Jump to content

Trip Insurance Rip-off: Travel Insured, Intl


shuff01

Recommended Posts

DO NOT buy Travel Insured International! We paid them $700 to insure our river cruise May/June 2013, Out of a 7 night cruise, we cruised only 1-1/2 days due to flooding of the Danube. Three nights, we were docked in an ugly industrial park (could have scraped slime off the dock from our French balcony). We were loaded onto buses and had to ride many hours to see cities such as Vienna before being loaded back o the bus for the multi-hour ride back to the industrial park. We completely missed seeing two of our destinations – one of which we actually booked the cruise to see. However, despite this major interruption, Travel Insured Int refused to honor our claim stating that the cruise line had the right to change the itinerary. My husband and I now realize that the only reason to buy insurance (at least from Travel Insured Int) would be for some health reason. If you have good health insurance, we would suggest adding a rider to cover potential health problems on your trip. It is clear that if our cruise interruption (5 days out of seven) did not meet Travel Insured’s definition of an “interruption” then nothing would. The cruise line offered us half off on a future cruise -- Am waterways, unsolicited which we felt was very fair on their part. This Travel Insured Int. used the fact that the cruise line had offered us this as a reason why they would not honor our claim, despite the fact that we paid both a huge amount, separately. Buyer beware of throwing your money away on this company. They have been a stumbling block to even work with and their adjusters are actually rude. We plan on traveling in the future, but will not purchase trip insurance from a separate agency again—realizing that with adequate health coverage and reasonable refund policy from cruise or tour lines, that extra travel insurance is a big rip-off – for sure, Travel Insured, International is.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Off the top of my head I can't think of any insurer that would pay that claim. It's certainly not a trip interruption according to any plan's definition.

 

when you agreed to the cruise line's passenger contract you stated that if they were forced by water levels to skip stops or deviate the itinerary or substitute alternate transportation that was OK by you. You can't expect an insurer to pay because the cruise line did something that you agreed beforehand you were perfectly fine with.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't think you would have gotten a refund with any trip insurance company; this is not unique to the carrier you used. As long as the travel operator (in this case, the cruise company) gets you from your origin to your final destination on schedule, there is nothing to claim. You haven't actually left your trip, even if the cruise isn't proceeding as planned. (Even if it was covered, how much of a refund would you be due? A 100% refund wouldn't make sense, since you did receive food, lodging, and at least some tours during the time when the boat couldn't travel.)

 

In a similar fashion, if you are on an ocean-going cruise and weather forces you to divert from a planned port stop, trip insurance company generally owes you nothing.

 

The exception to this would be if you pre-paid for an independent excursion and could not get a refund from your excursion operator; this might be refundable by trip insurance.

 

Frankly, I'd blame the cruise company for not doing a better job accommodating you; from what I've heard with similar stories, other companies will covert your river cruise into a bus/hotel tour instead of shuttling you back and forth for hours every day. If they couldn't arrange for this, they should have offered you the option of a refund of the remainder of your trip.

 

Trip insurance covers a lot of things; most of them are things that would cause you to cancel your trip entirely (or, during your trip, having to pack up and go home.) It may not cover what you'd like it to, but this is a long way from trip insurance being useless. (I've placed thousands of dollars in successful claims over the years for the things it does cover.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My wife and I took out insurance to cover our lengthy trip which included a transpacific cruise from Sydney to Seattle in April, and planned to join an Inside Passage Cruise from Anchorage to Vancouver in mid-May. Unfortunately when we arrived in Anchorage, we were phoned to be told that my wife's Mum took ill and was not expected to live beyond the weekend. We contacted our insurance company and advised to return home on the next possible flight. Apart from the 36 hours it took us to return to Brisbane, we arrived too late as Mum had passed away on early Mother's Day morning. This hit my wife Cathy very hard.

