buying insurance through Costco

[hmtsai]

I booked my next Princess cruise from them. I haven't bought the flight yet. Trip protection provided by Costco allows me to purchase the insurance by full payment day. If I buy the ticket later than that, does the insurance still cover my plane, not only cruise? Do I just estimate the airfare and add it to my total cost?

 

Never bought insurance for cruise before. Too much information and so confused...

[dickinson]

Not sure about the answer to your question but you can call the travel insurance people to find out. I have used them for two previous cruises and loved that aspect that I didn't have to pay for it til final payment and it was less expensive. (this is so it covers pre-existing conditions) We are now looking into taking another cruise and I just found out that as of May 1 you have to buy it within 21 days of booking your cruise. Ugh!!!! If I had known that I would have booked the cruise I was looking at on April 30 figuring I had nothing to lose!

[hobo1937]

I am so glad that I happened to see this post about the change in Costco trip insurance. We have 2 cruises that we booked late last year that have final payment dates coming up in July and Sept. I was really upset that Costco didn't send a notice to people who had cruises booked that there was a change in the rules. ...I just got off the phone with Costco Travel and found out the following.

 

Costco was not notified until 4/30 that this change was being made. In addition, the telephone reps at Travelguard weren't notified either.

 

The prices for the insurance, at least in our case, have doubled, possibly because they are now adding your age into the quote, which they did not do before.

 

The Costco rep checked with a supervisor and was told that the new rules apply to any policy purchased 5/1 or later. So unless you purchased the insurance prior to 5/1 the new rules apply . We booked these cruises several months ago and hadn't planned to buy the insurance until closer to final payment. So now we can't get preexisting coverage on their policy and most other policies since you need to buy the insurance within so many days of initial payment. Had I known the change was going to take place I would have gone and bought the insurance earlier.

 

The Costco rep is referring the case to the Costco Travel Dept Manager and they will get back to me next week.

 

I told her they better get ready for a lot of unhappy customers when they find out about this..

[nana541]

OMG I was just on the phone with them regarding a Disney cruise next April... That phone call was last week and I got a quote and was told I did not need to purchase until late December!

Better give them a call and find out.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[hobo1937]

OMG I was just on the phone with them regarding a Disney cruise next April... That phone call was last week and I got a quote and was told I did not need to purchase until late December!

Better give them a call and find out.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

I think it's a good idea for anyone who is affected by this call Costco...the more people they hear from the more they will realize what a mess this is!

[nana541]

I only just accidentally saw this post and am completely blown away.... May need to cancel and rebook just to protect myself And I will scream bloody murder if any one try's to charge fees or anything about my booking :(

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[hobo1937]

I only just accidentally saw this post and am completely blown away.... May need to cancel and rebook just to protect myself And I will scream bloody murder if any one try's to charge fees or anything about my booking :(

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

I will come back and post the reply I get from the Costco Travel Manager next week. It sounded like the people at Costco Travel are also upset about this sudden change and agreed people should have been warned in advance.

 

In my case I really don't want to cancel and rebook...one cruise has a specific cabin that I may lose the other has some on board credits from special promo's the cruise line was offering at the time. I really think they should apply the new rules to cruises booked 5/1 or later.

[nana541]

Just got off phone with Costco....CS rep knew nothing about the change and had to ask her manager....it's a mess and they wanted me to buy my Travel Guard policy now, give them the policy # and they would try to get Travel Guard to honor the old terms but the premium I can't even get quoted at this point....the Disney insurance coverage is $150 more than the quote I got on APRIL 30 (I am sooo pissed off as I talked to them last week)....

Also the link from the Costco site does not take you to a Travel Guard page that quotes properly....they want a Destination but only give you States and is not cruise related...where before it knew you were a Costco travel customer.

 

I am beyond upset! Today my cabin and category is the same price and my Costco benefit is unchanged so I could cancel and rebook....upset upset upset!

 

Trying to figure what to do and I can't believe Costco is not going to make this right,

 

Mods please don't take this down for mentioning Costco, this is too big of a problem for 100's of cruisers thinking they are safe based on the terms they booked under....

 

 

Beware: the CSR tried initially to say these changes only applied to people booking May 1. And after, that turned out to be wrong after she spoke with her mgr

Edited May 3, 2014 by nana541

[hobo1937]

Just got off phone with Costco....CS rep knew nothing about the change and had to ask her manager....it's a mess and they wanted me to buy my Travel Guard policy now, give them the policy # and they would try to get Travel Guard to honor the old terms but the premium I can't even get quoted at this point....the Disney insurance coverage is $150 more than the quote I got on APRIL 30 (I am sooo pissed off as I talked to them last week)....

