Princess Insurance problem/question

[DRS/NC]

How does "Cancel for Any Reason" insurance work w/Princess?

 

My BFF & her husband were booked on a 14-day, Around the Horn cruise in S. America in Feb. 2017 -- their 3rd Princess cruise. They paid to upgrade to the Premium level insurance. They booked w/Princess directly.

 

They arrived in Santiago 4 days before the cruise. 48 hrs before boarding the ship, BFF fell & seriously broke her upper arm. Both the ER doctor & a specialist concluded that she should fly home to MD for surgery. BFF & hubby notified Princess immediately & then flew home.

 

In the 3 mos. since the accident, they have been in frequent contact with Princess & the insurance company. Princess quickly refunded the prepaid tips, port taxes & excursions. The insurance has repaid less than half of the cruise fare. The cost for an aft balcony is way more than the $3100 they've received thus far! BFF talked w/Princess who says talk w/the insurance people; insurance says talk w/Princess.

 

BFF is not claiming any medical expenses. Their air fare was covered by their credit cards, so it's just the cruise fare that's at issue. This couple are very experienced international travelers, but are stumped by this misadventure.

 

I've checked w/my travel agent & she doesn't understand what's happening either. She says the Premium insurance includes the "Cancel for any reason" coverage.

 

I always get the Princess premium insurance (& usually an additional medical/evac. coverage), but now we're questioning the value of the PP insurance.

 

Any advice? Thanks!

[cdngrl]

that's strange! i submit all the paperwork to insurance, get a letter back stating the reason i cancelled is not covered and they deposit the entire fare back into my princess account as OBC. are you saying they received a cheque for $3100 or that is the amount of credit issued?

i'm sorry your friend was hurt, i hope she's on the mend.

[Cruiser411]

Well, this is not a "cancel for any reason" situation. If she had a medical situation that forced her to cancel the cruise, she should receive 100% back less the cost of the insurance in cash.

[skynight]

If you arrived early as part of a Princess pre-cruise package then that should be covered by the medical portion of the insurance and you are not under the cancel for any reason provision. But if the pre-cruise stay was done on your own then the insurance coverage for medical purposes begins once you board the ship, and you should be covered under the cancel for any reason clause.

Seems to me the entire cruise fare less insurance premium should be credited to your account. You don't actually get a refund under the cancel for any reason provision, you get a credit that can be applied to a future cruise and must be used within a certain time period which I believe is 1 year. The actual amount credited may be adjusted if some refunds were covered under another policy.

[lstone19]

If you arrived early as part of a Princess pre-cruise package then that should be covered by the medical portion of the insurance and you are not under the cancel for any reason provision. But if the pre-cruise stay was done on your own then the insurance coverage for medical purposes begins once you board the ship, and you should be covered under the cancel for any reason clause.

 

I believe you're confusing two different parts of the coverage. Coverage of medical EXPENSES is separate from coverage for cancelling due to a medial reason. Medical expenses incurred during an independent pre-cruise stay would not be covered. But cancelling for a medical reason that first manifest itself during the independent pre-cruise stay would be a covered reason for cancelling (so cancel for "any reason" would not apply).

[RDC1]

Not certain about this, but since one party was injured you might be running into this situation.

 

If the amount received is one half of the fare then you are probably getting the cash refund for the injured person. In that case Princess should issue a future cruise credit for the fare of the uninjured party. Minus the cost of insurance of course. Not sure if Princess will allow both to get cash refund if one cancels due to a covered reason. I believe that the coverage for both applies if the reason for cancellation is for a covered purpose.

 

The other option would have been to just cancel both parties and get a future cruise credit for the full amount which is what you get if you cancel for a non-covered reason.

 

Now this assumes that they notified Princess and canceled the cruise for both parties. Worst case is if they did not cancel with Princess for both parties and had the second get marked as a no show.

 

What specifically does the insurance company say when they are called? They should provide a detailed breakdown of what they paid and why, including any amounts that were denied.

[RDC1]

I decided to call the insurance company just to see if the traveling companion also gets a cash refund.

 

According to the insurance company, if one party has to cancel for a covered reason then the traveling companion also qualifies for a cash refund as long as they are on the same booking number and itinerary. The entire booking needs to be canceled.

 

Based upon that I have no idea why they are not getting the full fare that they paid back (not including the cost of insurance)

 

Do you have a breakdown of what they paid (fare, insurance, taxes and fees), type of payment and the total that they have received by from each source. That might give some indication of what is going on.

