Travel insurance scam/mistake?

[Bikerkittie]

Hello I am a new cruiser and booked my first dream cruise thru a TA I follow on social media. I flew to Fort Lauderdale 3/7 and my sailing on Regal princess (3/8) was canceled at 3:30 am. My TA was on vaca but the assistant got me a flight home for $9!!!! Princess promptly gave me a 100% refund AND 100% future cruise credit on everything I purchased thru them. Now here's the problem, I sent out a text and couple emails to TA to start claim for flight/hotel/uber and the delayed reply was I didn't have travel insurance. I'm quite positive we discussed it and I redily agreed. I even took notes when booking and jotted down the price. What can I do?  Any advice is greatly appreciated!

[Shmoo here]

2 minutes ago, Bikerkittie said:

Hello I am a new cruiser and booked my first dream cruise thru a TA I follow on social media. I flew to Fort Lauderdale 3/7 and my sailing on Regal princess (3/8) was canceled at 3:30 am. My TA was on vaca but the assistant got me a flight home for $9!!!! Princess promptly gave me a 100% refund AND 100% future cruise credit on everything I purchased thru them. Now here's the problem, I sent out a text and couple emails to TA to start claim for flight/hotel/uber and the delayed reply was I didn't have travel insurance. I'm quite positive we discussed it and I redily agreed. I even took notes when booking and jotted down the price. What can I do?  Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Typically, when you book through a TA and they offer insurance, if you reject it, they make you sign a paper that says you're aware that not purchasing insurance means you are responsible for any losses.

 

Do you have such a paper in your notes?  Does the TA?

[ontheweb]

Was it insurance through the cruise line or with a private company? Do you have a record of who it was with? If so, I would contact the company directly if that is what the TA is saying.

[Bikerkittie]

38 minutes ago, Shmoo here said:

Typically, when you book through a TA and they offer insurance, if you reject it, they make you sign a paper that says you're aware that not purchasing insurance means you are responsible for any losses.

 

Do you have such a paper in your notes?  Does the TA?

 

[Bikerkittie]

I booked over the phone. I was taking notes while discussing and I wrote down the fee I accepted for coverage so there is nothing I signed.

[Bikerkittie]

35 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Was it insurance through the cruise line or with a private company? Do you have a record of who it was with? If so, I would contact the company directly if that is what the TA is saying.

It was through TA by phone. TA says I dont have it but can contact insurance company to check?? I'm worried I paid for it but wasn't covered. 

[Shmoo here]

7 minutes ago, Bikerkittie said:

It was through TA by phone. TA says I dont have it but can contact insurance company to check?? I'm worried I paid for it but wasn't covered. 

Did you receive an invoice from the TA?  Any charges should be listed there (and what they are for).  

 

[Nic6318]

Hi Bikerkittie

 

If what you believe is the case, you will have to be able to show/prove it. You remember talking about it, making notes, but it is possible you didn't actually agree to it. 

 

You must have documents of your transaction. Somewhat like a receipt. What you paid for (what you were going to receive) and how much it cost. 

 

 

 

 

[CruiserBruce]

There would be some sort of documentation...the rules and description of the policy and coverages, an invoice, something. You wouldn't have insurance without some sort of documentation.

[geoherb]

I usually get the insurance through Princess. If you did, you should have received an email from reservations@princesscruises.com. The subject of the email will be your booking number, "Princess Vacation Protection," then your name(s). 

I also get receipts from my travel agency with a breakdown of what I'm paying for. Some of the agencies I use will send a link to the receipt. I make sure to save a PDF of those receipts because they do disappear after the cruise is over.

[sanger727]

You must have received an invoice at some point after you booked? If you didn't, it's time to drop this TA. You should ALWAYS receive an invoice detailing what you booked, what was included, and pricing for everything. If you didn't receive this then request your TA send you the invoice again.

Edited April 22, 2020 by sanger727

[ontheweb]

9 minutes ago, sanger727 said:

You must have received an invoice at some point after you booked? If you didn't, it's time to drop this TA. You should ALWAYS receive an invoice detailing what you booked, what was included, and pricing for everything. If you didn't receive this then request your TA send you the invoice again.

That is probably the best advice the OP has received.

[leaveitallbehind]

32 minutes ago, sanger727 said:

You must have received an invoice at some point after you booked? If you didn't, it's time to drop this TA. You should ALWAYS receive an invoice detailing what you booked, what was included, and pricing for everything. If you didn't receive this then request your TA send you the invoice again.

