MsSommelier Posted October 17, 2017 #1 Share Posted October 17, 2017 I have had no response from the Cruise/Travel Insurance sub-forum but I am hoping that one of my fellow cruisers here can help me out. We have a back-to-back with Europa coming up Jan/Feb 2018 (43 days plus travel days on front and back end). For insurance purposes, H-L and the insurance providers consider that one trip, not two separate trips put together. We have an annual travel policy that will cover up to 10K Euros pp, but the cost of the two cruises together is substantially over that limit. Our current provider will not, even for a one-time payment, cover the gap between our top limit and the cost of the cruise because of our age. We contacted H-L directly to see if they would provide insurance. No luck. Has anyone else been in a similar situation? I am really hoping that there is a solution that I simply haven't yet found. Many thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare steamboats Posted October 17, 2017 #2 Share Posted October 17, 2017 MsSommelier, I assume you are talking about a German travel insurance, especially Reiserücktritts- and Reiseabbruchversicherung. H-L can only provide you a trip based insurance but rates depend on the price of the trip (and are pretty high compared to an annual insurance). I do have two different insurances in my family. Both companies do pay the insured amount when the price of the trip is higher than the insured amount. So basically I lose everything above the insured amount. I don´t think that any of the companies will offer an "upgrade" just for a single trip but wants to sell you the higher package. steamboats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vistaman Posted October 17, 2017 #3 Share Posted October 17, 2017 if eventually you pay with a credit card ...( however not a basic level ) i pay HL by credit card , there is a charge of 1 % , but then i can rely on the Insurance of my credit card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare steamboats Posted October 17, 2017 #4 Share Posted October 17, 2017 In case you have insurances with your credit card better read the fine print first! Some insurances are limited. Usually you have to pay the tip with your card (some insurances don´t require this). Almost all credit card insurances in Germany do not cover Reiseabbruch. Some newer insurances do exclude cruises! steamboats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathaana Posted October 17, 2017 #5 Share Posted October 17, 2017 (edited) What about the included insurance? Doesn't that cover you? Or are you talking about Abbruch? They do offer that but not sure for how much. In unseren Reisepreisen ist die Stornokostenversicherung der Europäischen Reiseversicherung/ERGO Gruppe enthalten. Die Stornokostenversicherung gilt für Reisende mit Wohnsitz im Europäischen Wirtschaftsraum und für Schweizer. Wir bieten Ihnen innerhalb unseres Rundumsorglos-Paketes der Europäischen Reiseversicherung/ERGO Gruppe eine Reiseabbruchversicherung an. Unser Rundumsorglos-Paket beinhaltet: Reiseabbruchversicherung Reisekrankenversicherung Telefonische Stornoberatung Reisegepäckversicherung Diese Leistungen sind nur im Paket erhältlich und jederzeit vor Reiseantritt buchbar. Informationen zu Preisen und Buchungsbedingungen erhalten Sie telefonisch unter +49 40 307030 - 70. Edited October 17, 2017 by cathaana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare steamboats Posted October 18, 2017 #6 Share Posted October 18, 2017 cathaana, As I stated before the included insurance has pretty high rates as the rates depend on the price of the cruise. That´s why I have a yearly police with an independent insurance company. I´m totally aware that in some cases the insured amount does not cover the whole costs of the cruise but I take the risk then. steamboats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MsSommelier Posted October 18, 2017 Author #7 Share Posted October 18, 2017 Yes, Steamboats, you are correct, I am talking about Reiserücktritts- and Reiseabbruchversicherung. Our problem is apparently our age. Our current provider with whom we have the annual policy won't insure us over 10K pp no matter what (annual or one time) - even if we are willing to pay more. Cathaana, we spoke with H-L directly and they also have a cap of 10K pp (regardless of cruise price) and it also doesn't matter if we would be willing to pay more for a policy or not. Additionally, we can't have a 'co-insurance' - that is, 10K with H-L for the trip plus 10K with our annual policy. H-L says they won't do it, because there is the possibility of conflict between insurances of who pays what. H-L has 80% coverage for Storno, passenger pays 20%. In that case, our Reiserücktritt insurance would cover the 20%. The Abbruch is really our biggest risk, given the cost of the cruise. I would sleep better, knowing we had coverage! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare steamboats Posted October 18, 2017 #8 Share Posted October 18, 2017 Yes, age is a major factor for travel insurance rates. Unfortuantely the risk is higher when the insured person is older. steamboats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
English Voyager Posted October 18, 2017 #9 Share Posted October 18, 2017 It would appear that the maximum cancellation cover one can obtain in the UK is £10,000. There is certainly a disconnect with the maximum single trip cover which can be 365 days. For £10,000??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare steamboats Posted October 19, 2017 #10 Share Posted October 19, 2017 I´ve just checked two German insurances. Seems like 10,000 Euro is the maximum you can insure. And the age factor comes in at around 65/66 years. Then the rates go up significantly. steamboats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MsSommelier Posted October 19, 2017 Author #11 Share Posted October 19, 2017 steamboats, thank you for checking on the German insurance. We do have the 10,000 Euros max. We are 65 and 72 respectively, so our rates have been increasing each year accordingly. But that's still relatively inexpensive compared to cruise insurance in the US, as I remember it. Believe me, I would happily pay more to get more insurance if I was alllowed! English Voyager, it sounds like a similar situation in the UK - capped at 10,000 £. In the case of back to back cruises, it's just a shame that each cruise isn't considered 'one trip' - that would help a lot with defraying the cost if something happened on the 2nd cruise. For those of you who do back to backs, has that always been the case with H-L? Lastly, has anyone had any problem with under-insurance? H-L informed us that they wouldn't even pay out the 10,000 Euros if something happened because the cost of the 2 cruises is over their limit and they consider us under-insuranced. Thanks as always for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