 

When we submitted our travel insurance claim for interrupted trip, we were told some 2 weeks later that our insurance claim was dneied as according to the insurance company, Mum was over 85 when she passed away and therefore "not considered to be a relative and therefore not covered by our travel insurance". This has found to be a blatant breach of international human rights and blatant discrimination on the basis of age.

 

With many cruisers being of an age where 85 is either close by, passed, or whose parents are 85 or older, this is a cautionary note to check this out before taking on insurance.

 

We have placed a request for a review of our denial of insurance claim. If this is not successful we will be seeking legal redress and embarking on a strong social media campaign against the particular insurance company

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We would echo a previous posters comments about the OP! No travel insurance policy of which we are aware (and we are aware of many) will pay a claim based on itinerary changes (unless it would force a cruiser to change their air arrangments at a financial loss). Every cruise line (whether it is an ocean cruise or a river cruise) has language in their cruise contract that gives them the right to alter the itinerary. Having spent more then 3 years on cruise ships (and River Cruises) we have had more then our share of port changes and port cancellations. It is just the nature of cruising. I should add that its not much different on land. Plenty of folks have booked the "trip of lifetime" to only have it spoiled due to bad weather, labor strikes, etc. Life is simply full of risks and no reasonably priced insurance can cover all risks.

 

Hank

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In response to agent for Travel Insured, International...our trip was more than interrupted. We did NOT get a cruise for 5-1/2 days of the scheduled 7 days. Ship was permanently docked. We even received half off on another cruise from cruise line, unsolicited, as even they knew all on board did not, in fact, even get a cruise. We had a bus tour (!) with many scheduled sites totally by-passed. What DO you consider a "trip interruption greater than 72 hours" if this were not considered such by your company?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What DO you consider a "trip interruption greater than 72 hours" if this were not considered such by your company?

 

What they consider to be a "trip interruption" is spelled out in the plan wording. Here's the wording from one of their plans (they have several):

 

 

"COVERAGE A

 

TRIP CANCELLATION/TRIP INTERRUPTION

 

This Coverage A is made a part of the policy. It is subject to all the provisions of this Coverage A.

 

Benefits will be paid up to the Maximum Benefit Amount purchased to cover You for the Published Penalties and unused non-refundable prepaid expenses for Travel Arrangements as well as airfare cancellation charges for flights commencing within one week of the Covered Trip when You are prevented from taking or completing Your Covered Trip due to:

 

1. Death involving You or Your Traveling Companion or Your or Your Traveling Companion’s Business Partner, Your or Your Traveling Companion’s Family Member;

 

2. A covered Sickness or Injury involving You, Your Traveling Companion or Business Partner, Your Family Member or Your Traveling Companion’s Family Member which necessitates Medical Treatment at the time of cancellation and results in medically imposed restrictions, as certified by a Legally Qualified Physician, which prevents Your participation in the Covered Trip;

 

3. You or Your Traveling Companion being hijacked, quarantined, required to serve on a jury (notice of jury duty must be received after the Effective Date) served with a court order to appear as a witness in a legal action in which You or Your Traveling Companion is not a party (except law enforcement officers);

 

4. You or Your Traveling Companion’s principal place of residence being rendered uninhabitable by fire or flood or burglary of primary residence within 10 days of departure;

 

5. You or Your Traveling Companion being directly involved in a traffic accident, which must be substantiated by a police report, while en route to an Insured’s scheduled point of departure;

 

6. Bankruptcy or Default of an airline or cruise line or tour operator or travel supplier (other than the tour operator or travel agency from whom You purchased Your travel arrangements) which stops service more than 14 days following Your Effective Date. Benefits will be paid due to Bankruptcy or Default of an airline only if no alternate transportation is available. If alternate transportation is available, benefits will be limited to the change fee charged to allow You to transfer to another airline in order to get to Your intended destination. This benefit only applies if the policy has been purchased within 21 days of Your initial payment for the Covered Trip.

