Insurance ?

[Coopie]

We always buy the cruise line insurance. My question is if we purchase it from somewhere else is there a time limit to buy it,,,,like so many days before final payment or before trip?

[john watson]

My experience is that the Cruise Line Insurance is usually among the most expensive available. I am based in UK so not sure if it is exactly the same for you but basically there are two types of Travel insurance; "Single Trip" and "Annual". I used to get single trip through American Express but have moved on to their Annual policy. This works out cheaper if you cruise a lot and it also covers you for weekend breaks; nothing to do with cruising as well. With all insurance you are only covered after you get your policy and it covers you for things which occur after that during the policies validity. The exact terms will obviously vary and price comparisons need to be looked at carefully. A fit and healthy person can risk the budget end of the market in my opinion but if you have pre-existing medical conditions the other end is safer. All pre-existing medical conditions need declaring and the policy needs to state whether these are included or excluded in the deal.

 

Regards John

[Kamloops50]

You should check for pre existing conditions. Most policies don't cover a condition that occurred within 120 of buying the policy.

Keep in mind many cruise line policies are refundable before final payment .

Private (in Canada) aren't refundable after purchase .

[Guest maddycat]

We buy travel insurance that is primary. It is not the cruise line insurance. We purchase it soon after leaving a deposit on a cruise (12-14 days depending on the insurance company) so that pre-existing medical conditions are covered.

 

We buy our insurance through the trip insurance store. The link is below. Call and speak to one of their agents. They'll answer all of your questions and will suggest which policy would be best for you.

 

http://www.tripinsurancestore.com/index.shtml

[Babr]

To answer your question directly, the time limit depends on whether you are concerned about pre-existing conditions or the ability to cancel for any reason. Those two situations require that you purchase insurance within a specified time period - usually 14 to 21 days - after the initial deposit on your cruise.

 

If those things don't matter to you, it is possible to buy coverage when you make final payment. Some policies even cover pre-existing conditions if purchased at final payment - a handy thing to know if you booked a cruise really far in advance and some previously unknown health issue pops up that causes concern.

 

It gets a lot more complicated, such as what constitutes a pre-existing condition or how long the look back period is, how much to expect to recover if you have to cancel under to "any reason" provision. But this will get you started.

[notjaded]

To answer your question directly, the time limit depends on whether you are concerned about pre-existing conditions or the ability to cancel for any reason. Those two situations require that you purchase insurance within a specified time period - usually 14 to 21 days - after the initial deposit on your cruise.

 

Very true...one needs to be very careful under these circumstances.

[cruiser1247]

I have found that the cruise lines are costly. I use insure my trip.com, you have many insurers and prices available and reviews.

[ChucktownSteve]

Most of the policies have the 14 to 21 day from initial deposit as others have said. There is a policy I believe that covers preexisting conditions at final payment. The cruise line insurance doesn't cover other items that independent policies cover and with higher limits.

 

I have now joined the Steve fan club at TripInsuranceStore. This week he not only found me a policy and company that fit my desires/needs but since my cruise isn't for two years, he saved me a lot of premium now with a little known tactic that doesn't adversely affect the preexisting clause.

 

He also recommended I upgrade for a small amount to make the policy primary. That's important because as secondary, you have to file with your other insurance and be turned down then refile with the trip insurance. More paperwork and delays reimbursement. Also if you're on Medicare, it can affect your lifetime out of country benefits if secondary.

 

I don't want to steal his thunder but I was impressed. I learned some good information during our phone conversation. Check some of my earlier postings in this forum and you'll see how it's key you have someone go to bat for you if you have a claim. Previously I've bought directly.

 

Steve also offered to try to assist on a previous claim even though he didn't sell the policy. I have the claim under appeal because they miraculously forgot to pay a non refundable hotel payment. The first claim took three months to "finalize." GRRRRRRR TripMate claims for TravelSafe!

Edited August 29, 2015 by ChucktownSteve

[GeezerCouple]

Most of the policies have the 14 to 21 day from initial deposit as others have said. There is a policy I believe that covers preexisting conditions at final payment. The cruise line insurance doesn't cover other items that independent policies cover and with higher limits.

 

I have now joined the Steve fan club at TripInsuranceStore. This week he not only found me a policy and company that fit my desires/needs but since my cruise isn't for two years, he saved me a lot of premium now with a little known tactic that doesn't adversely affect the preexisting clause.