[Bill B]

You have to ask the insurance co. what's going on. We don't know (and don't have enough information to even speculate).

[DRS/NC]

Thanks for your responses thus far.

 

The people canceling the cruise were my friend & her husband (her traveling companion). Of course, he canceled too & accompanied her home (lots of pain involved!). Surely the insur. company doesn't think her husband should have continued on the cruise w/o her!

 

They are not seeking medical expenses, just a refund of their cruise fare.

[Katwoman007]

Interesting. I hope she is feeling alright. Based on my understanding, the companion should be covered due to it being his wife that fell ill. I am a cancer patient and looked over the insurance to make sure that if I had to cancel for some reason, my husband who was joining was able to as well. I would like to know what comes of this mess. Not that I want to have to ever cancel, but things do happen.

 

Is there a clause that the ship has to be notified so many days prior to boarding?

[RDC1]

Thanks for your responses thus far.

 

The people canceling the cruise were my friend & her husband (her traveling companion). Of course, he canceled too & accompanied her home (lots of pain involved!). Surely the insur. company doesn't think her husband should have continued on the cruise w/o her!

 

They are not seeking medical expenses, just a refund of their cruise fare.

 

As long as they notified the cruise line and canceled the full booking they should get both fares back. No way to know what is going on without details. The insurance company should provide them with a detailed breakdown of their claim.

[DRS/NC]

Interesting. I hope she is feeling alright. Based on my understanding, the companion should be covered due to it being his wife that fell ill. I am a cancer patient and looked over the insurance to make sure that if I had to cancel for some reason, my husband who was joining was able to as well. I would like to know what comes of this mess. Not that I want to have to ever cancel, but things do happen.

 

Is there a clause that the ship has to be notified so many days prior to boarding?

 

My friend's accident was only 48 hrs. before boarding the ship, so well within pre/post cruise time to be in SA.

My friend's arm is healing well & she's feeling fine -- except for this insurance hassle. Thanks for asking.

[Lucky TGO]

How come it's so easy to take our money? But almost impossible for you to get it back when you but in a insurance claim.

Tony

[Cruise-Crazzy]

Last year I had heart surgery 2 weeks before my wife and I were booked for a cruise. Notified my TA and sent the papers to Princess insurance and received full amount paid for both of us within 2 weeks. Was the paperwork that was submitted for both?

[Tucker in Texas]

A little off topic, but this could be a learning lesson. when it comes to travel insurance. When you buy insurance, before getting cruise line insurance, look at the price of third party. Often, you will find it is the same or less BUT your coverage is from "door to door" not just for things the cruise line sells you like pre/post cruise packages, independent excursions, air fare which you get on your own. Often, too, their medi-vac is not as high as third party. There are policies that will include "cancel for any reason" but they are usually much more than what the cruise line will want. However, you will get all your money back and not part of it as a credit to be used in the future. Keep in mind, though, once you buy the policy, you own it so no refunds if you cancel between the time you purchase it and final payment when you wouldn't be out of any money probably.

 

Another advantage to third party insurance is if you purchase it within a week or two of deposit, it will cover pre-existing illnesses of yourself or your immediate family that may cause you to have to cancel or abort the cruise. Grandpa George has ongoing heart problems, it would be covered if you had to cancel. While the cruise lines will have pre-existing coverage, it usually comes with a "look back" of three to six months meaning you can't have had any illnesses within that period that will be covered if you cancel.

 

While an advantage to cruise insurance is that you don't have to pay for it until final payment, if you (or your immediate family) do not have any pre-existing illnesses when you book, go ahead and pay for it right away as the "meter" on the look back starts from the day you purchase it so if anything comes up between the time you book and final payment, you will be covered. Again, payment is not refundable.

[dsarah]

Still a bit off topic from the original OP, but Tucker in Texas brought up a point that some will miss. The Princess cancelation coverage is only for the parts of the trip that are purchased from Princess;i.e., cruise fare, air fare and tours. The air fare and hotels you buy on your own are not covered. I don't think that is really clear to a lot of people. In fact, I just found out my brother was not aware that his Princess insurance will not cover those things.

