Trip Protection Plans

[mkam2821]

Like others said, 3rd party is USUALLY best, but not always, especially if you are over 65, when costs skyrocket due to age and you have to pay close to booking. Read policies carefully and consider costs.

 

 

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Get the quotes and compare them. My husband is over 65 cost did not skyrocket. We do not get cancel for any reason but do get "if laid off" from job and trip interruption, medical etc. I decided we didn't need to pay the extra for primary medical since our US health insurance won't cover us, in the case of a claim we'd just have to submit to US be denied and then trip medical would kick in. For 3rd party, the cost of the trip has a lot to do with the cost of the insurance. Get quotes and compare just make sure you are comparing apples to apples

[marci22]

Maybe a weird question, but if you get insurance do you have to insure everybody in your party? We have a friend joining us for our January cruise, so 3 on one reservation, but he's paying his own fare. Would all three of us have to be insured together, or could I insure just my husband and me and he'd insure himself if he wanted insurance?

 

You can purchase for yourselves from a third party insurance company. Make sure that you insure each individual for the amount of their non-refundable expenses.

 

If you have 3 in a cabin, especially with the weird promos, everyone may be paying a different price. Don't just average the amounts. If you make a claim the insurance company will want to see original bookings, who booked when, and what their individual charges are.

[Ken076]

I would stick with 3rd Party Insurance and make sure you purchase within 14-21 days of booking to get "waiver of pre-existing condition" and the opportunity to additionally purchase (usually 50% added premium) "cancel for any reason".

The wording for Cancellation coverage varies from insurer to insurer - some state that a Doctor has to "certify" that the person isn't fit to travel, othersx are a little less specific.

Check the wording on "cancel for any reason" coverage. At least some time ago, Policies vary from 50% to 90% reimbursement (few if any reimburse 100%), for some the reimbursement may decrease the closer to departure that you cancel, and some do not cover late cancellation near departure.

Most policies provide cancellation coverage if your traveling companion or close relative cancels for covered reasons, but you'd have to be insured to reap this benefit.

Ken

[cruisinfanatic]

That is why we now just purchase RC insurance. We are in our late 50's and dad is 88. Once the company's started charging based on age it became very expensive. So the little bit that Royal offers is better than nothing.

 

Also with Royal, Cruise Protection is added to my account but I don't have to pay for it until final payment. I don't have to deal with trying to get a refund if I cancel my trip before final payment.

 

In the past I used to purchase third party insurance when final payment was made but now you must purchase with 14 days (most policies) in order to cover pre-existing conditions.

Just so you know that Royal's insurance does not cover pre existing conditions regardless of when you pay for it. It also has the poorest of the poor in medical and evacuation coverages

[geauxgirlgeaux]

I would strongly encourage buying the pre-existing medical coverage and be sure that this also applies to family members that are not traveling. My mom had a stroke last November and when we planned for our spring break trip we wanted to be sure that if she had an issue causing us to cancel our trip that we would have coverage for the cancellation. Turned out she is doing great but one of our adult kids suddenly came down with pneumonia, literally just a few days before our departure, and had to be hospitalized. This adult child also has asthma so even though the pneumonia wasn't related to the controlled asthma, if we didn't have the pre-existing waiver there may have been some questions. The lookback period can be 180 days on some policies so in my experience it is definitely worth it to purchase a policy with a pre-existing waiver. You may think - Oh we will not be canceling our trip, we are going anyway.... but you don't know what could come up with other family members that may not even be traveling with you.

A family cruise with several cabins booked is quite an investment and it was nice to get those reimbursement checks.

In addition, each state may have some differing restrictions on reimbursement. It would be wise to look at those as well!

 

Our family had Nationwide Essential. My adult child who lives in a neighboring state, and her traveling companion who lives in a different state, had their own policies. All were third party policies and bought on line. The traveling companion had AIG.

