Travel Insurance Question

[PCruzer]

My husband and I will be on the Zuiderdam in March. The online agency we booked with gave us complimentary travel insurance for the cost of the cruise through I Travel Insured. We are traveling to FLL the day before our cruise, and we arranged our own air and hotel.

With all the bad weather the northeast has been experiencing, I am concerned about getting to Fort Lauderdale. The hotel has a 2-day cancel with no penalty policy. So, if you don't make it to FLL, they charge your credit card. I wanted to include the hotel cost in our current travel insurance policy, but it would put us into the next level and would cost $80 more to insure a $200 hotel night.

Does anyone know of a travel insurance company that would insure the hotel only at a more reasonable cost? I want to insure for possible cancellation due to not being able to fly out on the day before our cruise. If anyone has any suggestions, I would really appreciate it! Thanks!

[sail7seas]

Just my opinion, but life bears some little risks. We would not pay $80 to cover a possible $200 loss. Not a very good investment IMO We would take the risk and 'self-insure'. It isn't always practical to insure every little possiblity.

 

But then again, we're the sort who only assure we have medical evacuation coverage and medical and for our last 50 or so cruises have not insured the trip itself. We have been very fortunate to never have suffered a loss, we'd hate to but even if we do, we'd be so far ahead at this point in the tens of thousands of dollars we've saved in unpaid premiums that we made a wise decision (FOR US) long ago in our cruising. The first 5-6 cruises (depending upon how expensive) are the ones most at risk, you then get to a break even point where you would have paid in premiums what you might lose with a cancellation. After that you are 'ahead'.

 

Everyone has to decide their tolerance for how much risk.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We buy insurance to cover only the cost of the cruise.

We will run the risk about not getting to the hotel and having to pay for a night we won't be there.

[iancal]

The OP is correct. why would you insure a potential $200. loss for an $80. premium???

 

You may find that the hotel will only charge you for the first night. If not, you could make 2 seperate one night reservations. That would give you an extra 24 hours on the second night.

 

As an aside, we seldom buy insurance, but when we do it is NEVER from either the cruise line or the from the travel agency. If they have financial issues then we would be toast. Nor do we buy it thru the travel agency. We always buy primary insurance directly from the insurer. It tends to be 30-40 percent less expensive and consderably more comprehensive.

[bellebaby]

My husband and I will be on the Zuiderdam in March. The online agency we booked with gave us complimentary travel insurance for the cost of the cruise through I Travel Insured. We are traveling to FLL the day before our cruise, and we arranged our own air and hotel.

With all the bad weather the northeast has been experiencing, I am concerned about getting to Fort Lauderdale. The hotel has a 2-day cancel with no penalty policy. So, if you don't make it to FLL, they charge your credit card. I wanted to include the hotel cost in our current travel insurance policy, but it would put us into the next level and would cost $80 more to insure a $200 hotel night.

Does anyone know of a travel insurance company that would insure the hotel only at a more reasonable cost? I want to insure for possible cancellation due to not being able to fly out on the day before our cruise. If anyone has any suggestions, I would really appreciate it! Thanks!

 

Why don't you go to insuremytrip.com and use the online chat function? Ask them what you have asked us. They should be able to answer your questions.

 

Have you pre-paid for your hotel? If not, why don't you look for a hotel with a less restrictive cancellation policy? Many times you can get a 4 - 6 p.m day of arrival cancellation period. You might be able to get a different rate with a less restrictive cancellation policy at the same hotel. It bears looking into.

 

B

[peaches from georgia]

We've never stayed at a hotel where the penalty is all nights of your reservation, always just the first night. We insure our cruise, especially for the medical benefits as we are on Medicare, but never our pre- or post-cruise hotel stays. Some risks it pays to assume.

[bepsf]

I agree w/ the others -

Think of your hotel stay as "insurance" against missing the ship...

...you don't insure insurance.

However, I'd be sure to have your hotel's contact info handy. As those penalties are primarily in place to guard their business against travelers who book, then change their mind at the last minute, you may find that by calling them from the airport and letting them know that there are verifiable weather delays keeping your flight grounded, they'll take care of you one way or another.

[PCruzer]

Thanks to everyone for your responses. You are right...it doesn't pay to insure the hotel. I might just look for a different hotel with a less restrictive policy on cancels, as someone had mentioned. I suppose I could also just adjust our flights to leave a day or 2 earlier if bad weather is coming our way. Thanks so much for the suggestions. Sometimes I can tend to "over-think" situations. Thanks again!

[cruiseco]

If you really think you need to insure the hotel (personally, I wouldn't) have your TA see if you can buy an iti LITE plan just for that. Looks like about $14.

 

It doesn't have things like emergency evac, medical, and all that but you've got that covered through your other policy.

[timothy998]

Have fun on your cruise. In the event something does go wrong with the weather, etc, put a plan B and/or C together now...if you see a storm moving in, would you be able to leave yet a day or two early? I'd rather be in the port an extra couple of days versus missing the cruise. (Our neighbors were originally set to fly to Florida yesterday 2/1/11 from Chicago but with the pending storm moved the trip a day earlier (no charge from the airline to change). Otherwise instead of a week at Disney World and an extra day, they would've been home cursing and shoveling 2-feet of snow that conveniently blew into 4-foot drifts!!

 

Also, if something happens to your flights, ask the airline agent to print out the reservation record...that helps you prove your flight irregularity claim if you need to file a claim...documentation, documentation, documentation!! (plus save all your receipts).