Cruise Travel Insurance

[SuitesRbest]

Hi,

Can anyone push me onto a good insurance plan for a 14 day cruise leaving Singapore>Sydney Australia.

 

No Pre-exsisting medical, just good value covering any problem that may pop up.

Thanks

[By The Bay]

For our next cruise we found Insureandgo to be very competitively priced. I used a compare site to narrow it down before checking a few different providers T&C's.

[Aus Traveller]

Do you have a bank credit card that has free travel insurance? We have found ours to be excellent. Instead of paying X100's upfront to buy the insurance policy, the bank one works by your paying for part of your travel cost on the card. It can be all of the cost, depending on the bank. If you have a claim, there is an excess you have to pay. Ours is $200 with ANZ.

 

Another company I suggest you look at is Travel Insurance Direct. With whatever company you consider, you should read the terms and condition on the company's PDF focussing on those parts that are particularly relevant to you and your travel. For instance, I don't care how much the insurer will pay in the event of a hijack. It is extremely unlikely. And if we don't plan on hiring a vehicle, that clause is irrelevant.

[GUT2407]

I have used my car/house insurer and my health insurer for travel insurance, only ever had minor claims, but no issues with them.

[Porky55]

I have used  Travel Insurance Direct (TID) and Insure & Go.

Finally settled on TID as they have a great app, rates are reasonable and easy understandable PDS. Have used them locally and for OS trips. You can get a quote with each and make up your own mind.

As others have said, try your current insurers too. (have an idea first of $$ from the above companies)

As to credit card travel insurance I think there is a thread on CC somewhere on this Aus/NZ forum about someone who had some real trouble with claims for travel insurance using this type of cover, I personally would never rely on this one. Personal opinion only.

Cheers, Rose 

[aycee]

We recommend Insure and Go. Easy to book online.

[Aus Traveller]

We have claimed successfully under the 'free' credit card insurance and so has our son. His was for around $7,000 (hospitalization in Germany).

 

The ANZ bank requires you to spend at least $250 on the card before you are eligible. I did hear of someone being knocked back on their claim because their's was through NAB that required the total amount of the trip to be paid on the card. They had not paid the total amount. We were knocked back last year when we tried to claim the deposit on a land trip. We were knocked back because at the time we had not booked and paid for our return airfare to Australia. The land tour was more than a year ahead so the airfare could not be booked and having a return ticket was one of the conditions. A ticket for a cruise that returned to Australia would qualify as a return ticket.

Edited August 19, 2019 by Aus Traveller

[mum and son]

I think it is important to check who underwrites your insurance. There are not really that many underwriters out there and I try to stick with policies underwritten by one of the larger, more reputable firms. 

 

I don't think it really matters how easy it is to buy insurance, or how cheap it is, all that matters is how claims are handled/paid, so I always look for reviews from people who actually made a claim.

[Russell21]

I'm just about to book for the seventh time with InsureandGo. They are one of the few that even pay for a missed port. On Silver cover our ship on a cruise up to the Islands had to divert to avoid a Cyclone, causing us to miss Lifou. This was compensated by a payment of $200.00 between my wife and I. BTW having been to Lifou 4 times we would be happy to take $200.00 to miss it each time.😄

[Porky55]

SuitesRbest - seems the vote is in for Insure and Go.

Agree with mum and son - do a bit of research on other sites, TripAdvisor, Productreview etc. but CC users seem happy with it.

Some type of Insurance cover is def better than NO insurance.

Rose

https://www.insureandgo.com.au/

 

 

[banzaii]

I have used both Travel Insurance Direct and InsureAndGo and both are good.  Thankfully I have not needed to claim from either one.  

 

These days I lean towards InsureAndGo as they have extra cruise-based feature such as cabin confinement and missed port cover.

[Creekside89]

I use Insure and Go. Reasonable prices as well.

[banzaii]

Deal for insureandgo on today through click frenzy travel.  Use code frenzy15 for 15% off policies for next 24 hrs.