 

Actually you should have received two invoices (which are also booking confirmations) - one from the TA on their letterhead and one from the cruise line on theirs.  That not only provides confirmation of what was paid and the total amount due, which would indicate if insurance was included in your total, but also confirms that the cruise line - and insurance provider you booked through if purchased - received it.

 

If you booked through a third party carrier that premium is typically due with the booking - and certainly with final payment - as a separate charge from the cruise payment.  Your credit card company should be able to confirm that payment and who received it. Also as previously mentioned by CruiserBruce, the insurance company would provide a copy of their travel coverage policy to you directly. 

 

If it was booked through the cruise line, although it would be included with your final payment to them, it would be shown as a separate line item, thus the need for invoice copies. As it is an additional charge the total you paid would indicate that you paid it and the cruise line invoice can confirm that.

 

Without any of this it will be your word against theirs, and the proof of premium payment would be on you.

Edited April 22, 2020 by leaveitallbehind

[John Bull]

No knowledge of how things work on your side of The Pond,  but if you have PAID for it and it wasn't revoked / refunded, surely you were covered.. As others have said, it should be in your paperwork, e-mail records. And there should be an insurance policy (or much more likely a detailed policy on the insurer's website plus a short e-mail with your personal details and level of cover / excesses / exclusions).

 

Doesn't mean that any policy you have covers you for the circumstances, but you won't know til you know whether you're covered  and read the small-print in any policy that you've been given / notified / linked. 

 

Obviously a big disappointment, and a stack of grief. But  it sounds like you're not out big-time financially 

 

JB  

[Toofarfromthesea]

17 hours ago, Shmoo here said:

Typically, when you book through a TA and they offer insurance, if you reject it, they make you sign a paper that says you're aware that not purchasing insurance means you are responsible for any losses.

 

Do you have such a paper in your notes?  Does the TA?

 

I always reject travel insurance from whatever TA I am dealing with (all online and phone - never in person) and have never had to sign anything.  But it is clearly indicated on the invoice I receive that I have refused insurance.  As others have said, OP needs to look at the TA invoice.  It should either show that he refused insurance or list the insurance as one of the charges making up his total.

[klfrodo]

2 hours ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

I always reject travel insurance from whatever TA I am dealing with (all online and phone - never in person) and have never had to sign anything.  

 

I agree regarding a signature,  but in most instances there is a check box that you must select before completing the online purchase and that check box is either I accept insurance or I decline insurance.

[LHT28]

20 hours ago, Bikerkittie said:

It was through TA by phone. TA says I dont have it but can contact insurance company to check?? I'm worried I paid for it but wasn't covered. 

Maybe  check to see if the credit card you used has any coverage for the extras

Any trip insurance through work?

 If you bought it  as others have said it should show a charge on your invoice

[BlueRiband]

If you didn't keep your paperwork then sanger727 in post #11 gave you the best advice:  ask the TA to resend you the invoice and documentation.   You need to know if you indeed paid for cruise insurance in order to have any standing to make a claim. 

Edited April 23, 2020 by BlueRiband

[Bikerkittie]

On 4/21/2020 at 8:12 PM, Bikerkittie said:

Hello I am a new cruiser and booked my first dream cruise thru a TA I follow on social media. I flew to Fort Lauderdale 3/7 and my sailing on Regal princess (3/8) was canceled at 3:30 am. My TA was on vaca but the assistant got me a flight home for $9!!!! Princess promptly gave me a 100% refund AND 100% future cruise credit on everything I purchased thru them. Now here's the problem, I sent out a text and couple emails to TA to start claim for flight/hotel/uber and the delayed reply was I didn't have travel insurance. I'm quite positive we discussed it and I redily agreed. I even took notes when booking and jotted down the price. What can I do?  Any advice is greatly appreciated!

*Update - I sent an email to TA asking for a copy of the invoice and two days later, no response! Pretty sure they took my payment but didn't get me a policy. And I had just rebooked my canceled cruise through them. This is a mess!!! 

[BlueRiband]

3 hours ago, Bikerkittie said:

*Update - I sent an email to TA asking for a copy of the invoice and two days later, no response! Pretty sure they took my payment but didn't get me a policy. And I had just rebooked my canceled cruise through them. This is a mess!!! 

Get on the telephone and keep calling back until you get a live person.  (Also post your situation on his/her social media that you follow.) 

