Canadian cruisers - mandatory COVID19 travel insurance!?

[kj_connections]

Hi,

I just got an email from MSC stating that any Canadians sailing after Dec 19/21 must have proof of COVID19 travel insurance.  Has anyone purchased this and through what provider?

 

Thanks

Karen

[HappyInVan]

AFAIK, not until Canada lifts its travel advisory against cruise travel.

 

MSC seems uninterested in selling insurance to Canadians. So, I will be taking the refund on my FCC on December 31st.

[vtgumby]

Interesting, we just got off Seaview and I had purchased the MSC Covid travel insurance, the required insurance.
Why aren’t they selling to Canadians?! In any case, it was required for everyone and it just made it easy for us to purchase through MSC.

[tocanada]

I also received this letter.

The extra cost for me to buy this insurance from Tugo is $270 and it does not appear to provide everything required by MSC ( such as quarantine costs).

It is unacceptable for them to have us incur extra costs after final payment is made. They should have said that any bookings made after Dec 17 require insurance .

This was to be my first MSC cruise and it has been a frustrating experience.

My only option is to cancel the cruise.

 

[lienf]

11 hours ago, HappyInVan said:

AFAIK, not until Canada lifts its travel advisory against cruise travel.

 

MSC seems uninterested in selling insurance to Canadians. So, I will be taking the refund on my FCC on December 31st.

We deal with a U.S. travel agent and she checked last week and we can buy MSC insurance at or before final payment for our May cruise. 

[tocanada]

46 minutes ago, lienf said:

We deal with a U.S. travel agent and she checked last week and we can buy MSC insurance at or before final payment for our May cruise. 

I was told by the agent that if I cancel, I lose my $200 deposit. Seems so unfair.

[perakcruiser]

3 hours ago, vtgumby said:

Why aren’t they selling to Canadians?! In any case, it was required for everyone and it just made it easy for us to purchase through MSC.

I think MSC has a deal with a different insurance company in every market, not one for all. Canada (and Malaysia) are too small for them to nego such a deal I guess. 

[HappyInVan]

Culturally, Canadian businesses tend to be conservative.

 

Insurance companies will swallow the loss from a bad year and pass it on to future premiums. The problem with covid cruise insurance is that it is a new type of policy, and there is no certainty that this special insurance will be offered in future years.

 

Once the government changes its cruise travel advisory, the insurance companies will absorb covid costs into general policies (raising the premiums for everyone). Just as they are now doing with land insurance.

 

MSC started with free (?) covid cruise insurance in Europe. Its a no-brainer, because EU countries have universal care systems, and repatriation distances are relatively short. However, they have since required pax to pay for covid insurance.

 

The medical costs of cruise covid patients must be substantial!

 

 

[macmax]

Manulife's Covid-19 Travel Plan will now cover Covid related issues for fully vaxxed cruise ship pax.

https://www.igoinsured.com/TravelWeb/Announcement/COVID19FLYER2021E.pdf

[intr3pid]

MSC does facilitate travel insurance for Canadians.  The link is right there on the front page of the website.  The provider is Tugo:

https://www.msccruises.ca/manage-booking/before-you-go/travel-insurance

 

Buy the all-in holiday package and that should take care of the MSC requirements.  (I'm not quite sure why they are requiring trip cancellation/interruption insurance when you have already paid them the cruise fare.)

 

Or, you can get it from Manulife:

https://www.coverme.com/travel-insurance.html

[kj_connections]

Thank you for the replies.  In my case, my credit card has trip interruption and cancellation insurance but I do not think it covers cruises.  If I go with the Tugo insurance can I just buy the emergency medical or do I need to buy the all inclusive package?

 

@tocanadawhen is your cruise departing?  I am still just outside my 90-day final payment for my March 20/22 cruise and I do not know what to do with the rising COVID cases here in Ontario...

