What insurance do you purchase now?

[newyorker123]

We had a few cruises cancel and in the beginning of the pandemic we were getting refunded the money we paid for insurance.  I booked my cruise before the pandemic, got my insurance days after booking, and now the cruise is cancelled and they won't reimburse me nor will they pay the hotel I can't cancel.  So if we are not able to get any monies back at all, how are you purchasing cruise insurance these days?

[Hlitner]

On 9/18/2020 at 8:20 AM, newyorker123 said:

We had a few cruises cancel and in the beginning of the pandemic we were getting refunded the money we paid for insurance.  I booked my cruise before the pandemic, got my insurance days after booking, and now the cruise is cancelled and they won't reimburse me nor will they pay the hotel I can't cancel.  So if we are not able to get any monies back at all, how are you purchasing cruise insurance these days?

I assume that Steve will respond with some good advice.  But from my point of view the first thing you need to do is carefully read your policy (including relevant definitions) to determine if it actually covers the set of circumstances that are involved in the cancellations.  You might want to take an extra look at the "exclusions" to see if the policy specifically excludes relevant issues such as "pandemics" or "epidemics."  I also am a little confused by why you need to seek insurance reimbursement for a cancelled cruise.  If your cruise was cancelled by the cruise line the cruise line is obligated to refund what you paid for that cruise.  If the cruise line refuses to refund your money (what is more likely is that they will take their time to give you a refund) then you likely have the legal right (under the Fair Credit Billing Act) to seek a chargeback from your credit card company.  In fact, in your situation we would immediately contact the credit card company and put the charge(s) for your cruise into "dispute" so you effectively preclude time requirements for filing.   When it comes to credit card "charge backs" it can be very important to file that dispute as early as possible to preserve your rights.

 

As to your hotel and other related non-refundable payments, you again need to assess whether your insurance covers those items.  If not you can try to appeal directly to the hotel (or hotel company) although you might be out of luck if you did not have coverage and they refuse to issue you a refund.  This is why many knowledgeable travelers have been strongly suggesting that folks try to avoid booking anything with non-refundable terms until this COVID issue is distant history.

 

I will also post some personal tips.  Make sure you document everything related to the issues including keeping a file with copies of all e-mails, other correspondence, log of phone calls, etc.  If all else fails and you are unable to get satisfaction then you might want to contact Christopher Elliott (or his staff) though www.elliott.org.  Mr. Elliott runs an excellent consumer travel advocacy organization that can often be very helpful to travel consumers who have been wronged.

 

Hank

[iamtrustworthy]

On 9/18/2020 at 7:20 AM, newyorker123 said:

We had a few cruises cancel and in the beginning of the pandemic we were getting refunded the money we paid for insurance.  I booked my cruise before the pandemic, got my insurance days after booking, and now the cruise is cancelled and they won't reimburse me nor will they pay the hotel I can't cancel.  So if we are not able to get any monies back at all, how are you purchasing cruise insurance these days?

Hi newyorker123,

 

What exact travel insurance policy do you have?

 

Steve Dasseos

[newyorker123]

On 9/20/2020 at 9:39 AM, Hlitner said:

I assume that Steve will respond with some good advice.  But from my point of view the first thing you need to do is carefully read your policy (including relevant definitions) to determine if it actually covers the set of circumstances that are involved in the cancellations.  You might want to take an extra look at the "exclusions" to see if the policy specifically excludes relevant issues such as "pandemics" or "epidemics."  I also am a little confused by why you need to seek insurance reimbursement for a cancelled cruise.  If your cruise was cancelled by the cruise line the cruise line is obligated to refund what you paid for that cruise.  If the cruise line refuses to refund your money (what is more likely is that they will take their time to give you a refund) then you likely have the legal right (under the Fair Credit Billing Act) to seek a chargeback from your credit card company.  In fact, in your situation we would immediately contact the credit card company and put the charge(s) for your cruise into "dispute" so you effectively preclude time requirements for filing.   When it comes to credit card "charge backs" it can be very important to file that dispute as early as possible to preserve your rights.

 

As to your hotel and other related non-refundable payments, you again need to assess whether your insurance covers those items.  If not you can try to appeal directly to the hotel (or hotel company) although you might be out of luck if you did not have coverage and they refuse to issue you a refund.  This is why many knowledgeable travelers have been strongly suggesting that folks try to avoid booking anything with non-refundable terms until this COVID issue is distant history.

 

I will also post some personal tips.  Make sure you document everything related to the issues including keeping a file with copies of all e-mails, other correspondence, log of phone calls, etc.  If all else fails and you are unable to get satisfaction then you might want to contact Christopher Elliott (or his staff) though www.elliott.org.  Mr. Elliott runs an excellent consumer travel advocacy organization that can often be very helpful to travel consumers who have been wronged.

 

Hank

Thanks, Hank!  Cruise line refunded pretty fast, actually.  The hotel in Venice will not issue a refund.  I booked this pre-Covid.  Thank you thank you!!  I'll try Chris Elliott.

[newyorker123]

On 9/20/2020 at 11:32 AM, iamtrustworthy said:

Hi newyorker123,

 

What exact travel insurance policy do you have?

 

Steve Dasseos

ItravelinsuredSE through IMG

[iamtrustworthy]

On 9/22/2020 at 6:56 AM, newyorker123 said:

ItravelinsuredSE through IMG

Have you contacted IMG about getting a refund on the premium you paid?

[newyorker123]

9 hours ago, iamtrustworthy said:

Have you contacted IMG about getting a refund on the premium you paid?

Yes, I did.