Cruise insurance

[Letacraig]

3 hours ago, Pickels said:

 

Thank you I will. 

[Steelers0854]

On 12/25/2018 at 4:11 PM, JF - retired RRT said:

Thanks for the referral. I checked the coverage and am impressed.

Booked a cruise recently that was past final payment and in my "excitement" forgot to add insurance. Bought it from Nationwide at a very reasonable price.

Glad you liked it, we love it for the high coverage limits and cruise specific coverages.  We missed a port on a Disney cruise becaiuse we were fogged in in Galveston.  Got home, emailed them 1 form with a copy of the new itinerary showing the change and got 2 checks in like 2 weeks.  Easy as can be.  I will always use them unless they drastically change the policy.

[travelingman]

I have a question please, concerning buying insurance from any of the cruise line be it Princess or any other line.  What happens to the insurance coverage if the cruise line was to go under or declare bankruptcy?  Thanks.

 

[GUT2407]

9 minutes ago, travelingman said:

I have a question please, concerning buying insurance from any of the cruise line be it Princess or any other line.  What happens to the insurance coverage if the cruise line was to go under or declare bankruptcy?  Thanks.

 

Most insurance is underwritten by an insurer, in that case you are gold.

 

if they are themselves the insurer I guess you are SOL

[GeezerCouple]

25 minutes ago, travelingman said:

I have a question please, concerning buying insurance from any of the cruise line be it Princess or any other line.  What happens to the insurance coverage if the cruise line was to go under or declare bankruptcy?  Thanks.

 

 

That's one reason to purchase third party travel insurance.  There are no mixed priorities for the insurer: YOU are their customer, not the cruise line.

 

But READ the full terms and conditions of the coverage, as always.

I'd suggest calling a travel insurance broker, such as 

 

www.TripInsuranceStore.com

 

(We learned of them here on CC, and have used them from the first time.)

Ask them any questions like this, and discuss any special circumstances you may have (such as pre-existing conditions).

 

GC

[Walfam]

10 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

 

But READ the full terms and conditions of the coverage, as always.

 

GC

This is the best advice.  Read every word of the fine print of any policy you look at.

 

 It made a difference when I was cross-shopping companies, last year.  We stayed with the insurer we always use over one important (for us) point.

[pileosnafu]

There is a perk of using the cruise line insurance. The Ship doctor will immediately notify the insurance's assistance company when they advise that you are being disembarked. This helps speeds the process of getting you home. 

 

That said the above advice of checking what your needs might be with each policy. Most cruise policies are good for Mexico, Carribean etc, back to the US for Medical Evac. But if you get flown from Aurba to Fort Lauderdale, you might not have enough coverage to get back home if you need a nurse when you fly commercial post recovery. IIRC the platinum from princess offers $50k which would usually suffice. 

 

Anything over the pond or the Pacific I'd personally want the policies with at least $500,000+ for Evac

 

If you don't get ship insurance, always have on hand the number for the 24-hour emergency line and notify them right away. (Not their 800 #) 

[SempreMare]

On 12/28/2018 at 7:37 AM, Walfam said:

This is the best advice.  Read every word of the fine print of any policy you look at.

 

 It made a difference when I was cross-shopping companies, last year.  We stayed with the insurer we always use over one important (for us) point.

@Walfam, I’m dying of curiosity: 

 

If it’s not too personal, could you share what was that “one important (for us) point” that factored into your decision? 

 

I’m just starting this decision.

[Walfam]

3 hours ago, SempreMare said:

@Walfam, I’m dying of curiosity: 

 

If it’s not too personal, could you share what was that “one important (for us) point” that factored into your decision? 

 

In our case it has to do with "canceling for work reasons".  

 

One highly recommended popular company I compared looked equal to Travel Guard (who we always use) except claims for canceling for work reasons required documentation from a higher up person/boss. And I completely understand why an insurer would want that.    Price difference  for both policies was nominal.

 

Hubby is self-employed and there is nobody above him to provide docs of proof.  There are other ways but it would be a hassle and might not meet the stated requirements as the other  policy is worded.  It was not a good fit for us but would be perfect for many other people.  Travel Guard's policy wording doesn't state the jumping thru hoops in the policy we buy.

 

My brother in law,  a self-employed insurance broker, and who has read every word of every policy they have ever bought for their own various types of coverage, always uses Travel Guard for trips, too.

[GeezerCouple]

5 minutes ago, Walfam said:

In our case it has to do with "canceling for work reasons".  

 

One highly recommended popular company I compared looked equal to Travel Guard (who we always use) except claims for canceling for work reasons required documentation from a higher up person/boss. And I completely understand why an insurer would want that.    Price difference  for both policies was nominal.

 

Hubby is self-employed and there is nobody above him to provide docs of proof.  There are other ways but it would be a hassle and might not meet the stated requirements as the other  policy is worded.  It was not a good fit for us but would be perfect for many other people.  Travel Guard's policy wording doesn't state the jumping thru hoops in the policy we buy.

 

My brother in law,  a self-employed insurance broker, and who has read every word of every policy they have ever bought for their own various types of coverage, always uses Travel Guard for trips, too.

 

A comment about the "cancelling for work" issue:

 

DH is in a position where he pretty much handles his own schedule, and can *usually* arrange business trips or local meetings at relatively convenient times.

However, there are times when for his own peace of mind or making a specific decision that includes others; input (or such) that he would REALLY not want to "be away".  There is no one more senior who would state that he "couldn't leave for work reasons" (and such letters just aren't used at the more senior levels absent some truly extraordinary situation).

 

So we always get CFAR (Cancel For Any Reason) coverage included.  It only pays 75%, but *IF* he really felt he "should stay and deal with <whatever>", then we'd just eat the 25%.  Better than losing it all, OR going anyway and not relaxing/etc.

 

And with the geo-political uncertainties, this also gives us some comfort that IF we felt that we just didn't feel comfortable going to X after all, we'd be able to get that 75% back also.

 

One nice thing is the addition of "Interrupt for any reason" within the CFAR.  So we could also decide part way... to return for the above reasons. 

 

Each of us has our own "concerns" which will make some policies more relevant than others.

 

GC

 

[Walfam]

I agree, CFAR is always a great option.  It increases the premium to an amount we are unwilling to pay, because it has not been worth it to us yet,  but we might add it on one day in the future, depending on destination and other factors.