Cruise insurance for two reasons only?

[erby2283]

I leave on the 4th and haven't bought insurance yet. I know there are many reasons to buy insurance early, but I never do.

 

With Hurricane Sandy, I have become concerned about air travel should, for some unknown reason, we return to port late and miss our flight (not for this particular storm but in general).

 

I usually purchase insuremytrip dot com. My question is this: if my only two concerns are delayed/interrupted travel and medical evacuation, is it too late to buy coverage or is there still time?

[seashinesunshine]

I leave on the 4th and haven't bought insurance yet. I know there are many reasons to buy insurance early, but I never do.

 

With Hurricane Sandy, I have become concerned about air travel should, for some unknown reason, we return to port late and miss our flight (not for this particular storm but in general).

 

I usually purchase insuremytrip dot com. My question is this: if my only two concerns are delayed/interrupted travel and medical evacuation, is it too late to buy coverage or is there still time?

 

Possibly for the delay travel, but I think you could still buy it for medical. Pretty sure any preexhisting condition wouldn't be covered, but an emergency should.

Every policy is different :)

[Keith1010]

For use on the medical you can other than a pre-existing condition.

 

Keith

[klfrodo]

Hurricane Sandy is already a named storm,, so no coverage for her. Any other storm coming in thats not named yet,,,, your covered (maybe), depends on the wording of the policy.

[cruiseco]

 

I usually purchase insuremytrip dot com. My question is this: if my only two concerns are delayed/interrupted travel and medical evacuation, is it too late to buy coverage or is there still time?

 

As noted previously, and delays related to the current hurricane can't be covered but storms that develop after your policy purchase generally will be if they fit the plan's definitions for delays (i.e. the delay must be 3 or 6 or 12 hours in length, etc)

 

As far as evacuation coverage many insurers do not apply the pre-existing condition exclusion to their evacuation coverage. For example, this is from a TravelSafe plan's list of general exclusions:

 

"14. due to a Pre-Existing Condition, as defined in the Policy. The Pre-Existing Condition Limitation does not apply to the Emergency Medical Evacuation or Return of Remains coverage; or;"

 

So with this plan you would be covered under the evacuation coverage even if it's for a pre-existing condition -- it really doesn't matter when you purchase your policy. If you don't need/want trip cancellation/interruption coverage but just the delay and evacuation benefits just buy the plan with $0 trip cost and you'll get everything else. But you will still be getting some benefits you don't want such as AD&D, baggage delay, etc but those add very little to the cost.

[erby2283]

Thanks everyone. My MAIN concern is having to be medivac'd from another country.

 

But recently, there was a storm that kept some ships from docking in Miami and they had to have an extra day at sea. In that case, I would have missed my flight. Would insurance cover this?

[cruiseco]

dupe

[cruiseco]

But recently, there was a storm that kept some ships from docking in Miami and they had to have an extra day at sea. In that case, I would have missed my flight. Would insurance cover this?

 

Most will but some may not. You'll have to read through the plan details or call the insurer that you're considering using. For example, this is from that same TravelSafe plan I mentioned earlier:

 

"Travel Delay: Benefits will be paid for reasonable accommodation, meal, and local transportation expenses incurred by You, up to the Maximum Benefit Amount shown in the Schedule of Benefits [$150 per person/day for this plan], if You are delayed for 6 hours or more while en route to or from, or during a Trip, due to: a) any delay of a Common Carrier (the delay must be certified by the Common Carrier); b) a traffic accident in which You or Your Traveling Companion are not directly involved (must be substantiated by a police report); c) lost or stolen passports, travel documents or money (must be substantiated by a police report); d) quarantine, hijacking, Strike, natural disaster, terrorism or riot; e) a documented weather condition preventing You from getting to the point of departure."

 

Is a cruise ship a "Common Carrier"? From the plan wording:

 

" “Common Carrier” means any land, sea, and/or air conveyance operating under a valid license for the transportation of passengers for hire."

