Bought next cruise cert in October - travel insurance question

[Cheryl H]

So we bought our first next cruise certificate last October. We finally selected a cruise we liked and booked a few days ago. Normally I book the insurance next through insure my trip, within 21 days of booking so that we get the pre-existing condition part waived.

 

Here's the kicker...our booking still has the original booking date from October, even though we just now selected our cruise. So the fellow at insure my trip wants me to call RCCL and ask them if they'll change the booking date to match that we recently decided on which cruise. OR buy a higher priced insurance policy (twice the cost)

 

OR I wonder if I bought RCCL's trip insurance, if the pre-existing condition would come into play. I don't know very much about RCCL's trip insurance.

 

Does anyone else have any experience with this? Do you purchase insurance immediately when you book the certificate? Or later when you decide upon the cruise. I hate not having the pre-existing condition waived. Probably the only reason we would ever cancel a cruise at the last minute would be due to medical reasons either for ourselves, or our parents. And what would you probably do for this cruise? Book the more expensive policy, or maybe check into RCCL's trip insurance? I have no idea about their pre-existing policies.

[xxoocruiser]

Needing the Pre-Existing Waiver is the very reason I never purchase a next cruise certificate. I actually book a specific cruise on board provided if upon my return I am still in the window of time to purchase with a Pre-Existing Waiver.

 

Also I do not purchase RCCL's insurance as cannot get a pre-existing waiver.

Edited June 1, 2014 by xxoocruiser

[kruzerci]

Great question. This is widely misunderstood in regards to Open Bookings. It will vary between travel insurance companies. Most have an exception for "good faith" deposits (ie. a deposit $100 p/p or less).

 

I usually use Allianz and their policy is "Deposit date is defined as the date upon which trip dates, rates, and itinerary are confirmed and a full deposit is made. A "good faith" deposit will not be considered an Initial Trip Deposit if: 1. the deposit is less than $300; and 2. trip details are not determined at the time of the good faith deposit."

 

If you are using Allianz, this will apply to you. Otherwise, double check with your insurance provider before purchasing the policy. Like I said, generally there will be exceptions for open bookings :).

[xxoocruiser]

Great question. This is widely misunderstood in regards to Open Bookings. It will vary between travel insurance companies. Most have an exception for "good faith" deposits (ie. a deposit $100 p/p or less).

 

I usually use Allianz and their policy is "Deposit date is defined as the date upon which trip dates, rates, and itinerary are confirmed and a full deposit is made. A "good faith" deposit will not be considered an Initial Trip Deposit if: 1. the deposit is less than $300; and 2. trip details are not determined at the time of the good faith deposit."

 

If you are using Allianz, this will apply to you. Otherwise, double check with your insurance provider before purchasing the policy. Like I said, generally there will be exceptions for open bookings :).

 

 

Good reason to change to Allianz ! Thank you so much.

[Cheryl H]

Great question. This is widely misunderstood in regards to Open Bookings. It will vary between travel insurance companies. Most have an exception for "good faith" deposits (ie. a deposit $100 p/p or less).

 

I usually use Allianz and their policy is "Deposit date is defined as the date upon which trip dates, rates, and itinerary are confirmed and a full deposit is made. A "good faith" deposit will not be considered an Initial Trip Deposit if: 1. the deposit is less than $300; and 2. trip details are not determined at the time of the good faith deposit."

 

If you are using Allianz, this will apply to you. Otherwise, double check with your insurance provider before purchasing the policy. Like I said, generally there will be exceptions for open bookings :).

 

I've never heard of Allianz, but our deposit was $300 because we actually booked the certificate for both of us plus our 9 year old son.

 

There's another insurance policy through insure my trip called CSA Custom Lux that says pre-existing waiver exclusion waived provided the insurance policy is purchased prior to the FINAL payment due date. However, when I plug in the cost of the cruise, the cost of the policy was $450. And it would probably go up when I add in the cost of the air.

 

I'll go look at Allianz, just in case it might be good faith deposit of $300 or less. But if it is indeed less than $300, we might not be able to use them.

 

Thanks so much for the info. I guess next time I purchase a next cruise, I need to check on purchasing an open insurance policy, if there is such a thing. I suppose I could just say it's 3,000 and pick a location and double check that the amount and location can be adjusted if necessary.

Edited June 1, 2014 by Cheryl H

[FLACRUISER99]

I've never heard of Allianz, but our deposit was $300 because we actually booked the certificate for both of us plus our 9 year old son.

 

There's another insurance policy through insure my trip called CSA Custom Lux that says pre-existing waiver exclusion waived provided the insurance policy is purchased prior to the FINAL payment due date. However, when I plug in the cost of the cruise, the cost of the policy was $450. And it would probably go up when I add in the cost of the air.

 

I'll go look at Allianz, just in case it might be good faith deposit of $300 or less. But if it is indeed less than $300, we might not be able to use them.

 

Thanks so much for the info. I guess next time I purchase a next cruise, I need to check on purchasing an open insurance policy, if there is such a thing. I suppose I could just say it's 3,000 and pick a location and double check that the amount and location can be adjusted if necessary.

I was told to just insure your deposit $300? then increase it at FP time.

[JMG]

I was told to just insure your deposit $300? then increase it at FP time.

 

That is what we did. We got insurance for the amount of the certificate and then when we selected the cruise, we increased the insurance amount. Our insurance rep told to increase amount at the time that we knew the increased price. The date of the booking and insurance were in agreement and pre exisiting conditions were covered.

[xxoocruiser]

I've never heard of Allianz

 

Allianz was formerly Access America and is widely offered by many TA's upon initially booking. You can do a full comparison of travel insurance programs on the following websites:

 

http://www.insuremytrip.com

 

http://www.squaremouth.com

 

http://www.quotewright.com

[39august]

RCI's travel policy DOES cover pre-existing conditions, IF the insured(s) were in a stable condition (no changes of meds) for 60 days PRIOR to the date of purchase of the insurance.

[Cheryl H]

Yes, we usually purchase using insuremytrip.com. But this is our first experience with a next cruise certificate and a booking date of October.

 

I spoke to Allianz. She sold me a policy. We discussed the $300...she at first said it had to be a good faith deposit of less than $300....then she changed her mind and said since it was $100 per person, then she thought $300 would be accepted. And she confirmed on the phone that our pre-existing conditions are covered...however, she said it won't say that in the wording of the policy. The only proof I have of what she said is our recorded discussion. She made our recording a part of the policy notes. So apparently if there's a claim and confusion about the pre-existing, we are to have them go back to the initial recording of our conversation today.

 

Thank you all for your help. Next time I will insure our initial deposit. I did not realize I could buy trip insurance with no destination assigned.