 

7. Unannounced strike that causes complete cessation of services of Your Common Carrier for at least 24 consecutive hours;

 

8. Weather that causes complete cessation of services of Your Common Carrier for at least 24 consecutive hours;

 

9. Natural disaster at the site of Your destination, which renders Your destination accommodations uninhabitable;

 

10. Felonious Assault on You or on Your Traveling Companion within 10 days of the scheduled Departure Date;

 

11. You or Your Traveling Companion or Your Family Member is in the military and called to emergency duty for a national disaster;

 

12. Revocation of Your, Your Traveling Companion’s or Your Family Member’s previously granted leave or re-assignment. Official written revocation/re-assignment by a supervisor or commanding officer of the appropriate branch of service will be required;

 

13. Employer termination or layoff affecting You or a person(s) sharing the same room with You during Your Covered Trip. Employment must have been with the same employer for at least 1 continuous year;

 

14. A Terrorist Incident that occurs in a city listed on the itinerary of Your Covered Trip and within 30 days prior to Your Scheduled Departure Date. The Terrorist Incident must occur after the Effective Date of Your Trip Cancellation Coverage.

 

15. Your family or friends with whom You were planning to stay are unable to provide accommodations due to life threatening illness, life threatening injury or death of one of them;

 

16. Mandatory evacuation ordered by local authorities at Your final destination due to hurricane or other Natural Disaster. You must have 50% of Your total Covered Trip length or less remaining on the Covered Trip, at the time the mandatory evacuation ends, in order to cancel the Covered Trip;

 

17. You or Your Traveling Companion’s normal pregnancy as long as the pregnancy occurs after Your or Your Traveling Companion’s Effective Date of coverage and can be verified by medical records;

 

18. You will be attending a Family Member’s childbirth as long as the pregnancy occurs after Your Effective Date of coverage and can be verified by medical records;

 

19. The primary or secondary school where You, Your Traveling Companion or Your Dependent Children attend(s) must extend its operating session beyond the pre-defined school year, due to unforeseen events commencing during Your policy effective period, and the travel dates for the Covered Trip fall within the period of the school year extension. Extensions due to extra-curricular or athletic events are not covered;

 

20. A cancellation of Your Covered Trip if Your arrival on the Covered Trip is delayed and causes You to lose 50% or more of the scheduled Covered Trip duration due to the reasons covered under the Trip Delay benefit;

 

Provided such unforeseen circumstances occurred after Your Effective Date."

 

Which of the above do you feel applies in your case? I'm getting the impression that you feel the cruise line did not provide the trip that they promised you -- hotel/bus vs cruise. But what type of trip they promised you is spelled out in the contract of passage which you agreed to. In a previous post you mentioned "AM" as the cruise line which I'm going to assume is AMAWaterways. If it isn't, near identical wording can be found on every river cruise line's contract:

 

"Cruise and Cruise Tour Itineraries: We seek to provide services as published or stated in the final documents. But deviations to planned cruise, cruise tour itinerary or any other aspects of the travel may occur. If conditions make cruise routes unsafe for navigation or in other respects, or raise sufficient doubt about safety, we reserve the right to modify or provide alternate services. These may include, but are not limited to, providing accommodation on the docked ship and/or substituting ground arrangements. An effort will be made to try to arrange elements of the cruise and cruise tour similar to those originally planned. But the level of similarity may vary. Such changes will not entitle you to any credit or a refund. Cruise, cruise tour routes, and all other aspects of the cruise and travel are subject to change with or without notice. "

 

So you were given the trip they promised you'd get. Yes, it's nice that they made some sort of offer to you but that was a goodwill gesture, not an admission that they did anything wrong. And since you got the trip you contractually agreed beforehand was 100% OK with you it's hard to understand your wanting to file a claim against the insurance.