 

The good thing about the Princess insurance for us is the cheaper price (at our age) and the opportunity to cancel for any reason (with a future credit). We can either self insure the other costs or get a cheaper 3rd party policy to cover just those costs. It is less expensive to do it that way than to insure the entire trip thru a 3rd party policy (at our age) and we get the cancel for any reason credit.

[DRS/NC]

Good news from my BFF -- another check arrived from the insurance company! They have now received a FULL refund for the cruise fare -- cash, not a credit!

 

So, now we can look for another cruise for 2018!

 

Thanks, ALL! :D

[Luvmyrotti]

Good news from my BFF -- another check arrived from the insurance company! They have now received a FULL refund for the cruise fare -- cash, not a credit!

 

So, now we can look for another cruise for 2018!

 

Thanks, ALL! :D

Great news!

[NavyVeteran]

Good news from my BFF -- another check arrived from the insurance company! They have now received a FULL refund for the cruise fare -- cash, not a credit!

 

So, now we can look for another cruise for 2018!

 

Thanks, ALL! :D

Good news, but not a surprise. I've never had a problem with Princess Vacation Protection and you're case sounded fairly clear cut.

[Tucker in Texas]

 

The good thing about the Princess insurance for us is the cheaper price (at our age) and the opportunity to cancel for any reason (with a future credit). We can either self insure the other costs or get a cheaper 3rd party policy to cover just those costs. It is less expensive to do it that way than to insure the entire trip thru a 3rd party policy (at our age) and we get the cancel for any reason credit.

 

You have a good point for those of us from a certain age. Cruise line insurance is "one size fits all." You pay the same if you are 10 or 110 while 3rd party is based on price of cruise combined with age factored in.

 

Question? I thought if you got 3rd party, you have to insure the entire cost of the trip, not just what the cruise line won't cover with their insurance. Is that not the case?

 

Most third party insurance is "secondary" meaning you have to collect from any other policies you have like Medicare or deduct money that was given to you say from the airlines for losing your luggage or reimbursing you for meals or overnight accommodations. An exception to that is Travelex which is primary and I always look at first but usually significantly higher in cost.

 

While I mostly get 3rd party because I will have a lot of things bought independently there are times I don't. I live very close to the Houston port where Princess used to be berthed. So I don't need coverage for pre-cruise, air, hotel, etc. I've done the Western Caribbean so many times I know where the good bathrooms are, I'm not taking any excursions. Hence, all I really care about is medi-vac as I don't want my broken leg or heart attack handled by a doctor in a tar papered shack with chickens pecking on the floor 25K to 50K will take care of being taken back to the US. If I cancel, it could very well be "for any reason." In that case, cruise insurance is just fine and that is what I have gotten.

 

 

Another "trick" I do when buying 3rd party is to keep inching up the coverage until the premium goes up. I would rather have "too much coverage" when it is not costing me anything. Plus, if I add anything later that needs coverage, I don't have to call the company and have them adjust the coverage if I am still within the coverage I have already booked.

[NavyVeteran]

Question? I thought if you got 3rd party, you have to insure the entire cost of the trip, not just what the cruise line won't cover with their insurance. Is that not the case?

 

 

You should insure the total nonrefundable cost of the trip. You should not insure refundable items such as port taxes and fees, pre-reserved shore excursions, and prepaid gratuities. Insurance will not cover items that are refundable. It will also generally not cover items that would have been refundable if you had given proper notice but are not refunded because you did not give timely notice. For example, if you have an accident that will prevent you from going before the end of the 50% penalty period but you don't bother cancelling the cruise until the 100% penalty period (without a sufficient period), they will only refund the 50% penalty - not the additional 50% that you could have avoided with proper notice.

 

 

Most third party insurance is "secondary" meaning you have to collect from any other policies you have like Medicare or deduct money that was given to you say from the airlines for losing your luggage or reimbursing you for meals or overnight accommodations. An exception to that is Travelex which is primary and I always look at first but usually significantly higher in cost.

 

Primary insurance generally refers to the medical coverage only. They will still not generally refund items that are refundable from the cruise line or other vender. For US residents with Medicare only (or with a Medicare supplement that only covers copayments and deductibles but does not cover charges not covered by Medicare), there is no difference in coverage between primary and secondary insurance for trips outside the United States - so there is no reason to pay extra for primary coverage. With the policies I have had, I didn't even need to submit to Medicare first. The insurance companies know that Medicare doesn't cover charges outside the United States, so they do not ask for a rejection from Medicare.