[kj_connections]

5 hours ago, macmax said:

Manulife's Covid-19 Travel Plan will now cover Covid related issues for fully vaxxed cruise ship pax.

https://www.igoinsured.com/TravelWeb/Announcement/COVID19FLYER2021E.pdf

 

Thank you for this! Looks better than the Tugo insurance but I will call both companies to see

[HappyInVan]

1 hour ago, kj_connections said:

 

Thank you for this! Looks better than the Tugo insurance but I will call both companies to see

Thanks. Let us know what they say, and what it COSTS!

 

I spoke to Manulife several months ago, and I was told that cruises were specifically excluded. However, There's this mention of an exemption from the exclusion in Part 26...

 

"Exception: This exclusion does not apply for claims due to Coronavirus (COVID-19) and related complications that you suffer or contract while you are on a cruise or any destination included in your cruise itinerary if you have received the vaccine."

 

https://www-aem-prod.coverme.manulife.ca/content/dam/affinity/coverme/english/documents/coverme-covid-19-pandemic-travel-plan-policy.pdf

[intr3pid]

1 hour ago, HappyInVan said:

Thanks. Let us know what they say, and what it COSTS!

 

I spoke to Manulife several months ago, and I was told that cruises were specifically excluded. However, There's this mention of an exemption from the exclusion in Part 26...

 

"Exception: This exclusion does not apply for claims due to Coronavirus (COVID-19) and related complications that you suffer or contract while you are on a cruise or any destination included in your cruise itinerary if you have received the vaccine."

 

https://www-aem-prod.coverme.manulife.ca/content/dam/affinity/coverme/english/documents/coverme-covid-19-pandemic-travel-plan-policy.pdf

Cruise coverage is excluded only if you are unvaccinated. 

Edited December 13, 2021 by intr3pid

[intr3pid]

3 hours ago, kj_connections said:

Thank you for the replies.  In my case, my credit card has trip interruption and cancellation insurance but I do not think it covers cruises.  If I go with the Tugo insurance can I just buy the emergency medical or do I need to buy the all inclusive package?

While you can buy just emergency medical from Tugo, it's MSC that's requiring the trip cancellation/interruption coverage.  Our credit cards all have such insurance but there are exclusions such as COVID and that you must have bought the entire or most of the fare through that credit card. 

 

To bring the costs down, we bought multi-trip emergency medical for the year - and then the all-in only for the days of cruising with MSC (+1 on either side).

[tocanada]

On 12/12/2021 at 8:21 PM, kj_connections said:

Thank you for the replies.  In my case, my credit card has trip interruption and cancellation insurance but I do not think it covers cruises.  If I go with the Tugo insurance can I just buy the emergency medical or do I need to buy the all inclusive package?

 

@tocanadawhen is your cruise departing?  I am still just outside my 90-day final payment for my March 20/22 cruise and I do not know what to do with the rising COVID cases here in Ontario...

Feb 19

[tocanada]

Feb 19

[debsea]

Medoc and Medipac both offer travel medical insurance to Canadians that cover you for COVID. They don't cover any expenses if you have to cancel your cruise before you embark due to COVID, but they do cover all medical costs related to a COVID infection while traveling.

[Reenie75]

Just out of curiosity... Is it only MSC requesting this type of covid insurance just like the RT PCR tests to board the ship? Other cruise lines are requesting the rapid test. 

[HappyInVan]

15 hours ago, debsea said:

Medoc and Medipac both offer travel medical insurance to Canadians that cover you for COVID. They don't cover any expenses if you have to cancel your cruise before you embark due to COVID, but they do cover all medical costs related to a COVID infection while traveling.

 

Thanks. The question is whether they cover for cruises specifically?

[kj_connections]

22 hours ago, Reenie75 said:

Just out of curiosity... Is it only MSC requesting this type of covid insurance just like the RT PCR tests to board the ship? Other cruise lines are requesting the rapid test. 

as far as I know it seems like MSC is the only cruise line requesting certain passengers (eg. Canadians, maybe other non-US citizens) to purchase COVID insurance

 

Others like RCCL will take care of you if you catch covid during the cruise

[Reenie75]

With everything that has happened with this booking, MSC's requirement my next cruise will not be with MSC. 

I'll make the best of what we have for now.