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Princess insurance VS. Private insurance


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14 hours ago, Babr said:


That may be why people post on the cruise line forum first. It is more likely to be seen and answered in a timely manner. Others just don’t know it exists because they’ve never felt the need to consult it.

 

In the meantime, insurance questions are relevant to cruising and may be of general interest because Covid has a lot of people scrambling for answers. Perhaps a little forbearance is in order for people who post questions here.

It is now answered in the insurance section; they go by where you lived when you booked.

 

 

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On 9/23/2021 at 4:10 PM, Babr said:


The wording in the FAQ for Princess Vacation Protection says that if your condition is not stable in the 60 days prior to purchase, the pre-existing condition is not covered. Whether you pay for it at deposit or final payment does not seem to matter as long as there is no change that would cause you to seek treatment or change RX in the 60-day look-back period.

 

At the same time, the FAQ also says that if your condition does change so that you do not qualify for a cash refund, you can still get FCC under the Cancel For Any Reason provision of PVP.

 

I don’t know what happened to your claim, but I would pursue it further. You may have to file a separate claim for CFAR. Communicate with Aon to determine the next step. 

 

 

Thank you for your input.  We will pursue the issue.  We have more hope for a cruise credit than a refund, and we will be angry if we end up with neither.    Since the purchase date is the start of the 60-day look-back period and apparently also the criteria for eligibility of a credit,  it seems to matter if purchase date means reservation date or payment date.  I better go read all that fine print before I take the next step - as we all should all the time!

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35 minutes ago, Joanne G. said:

Thank you for your input.  We will pursue the issue.  We have more hope for a cruise credit than a refund, and we will be angry if we end up with neither.    Since the purchase date is the start of the 60-day look-back period and apparently also the criteria for eligibility of a credit,  it seems to matter if purchase date means reservation date or payment date.  I better go read all that fine print before I take the next step - as we all should all the time!


I believe you are mistaken about the look-back provision. It is not used as a criteria for FCC under Cancel for any Reason. It is time frame to determine if a medical condition is unstable. The clock starts at purchase whenever that is. Some policies require purchase within days of deposit to grant a waiver for the pre-existing condition. Others require it by final payment. 

 

However, without a waiver, if the unstable condition causes cancellation, you do not qualify for cash reimbursement. You get a credit from Princess instead since the FCC is not a part of the insurance coverage. Once you have been denied coverage, Princess issues the credit. It is a matter of determining the next step.

 

 

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Thank you, again,  babr.  Your input is encouraging for our getting an FCC.  

 

 I get that the 60-day period isn't a factor for the FCC, but the wording in the letter denying the refund is that I "may" be eligible for a FCC if I "purchased" the PVP prior to making final payment.  That's why I think it matters what exactly is the purchase date even for the FCC.

 

The letter also stated that Princess would be notifying us about our respective FCC's.    Unless we decide to appeal the denial of a refund, I will probably call Princess for clarification about the FCC rather than waiting for them to contact me.   

 

We need to understand what to do in the future.  If we are successful in getting a FCC, we will book a 2022 cruise.   My friend's condition is now stabilized with medication.  But she will never be cured of it, and I assume it could flare up at any time in a way that would make travel inadvisable.

 

 

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We just bought some comprehensive insurance from insuremytrip.com for our upcoming sailing on the Majestic. We opted for a tad more coverage than usual due to the current situation, but Pam and I are both covered for the  8 days travel for a mere $135.00. This includes $1 million for medical evacuation if needed.

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1 hour ago, Joanne G. said:

Thank you, again,  babr.  Your input is encouraging for our getting an FCC.  

 

 I get that the 60-day period isn't a factor for the FCC, but the wording in the letter denying the refund is that I "may" be eligible for a FCC if I "purchased" the PVP prior to making final payment.  That's why I think it matters what exactly is the purchase date even for the FCC.

 

The letter also stated that Princess would be notifying us about our respective FCC's.    Unless we decide to appeal the denial of a refund, I will probably call Princess for clarification about the FCC rather than waiting for them to contact me.   

 

We need to understand what to do in the future.  If we are successful in getting a FCC, we will book a 2022 cruise.   My friend's condition is now stabilized with medication.  But she will never be cured of it, and I assume it could flare up at any time in a way that would make travel inadvisable.

 

 


If I were in your situation, I’d look for caveats in every word, too, but I think all they mean is that you did not buy the insurance after final payment.  Also, I think the wording of “may be eligible” is just a noncommittal way to say Princess is responsible for the next step. The insurer is not going to speak for Princess since they are the ones issuing the FCC.

 

An appeal will not likely change the determination if indeed your friend received treatment, tests, or change in RX during the look-back period for the condition that caused her to cancel.

 

For future trips, buy a third-party policy within  14 days of placing a deposit on a trip. That way you will have a waiver for pre-existing conditions, and you will not have this problem again.

 

If you find shopping for insurance overwhelming, and it can be, check with a professional broker like Steve Dassoes at thetripinsurancestore.com. He is often recommended here on CC and answers questions over on the Cruise/Travel Insurance forum.

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33 minutes ago, CineGraphic said:

We just bought some comprehensive insurance from insuremytrip.com for our upcoming sailing on the Majestic. We opted for a tad more coverage than usual due to the current situation, but Pam and I are both covered for the  8 days travel for a mere $135.00. This includes $1 million for medical evacuation if needed.