 

Disappointed? Sure. But the cruise line promised they'd get you from point A to point B in a certain time frame EVEN IF doing so meant changing the itinerary, missing stops, and providing alternate modes of transportation. You may not have gotten the trip you wanted but you got the trip you were promised. Don't like it? Next time read what you're signing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In response to agent for Travel Insured, International...our trip was more than interrupted. We did NOT get a cruise for 5-1/2 days of the scheduled 7 days. Ship was permanently docked. We even received half off on another cruise from cruise line, unsolicited, as even they knew all on board did not, in fact, even get a cruise. We had a bus tour (!) with many scheduled sites totally by-passed. What DO you consider a "trip interruption greater than 72 hours" if this were not considered such by your company?

 

That is all a very unfortunate circumstance. But you apparently were housed on the vessel, got your meals and some kind of tour. Your trip was not "interrupted" to the extent that you had to go home early. Technically, your itinerary underwent major changes (not a good thing) but Trip Interruption Policies specifically do not pay for itinerary changes.

 

And if you want a real shocker, go read all the fine print contained in your cruise "contract." Not many read these documents but they always have a clause giving the cruise company the right to make any itinerary change they please. You did not get "ripped off" by your insurance company...but certainly could make a claim that you were "ripped off" by your cruise company. I will add that water level problems are a part of European river cruises and there is not much that the cruise companies can do about the weather or water level. Most River Cruise contracts also make it clear that the company is not liable for problems caused by water levels (they can be too low or too high).

 

Hank

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To cruise co above: We did read your contract which you are not abiding by. I am looking at my contract with Travel Insured International right now. It states that "the company will pay a benefit if you are prevented from taking your trip due to the following unforeseen events....'weather which causes complete cessation of services of your common carrier for at least 24 consecutive hours'". Since our common carrier was docked in an ugly industrial train dock for 3 nights and it never cruised again for the remainder of the 5 and 1/2 days, we consider that we had complete cessation of our cruise (common carrier) for way mode than 24 hours. Our travel agent has told us that Travel Guard has honored many claims for river cruises which she has booked which had less cessation of services than we did. Just be forwarned, future cruisers, if you buy travel insurance, don't buy from Travel Insured International.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

By the way, cruise co: why don't you read what you sign/post? Retread number 8 in what you posted.

 

I did. Because you gave the cruise line the authorization to change the itinerary and/or mode of transportation your contracted trip and/or common carrier was never interrupted. They continued to supply their agreed upon services without interruption. Unless you can document that you were dumped somewhere with no services from the cruise line (you walked the streets without a room and meals for 24 hours) then you have no claim.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To cruise co above: We did read your contract which you are not abiding by.

 

Huh?? I'm not a party to any contract in this matter.

 

I am looking at my contract with Travel Insured International right now. It states that "the company will pay a benefit if you are prevented from taking your trip due to the following unforeseen events....'weather which causes complete cessation of services of your common carrier for at least 24 consecutive hours'". Since our common carrier was docked in an ugly industrial train dock for 3 nights and it never cruised again for the remainder of the 5 and 1/2 days, we consider that we had complete cessation of our cruise (common carrier) for way mode than 24 hours.

 

"Complete cessation of services for at least 24 hours of your common carrier" is not the same as "complete cessation of our cruise"

 

1) Was there any 24 hour period where the cruise line did not provide for and pay for your accommodations according to the passenger contract?

 

2) Was there and 24 hour period where the cruise line did not provide and pay for meals according to the passenger contract?

 