 

So, yes, a cruise ship falls under that destination. So as long as your delay is 6 hours or more the travel delay benefit would apply. But note that it only covers "Benefits will be paid for reasonable accommodation, meal, and local transportation expenses incurred by You" but doesn't cover the cost of a new air ticket (if needed) to get home.

 

So then you have to check the trip interruption benefit which reads:

 

"Trip Interruption: Benefits will be paid, up to the Maximum Benefit Amount, for the non-refundable, unused portion of the prepaid expenses for land or water Travel Arrangements and the Additional Transportation Cost paid to return home or rejoin the Trip, when You are prevented from completing Your Trip due to:

. . . .

 

h. Inclement Weather that causes complete cessation of services of Your Common Carrier for at least 12 consecutive hours;

. . . "

 

So now your time hurdle is 12 hours. But if you meet that requirement it will pay for that new air ticket to return home. The maximum benefit amount is 150% of whatever trip cost you insured. But if you decide to insure a $0 trip cost you still have this:

 

"If there is no Trip cost insured, the Trip Interruption Benefit will be limited to a maximum amount of $1,000."

 

So in this case you may have two claims to file -- a trip interruption claim if you have to buy a new air ticket and also a trip delay claim if you're stuck in your port of call once you have left the ship but can't fly out until the next day. The delay claim would pay up to $150/day for hotel accommodations, meals, taxis, etc.

 

You will need to find out how each and every every plan you're considering handles these situations because they're all different.

[erby2283]

Most will but some may not. You'll have to read through the plan details or call the insurer that you're considering using. For example, this is from that same TravelSafe plan I mentioned earlier:

 

"Travel Delay: Benefits will be paid for reasonable accommodation, meal, and local transportation expenses incurred by You, up to the Maximum Benefit Amount shown in the Schedule of Benefits [$150 per person/day for this plan], if You are delayed for 6 hours or more while en route to or from, or during a Trip, due to: a) any delay of a Common Carrier (the delay must be certified by the Common Carrier); b) a traffic accident in which You or Your Traveling Companion are not directly involved (must be substantiated by a police report); c) lost or stolen passports, travel documents or money (must be substantiated by a police report); d) quarantine, hijacking, Strike, natural disaster, terrorism or riot; e) a documented weather condition preventing You from getting to the point of departure."

 

Is a cruise ship a "Common Carrier"? From the plan wording:

 

" “Common Carrier” means any land, sea, and/or air conveyance operating under a valid license for the transportation of passengers for hire."

 

So, yes, a cruise ship falls under that destination. So as long as your delay is 6 hours or more the travel delay benefit would apply. But note that it only covers "Benefits will be paid for reasonable accommodation, meal, and local transportation expenses incurred by You" but doesn't cover the cost of a new air ticket (if needed) to get home.

 

So then you have to check the trip interruption benefit which reads:

 

"Trip Interruption: Benefits will be paid, up to the Maximum Benefit Amount, for the non-refundable, unused portion of the prepaid expenses for land or water Travel Arrangements and the Additional Transportation Cost paid to return home or rejoin the Trip, when You are prevented from completing Your Trip due to:

. . . .

 

h. Inclement Weather that causes complete cessation of services of Your Common Carrier for at least 12 consecutive hours;

. . . "

 

So now your time hurdle is 12 hours. But if you meet that requirement it will pay for that new air ticket to return home. The maximum benefit amount is 150% of whatever trip cost you insured. But if you decide to insure a $0 trip cost you still have this:

 

"If there is no Trip cost insured, the Trip Interruption Benefit will be limited to a maximum amount of $1,000."

 

So in this case you may have two claims to file -- a trip interruption claim if you have to buy a new air ticket and also a trip delay claim if you're stuck in your port of call once you have left the ship but can't fly out until the next day. The delay claim would pay up to $150/day for hotel accommodations, meals, taxis, etc.

 

You will need to find out how each and every every plan you're considering handles these situations because they're all different.

 

Wow - this is more confusing than I thought!

[cruiseco]

Wow - this is more confusing than I thought!

 

Yep. and rereading my previous post I can't believe my typos -- "destination" = "definition", etc. I hope it was understandable anyway. Sheesh.