 

Surely you had a booking number or how did you expect to board the ship assuming the cruise had not been cancelled?  You kept nothing beyond what you "jotted down"?   If you don't have anything other than your memory a competent TA should be able to run your name through their database and pull up a copy of your original booking information. 

 

Have you documentation for your rescheduled cruise and does if specifically state that you purchased insurance for the new sailing?

 

After you get the insurance for the cancelled cruise sorted ask yourself what service this TA is providing you that compensates for their failing to respond to your inquiries - and why they deserve your repeat business. 

Edited April 24, 2020 by BlueRiband

[leaveitallbehind]

11 hours ago, Bikerkittie said:

*Update - I sent an email to TA asking for a copy of the invoice and two days later, no response! Pretty sure they took my payment but didn't get me a policy. And I had just rebooked my canceled cruise through them. This is a mess!!! 

Agree with the suggestion to call.  Do not rely simply on emails and texts.  Even though you booked through a TA, given your circumstances, you can also contact Princess by phone and explain the situation and lack of response from the TA and they will be able to send you their confirmation of the original booking which will indicate if the insurance was ever booked through them.  They also will be able to provide confirmation of the new booking made as well.

 

However, I too am confused - are you saying you never had any booking confirmation or invoice from either the TA or Princess with the original reservation, or any record of the transaction regarding booking and your payment towards it?  As mentioned before, any purchase of insurance would have been indicated with those confirmations, and if it was provided through the TA by a third party insurer, they would have issued a confirmation and policy document to you directly.

 

Again, as BlueRiband suggests, call and talk with a person - with both the TA and Princess.

 

 

Edited April 24, 2020 by leaveitallbehind

[Bikerkittie]

I did get booking # and confirmation from Princess but nothing itemized from TA. Being a newbie I foolishly thought that was all I was to receive.

I was mainly trying to contact TA by email/text in an effort to get something in writing. They just give me the run around so I will contact Princess and hope for the best but I have a strong suspicion I paid for insurance and that money was pocketed.

Now I'm hoping I can change my future booking, from them, to a new TA or Princess directly. 

I feel so let down. This will be my third TA and I've yet to actually go on a vacation. Though I did get pretty close once! 

I want to thank everyone for their time and advice!

[leaveitallbehind]

37 minutes ago, Bikerkittie said:

I did get booking # and confirmation from Princess but nothing itemized from TA. Being a newbie I foolishly thought that was all I was to receive.

I was mainly trying to contact TA by email/text in an effort to get something in writing. They just give me the run around so I will contact Princess and hope for the best but I have a strong suspicion I paid for insurance and that money was pocketed.

Now I'm hoping I can change my future booking, from them, to a new TA or Princess directly. 

I feel so let down. This will be my third TA and I've yet to actually go on a vacation. Though I did get pretty close once! 

I want to thank everyone for their time and advice!

It is really quite simple and easy to confirm, especially since you have the confirmation from Princess:

 

Your confirmation from Princess would have indicated insurance if it was purchased through them and it would have been included as an additional line item amount in your total paid by you through your credit card.  If it is not on that confirmation and not in that total paid, then your TA did not include it with your cruise fare to Princess.

 

If your TA had purchased it separately with a third party insurer then your credit card would reflect that charge and, as stated before, you would have received documents indicating the policy separately from the insurance company.

 

If none of the above exist and there are no unidentified charges on your credit card related to the TA, or to Princess, or to a travel insurance company, then you never had a policy in the first place and - more importantly - the TA did not pocket any money from you for it.  Again, If he did, you would be able track that through your credit card transactions.  Just look at the total money you spent on your credit card and compare that to your confirmation from Princess (and the airline / hotel / etc. receipts).

 

My guess is that even though you discussed insurance with your TA, he neglected to include it with your trip.  

Edited April 25, 2020 by leaveitallbehind

[iamtrustworthy]

On 4/23/2020 at 7:20 PM, Bikerkittie said:

*Update - I sent an email to TA asking for a copy of the invoice and two days later, no response! Pretty sure they took my payment but didn't get me a policy. And I had just rebooked my canceled cruise through them. This is a mess!!! 

Hi Bikerkittie,

 

Do you record your phone calls? If not, maybe the TA does.

 

Steve

[Bikerkittie]

4 minutes ago, iamtrustworthy said:

Hi Bikerkittie,

 

Do you record your phone calls? If not, maybe the TA does.

 

Steve

No, I don't record and I doubt the TA would help me even if he did.