 

He also recommended I upgrade for a small amount to make the policy primary. That's important because as secondary, you have to file with your other insurance and be turned down then refile with the trip insurance. More paperwork and delays reimbursement. Also if you're on Medicare, it can affect your lifetime out of country benefits if secondary.

 

I don't want to steal his thunder but I was impressed. I learned some good information during our phone conversation. Check some of my earlier postings in this forum and you'll see how it's key you have someone go to bat for you if you have a claim. Previously I've bought directly.

 

Steve also offered to try to assist on a previous claim even though he didn't sell the policy. I have the claim under appeal because they miraculously forgot to pay a non refundable hotel payment. The first claim took three months to "finalize." GRRRRRRR TripMate claims for TravelSafe!

 

Welcome to "The Steve Club", as we can now call it, I guess :)

 

Yes, he and his associates have been remarkably helpful and patient, including brainstorming about even the smallest unusually situation.

 

Although most of the policies require payment (at least enough to cover the deposit) within 14 - 21 days (depending upon insurer and policy type), there is one that can be purchased as late as final payment and still waive the pre-existing exclusion coverage.

However, with this policy, IF one wishes to have CFAR (Cancel For Any Reason) coverage, too, then the cost really gets prohibitive.

 

But if you call them, they will do their best to find a policy that fits your needs, and to try to find the least expensive one if there are choices.

 

We had a large claim the *first* time we took out travel insurance, with Steve.

He helped us start the claims process, and now he's helping with a smaller partial claim.

(At least we had several trips in between that had NO claims!)

 

GeezerCouple

[notjaded]

I have now joined the Steve fan club at TripInsuranceStore. This week he not only found me a policy and company that fit my desires/needs but since my cruise isn't for two years, he saved me a lot of premium now with a little known tactic that doesn't adversely affect the preexisting clause.

 

Nice of you to mention this. So, what is the "little known tactic?"

[ChucktownSteve]

Nice of you to mention this. So, what is the "little known tactic?"

 

GeezerCouple alluded to it in the third paragraph. Premium to cover expenses as paid.

[notjaded]

GeezerCouple alluded to it in the third paragraph. Premium to cover expenses as paid.

 

Seems like this is being treated as a high security/eyes only issue. Why the secrecy?

[ChucktownSteve]

Seems like this is being treated as a high security/eyes only issue. Why the secrecy?

 

re-read my post. I answered it succinctly. :cool:

[Babr]

I think it means that you can insure the deposit amount within the specified time period to lock in pre-existing coverage. You increase the coverage as you add expenses you want to cover such as non-refundable air or hotels. At final payment, you add the balance of the cost of the cruise. Of course, you pay the increase in premium each time you add expenses to be insured.

 

This can be a benefit if you book far in advance and don't want to pay hundreds of dollars up front. I don't know what happens if you decide not to go before final payment. Most cruise lines allow you to cancel without penalty before then, and you can usually redeposit miles or use an airline ticket within a year. But I don't know if an insurance company will refund a premium or let you move it to another cruise.

[GeezerCouple]

I think it means that you can insure the deposit amount within the specified time period to lock in pre-existing coverage. You increase the coverage as you add expenses you want to cover such as non-refundable air or hotels. At final payment, you add the balance of the cost of the cruise. Of course, you pay the increase in premium each time you add expenses to be insured.

 

This can be a benefit if you book far in advance and don't want to pay hundreds of dollars up front. I don't know what happens if you decide not to go before final payment. Most cruise lines allow you to cancel without penalty before then, and you can usually redeposit miles or use an airline ticket within a year. But I don't know if an insurance company will refund a premium or let you move it to another cruise.

 

I have no idea why there was any previous "hint" about any "little known tactic", as this is all very straightforward... or certainly is for anyone who deals with Steve and his associates at the TripInsuranceStore.com

They made this all VERY clear to us at the very start, before we started in with our tons of questions about all sorts of "what if's".

 

From my post above:

 

Welcome to "The Steve Club", as we can now call it, I guess :)

 

Yes, he and his associates have been remarkably helpful and patient, including brainstorming about even the smallest unusually situation.

 

Although most of the policies require payment (at least enough to cover the deposit) within 14 - 21 days (depending upon insurer and policy type), there is one that can be purchased as late as final payment and still waive the pre-existing exclusion coverage.

However, with this policy, IF one wishes to have CFAR (Cancel For Any Reason) coverage, too, then the cost really gets prohibitive.

 

But if you call them, they will do their best to find a policy that fits your needs, and to try to find the least expensive one if there are choices.

