Ripped off on HAL travel insurance

[CFALLC]

I booked a Panama Canal Cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam through a travel agent. Per the travel agent's recommendation, I purchased HAL's travel insurance. During the cruise I had a medical issue and went to the ship's clinic. When I presented the medical claim to HAL's travel insurance I was told it was not covered as the travel agent had sold me the 'standard' insurance. To have the medical covered, HAL said I should have bought the 'platinum' insurance.  Neither HAL nor the travel agent ever said a single word before the cruise about their being different levels of travel insurance.  HAL has refused to honor their travel insurance and has refused to honor their agent’s commitment.

My wife and I have cruised on HAL five times, but we will not be back.

DO NOT buy your travel insurance from HAL. They will not honor it. Buy your travel insurance from an independent travel agency.

[Paulinda]

It  pays to do a little homework.  Travel insurance has been discussed many times on CC and you should really read your policy information before buying.  We always use an outside insurance company when we buy travel insurance because we did just that.

[bennybear]

I would go back to your agent as they appear to not have explained things properly.   

[Tampa Girl]

Perhaps you should have read the policy before your bought it.   The policy limits are clearly defined on the HAL website.

 

The HAL Standard is not travel insurance.  It is a cancellation policy.  The Platinum does have some travel insurance, but those provisions are secondary.  It is still primarily a cancellation policy.

 

I don't know if either policy would cover your medical expenses aboard a ship.  You need to seek reimbursement from you medical insurance carrier.

[3rdGenCunarder]

45 minutes ago, Paulinda said:

It  pays to do a little homework.  Travel insurance has been discussed many times on CC and you should really read your policy information before buying.  We always use an outside insurance company when we buy travel insurance because we did just that.

 

I agree. There are lots of policies out there, and you need to take some time to find the one that suits your needs. The older I get, the less I worry about the cancellation and the more I worry about the medical coverage. 

 

[Hlitner]

WOW, it is hard to understand why the OP would blame HAL.  Perhaps they have never heard of a concept called "personal responsibility."  When you buy any insurance or cancellation policy it is normal to read the policy :).  For those that need help or seek advice there is a pretty good "Cruise/Travel Insurance" blog right here on CC.  We regularly contribute to that blog and always make a point of telling folks to read the policies!  

 

In this case the OP has nobody to blame but themselves and perhaps they could make a case to  be annoyed with their cruise/travel agent.  But HAL is not responsible for somebody buying an optional product without knowing what they were purchasing.

 

Hank

[VMax1700]

Nothing to do with HAL and more to do with travel agent or indeed personal responsibility.

Did you read the policy that you purchased?

Perhaps your travel agent said something like "Do you want to purchase HAL's cancellation insurance?" as it is offered at booking.

[I like vacation]

Welcome. Heck of a first post.  Policy differences clearly stated on the website:

 

 

[taxmantoo]

Just another one-post wonder ... Carry on!

[catl331]

1 hour ago, CFALLC said:

DO NOT buy your travel insurance from HAL. They will not honor it.

You did not buy travel insurance from HAL ... you bought a Cancellation Protection Plan. I'm sorry that you didn't understand that.

[terrydtx]

Good lesson learned but I too wonder if this will be another one post wonder? The OP should have just checked with all of us on CC first. Bigger than cancellation coverage is the medical coverage which covers things like a medical evacuation and medical transportation back to your home country. A Helicopter evac at sea can cost over $30k, which I suspect few of us just have laying around. If you die at sea you need coverage to transport your body back home too which can cost up to $20K.  20 years ago my father fell and broke 2 ribs and punctured his lung on a river cruise in Europe, his total medical bill for everything was around $100K and it was covered 100% because he had the right insurance. That lesson taught me to have travel insurance, every time I travel anywhere.

Edited May 13, 2019 by terrydtx

[mudscraper]

1 hour ago, CFALLC said:

I booked a Panama Canal Cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam through a travel agent. Per the travel agent's recommendation, I purchased HAL's travel insurance. During the cruise I had a medical issue and went to the ship's clinic. When I presented the medical claim to HAL's travel insurance I was told it was not covered as the travel agent had sold me the 'standard' insurance. To have the medical covered, HAL said I should have bought the 'platinum' insurance.  Neither HAL nor the travel agent ever said a single word before the cruise about their being different levels of travel insurance.  HAL has refused to honor their travel insurance and has refused to honor their agent’s commitment.

My wife and I have cruised on HAL five times, but we will not be back.

DO NOT buy your travel insurance from HAL. They will not honor it. Buy your travel insurance from an independent travel agency.

The last sentence of your post is the advice you should of followed.

[terrydtx]

My sister and BIL did a three day Disney cruise in April, because it was a last minute booking and only three days they did not take out any insurance other than cancellation from Disney. My sister had some type of allergic reaction to something she ate on the ship that required emergency care from the ship's clinic. The bill was $700 and of course Disney insurance did not cover it, so it is not a HAL thing, I think all cruise companies do the same. 