Also the link from the Costco site does not take you to a Travel Guard page that quotes properly....they want a Destination but only give you States and is not cruise related...where before it knew you were a Costco travel customer.

 

I am beyond upset! Today my cabin and category is the same price and my Costco benefit is unchanged so I could cancel and rebook....upset upset upset!

 

Trying to figure what to do and I can't believe Costco is not going to make this right,

 

Mods please don't take this down for mentioning Costco, this is too big of a problem for 100's of cruisers thinking they are safe based on the terms they booked under....

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

I just spoke to Costco again...the rep said they are getting lots of calls about this. She suggested calling back, asking for your case to be referred to their Manager and asking for a call back next week. The Manager who is handling this is not there on the weekend. I would not buy the insurance and hope they can fix it. I plan on waiting to see what response I get next week.

Edited May 3, 2014 by hobo1937

[dickinson]

All I can say is just "wow".

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

You could buy it on line ..

[dickinson]

You could buy it on line ..

 

Huh? Please explain.

[hobo1937]

All I can say is just "wow".

 

I have another word for it but I don't think the moderators would like it!

 

I did get a call late yesterday afternoon from the Costco Manager who is handling this issue...their General Manager is also involved...they will get back to me sometime this week.

[hobo1937]

Ok now things are getting really bizarre. I just went on the link from Costco to the insurance options and now there are 4 products available, one of which is cruise insurance. It shows you can buy the coverage just prior to final payment and get the medical exclusion waiver and the when I put in the price of our cruise the cost is back to what was quoted before 5/1 not double the amount which is what I got yesterday.

 

Stay tuned!

[nana541]

Huh? Please explain.

 

 

You can of course buy travel insurance on line but if you buy your insurance as a result of booking thru Costco (sorry mods) the negotiated terms with Travel Guard for their customers were really good, in fact fabulous.

 

Previously just a few of the terms:

1 - not based on age, just price of the trip. Rates really really good.

 

2 - don't pay for any coverage until no more than 24 hr of final pmt and you still get "pre-existing condition" as long as you are able to travel at time of "final pmt".

 

So fast forward to me just happening upon this thread and Thank God the Moderators and Cruise Critic did not take the thread down for mentioning the Travel Provider.... My booking with this travel provider and understanding the great Travel Insurance terms they had negotiated with Travel Guard. Coverage that did not have to be paid for until final pmt, pre existing conditions covered, not based on age, rates much much better than those available by booking directly with Travel Guard....

I am now faced with the need to cancel my cruise and rebook, in order to get "pre-existing" coverage and the cost of the Insurance will be In our case nearly triple the premium that I was quoted on April 30 when I contacted Travel Guard to make sure I understood the product offered thru Costco.... I was never told by TG that 24 hrs later my complete policy understanding and protection I thought needed to be purchased at "Final Pmt" would no longer be available under the terms just discussed.

 

Bottom line for my family, even after canceling and rebooking and making a new "initial deposit" the Travel Insurance is hugely more expensive and terms not what I was promised....

 

Moderators once again PLEASE DON'T TAKE THIS THREAD DOWN AS IT AFFECTS MANY OF YOUR CRUISING MEMBERS!

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[nana541]

Ok now things are getting really bizarre. I just went on the link from Costco to the insurance options and now there are 4 products available, one of which is cruise insurance. It shows you can buy the coverage just prior to final payment and get the medical exclusion waiver and the when I put in the price of our cruise the cost is back to what was quoted before 5/1 not double the amount which is what I got yesterday.

 

 

 

Stay tuned!

 

 

Hummm yesterday there was only one product offered and nothing about cruising... I did inform Costco about this when I spoke at length about this mess... That their link was worthless and offered basically no cruise insurance.

 

Thanks for the update!!! I will go check it out... If they have put it back I will go purchase now just to make sure I protect the benefits and the price .... Have you been able to see what other changes are there or are gone ??

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Edited May 4, 2014 by nana541

[hobo1937]

Hummm yesterday there was only one product offered and nothing about cruising... I did inform Costco about this when I spoke at length about this mess... That their link was worthless and offered basically no cruise insurance.