 

We had a large claim the *first* time we took out travel insurance, with Steve.

He helped us start the claims process, and now he's helping with a smaller partial claim.

(At least we had several trips in between that had NO claims!)

 

GeezerCouple

 

 

As for Babr's question above, for the type of policy we get (TravelInsured), IF one cancels the cruise early enough such that there is no need to file a claim (initial deposits are usually fully refundable), the insurance can be switched ONCE to another cruise within a certain time limit.

 

Because we just don't know for sure about DH's schedule 1-2+ years in advance, we found that we were cancelling too many trips, and thus using the "switch once" and then cancelling the second one, too.

So although that first insurance payment was small, it clearly would start adding up.

 

So Steve suggested the other type of policy, where we don't need to get insurance until much later (usually full payment, but there are other ways to do this) AND still get the absolutely-needed waiver of pre-existing condition exclusions.

(CFAR would be too, too costly for this second type of coverage, but we are very unlikely to need that by the time full payment is due.)

 

This latter strategy means that if one is not "able to travel" on the day one must make the initial insurance payment, then the trip would need to be cancelled, even if everything is expected to be absolutely fine by travel dates.

That's fine for us, but could be a problem for someone who is coordinating travel with others.

 

As before, we suggest speaking directly with Steve.

Explain your needs/desires in terms of travel/medical insurance concerns, and they'll do their best to find a policy that will work for you.

Better yet, they'll also try their best to find that type of coverage at the lowest cost (among their vetted insurers), or explain how changing the coverage would affect the pricing.

 

As also as we've mentioned before, we had a large claim with the *first* policy we took out, and it was paid with no nonsense, and promptly.

 

GeezerCouple

[ChucktownSteve]

I have no idea why there was any previous "hint" about any "little known tactic", as this is all very straightforward... or certainly is for anyone who deals with Steve and his associates at the TripInsuranceStore.com

They made this all VERY clear to us at the very start, before we started in with our tons of questions about all sorts of "what if's".

GeezerCouple

 

Exactly. The little known tactic is not little known if you deal with Steve because he discusses it outright. But I had never heard that before and don't know that any other agency points it out. I've always thought I had to pay the full amount when taking out the policy because I never was made aware of that option being made available before my Steve encounter.

 

Having been in sales for decades, I liked the fact that he found out what I needed and wanted (what was important to me) before recommending a policy and suggesting options.

 

So unless you've dealt with Steve, it is a little known tactic. :D

[GeezerCouple]

Exactly. The little known tactic is not little known if you deal with Steve because he discusses it outright. But I had never heard that before and don't know that any other agency points it out. I've always thought I had to pay the full amount when taking out the policy because I never was made aware of that option being made available before my Steve encounter.

 

Having been in sales for decades, I liked the fact that he found out what I needed and wanted (what was important to me) before recommending a policy and suggesting options.

 

So unless you've dealt with Steve, it is a little known tactic. :D

 

Ah :) :)

 

I understand now.

 

I guess we lucked out, having dealt with Steve/TripInsuranceStore.com from the start.

 

Actually, I'm pretty sure that we learned about them from reading here on CruiseCritic, but that was a while ago, so I'm not sure who, specifically, to thank.

 

CruiseCritic definitely provides a wealth of information and opinions.

We were lucky in not needing anything like this before that first time... and then we did need it!

 

GeezerCouple

[klfrodo]

Curious to know what kind of kick back Steve gives to his Steve's Club members?

I see more and more posts all over this board where people will ask questions about travel insurance. Some provide help, other's (Steve's Club Members) don't even try to help with basics, they just advertise (for free) Steve's business.

[ChucktownSteve]

Curious to know what kind of kick back Steve gives to his Steve's Club members?

I see more and more posts all over this board where people will ask questions about travel insurance. Some provide help, other's (Steve's Club Members) don't even try to help with basics, they just advertise (for free) Steve's business.

 

I don't know about the others but I get $1.2million every time I mention his name. :rolleyes:

 

I just had a three month ordeal with a claim and spoke with him the other day for the first time after reading about him here and booking a new cruise. I found him very helpful with good guidance even before I decided to become his customer. I discovered that what the posters said seemed accurate when it was my turn to ask the questions.

 

The thing about insurance is most of us are not licensed agents so we can't give specific insurance information. The other thing is everyone's circumstances and needs are different. That's why speaking with Steve (or another agent) is recommended by those mentioning him. If you have another agent you prefer, they may be just as good.

