Major Snowstorm Harper and Miami Cruise

[acehigh1]

We live in southern coastal NH and scheduled to fly out of Boston at 5:37am this Sunday (20th) for an NCL cruise (7-days) departing Miami at 4pm Sun for my wife and I.  Our flight is scheduled to land at MIA @ 9:30am which gives us ample time to get to the ship and check-in.  The issue is that it is supposed to start snowing tomorrow (Fri) and snow through Mon morning with accumulations in the 2-3 foot range (per Weather Channel).  Our airline sent me an email this morning stating they can change flights for no fee,  but they have no clue about the cruise and is offering flights AFTER Monday morning when storm should be over. NCL has said they will do nothing, even though I offered to go on the same cruise the next week at a higher class of service that would cost me more. 

 

Question - our Nationwide Ins policy is for 6hrs delay or longer for coverage to start. If we find that as of Sat night our flight has been cxl'd, what are my obligations so that the ins. co. does not simply find a technical out? For instance, do we have to still go to the airport (if it is open) and attempt to be put on flight somehow for a 6-hr window, even if that is fruitless?  Can ins cos respond that all airlines were attempting to accommodate passengers and I could have/should have done something, even though that would not have worked as I know it today?  Any guidance on this matter would be appreciated, as this is a first-time occurrence.  Thank you.

 

[Tapi]

Not knowing the fine print of your policy, it’s hard to give you a valuable and accurate reply. Each policy has caveats and gotchas buried in the fine print so I highly recommend that you call them directly, tell them what your predicament is, and plan accordingly. 

 

As far as your current airline tickets go, if the airline won’t waive the fee to book you on a flight tomorrow, then ask them what the cost would be out of pocket. Also look at other airlines that you may be able to fly on prior to the weather. If you do find something, ask your current airline if you can get a refund. 

 

Best of luck! 

[acehigh1]

Tapi, thank you for your response. There are only two references to anything regarding "Trip Interruption or Delay" in the policy, and they are:

TRIP INTERRUPTION

(i) Weather that causes complete cessation of services of the Common Carrier for at least twenty-four (24) consecutive hours;

TRIP DELAY

The Company will reimburse You for Covered Expenses on a one-time basis, up to the maximum shown in the Confirmation of Coverage, if You are delayed en route to or from the Covered Trip for six (6) or more hours due to a defined Hazard: Covered Expenses include: a) Any reasonable additional expenses incurred; b) An Economy Fare from the point where the You ended Your Covered Trip to a destination where You can catch up to the Covered Trip; or c) A one-way Economy Fare to return You to Your originally scheduled return destination.

 

Even as of a minute ago I received an update from the Boston Globe weather service stating that it could be a huge storm in excess of 1-2 ft of snow and ice mix, or it could still move in another direction b/c it is 36 hrs away from the worst to begin. My concern is I do not want the ins co, after the fact, stating that I should have done something to change flights, etc when it is a moving target still. I would prefer to keep everything as is and if the storm hits and the airport closes, or all flights get cxl'd starting late Sat evening through Sunday, then so be it, since it is difficult to call right now. 

 

Question - how quickly do most insurance companies let you know if your claim is ok'd, b/c I could save a portion of the bill (and the ins co) if I was allowed to switch my flight to the following week and get on the next week's cruise. The insurance co would not be on the hook for flight charge but would be for the original cruise. I do not want to go and book the next week's cruise prematurely, but if I knew the cruise was going to be covered I would imagine that AA would allow me to switch flights accordingly.  Otherwise the claim rises another $500+ to the ins co. 

 

 

[Tapi]

Playing armchair “ insurance claim processor”, it seems like Boston would need to completely shutdown in order for you to benefit from the trip interruption clause. And it seems like your original flight would need to be delayed a minimum of 6 hours in order for you to benefit from the travel delay clause, but by then you will have missed your cruise. Tough predicament.

 

I’ve had to submit two claims, and both times it took a few weeks and lots of documentation to get the claim processed. The best piece of advice that I can give you is that, if you do need to deviate from your original travel plans, that you save every little receipt, piece of documentation, and email, because the insurance company will ask for all of it. They did both times that I had to file claims. and having everything at hand expedited things. 

 

Once again, I believe that you should consider getting out of town before the storm hits, even if it will be an added out of pocket expense. I fear that waiting for the airline or insurance to act, you will be spending your cruise vacation in a very snowy NH. 

 

Edited January 17, 2019 by Tapi