing condition waiver. Whom that applies to varies by ins. company.

 

Be sure to read the fine print of any policy you consider.

[cherylandtk]

You are not doing anything wrong. You just happen to be at the ages when cruiseline insurance costs about the same as third party insurance. Getting older, cruise insurance tends to be more attractive as rates are based on cabin cost, not passenger age. One benefit to Carnival insurance is that they cover your airline costs even if you don't book the air through them. Try looking at the package policies again using the exact cost of pre-paid cruise fare, even if it is just a few dollars less. You might fall into a lower cost bracket.

 

ETA- OP is Canadian, so many of the policies available in the US are not available to Canadians. I think there are only about 5 package polices to choose from, Travel Guard is one, but Access America and TravelEx are not offered on insuremytrip.

 

If you go look at tripinsurancestore.com you will find, IMO, a better choice of poliices for better rates given your demographics. CSA complete package plan for $172, plus I like the folks at that place.

[jtdlmc]

Thanks for all the tips :)

 

 

If you go look at tripinsurancestore.com you will find, IMO, a better choice of poliices for better rates given your demographics. CSA complete package plan for $172, plus I like the folks at that place.

 

Thanks! I went to check it out and found the CSA and a TravelSafe plan both less than $200 and one has better coverage than the policy I was quoted for $292 at insuremytrip.com. I'm gonna read some more of the fine print and probably go with one of those.

[xxoocruiser]

We are 48, 45, 19, and 9 years old. I put the cost of the trip as $3000 as a reference point, I didn't include the cost of airfare. We are booked in one cabin.

 

Our medical does not cover for emergency evacuation so I guess we should get that as well. But medical insurance is relatively low cost compared to trip cancellation, from what I've seen. Maybe once we are within 365 days of departure and more policies become available the prices will be more reasonable. Otherwise the price through Carnival will by our cheapest option as it was the same price for trip cancellation and medical as the lowest priced trip canc. insurance. But yet most others say Carnival is very expensive compared to the other companies - what am I doing wrong??????

 

 

You can get medical and trip cancelation in a combined policy. There's also the matter of any pre-existing conditions to consider. If the 4 of you have any pre-existing medical conditions, it can impact any potential claims. If you do not have a pre-existing wavier, than even though you might have medical/evacuation insurance, the claim could be rejected a a result of any pre-existing condition. You need to carefully review all policies in regards to your families needs.

Here are some good comparative websites. You must purchase the medical insurance in qualifiied period of time in order to have pre-exisiting conditions waved.

http://www.insuremytrip.com/index.html?linkId=13133

http://www.squaremouth.com/

[jtdlmc]

No pre-existing conditions in any of us.

[Ontario Cruiser]

If you have BMO MC and I think Visa or one of the other Gold credit cards you are covered for cancellation if you pay through your credit card and your children should also be included. Also I checked with Manual life Travel Insurance which covers us for $5 million and we are covered for evaculation at a very reasonable price.

Check it out.

Ontario Cruiser

[donaldsc]

IMHO, the only insurance worth having is medical and evacuation. I self insure for the rest.

 

DON

[toberman]

Kinda hard to figure out all your details but...

 

You've said your DH has insurance thru work... so do I, but it doesn't necessarily cover all costs - Medevac is the BIG one I'd look at.

 

Trip cancellation - you've indicated that you don't have anything because you can cancel the trip for?? $50 each?? Is that up to 5 or 2 or 1 day prior to the cruise?? What happens if (don't know where in Ontario you live but..) you can't get to the airport due to road closures etc?? Or, you're driving to the port and the roads get closed and you can't get there to meet the ship. Does the $50 each cancellation cover this??

 

You've indicated that this cruise is more than 365 days away!! Long time to plan, and no urgency. But... I would strongly suggest that should you decide to buy any kind of Insurance - You buy it in Canada!! Not everything we think is covered is necessarily covered by US Policies!

 

I've always bought RBC Travel Insurance (never needed it, but..) through my TA. There are lots more avbl - CAA probably being the most popular.

 

My Insurance policy is normally about 10% of the total cost of the trip. Not bad peace of mind!!

[jtdlmc]

Just a note for others thinking of purchasing just trip cancellation/interruption insurance. I checked further into my husband's out of country policy from work and it is very extensive. There is no maximum dollar amount - everything is covered including evacuation to a hospital in Canada. I actually contacted the insurance co to verify this. But when looking at the different policies, it seems that it is cheaper to buy a combined medical/cancellation policy than it is too buy just trip cancellation insurance! I don't get it! But I guess I will purchase both even though we don't need the medical.