 

I'm sure there may also be a lot of people who don't like him. He does go into a lot of details which some people may not want to be bothered with. I'm an analytical.

 

If Steve majorly lets me down at some point, I will be sure to post that as well. :cool:

 

BTW, you may have read some of Steve's direct posts on the board. His handle is Iamtrustworthy. When he posts, he gives specific answers to questions.

Edited August 30, 2015 by ChucktownSteve

[GeezerCouple]

Curious to know what kind of kick back Steve gives to his Steve's Club members?

I see more and more posts all over this board where people will ask questions about travel insurance. Some provide help, other's (Steve's Club Members) don't even try to help with basics, they just advertise (for free) Steve's business.

 

What do we "get" from Steve?

 

We get patient help with even the most simple questions, all the way to information that he needs to get directly from the insurers (for special situations) and then he *does* really get back to us.

 

The "Steve's Club" moniker was a joke!

There is no "club", but there do seem to be a lot of satisfied, returning customers.

 

He (and the others who work for/with him) will also help find the lowest priced coverage that will suit the needs.

I've even had them talk us *out* of purchasing certain kinds of coverage, pointing out why it might not make sense.

 

Importantly, he'll help with claims.

(He helped edit the cover letter for our first claim, a big one.)

 

The policies are regulated by state insurance commissions, same as other insurance, and the cost is the SAME whether purchased from Steve or directly from the insurer.

 

(For MedJetAssist, there is an AARP discount, but you can get that through Steve, too.)

 

There is nothing "going on" along the lines of kickbacks, just plain old-fashioned good service.

That's special these days.

 

And ChucktownSteve has it right about why we don't offer "specifics".

For one thing, because the insurance is regulated, the choices might differ from state to state.

Additionally, there are SO MANY different needs, and also combinations of coverages. What is "right" for one person/trip might be quite inappropriate for someone else (or for the same person for a different trip).

 

He and his staff are the experts, and they'll help get the right policy.

Importantly, they will answer question after question after question, even if you don't buy a policy.

We called them many times before we finally purchased that first policy.

They answered every question as if we were their best, longest-term customer.

Service like that is hard to find these days.

 

GeezerCouple

[mudscraper]

Curious to know what kind of kick back Steve gives to his Steve's Club members?

I see more and more posts all over this board where people will ask questions about travel insurance. Some provide help, other's (Steve's Club Members) don't even try to help with basics, they just advertise (for free) Steve's business.

 

As if all of us haven't read the following phrase dozens of times: " Contact Insuremytrip.com " The IMT Club Members have been out in force as well without giving any help, just advertising.

 

We have used both companies for our coverage.

[notjaded]

I have no idea why there was any previous "hint" about any "little known tactic", as this is all very straightforward... or certainly is for anyone who deals with Steve and his associates at the TripInsuranceStore.com

They made this all VERY clear to us at the very start, before we started in with our tons of questions about all sorts of "what if's".

 

From my post above:

 

 

 

 

As for Babr's question above, for the type of policy we get (TravelInsured), IF one cancels the cruise early enough such that there is no need to file a claim (initial deposits are usually fully refundable), the insurance can be switched ONCE to another cruise within a certain time limit.

 

Because we just don't know for sure about DH's schedule 1-2+ years in advance, we found that we were cancelling too many trips, and thus using the "switch once" and then cancelling the second one, too.

So although that first insurance payment was small, it clearly would start adding up.

 

So Steve suggested the other type of policy, where we don't need to get insurance until much later (usually full payment, but there are other ways to do this) AND still get the absolutely-needed waiver of pre-existing condition exclusions.

(CFAR would be too, too costly for this second type of coverage, but we are very unlikely to need that by the time full payment is due.)

 

This latter strategy means that if one is not "able to travel" on the day one must make the initial insurance payment, then the trip would need to be cancelled, even if everything is expected to be absolutely fine by travel dates.

That's fine for us, but could be a problem for someone who is coordinating travel with others.

 

As before, we suggest speaking directly with Steve.

Explain your needs/desires in terms of travel/medical insurance concerns, and they'll do their best to find a policy that will work for you.

Better yet, they'll also try their best to find that type of coverage at the lowest cost (among their vetted insurers), or explain how changing the coverage would affect the pricing.

 

As also as we've mentioned before, we had a large claim with the *first* policy we took out, and it was paid with no nonsense, and promptly.

 

GeezerCouple

 

Many thanks for your helpful insights. Very clear and a good contribution to the discussion.