Travel insurance

[vacationlover_mn]

I booked a 2023 cruise a few months ago.  I did not add travel insurance.  Is it too late to add it on?  If not, any recommendations on good “cancel for any reason”, also covers medical, travel insurance?

[RosieRoo]

6 minutes ago, vacationlover_mn said:

I booked a 2023 cruise a few months ago.  I did not add travel insurance.  Is it too late to add it on?  If not, any recommendations on good “cancel for any reason”, also covers medical, travel insurance?

There is a whole section on travel insurance here with lots of good information. 
 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/499-cruisetravel-insurance/

[vacationlover_mn]

Thx!!

[Babr]

17 minutes ago, vacationlover_mn said:

I booked a 2023 cruise a few months ago.  I did not add travel insurance.  Is it too late to add it on?  If not, any recommendations on good “cancel for any reason”, also covers medical, travel insurance?

 

Cancel for any reason will not be available to you now. It must be purchased within a defined time window after initial deposit.

 

You can still get coverage for travel and medical risks.

[Ourusualbeach]

1 hour ago, vacationlover_mn said:

I booked a 2023 cruise a few months ago.  I did not add travel insurance.  Is it too late to add it on?  If not, any recommendations on good “cancel for any reason”, also covers medical, travel insurance?

You can purchase Royals insurance that has cancel for any reason right up until final payment.   

[vacationlover_mn]

2 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

You can purchase Royals insurance that has cancel for any reason right up until final payment.   

Oh, thanks!  Does it include medical insurance?  I haven’t done theirs before…

[time4u2go]

Obviously you should also check your existing medical insurance to see what is covered.  No sense over insuring.

[Babr]

15 minutes ago, vacationlover_mn said:

Oh, thanks!  Does it include medical insurance?  I haven’t done theirs before…

It is a basic comprehensive travel policy which covers travel and medical hazards. You can find a summary on the Royal Caribbean Travel Protection Program page. For the actual certificate of coverage, scroll near the bottom of the page where you’ll find a drop-down menu to select your state. You can read the entire policy for yourself.

[Ourusualbeach]

21 minutes ago, vacationlover_mn said:

Oh, thanks!  Does it include medical insurance?  I haven’t done theirs before…

Yes but minimal amounts for medical and evac.   Medical is the cheap part of ins, I would purchase a separate medical policy

[SRF]

15 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Yes but minimal amounts for medical and evac.   Medical is the cheap part of ins, I would purchase a separate medical policy

 

This a great idea.

 

Buy Royal's insurance to cover the cruise fare, then purchase a 3rd party insurance for $0 trip cost.  It will still cover the medical and medevac, just not the cost of the cruise.  And it will be CHEAP.  I pay about $35 for travel insurance covering $0 of the trip cost.

[LB_NJ]

FYI, the insurance you get now will probably "NOT" cover existing medical conditions.  

[Ourusualbeach]

46 minutes ago, LB_NJ said:

FYI, the insurance you get now will probably "NOT" cover existing medical conditions.  

Why wouldn't it.  Pretty much every medical policy I have seen covers pre existing conditions as long as they are stable for 3 to 6 months prior to the date of travel depending on age and medical condition

[LB_NJ]

3 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Why wouldn't it.  Pretty much every medical policy I have seen covers pre existing conditions as long as they are stable for 3 to 6 months prior to the date of travel depending on age and medical condition

 

Most insurance doesn't cover pre-existing conditions unless the policy is bought shortly after the cruise is purchased.

 

Sometimes there is wording that may let "some" pre-existing conditions be covered without a pre-existing condition waiver.  HOWEVER,  these exceptions are looked at after you make a claim and if you do not fit SQUARELY (that means absolutely no room for argument) within the exceptions there is a fair chance that the insurance company will not pay.

 

This is the wording in one policy:

 

"Pre-Existing Condition means an illness, disease, or other condition during the sixty (60) day period immediately prior to the Effective Date for which You, a Traveling Companion, a Family Member booked to travel with You: 1) exhibited symptoms which would have caused one to seek care or treatment; or 2) received a recommendation for a test, examination, or medical treatment or 3) took or received a prescription for drugs or medicine. Item (3) of this definition does not apply to a condition which is treated or controlled solely through the taking of prescription drugs or medicine and remains treated or controlled without any adjustment or change in the required prescription throughout the sixty (60) day period before the Effective Date.

The Pre-Existing Conditions exclusion is waived if You (a) enroll in this Certificate at the time You pay the deposit required for Your Trip (or within fourteen (14) days of the initial deposit); (b) purchase this Certificate for the full cost of Your Trip; and (c) are medically able to travel on the Effective Date."

 

 

[bigeagle12]

Check out www.insuremytrip.com You can search multiple companies by dozens of criteria like pre-existing conditions and cancel for any reason.  

Edited January 18, 2022 by bigeagle12

[leisuretraveler223]

21 hours ago, time4u2go said:

Obviously you should also check your existing medical insurance to see what is covered.  No sense over insuring.

 

Oh, but they will! So many suckers here will absolutely over insure.  They are willing to light piles of money on fire for "peace of mind".

[cruiselvr04]

Most policies you need to pay when you make your deposit but there are others that you can buy within 24 hours of final payment.  We always purchase this way because when booking 2 years out you don’t know what might come up and dates may need to change or be cancelled altogether.  For a really big trip you can also just buy insurance on the deposit and then add to it at final payment.  

[smplybcause]

5 hours ago, LB_NJ said:

FYI, the insurance you get now will probably "NOT" cover existing medical conditions.  

 

From what I've found that is only for policies that have cancellation insurance. For a lot of my cruises I don't need it or interruption (I live in a short driving distance to the two big ports). And lately with their CWC/etc I haven't worried about the price of the cruise. So when I'm focusing on medical coverage the medical coverage includes pre-existing most of the time. There's a few I've seen that don't, but they're usually crappy policies anyways. 

