FCC's and Trip Insurance??'s

[sloth]

Hoping someone can clarify for us and I apologize if this is common knowledge, but I've searched and can't find an answer. Only have been on a few cruises before, and always purchased insurance at the time of booking.

We have booked a Hawaii cruise on the Golden for Feb. 2012 (thru a travel agent: AAA) and are being told that because we used FCC's to book, we did not have to purchase trip insurance within the first 14 days after booking to cover pre-existing medical conditions. She seems to be saying that because we used FCC's (as they are fully refundable/or can be changed to a different cruise), it's like we haven't really paid a deposit yet, and so the "14 day" rule doesn't apply.

Everything I read indicates that to get the pre-existing coverage, you must purchase insurance within 14 days. I have gone back and forth with the TA, trying to understand this. Travelling with an elderly parent and a BIL who has diabetes, so in my mind, having the coverage for pre-existing is important. Am I just being dense, or are we getting inaccurate information? (BTW, we are now more than 14 days out, as the cruise was booked on March 16th, so maybe we are already screwed!:confused:)

 

Thanks in advance for advice!

Cindy

[paul929207]

We always use FCC's and get insurance when we book. Have used several TA's and none said to wait to purchase. So this is news to me

[pms4104]

We generally buy TravelGuard ... the first time I had made an onboard deposit for a yet-to-be-determined cruise, I called and posed the question about the 14-day countdown to cover pre-existing conditions. The TravelGuard person explained that they consider that $100/person deposit to be an option on a future sailing ... and the 14-day clock would start when we exercised the option and applied the monies to a specific sailing. I do not know if that is true of other insurance companies.

 

The refundability of the $100 future cruise deposit is not the explanation. Did your T/A tell you that you didn't need to buy within 14 days of the $100 deposit? Or did she say you don't need to buy within 14 days of booking a specific cruise? In any event, her explanation may not be accurate

 

Now that you are beyond the 14-day timeframe, you may need to explore the policies of various travel insurance companies to find something with a different/longer period. Hopefully, others here can suggest companies thru which you still may be able to get full coverage.

[Toto2Kansas]

The FCC is your deposit on the cruise, and the day you apply it is the day you have secured your booking for insurance purposes. Now, the TA might have been talking about Princess Travel Insurance, as it doesn't have to be paid in full until final payment date. But booking with an FCC has absolutely nothing to do with when your insurance can be purchased by Princess or anyone else. I think either this TA is misinformed or there was a misunderstanding somewhere. But outside insurance will take the date the FCC's were applied to the cruise as the booking date, and then you are under a time frame to purchase the insurance only if you wish it to cover pre-existing conditions. ;)

[Tralynn]

All of the TA's I've ever used specifically told me that the FCC is the same as the deposit, so it follows the same rules as the deposit. I don't think I would take the chance of waiting on insurance if a pre-existing condition is a concern.

 

If you want to go with the information your TA is giving you, ask for it in writing and confirm that they carry insurance for their errors. This may at least protect you if something goes wrong. (It may also prompt your TA to double-check their information.)

[sloth]

Thanks to you all...this confirms my original belief that the FCC is, in fact, "the deposit". Duh, what else would it be?? And once it's applied to a specific cruise, the 14 day clock starts ticking.

 

You guys are such a wealth of knowledge! I fear I may know more than the TA, thanks to CC! I'll get back to her and go another round.

 

( I find I now start most of my sentences with the phrase: " But I read on Cruise Critic...":cool:)

 

Cindy

[cherylandtk]

All of our cruises are booked with FCC's, and when we had to cancel a cruise due to illness, the booking date listed by Princess was used by the insurance company as the 'date money was first put down on the cruise'. This particular illness was not a pre-existing condition, so the 14 day rule was irrelevant, but the booking date is what the insurance company considered to be the first payment.

[Coral]

Your FCC is your deposit.

 

Not sure if your TA is misinformed or sort of misunderstood about insurance.

 

With Princess insurance, you don't have to buy at deposit but their pre-exisitng conditions clause is strange. You can buy it anytime from deposit to final payment but it has a look back period of 60 days from the time you buy the insurance (pay, not just add). So if you pay for it today, it looks back 60 days. If you do have a pre-existing condition, I wouldn't suggest this policy.

 

If you are referring to Travel Guard or one of the other policies - there is often a 14 or 21 day period from downpayment (including with a FCC) that you need to buy in order to cover pre-existing conditions. Luckily, my TA has an agreement with Access America that we can buy insurance at final payment and cover pre-existing conditions but this is pretty rare.