English Voyager Posted October 19, 2017 #12 Share Posted October 19, 2017 MsSommelier, with regard to the question of being under insured, you would need to query with your Insurance Company their policy on the subject. Some Companies will deduct from the maximum insured value the amount of the under insurance. So £15,000 cruise, £10,000 maximum insured value, potential pay out £5,000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare steamboats Posted October 19, 2017 #13 Share Posted October 19, 2017 MsSommelier, Check the fine print of your insurance. I do have two yearly polices (we do have one with Hanse-Merkur, my mother with ADAC). Both do pay up to the insured amount. If the price of the trip is higher I do get reimbursed for the insured amount max and have to pay everything above this amount. Actually I had to check this for a cruise last year which was me and my Mom going and the total was slightly above our insured amount (something between 800 and 900 Euros to be exact). I thought in that case I can take the risk. I wasn´t sure whether my insurance might pay for my part and my Mom´s for her or whether this was regarded as one trip (as I´ve booked it). I don´t think it´s a matter of H-L whether this B2B is regarded as one or two trips. It´s a matter of your insurance company. Technically for H-L it´s two cruises with two different numbers. You also have to do the muster drill twice ;-). steamboats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MsSommelier Posted October 20, 2017 Author #14 Share Posted October 20, 2017 <style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> I double checked and our annual policy will pay up to the insured amount. H-L insurance would not. They consider this one trip – despite two separate cruise numbers and two muster drills ;-). So that puts us way over the 10K max and that means we would be under insured with them. So we are limited to 10K pp (our annual policy). That leaves us 20K pp uncovered. Big gulp. And as I mentioned, we can’t have two insurance policies with two different providers (at least per H-L). What I don’t understand is that it seems many people, including older passengers, do back to backs with Europa. Are they all taking such a risk? I really hope I am missing something! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare steamboats Posted October 20, 2017 #15 Share Posted October 20, 2017 MsSommelier, I do think that the insured amount is not per person but per trip. So despite the number of people you are limited to 10 K. Checking the ADAC insurance it says "Reisepreis" which is not per person but the whole trip. steamboats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
English Voyager Posted October 20, 2017 #16 Share Posted October 20, 2017 steamboats, I checked my Travel Insurance Policy, and it states: 'Maximum amount insured ( for each person insured ) : £10,000 '. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare steamboats Posted October 21, 2017 #17 Share Posted October 21, 2017 English Voyager, But you´re talking about a UK insurance. I checked another company (Hanse-Merkur) and it also says per trip (Reise). In the fine print I found that in case of a family insurance they pay only half of the insured amount for a solo traveling family member. Rates for single insurance are lower than for family (which includes kids up to the age of 21). steamboats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
English Voyager Posted October 21, 2017 #18 Share Posted October 21, 2017 (edited) English Voyager, But you´re talking about a UK insurance. I checked another company (Hanse-Merkur) and it also says per trip (Reise). In the fine print I found that in case of a family insurance they pay only half of the insured amount for a solo traveling family member. Rates for single insurance are lower than for family (which includes kids up to the age of 21). steamboats There is a possibility that a UK Travel Insurance Company will issue a Policy to a non UK resident. One such Company is Voyager Travel Insurance Company. http://www.voyagertravelinsurance.co.uk/ However, the maximum insured value is only £5000 per person. Edited October 21, 2017 by English Voyager Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Catlover54 Posted October 28, 2017 #19 Share Posted October 28, 2017 It remains unclear to me what the HL included insurance covers, if anything, for U.S. citizens. My TA was unable to get a straight answer from HL, got something like " it depends" because the insurance language in the contract specifically states coverage applies to EU residents. To be sure of cancellation coverage I was told to buy a separate policy independent of HL but would get no credit for what I pay HL for possibly unusable insurance. I was not even guaranteed 10k coverage . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
English Voyager Posted October 29, 2017 #20 Share Posted October 29, 2017 It remains unclear to me what the HL included insurance covers, if anything, for U.S. citizens. My TA was unable to get a straight answer from HL, got something like " it depends" because the insurance language in the contract specifically states coverage applies to EU residents. To be sure of cancellation coverage I was told to buy a separate policy independent of HL but would get no credit for what I pay HL for possibly unusable insurance. I was not even guaranteed 10k coverage . It is clearly stated, in the ' Versicherung ' section of the following, that the included insurance applies to EU, and Swiss residents. https://www.hl-cruises.de/reisen-mit-uns/faq/ihre-reiseplanung It also states that it is an integral part of the booking, and, if I have understood it correctly, it's cost is non deductible. As for the English language website, it states: TRAVEL INSURANCES We strongly recommend that you take out global travel insurance to cover health, luggage and personal liability through your travel agency for the entire duration of your cruise. We also recommend that you take out travel curtailment insurance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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