If you cannot document that there was a COMPLETE CESSATION of services you have no claim.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In reply to cruiseco above regarding TRAVEL INSURED INT'l., it is hard to believe that you are not in the insurance business. Their contract states that they will honor claims for "complete cessation of services of common carrier for more than 24 hours due to weather". Since it was a cruise we paid for, and it was permanently docked in an ugly industrial area after only one night--never to cruise again, we consider this a complete cessation of services. We did not expect to be starved and thrown overboard. However, it is obvious to us now that that is what this misleading contract means. This company had us fill out multiple pages of paper work on two occasions, when they had already been in touch with the cruise line and knew the situation. They had already made their decision to decline. We had received a partial refund, unsolicited by cruise line (Amawaterways which was very fair), and this company should have been secondary -- only a small amount which we pro-rated for the nights and days the boat didn't move. We would never use TRAVEL INSURED again; We honestly feel that if you bought from them and had a medical problem, they would do anything in their power to prove that it was pre-existing (fortunately, we did not have a medical problem). We do not trust them and their agent was rude (even telling me over 3 times that the cruise line had offered us a free trip; when she finally put me on hold to check her notes, she admitted that no free trip was offered, but never even apologized for her error). How we wish we had followed our travel agent's suggestion to buy from TRAVEL GUARD which our agent told us has honored claims for much less interruption than we had.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In reply to cruiseco above regarding TRAVEL INSURED INT'l., it is hard to believe that you are not in the insurance business. Their contract states that they will honor claims for "complete cessation of services of common carrier for more than 24 hours due to weather". Since it was a cruise we paid for, and it was permanently docked in an ugly industrial area after only one night--never to cruise again, we consider this a complete cessation of services. We did not expect to be starved and thrown overboard. However, it is obvious to us now that that is what this misleading contract means. This company had us fill out multiple pages of paper work on two occasions, when they had already been in touch with the cruise line and knew the situation. They had already made their decision to decline. We had received a partial refund, unsolicited by cruise line (Amawaterways which was very fair), and this company should have been secondary -- only a small amount which we pro-rated for the nights and days the boat didn't move. We would never use TRAVEL INSURED again; We honestly feel that if you bought from them and had a medical problem, they would do anything in their power to prove that it was pre-existing (fortunately, we did not have a medical problem). We do not trust them and their agent was rude (even telling me over 3 times that the cruise line had offered us a free trip; when she finally put me on hold to check her notes, she admitted that no free trip was offered, but never even apologized for her error). How we wish we had followed our travel agent's suggestion to buy from TRAVEL GUARD which our agent told us has honored claims for much less interruption than we had.

 

Unbelievable :eek:

2 Choices

1. You could thank the people on this board who took their valuable time to share their knowledge and expertise. Be appreciative of the fact that you have learned from this experience.

 

or

 

2. Continue to be upset because of your own lack of knowledge. Lash out at and blame everyone who doesn't tell you what you want to hear.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The contract states what it states. Travel Insured, International is not abiding by their own wording. Just curious, If you aren't in the insurance business, why on earth are you even involved in this boring insurance forum?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Unbelievable :eek:

2 Choices

1. You could thank the people on this board who took their valuable time to share their knowledge and expertise. Be appreciative of the fact that you have learned from this experience.

 

or

 

2. Continue to be upset because of your own lack of knowledge. Lash out at and blame everyone who doesn't tell you what you want to hear.

Very well put;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just curious, If you aren't in the insurance business, why on earth are you even involved in this boring insurance forum?

 

For me? Because I was just like you when I first started traveling. I was very nieve when it came to what is covered, when is it covered, how is it covered.

 

I thought, Hey, I've got insurance,,,, I'm covered for anything.

 

Then, like you, I learned the hard way that it was my responsibility to understand the who, what, why, and heretofores.

 

Therefore, I come to this board to hopefully help others.

 

As for cruiseco and sir wired? If you search on here you'll find quit a few people who were initially denied and they were able to point them in the proper direction if they deserved it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Firstly, neither I, nor Cruiseco, nor Klfrodo work for the insurance industry. (Though I think Cruiseco might be (or was) a travel agent? I guess you'd have to ask her.) A quick websearch of my handle (which I've used for 15 years) will quickly reveal I'm an engineer for a computer company.

 

Your policy covers a "complete cessation of services" of your carrier. Your carrier did not completely cease services. Your ship didn't move as planned, but they certainly were providing you with services. You received accommodations, touring (on a changed schedule), I'm assuming food, and transportation to tour sites.

 

"Not getting to do what you wish you were going to do" is not "complete cessation" under any reading of the phrase. Cruise lines skip ports All. The. Time. It's never grounds for a Trip Interruption claim on your basic cruise fare.

