Buying Cruise Insurance After Final Payment

[xostacylee]

Is this an option?

 

I've tried searching Carnival's site but it's sending me to Australian pages. Searched here and see a lot of posts on insurance, just not info on purchasing after final payment.

 

Thank you in advance!

[amyotravel]

Most everyone will tell you to go to a third party to purchase insurance, not Carnival. If you search this board you will find threads on that to look at. I know several people have recommended insuremytrip.com. I have used Travel Insured through USAA. You would need to go to the individual 3rd party site to check rules. Often, a lot of things will not be covered too close to the date of your cruise because it will appear suspect to an insurer that you did not buy insurance until the last minute - like there is something that suddenly came up. Or, they won't cover pre-existing. Each company may be different.

[chui101]

You can buy it the day before you travel if you want! Be aware that there are several waivers (like pre-existing condition waivers) that usually do not get added to the policy unless you buy it soon after you make the first booking for your trip. Each insurer and policy differs so be sure to read the fine print.

 

And yes, do not buy through the cruise line or the airline or anything. Buy through a third party insurer. If you have a Costco membership, their vendor usually offers the best rate in my experience.

Edited August 27, 2019 by chui101

[Eliot Ness]

Yes, the best time to buy is within 2 or 3 weeks of your initial booking to avoid pre-existing conditions, etc..  But I'd still recommend you buy some if only for the medical and evacuation coverage.  We never use Carnival, but go to insuremytrip.com.  They will give you a quote from several different carriers and you can compare the cost and coverage of several plans.

[keywest1]

Also, not sure when you are cruising, but since TS Dorian is now a named storm, I seriously doubt anyone would insure for cruises affected by her.

[jcCruiserNYC]

On 8/27/2019 at 5:02 PM, chui101 said:

You can buy it the day before you travel if you want! Be aware that there are several waivers (like pre-existing condition waivers) that usually do not get added to the policy unless you buy it soon after you make the first booking for your trip. Each insurer and policy differs so be sure to read the fine print.

 

And yes, do not buy through the cruise line or the airline or anything. Buy through a third party insurer. If you have a Costco membership, their vendor usually offers the best rate in my experience.

 

What is the reason for cruise line's own insurance policy is not recommended here?

 

I've booked (in September) a last minute cruise for November with NCL, made the full payment (because embarkation is just 2 months away.) I see that NCL offers "Essentials Travel Protection Plan" for only $25, am considering buying this policy instead of going to tripinsurancestores.com, which I had gone to for my two previous cruises.

I don't need pre-existing conditions coverage, and don't need cancel-for-any-reason coverage, but just the general emergency medical or injury (knock on wood, praying I won't sustain any.) Is NCL's "Essentials Travel Protection Plan" good enough?

[chui101]

1 hour ago, jcCruiserNYC said:

 

What is the reason for cruise line's own insurance policy is not recommended here?

 

It's just always more expensive and can cover less depending on circumstances. Example, when I booked my flight for my recent cruise through Delta, it was $70 for the trip insurance through Delta, which only covers the flight and time in Orlando (since it was a domestic flight, the insurance offered was only domestic). Bought a Travel Guard plan through Costco and it was about $40 for the whole trip which would include all phases - flight, overnight stay in Orlando, and the cruise itself. Also the coverage was a lot more, I don't remember exact numbers but the plan Delta was offering was something like $50k of medical coverage while the one I ended up getting was $150k or something. Since I booked through a TA I didn't get to see what coverages Carnival was offering. 

 

I mean, either way you go, for the peace of mind, $70 is not bad. But $40 is better 🙂

[Jersey42]

1 hour ago, jcCruiserNYC said:

 

What is the reason for cruise line's own insurance policy is not recommended here?

 

I've booked (in September) a last minute cruise for November with NCL, made the full payment (because embarkation is just 2 months away.) I see that NCL offers "Essentials Travel Protection Plan" for only $25, am considering buying this policy instead of going to tripinsurancestores.com, which I had gone to for my two previous cruises.

I don't need pre-existing conditions coverage, and don't need cancel-for-any-reason coverage, but just the general emergency medical or injury (knock on wood, praying I won't sustain any.) Is NCL's "Essentials Travel Protection Plan" good enough?

I believe the basic NCL plan provides $10K medical and $25K emergency evacuation.  That's great for a "sick call" or a minor injury.  It is inadequate for most anything else.  For the same premium or a few dollars more, you should be able to get much better coverage. 

[GeezerCouple]

2 hours ago, jcCruiserNYC said:

 

What is the reason for cruise line's own insurance policy is not recommended here?

 

I've booked (in September) a last minute cruise for November with NCL, made the full payment (because embarkation is just 2 months away.) I see that NCL offers "Essentials Travel Protection Plan" for only $25, am considering buying this policy instead of going to tripinsurancestores.com, which I had gone to for my two previous cruises.

I don't need pre-existing conditions coverage, and don't need cancel-for-any-reason coverage, but just the general emergency medical or injury (knock on wood, praying I won't sustain any.) Is NCL's "Essentials Travel Protection Plan" good enough?

 

If you've worked with TripInsuranceStore.com before, why not call them, and ASK them what policy they would recommend for you, compared with what you are considering.

 

They might be able to point out that you don't have x coverage, or maybe limits are too low, etc., and maybe that's fine with you, but you should know.

 

GC

[jcCruiserNYC]

5 hours ago, chui101 said:

It's just always more expensive and can cover less depending on circumstances. Example, when I booked my flight for my recent cruise through Delta, it was $70 for the trip insurance through Delta, which only covers the flight and time in Orlando (since it was a domestic flight, the insurance offered was only domestic). Bought a Travel Guard plan through Costco and it was about $40 for the whole trip which would include all phases - flight, overnight stay in Orlando, and the cruise itself. Also the coverage was a lot more, I don't remember exact numbers but the plan Delta was offering was something like $50k of medical coverage while the one I ended up getting was $150k or something. Since I booked through a TA I didn't get to see what coverages Carnival was offering. 

 

I mean, either way you go, for the peace of mind, $70 is not bad. But $40 is better 🙂

 

Ahhhhhh, I see. Thanks for your reasoning.    🙂

[jcCruiserNYC]

5 hours ago, Jersey42 said:

I believe the basic NCL plan provides $10K medical and $25K emergency evacuation.  That's great for a "sick call" or a minor injury.  It is inadequate for most anything else.  For the same premium or a few dollars more, you should be able to get much better coverage. 

 

Yes, that's the coverage amounts. I sure hope that I won't get into some much trouble that I would need more ... but, of course, insurance is for the "you never know" cases.

[jcCruiserNYC]

5 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

If you've worked with TripInsuranceStore.com before, why not call them, and ASK them what policy they would recommend for you, compared with what you are considering.

 

They might be able to point out that you don't have x coverage, or maybe limits are too low, etc., and maybe that's fine with you, but you should know.

 

GC

 

Ok, I will call them tomorrow. 
(I did call them last Saturday when I had just made the cruise payment online, but they were not "open" yet; then I got the email offer from NCL during the week, so it got me considering ........ )