 

Thanks for the update!!! I will go check it out... If they have put it back I will go purchase now just to make sure I protect the benefits and the price .... Have you been able to see what other changes are there or are gone ??

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

I wish I had a copy of the old cruise insurance document to compare so I can't tell if anything else changed. It looks similar to what was there before.

 

I think I will also go and buy the insurance now just in case this goes away again.

Edited May 4, 2014 by hobo1937

[nana541]

I have another word for it but I don't think the moderators would like it!

 

 

 

I did get a call late yesterday afternoon from the Costco Manager who is handling this issue...their General Manager is also involved...they will get back to me sometime this week.

 

 

Someone at Costco Travel and Travel Guard absolutely knew about this and failed to advise "Booked" customers, and customer service advisors at both companies. This was not just a minor adjustment of terms but a complete departure from what was offered before.

At the very least a major company like Costco should have been able to negotiate the protection of bookings prior to a certain date.

 

Looking forward how this works out and hoping the terms of my booking which are currently at risk are protected!

 

Not a happy Costco customer... :(

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[nana541]

I wish I had a copy of the old cruise insurance document to compare so I can't tell if anything else changed. It looks similar to what was there before.

 

 

I will go look as I actually had it in a PDF just last week as I was discussing it with Travel Guard....

How crazy can it be that in April 30 I got a complete rundown on this Costco special policy just for Costco travelers .... I'll let you know if I still have it .... Thinking it's in my Kindle app.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[mudscraper]

Late last year I booked a cruise through the above named big box store. I then called Travelguard to purchase the travel insurance. The TG agent informed me that if I/We had any recent changes to any pre-existing conditions, no matter how small (change of meds), our Medical Coverage would be reduced by 50 percent. We purchased our travel insurance elsewhere.

[nana541]

Late last year I booked a cruise through the above named big box store. I then called Travelguard to purchase the travel insurance. The TG agent informed me that if I/We had any recent changes to any pre-existing conditions, no matter how small (change of meds), our Medical Coverage would be reduced by 50 percent. We purchased our travel insurance elsewhere.

 

 

Well not quite that simple, but in my case I am only dealing with a Disney 7 day Caribbean cruise and even with the exceptions to the policy it works just fine for this particular cruise. Would I use this for my Regent cruises, absolutely not as they are way too expensive and travel in places far far from home.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[hmtsai]

Ok now things are getting really bizarre. I just went on the link from Costco to the insurance options and now there are 4 products available, one of which is cruise insurance. It shows you can buy the coverage just prior to final payment and get the medical exclusion waiver and the when I put in the price of our cruise the cost is back to what was quoted before 5/1 not double the amount which is what I got yesterday.

 

Stay tuned!

 

Thanks to all for your reply. I also went on the website and found 4 insurance options available as hobo1937 mentioned.

 

My question now is may I choose either Costco Cruise or Travel Insurance Plan Deluxe? Or do I have to take Costco Cruise option since my trip is a cruise? Furthermore, my trip is a cruise+land CruiseTour by Princess, does Cruise Insurance cover all sea+land+flight? Or I can choose Deluxe plan if I found the coverage is better for my family? Since I haven't booked flight yet, do I just add the estimated cost of airfare to my trip total if I want to buy insurance now?

 

Sorry so many questions. Really new to cruise insurance and need help. Thank you for any information.

Edited May 4, 2014 by hmtsai
typo

[dickinson]

I too looked and saw this now whereas yesterday it only listed one thing and that was the Deluxe plan. The cruise plan mentions you don't have to purchase until final payment (or w/in 24 hrs of final payment) in order to have the pre-existing condition waiver whereas the other plan doesn't seem to have that waiver. I would assume that because the land tour is part of your cruise then that is what you want although I would check w/them.

[nana541]

I think we need to find out just what has happened between the contract with Costco and Travel Guard. Something is up and before I go much further I want some answers. Hopefully next week we can find out what is happening. The Options listed now ARE different choices then when I used the Costco link last week..... So something is differently going on!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[hobo1937]

Just got a call from a rep at Travelguard. Evidently, because of the complaints to Costco about the change in policies Travelguard has put the current 4 offerings up, one of which is the cruise coverage...but you have to buy the policy by May 10th. After that time the cruise policy will no longer be available and new policy(Travel Insurance Plan Deluxe) that was on the website Saturday will be the only option..That policy requires you to buy it within 21 days of booking to get the preexisting condition waiver and is more expensive.

 

I went ahead and ordered the insurance for our 2 upcoming cruises.