[Russell21]

11 hours ago, banzaii said:

Deal for insureandgo on today through click frenzy travel.  Use code frenzy15 for 15% off policies for next 24 hrs.

Senior card holders always get 15% off, simply quote SENIORS 15.

Edited August 20, 2019 by Russell21

[banzaii]

5 minutes ago, Russell21 said:

Senior card holders always get 15% off, simply quote SENIORS 15.

Thats good to know, although I personally don't qualify.  They also regularly have a GROUPON20 which gives 20% off which is always worth a try.

 

At the moment, TID (travel insurance direct) also have 15% off via the click frenzy sale.

[Aussie Gal]

We have used Insure and Go for the past few years and have only claimed once when we missed a port 18 months ago. It was a painless procedure to claim and we were one of the only passengers on board amongst our friends who were able to do this with our insurance. Of course we do take the Cruise option which is most important when on a cruise.

A few weeks ago my DH turned 80 and I went online to do the insurance for our forthcoming cruise. I nearly passed out when the quote came. It was literally hundreds of dollars more than any previous cruise insurance and yet we are only cruising from Asia back to Sydney.  I phoned Insure and Go and the lass was able to take $300 off because this year alone, we have used them 4 times for trips with no claims.  Talking amongst our friends, we took a look at the RACV Insurance Cover and I have just taken out the cruise insurance for our cruise next January which is so much cheaper when comparing RACV with Insure and Go. Both Insurers will insure those who are over 80 years which is a big deal these days as we are all living longer and are so much fitter than our parents.  By the way, my DH does have a history of having a slight heart attack and has a stent. This has never worried Insure and Go. Always make sure you tell the Insurance Company if you have any pre-existing illnesses otherwise if something happens whilst overseas and it is to do with that complaint, you may not be covered.

Jennie

 

[Russell21]

47 minutes ago, Aussie Gal said:

We have used Insure and Go for the past few years and have only claimed once when we missed a port 18 months ago. It was a painless procedure to claim and we were one of the only passengers on board amongst our friends who were able to do this with our insurance. Of course we do take the Cruise option which is most important when on a cruise.

A few weeks ago my DH turned 80 and I went online to do the insurance for our forthcoming cruise. I nearly passed out when the quote came. It was literally hundreds of dollars more than any previous cruise insurance and yet we are only cruising from Asia back to Sydney.  I phoned Insure and Go and the lass was able to take $300 off because this year alone, we have used them 4 times for trips with no claims.  Talking amongst our friends, we took a look at the RACV Insurance Cover and I have just taken out the cruise insurance for our cruise next January which is so much cheaper when comparing RACV with Insure and Go. Both Insurers will insure those who are over 80 years which is a big deal these days as we are all living longer and are so much fitter than our parents.  By the way, my DH does have a history of having a slight heart attack and has a stent. This has never worried Insure and Go. Always make sure you tell the Insurance Company if you have any pre-existing illnesses otherwise if something happens whilst overseas and it is to do with that complaint, you may not be covered.

Jennie

 

Yes i don't know what's happened to InsureandGo, I called them this morning for our latest trip and found that where for 6 previous insurances there had been no excess charge for my wife this time there was, and my excess had doubled. where we had been paying around $310.00 the quote was now $517.00 even with the Seniors discount of 15% and having double excess applied. They were unable to tell me why the changes had occurred and hinted that it was maybe because I turned 75 this year, and still unable to tell me why an excess had been applied to my wife as well. I screamed blue murder and managed to get the discount up to 20% which reduced it to $487.00 for a 14 night cruise, still an increase of roughly $170.00 since I took out our May cruise insurance in January this year.

[Porky55]

Looks like there will be a bit of shopping around for our upcoming cruises then 🤔

[Aussie Gal]

The first quote I received from Insure and Go for our September cruise was over $1800.00 for a 19 day cruise that was calling into Vietnam and Bali before coming down our coast..   We had done a cruise earlier this year where the Insurance only cost around $600 so receiving that quote was a huge shock. Luckily I had got it down by $300 but I found out later that if I had gone with RACV then it would have only been $1100  I am so lucky to have found RACV as they are saving us quite a lot. So good bye to Insure and Go.  There is another firm which uses the same Provider as Insure and Go and they are called Tick Travel and their Insurance Providers are Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company, which Insure and Go also use.   Give them a try as I have found them cheaper when doing comparisons.