[catl331]

46 minutes ago, I like vacation said:

Welcome. Heck of a first post. 

 

41 minutes ago, taxmantoo said:

Just another one-post wonder

 

19 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

Good lesson learned but I too wonder if this will be another one post wonder?

 

I think that at least some of these "first post" complainers are actually regulars who create a new pseudonym account so that they don't have to admit their mistake.

Edited May 13, 2019 by catl331

[kazu]

49 minutes ago, catl331 said:

 

 

 

I think that at least some of these "first post" complainers are actually regulars who create a new pseudonym account so that they don't have to admit their mistake.

 

Now, that is an interesting supposition.  I bet you may be right.

 

I’ve always considered HAL’s standard plan as cancellation insurance.  We carry our own medical.

 

[catl331]

2 minutes ago, kazu said:

Now, that is an interesting supposition.  I bet you may be right.

I confess that I've thought about doing that myself ... but never have! 😁

[Krazy Kruizers]

We do buy HAL's Platinum Cancellation policy.

 

AND we buy separate medical insurance.

 

OP -- your TA does not know HAL policies.  Try getting reimbursed through your medical insurance at home.

[colonialinnkeeper]

3 hours ago, CFALLC said:

I booked a Panama Canal Cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam through a travel agent. Per the travel agent's recommendation, I purchased HAL's travel insurance. During the cruise I had a medical issue and went to the ship's clinic. When I presented the medical claim to HAL's travel insurance I was told it was not covered as the travel agent had sold me the 'standard' insurance. To have the medical covered, HAL said I should have bought the 'platinum' insurance.  Neither HAL nor the travel agent ever said a single word before the cruise about their being different levels of travel insurance.  HAL has refused to honor their travel insurance and has refused to honor their agent’s commitment.

My wife and I have cruised on HAL five times, but we will not be back.

DO NOT buy your travel insurance from HAL. They will not honor it. Buy your travel insurance from an independent travel agency.

 

If you used a credit card, I would check with them.  Our cc has travel insurance and medical coverage.

[iancal]

We would never buy out of country medical insurance from a cruise line or other travel vendor, or from a travel agency.  Apart from the fact that most of them do not really know what they are selling, the sell it off a sheet   Their coverage is typically high on

price and deficient on coverage.

[fatcat04]

We discovered long ago it pays to book our travel insurance separately and do our research. And there are great tools online now like Insure My Trip. I also buy our insurance within 2 weeks of making my deposit. Having older parents and children, it is important to have the right insurance.

Edited May 13, 2019 by fatcat04

[Shmoo here]

3 hours ago, CFALLC said:

HAL has refused to honor their travel insurance

Actually, they have.  You have travel insurance that doesn't cover medical.

 

Did you read the policy before you bought it?  Or just rely on what you thought you heard the agent say was covered?

[Copper10-8]

4 hours ago, CFALLC said:

....................... HAL has refused to honor their travel insurance and has refused to honor their agent’s commitment.

............................

 

As they should because it, the standard policy, has nada to do with medical insurance, and Numero dos; it's not HAL's (travel) agent but yours - It pays to do some research and to know what you're buying

[RedmondCruiser]

We always purchase the platinum coverage and have never had any problems.  On a Sunday sailing out of Seattle on the Amsterdam I awoke that morning with a 102 temp.  Called HAL to cancel and had a credit on my credit card by Monday.  I thought they were outstanding.  If you don't read the contract don't feel alone.  I'm a former insurance agent and I have never read the entire contract either.

[ger_77]

The OP has cruised with HAL 5 times previously - I wonder if they purchased the standard insurance on those cruises?  I find it hard to believe they didn't know what the coverage was.

 

Who cruises without adequate health insurance?  IIRC, we even bought health insurance before going on our first cruise in 1989.

 

The fault isn't with HAL, it's with your travel agent - they should have explained what was covered and what wasn't. 

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

[Fouremco]

21 minutes ago, ger_77 said:

 

Who cruises without adequate health insurance?

Probably far more people than we would suspect. For many years, while young (and foolish?) and healthy, DW and I didn't bother with travel insurance in the belief that the odds were in our favour. Like extended warranties, we felt that the money saved over the years by not buying insurance would more than pay for any arising medical problems during our travels. The insurance provided by our credit card also factored into our decision. 

 

At a certain point, we reassessed the situation and decided to take out travel insurance. Our decision was prescient, as a couple of years later, my DW suffered a medical issue that obliged us to leave half way through a 14 day cruise and fly home from St. Lucia. We went directly to the hospital upon arrival, and our insurance covered everything, from the cost of the flights home to pro-rated reimbursement for the missed cruise days.