 

In addition, last fall I had purchased airline ticket insurance from Allianz (offered at the end of the ticket purchase page) and both claims were paid out in the full amount no problem. Paperwork was minimal.

[cruisinfanatic]

I would strongly encourage buying the pre-existing medical coverage and be sure that this also applies to family members that are not traveling. My mom had a stroke last November and when we planned for our spring break trip we wanted to be sure that if she had an issue causing us to cancel our trip that we would have coverage for the cancellation. Turned out she is doing great but one of our adult kids suddenly came down with pneumonia, literally just a few days before our departure, and had to be hospitalized. This adult child also has asthma so even though the pneumonia wasn't related to the controlled asthma, if we didn't have the pre-existing waiver there may have been some questions. The lookback period can be 180 days on some policies so in my experience it is definitely worth it to purchase a policy with a pre-existing waiver. You may think - Oh we will not be canceling our trip, we are going anyway.... but you don't know what could come up with other family members that may not even be traveling with you.

A family cruise with several cabins booked is quite an investment and it was nice to get those reimbursement checks.

In addition, each state may have some differing restrictions on reimbursement. It would be wise to look at those as well!

 

Our family had Nationwide Essential. My adult child who lives in a neighboring state, and her traveling companion who lives in a different state, had their own policies. All were third party policies and bought on line. The traveling companion had AIG.

 

In addition, last fall I had purchased airline ticket insurance from Allianz (offered at the end of the ticket purchase page) and both claims were paid out in the full amount no problem. Paperwork was minimal.

Pre existing conditions have nothing to do with anyone not traveling with you. When you purchase insurance, it's for you, not very mom, dad, aunt, uncle, cousin, ect

[marci22]

Just so you know that Royal's insurance does not cover pre existing conditions regardless of when you pay for it. It also has the poorest of the poor in medical and evacuation coverages

 

Royal's policy has a lookback period of 60 days at the time you pay for your policy. When you make a deposit, that doesn't count. You have to pay the added policy premium to start the lookback period.

 

If your condition has been stable during that time, it is not considered a pre existing condition. I think you mean that they do not offer a pre existing condition waiver.

 

Anyone who has a chronic condition or is undergoing medical treatment should always talk to someone at the insurance company to understand what exactly wouldn't be covered.

[cruisinfanatic]

Royal's policy has a lookback period of 60 days at the time you pay for your policy. When you make a deposit, that doesn't count. You have to pay the added policy premium to start the lookback period.

 

If your condition has been stable during that time, it is not considered a pre existing condition. I think you mean that they do not offer a pre existing condition waiver.

 

Anyone who has a chronic condition or is undergoing medical treatment should always talk to someone at the insurance company to understand what exactly wouldn't be covered.

They all have that unless you choose a policy with cancel for any reason. What Royal's doesn't have is a waiver for the look back period as most others do.

 

The look back period is of course for pre existing condtions.

Edited May 21, 2016 by cruisinfanatic

[marci22]

They all have that unless you choose a policy with cancel for any reason. What Royal's doesn't have is a waiver for the look back period as most others do.

 

The look back period is of course for pre existing condtions.

 

Didn't I say that?

 

You said, "Just so you know that Royal's insurance does not cover pre existing conditions regardless of when you pay for it." That's not really true.

 

If your condition is stable for the 60 days prior, meaning no change in treatment or symptoms, a future problem should be covered. People should keep the lookback period in mind when they purchase their insurance. It's not always about getting the waiver. You may not need the waiver.

[cruisinfanatic]

Didn't I say that?

 

You said, "Just so you know that Royal's insurance does not cover pre existing conditions regardless of when you pay for it." That's not really true.

 

If your condition is stable for the 60 days prior, meaning no change in treatment or symptoms, a future problem should be covered. People should keep the lookback period in mind when they purchase their insurance. It's not always about getting the waiver. You may not need the waiver.

All I said was Royal's insurance doesn't waive pre existing conditions. Anyone that doesn't have them wouldn't care.