[SRF]

20 hours ago, LB_NJ said:

 

Most insurance doesn't cover pre-existing conditions unless the policy is bought shortly after the cruise is purchased.

 

Sometimes there is wording that may let "some" pre-existing conditions be covered without a pre-existing condition waiver.  HOWEVER,  these exceptions are looked at after you make a claim and if you do not fit SQUARELY (that means absolutely no room for argument) within the exceptions there is a fair chance that the insurance company will not pay.

 

This is the wording in one policy:

 

"Pre-Existing Condition means an illness, disease, or other condition during the sixty (60) day period immediately prior to the Effective Date for which You, a Traveling Companion, a Family Member booked to travel with You: 1) exhibited symptoms which would have caused one to seek care or treatment; or 2) received a recommendation for a test, examination, or medical treatment or 3) took or received a prescription for drugs or medicine. Item (3) of this definition does not apply to a condition which is treated or controlled solely through the taking of prescription drugs or medicine and remains treated or controlled without any adjustment or change in the required prescription throughout the sixty (60) day period before the Effective Date.

The Pre-Existing Conditions exclusion is waived if You (a) enroll in this Certificate at the time You pay the deposit required for Your Trip (or within fourteen (14) days of the initial deposit); (b) purchase this Certificate for the full cost of Your Trip; and (c) are medically able to travel on the Effective Date."

 

 

 

The wording you posted states that is based on 60 days prior to the EFFECTIVE date of the policy.  NOT the booking date.

[Babr]

7 minutes ago, SRF said:

 

The wording you posted states that is based on 60 days prior to the EFFECTIVE date of the policy.  NOT the booking date.

 

You are correct. The look-back period starts with the effective date of the policy. In order to qualify for a waiver which exempts one from the look-back, one must purchase the policy within a defined time window, usually 14 to21 days of the initial deposit. Some policies allow a waiver if purchased by final payment.

 

If one fails to qualify for the waiver by not buying in a timely manner, then the company will look back at medical records to the limit defined in the policy, usually 60 days; but it can be 180 or more. Any condition, diagnosis, test, RX change or treatment in that window can be the basis for denial of the claim for a pre-existing condition.

 

[Hutcha]

Just now, Babr said:

 

You are correct. The look-back period starts with the effective date of the policy. In order to qualify for a waiver which exempts one from the look-back, one must purchase the policy within a defined time window, usually 14 to21 days of the initial deposit. Some policies allow a waiver if purchased by final payment.

 

If one fails to qualify for the waiver by not buying in a timely manner, then the company will look back at medical records to the limit defined in the policy, usually 60 days; but it can be 180 or more. Any condition, diagnosis, test, RX change or treatment in that window can be the basis for denial of the claim for a pre-existing condition.

 

This is correct. Most do not cover preexisting conditions, few allow you to get it up until final payment. Did searches on two of the recommended sites and only found 2 on one site, and 4 on another that allow it up until final payment. This was out of about 40 companies.

 

[MikeBayAreaCa]

I am only getting secondary medical with evacuation for $40.00 for our Feb. 21st cruise. 
Our medical is our primary.  We had to use it on our last cruise for ship medical services.  We paid for it with cruise credit  and were reimbursed by Kaiser once we got home

 

We are driving to port and with Cruise With Confidence we’re not losing our cruise faire.

[Hutcha]

Just now, MikeBayAreaCa said:

I am only getting secondary medical with evacuation for $40.00 for our Feb. 21st cruise. 
Our medical is our primary.  We had to use it on our last cruise for ship medical services.  We paid for it with cruise credit  and were reimbursed by Kaiser once we got home

 

We are driving to port and with Cruise With Confidence we’re not losing our cruise faire.

There are many other ways to miss a cruise, other than missing a flight. 

[MikeBayAreaCa]

4 minutes ago, Hutcha said:

There are many other ways to miss a cruise, other than missing a flight. 

True, but we’re arriving several days early and staying right across the street from the port.

[MississippiMom]

Sorry to piggy back, but this thread had lots of conversation on it, so I’m hoping for a little guidance.  Our next cruise leaves from Port Canaveral, so we were hoping to fly in a few days early to check out the new Star Wars related items at Disney’s Studios and to spend a “drink-around-the-world” day at Epcot.  If I understand correctly, I should add in the Orlando hotel stay expense & the Disney theme park tickets to our flight & cruise costs when calculating travel insurance.  Does that sound correct?

[SRF]

If you potentially want to be reimbursed for them.  If they cannot be canceled and not charged or  refunded.  Most hotel stays are cancellable on short notice.  Not sure about Disney.

 

As I have said, I do not insure the entire cost of the trip.  I have paid for the trip, and therefore would be unhappy, but it will not mean I cannot pay my other bills.

 

But unexpected medical expenses or a med evac flight can be a LOT of unbudgeted expense.  

 

But you have to price the insurance and see if it is worth it to YOU.  The more cost you cover, the higher the cost of the insurance.  Depending on your age, it could be a huge expense.   Years ago, we traveled with my parents, and their travel insurance was going to be almost as much as their cruise fare.

 

For zero trip cost coverage, travel insurance costs me $35 per trip. If I cover $500 of the trip cost, it goes up to about $50.  Above that, the rate gets much higher very quickly.

 

Hmm, I looked up Disney

 

Tickets and packages at Walt Disney World Resort are nontransferable and nonrefundable. You cannot cancel or get a refund for a ticket or package, but in some cases you can use unexpired theme park tickets for a future vacation.

 

Expiration is based on you using the tickets, so if you don't even get there, you should be good to go later.