Insurance Question

[wildcatfever]

We will be on our first Celebrity Cruise in Jan 2012 on the Equinox. Our reservation is through a TA. We have a choice of getting insurance coverage through Celebrity or the Ta's company. Both insurance coverages seem to be the same but Celebrity insurance is around $40.00 higher.

 

I think I will go with Celebrity insurance but your thoughts would be appreciated.

 

We have been on two RCI cruises(Serenade of the Seas and Allure of the Seas) but really looking forward to our 11 night cruise on the Equinox.

[Gonzo70]

Welcome to Cruise Critic,

 

Generally you should be able to obtain better coverage at a cheaper price if you purchase insurance on your own. Insuremytrip.com is a great website for researching what policy is best for you; you plug in your age and trip cost and it provides you quotes and descriptions of coverage for many companies.

 

The one exception would be if you are elderly; when purchasing insurance on your own, the older you are the more expensive the policy whereas cruise line insurance is same cost irrespective of one's age.

[Fblack]

You should research private travel insurance too. I use CSA. I had one small claim a few years back and they paid me in under 2 weeks.

[letsgo39]

I would not get the insurance from either place. There are a couple of websites to look at where you will be able to get much better coverage for a better price and be able to compare policies. They are squaremouth dot com and insure my trip dot com. I have used squaremouth to find a policy my last 2 trips.

[wildcatfever]

Thanks for info-will check this out.

 

I am elderly and because of a certain physical problem I will be bringing a scooter.

[Baseball fan]

I always check out insuremytrip dot com. I have used various companies for my insurance. Depending on where I am going, I buy the insurance that has the items that matter the most. You can then compare them with the cruise line and the coverage thru your agency. I have purchased coverage thru the agency and insuremytrip but I have never purchased the cruiseline coverage....generally I can get better coverage at a lower cost. Luckily I have never had to use it but since my parents are older (and you never know what can happen even with me), I always get insurance.

[operaguy]

When do you purchase insurance, right after booking or wait until near the date of the cruise.... is it refundable ??

[Gonzo70]

When do you purchase insurance, right after booking or wait until near the date of the cruise.... is it refundable ??

 

If you want/need preexisting conditions covered you generally need to book right around the time you first pay a deposit for a cruise. If you do not need such coverage you can wait until close to final payment. Some policies can even be purchased after final payment, but often have greater restrictions on what would be covered.

 

There may be a 1-2 week period after purchasing travel insurance where it is refundable but most policies would not be refundable for long. I am not sure what the refund (if any) policy is with travel insurance purchased through the cruise line.

[Baseball fan]

Gonzo is right. It is generally up to 14 days (I think sometimes up to 7 days) after deposit to cover pre-existing conditions. On Insuremytrip the specific types tell you what the pre-existing condition waiver time frame is. I am always booking before insurance to ensure coverage. I now buy insurance everytime....

[Guest maddycat]

You'll find all of your travel insurance questions answered on the CC cruise/travel insurance board.

Cruise/Travel Insurance - Cruise Critic Message Boards

 

We use ***Trip Insurance Store*** to buy our travel insurance. For our most recent cruises we have purchased Travelex insurance. It's primary coverage. We buy it within 14 days of paying our deposit so that pre-existing medical conditions are covered.

 

These sites might also be helpful:

Editor Reviews - Travel Insurance

Travel Insurance Review

[katz]

Shop around on your own. I just purchased insurance from squaremouth.com for our cruise in January. We found a policy that provided coverage for our age and needs that wasn't too painful to pay for.

[jerseygirl3]

My Mom and one of her friends are cruising with us on Silhouette next spring. While we are younger, we chose to obtain insurance through insuremytrip.com (selected Travel Guard). However, since my Mom and her friend are 80 years old, we got the insurance through Celebrity since it was much less expensive. One caveat with Celebrity's insurance, if you have any pre-existing conditions, they will cover them if the condition has been stable for the previous 60 days with no changes in condition, meds, etc. However the 60 days begins from the time you PAY for the insurance, not from the time you make deposit and select the insurance coverage. When I found that out, I had my Mom and her friend pay for their insurance now. The premium is fully refundable up until final payment. But if they wait to pay for their insurance and something comes up within that 60 day time period before they pay for the insurance, it wouldn't be covered.

 

Jo-Ann