 

And no, I don't see TravelGuard covering either (and I'm a loyal TravelGuard customer) as they use the exact same language; it's entirely possible your agent is saying that because they'd like you to buy one of their "house" policies, on which they receive commission.

 

And they had you fill out all that paperwork for two reasons: 1) They have a standard claim form that everybody gets to fill out. 2) If they hadn't requested all that paperwork, you'd be here complaining that they didn't even look at your claim before denying it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My wife and I took out insurance to cover our lengthy trip which included a transpacific cruise from Sydney to Seattle in April, and planned to join an Inside Passage Cruise from Anchorage to Vancouver in mid-May. Unfortunately when we arrived in Anchorage, we were phoned to be told that my wife's Mum took ill and was not expected to live beyond the weekend. We contacted our insurance company and advised to return home on the next possible flight. Apart from the 36 hours it took us to return to Brisbane, we arrived too late as Mum had passed away on early Mother's Day morning. This hit my wife Cathy very hard.

 

When we submitted our travel insurance claim for interrupted trip, we were told some 2 weeks later that our insurance claim was dneied as according to the insurance company, Mum was over 85 when she passed away and therefore "not considered to be a relative and therefore not covered by our travel insurance". This has found to be a blatant breach of international human rights and blatant discrimination on the basis of age.

 

With many cruisers being of an age where 85 is either close by, passed, or whose parents are 85 or older, this is a cautionary note to check this out before taking on insurance.

 

We have placed a request for a review of our denial of insurance claim. If this is not successful we will be seeking legal redress and embarking on a strong social media campaign against the particular insurance company

 

You should probably start your own thread for the one. It is very different from the original post - an OP who won't get much sympathy.

 

We are sorry to hear of your loss and agree that your experience is exactly why most if us would purchase travel insurance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Your policy covers a "complete cessation of services" of your carrier. Your carrier did not completely cease services. Your ship didn't move as planned, but they certainly were providing you with services. You received accommodations, touring (on a changed schedule), I'm assuming food, and transportation to tour sites.

.

 

This is one of those interesting situations where, yes, the insurance will pay if there is a complete cessation of services. But what are "services". It's actually defined by your passenger contract that you agreed to prior to sailing.

 

Here's a brief synopsis:

 

We (the cruise line) agree to provide the following services:

 

Accommodations: Seven nights on the ship; or, seven nights in a hotel of our choice; or seven nights in any other type of lodging as we shall deem necessary or any combination of the above.

 

Transportation: From point A to point B on the ship; or via bus or motor coach or any other type of transport we shall deem necessary.

 

Meals: All meals aboard the ship; or meals at any other location we shall deem necessary.

 

Itinerary: We shall provide the itinerary in the brochure; or we will skip any stop, change the order of the stops, substitute stops or change the time allowed in each stop as we deem necessary.

 

Those are the services you contracted for. Where am I getting this? From the passenger contract:

 

"We seek to provide services as published or stated in the final documents. But deviations to planned cruise, cruise tour itinerary or any other aspects of the travel may occur. If conditions make cruise routes unsafe for navigation or in other respects, or raise sufficient doubt about safety, we reserve the right to modify or provide alternate services. These may include, but are not limited to, providing accommodation on the docked ship and/or substituting ground arrangements. An effort will be made to try to arrange elements of the cruise and cruise tour similar to those originally planned. But the level of similarity may vary. Such changes will not entitle you to any credit or a refund. Cruise, cruise tour routes, and all other aspects of the cruise and travel are subject to change with or without notice."