Glad you got enhanced coverage. Just remember that the evacuation coverage is for medical conditions that can’t be treated at the nearest appropriate facility. It is for hospital-to-hospital transfers when you require a higher level of care or extended care. Covid is not likely to cause that in vaccinated people, but the coverage is good to have for any medical emergency.

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1 hour ago, CineGraphic said:

We just bought some comprehensive insurance from insuremytrip.com for our upcoming sailing on the Majestic. We opted for a tad more coverage than usual due to the current situation, but Pam and I are both covered for the  8 days travel for a mere $135.00. This includes $1 million for medical evacuation if needed.

THAT is amazing. Each time I do a quote, it costs hundreds of dollars on that website!

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On 9/23/2021 at 9:32 PM, nini said:

The highlighted sentences would/ could be a red flag for an insurance company and be a detail on filing a claim.

In case you have not seen it, I posted this question in the insurance forum, and it was answered by Steve Dasseos.

 

Often there is a different rate depending on what state you live in, what if you are moving before travelling? - Cruise/Travel Insurance - Cruise Critic Community

 

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16 minutes ago, nini said:

THAT is amazing. Each time I do a quote, it costs hundreds of dollars on that website!


Cost is based on the amount insured and age of the insured. Cruise line insurance does not consider age.

 

Each state regulates insurance, so the price for the same policy  will be the same regardless of where you buy it. Variation in price across companies comes from additional types of coverage which may be included, different dollar limits, primary vs. secondary, etc. 

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22 minutes ago, Babr said:


Cost is based on the amount insured and age of the insured. Cruise line insurance does not consider age.

 

Each state regulates insurance, so the price for the same policy  will be the same regardless of where you buy it. Variation in price across companies comes from additional types of coverage which may be included, different dollar limits, primary vs. secondary, etc. 

I know whenever we have bought private travel insurance, state of residence is asked as well as our ages. I do believe they are different charges depending on your residence as well as age. The poster who asked about moving from Pennsylvania to Florida did specifically state that the charge was different in their case.

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31 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

I know whenever we have bought private travel insurance, state of residence is asked as well as our ages. I do believe they are different charges depending on your residence as well as age. The poster who asked about moving from Pennsylvania to Florida did specifically state that the charge was different in their case.


Yes, I saw that, too, and wondered if she was looking at exactly the same policy from the same company.

 

It may have been the same company with additional provisions required by Florida. I’m surprised the cost would be that much different for the same thing, but Florida’s regulators can approve which companies do business in the state, what kind of policies they sell, and what rates they charge.

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3 hours ago, Joanne G. said:

Thank you, again,  babr.  Your input is encouraging for our getting an FCC.  

 

 I get that the 60-day period isn't a factor for the FCC, but the wording in the letter denying the refund is that I "may" be eligible for a FCC if I "purchased" the PVP prior to making final payment.  That's why I think it matters what exactly is the purchase date even for the FCC.

 

The letter also stated that Princess would be notifying us about our respective FCC's.    Unless we decide to appeal the denial of a refund, I will probably call Princess for clarification about the FCC rather than waiting for them to contact me.   

 

We need to understand what to do in the future.  If we are successful in getting a FCC, we will book a 2022 cruise.   My friend's condition is now stabilized with medication.  But she will never be cured of it, and I assume it could flare up at any time in a way that would make travel inadvisable.

 

 

We recently had a similar experience.  About 3 days after getting the Aon letter, I called Princess and the remaining credit for my husbands account was there.  Mine was missing but that was because of a typo in the Aon letter.  It listed my husband twice and not my name at all.  It took a couple of weeks and some effort but Aon did correct it with Princess, my credit showed up and we used both credit (FCCs) to book another cruise for which final payment was due.  We need to stick with Princess ins as my condition is not and will not be stable.  The Chase Reserve  credit card will cover some other expenses and my medicare HMO covers medical expenses anywhere in the world as they do in the US.  It gets complicated when one gets old and has disease.  Some day we will probably not be able to use the FCC but that is a risk we will take for now.  Good luck.

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2 hours ago, ontheweb said:

In case you have not seen it, I posted this question in the insurance forum, and it was answered by Steve Dasseos.

 

Often there is a different rate depending on what state you live in, what if you are moving before travelling? - Cruise/Travel Insurance - Cruise Critic Community

 

Thanks for the heads up! I did not check back on that forum.

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2 hours ago, Babr said:


Cost is based on the amount insured and age of the insured. Cruise line insurance does not consider age.

 

Each state regulates insurance, so the price for the same policy  will be the same regardless of where you buy it. Variation in price across companies comes from additional types of coverage which may be included, different dollar limits, primary vs. secondary, etc. 

Yes, I realize that. I guess good ol' WA State is Out of Luck!!! We can not even get GeoBlue.

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On 9/23/2021 at 12:45 PM, Mary Ann 2 said:

That's good to know!  I can see now that especially if you have pre-existing conditions, you should chose private insurance or pay for Princess insurance right away.  Of course anyone can have a condition come up before a cruise, so same maybe should be said for all cruises.

 Mary Ann, an update - while our medical claim for a refund was denied due to unfortunate timing, we were issued FCC's under the PVP that we paid for at the time of final payment, not prior to final payment.  So I was worrying unnecessarily about the definition of "purchase date."  But my experiences with insurance in general make me wary of anything and everything a company might do to avoid paying out.

 

Yesterday we got emailed confirmations of our credits, which included the important information that our credits are good through 12/31/2022 and cannot be used for paying deposits.   I have a replacement cruise on hold while I check with my friend, and our credits showed up automatically under each of our names. 

 

All in all, we are satisfied.  😃

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