When do you buy travel insurance?

[drwong]

It depends on what kind of risk you're trying to avoid. If you're concerned that the cruise line may cancel the cruise (e.g., because of bankruptcy), you'll need to buy insurance within 14 days of your deposit in order to be protected. But if you want the flexibility of cancelling your trip, you can wait until you've made your final payment, as the trip insurance is non-refundable.

 

It sounds like everyone in your group is young and healthy, with no pre-existing conditions to worry about (unless, of course, someone in your party is a smoker), so you don't have to worry about a lookback period.

 

I found the website http://www.tripinsurancestore.com to be very helpful in comparing policies - for example, some companies will pay you a trip delay benefit only if the delay takes more than 12 hours, while another pays after only six. While most companies cover weather-related delays on the part of the airline or the cruise company, but one company covers you if weather conditions prevent you from getting from your home to the airport! Check out tripinsurancestore.com - there's no surcharge for buying your policy through them and they provide excellent customer service - we just bought our policy through them.

[NancyIL]

I purchased cruise insurance at the time of deposit. Unfortunately, I had to cancel my cruise 8 months prior to cruising. My travel agent told me that cruise insurance is nonrefundable due to cancellation. I wish that I had known that at the time of booking since I would have never bought the insurance so early. :(

 

You can transfer the policy to another cruise. That way you're not out the money.