 

So given that those are the services that AMA agreed to provide, which of these did they not provide? At what point did AMA cease to provide any of these services for at least 24 hours?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To sirwired, above: Not getting what I "wish" (as you stated above) is very different from not getting what we "paid for" -- specifically, cruising. Travel Insured, International's wording is intentionally misleading. If our cruise (which did not cruise but 30 hours out of 7 days) was not a "complete cessation of services", then I can't imagine what would met this definition. Seriously, under their wording, they could give out bag lunches, etc., and still the insurance company would say that services did not cease. I trust our travel agent's word that Travel Guard insurance has paid for much less interruptions. We would never buy from Travel International again (if not for reason stated above, then for their agent who was rude even before we encountered a problem). Wish all who buy from them "good luck".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To sirwired, above: Not getting what I "wish" (as you stated above) is very different from not getting what we "paid for" -- specifically, cruising. .

 

I hate to beat a dead horse but I'll do it anyway.

 

You did not pay for cruising. No one promised you a cruise. You paid for what was spelled out in the passenger contract that you agreed to -- the one that specifically states that you may not spend even 10 minutes on the ship and they will still have delivered the services you paid for.

 

Go ahead and appeal the insurer's decision with your state's department of insurance. They're a neutral third-party who will look at the situation objectively and if they agree with you you'll get your money.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

...Seriously, under their wording, they could give out bag lunches, etc., and still the insurance company would say that services did not cease...

 

The way I read my cruise contract with Princess, they could take us out to San Francisco Bay, circle in the bay for 10 days, and meet the terms of the contract. Actually, I think they wouldn't even have to leave pier 35 and meet the terms. I don't think I would get very far with Travel Guard if I tried to claim trip interruption if that happened.

 

How annoyed I'd be at Princess and what actions I take would depend on the reason for the 10 day bay cruise, and how they dealt with it. But it wouldn't be a trip interruption insurance issue for me.

 

I agree with cruiseco though, file an appeal since you don't agree with the insurance company interpretation of the policy. My interpretation is just my interpretation, and since I don't work in the insurance industry, is probably worth as much as my legal or medical opinion. I don't work in those industries either.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To sirwired, above: Not getting what I "wish" (as you stated above) is very different from not getting what we "paid for" -- specifically, cruising. Travel Insured, International's wording is intentionally misleading. If our cruise (which did not cruise but 30 hours out of 7 days) was not a "complete cessation of services", then I can't imagine what would met this definition. Seriously, under their wording, they could give out bag lunches, etc., and still the insurance company would say that services did not cease. I trust our travel agent's word that Travel Guard insurance has paid for much less interruptions. We would never buy from Travel International again (if not for reason stated above, then for their agent who was rude even before we encountered a problem). Wish all who buy from them "good luck".

 

I'll repeat again. NO insurer would have covered your trip. "Complete Cessation of All Services" is just that: All Services. And "Complete" means what it means to everybody: Total. 100%. Yes, if they gave out bag lunches and a rusty rental bicycle, services would not have ceased in the eyes of a trip insurance policy. Whether or not you received the services agreed to, or value you paid for, is NOT a matter for your travel insurer; it's a contract dispute between you and your travel provider. Why aren't you mad at the cruise line for not substituting something closer to what you paid for? This sort of thing happens with river cruises all the time, and the usual substitute is putting you on a bus/hotel tour; not stranding you wherever the ship happens to be and shuttling you back and forth daily to the dock.

 

What you are attempting to do is something like file a comprehensive claim with auto insurance for the complete replacement of your car because the engine on your car threw a rod a month after you bought it due to mechanical failure. You have a legitimate gripe, but your beef would be with the car company. Just like no auto insurance is going to give you cash for the value of your car due to mechanical failure, no trip insurance company is going to refund you for your cruise due to the cruise line not giving you what you believe you paid for.

 

Things trip insurance likely would have covered: The ship breaking down and you being put ashore to fend for yourself. The hotel you were going to stay at burning down. A tour bus never showing up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Unbelievable :eek:

2 Choices

1. You could thank the people on this board who took their valuable time to share their knowledge and expertise. Be appreciative of the fact that you have learned from this experience.

 

or

 

2. Continue to be upset because of your own lack of knowledge. Lash out at and blame everyone who doesn't tell you what you want to hear.

 

 

I agree.....Just what I was thinking..;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...