Jennie

[JohnGc]

Also found that now at my age  Insure and Go cost shocked me compared to last year, it was very expensive. Shopped around and ended up with coverage from Budget Direct cruise insurance at a reasonable price, they do not cover missed ports or cabin confinement but it is the medical side that is important to me. Of course what counts is how they handle a claim, I will let you know if I am unfortunate enough to have to do that. Of course as boring as it is, it pays to read the product disclosure.

Cheers John.

Edited August 21, 2019 by JohnGc

[sir-magoo]

Just have a good look at the T&C's.  After those recent reports of people having claims rejected due to alcohol in their system, I started looking more closely at them.  Some of them have wording that says any alcohol in your system can be a reason to reject, while some others had wording to the effect of claims being rejected if alcohol is determined to be the majority cause of the issue.

 

I am not a lawyer, so do not know how either would hold up during a claim, but I feel more comfortable with the majority clause rather than any alcohol clause.

Edited August 21, 2019 by sir-magoo

[joejoe 59]

3 hours ago, sir-magoo said:

Just have a good look at the T&C's.  After those recent reports of people having claims rejected due to alcohol in their system, I started looking more closely at them.  Some of them have wording that says any alcohol in your system can be a reason to reject, while some others had wording to the effect of claims being rejected if alcohol is determined to be the majority cause of the issue.

 

I am not a lawyer, so do not know how either would hold up during a claim, but I feel more comfortable with the majority clause rather than any alcohol clause.

I phoned Insure and go regarding alcohol levels in system,  & they told me it was any amount of alcohol, even one drink.  So even one drink & they won't cover you, this was only last week. 

[ozziepost]

Hi I have used a number of travel insurance companies including RACV in the past. I now use Australia Post TI which is now my go to company when looking at TI. There is a cruise option and an online assessment for pre-existing conditions the price is competitive and is best purchased online rather than over the counter at a Post Office. I cant tell how good they are as thankfully I haven't had to do a claim but mates who have used the company and have made claims have had no problems doing so.

[sir-magoo]

1 hour ago, joejoe 59 said:

I phoned Insure and go regarding alcohol levels in system,  & they told me it was any amount of alcohol, even one drink.  So even one drink & they won't cover you, this was only last week. 

 

Wow that is interesting, and worrying.  Insure & go were one of the few that I found that seemed to be a little more lenient.  Some had an exclusion that stated any alcohol in their T&C's, but Insure & go have the following stated:

 

"Any claim arising directly from you, your partner, relative or your travelling companion consuming alcohol"

 

 

Edited August 21, 2019 by sir-magoo

[mum and son]

 

7 hours ago, sir-magoo said:

Just have a good look at the T&C's.  After those recent reports of people having claims rejected due to alcohol in their system, I started looking more closely at them.  Some of them have wording that says any alcohol in your system can be a reason to reject, while some others had wording to the effect of claims being rejected if alcohol is determined to be the majority cause of the issue.

 

I am not a lawyer, so do not know how either would hold up during a claim, but I feel more comfortable with the majority clause rather than any alcohol clause.

 

I checked the wording of my policy on this... and it says under "Exclusions"... There is no cover under any section of this Policy for any claim arising directly or indirectly because of any of the following:

A member of the travelling party is under the influence of, or is addicted to, intoxicating liquor or a drug, except a drug taken in accordance with the advice of a registered Medical Practitioner; 

 

Wording seems strange to me. Can a claim be denied if something happens to me but a member of my travelling party is drunk (even if that is unrelated to my incident)? Can a claim be denied for an alcoholic, even if the alcoholic has not consumed any alcohol?

 

I'm also curious about what is legally defined as "under the influence of alcohol"? So many questions!!