Cruise insurance

[Ombud]

Just a suggestion to also research what your credit card gives you. Mine (USAA) adds on: 

 

> Travel and Emergency Assistance - medical and legal referrals, prescription assistance, travel planning and other services.

> Trip Cancellation and Interruption - up to $1,500 per covered person when you buy your ticket with your card.

> Travel Accident Insurance - benefit amounts of up to $500,000

> Baggage Delay Reimbursement - up to $100 a day, for up to three days

[PacnGoNow]

1 hour ago, Babr said:

 

When you buy insurance with CFAR, it must be purchased within 14-21 days of the initial deposit. The FCC’s used to pay for the cruise set the initial deposit date at the  time of original booking so the subsequent cruise does not qualify for CFAR coverage.  It falls outside the required time window.
 

Under normal circumstances, CFAR would cover any reason for cancellation beyond those listed in the policy.

I don’t purchase the CFAR insurance until I make final payment. So, I shouldn’t buy the CFAR, if I’m using some FCC’s as payment?

Sorry, just seems complicated.  But, I do have quite a few cruises booked.  All deposits were using CC, not FCC’s.  But, final payment may have some FCC’s.

 

TIA

[Babr]

30 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

I don’t purchase the CFAR insurance until I make final payment. So, I shouldn’t buy the CFAR, if I’m using some FCC’s as payment?

Sorry, just seems complicated.  But, I do have quite a few cruises booked.  All deposits were using CC, not FCC’s.  But, final payment may have some FCC’s.

 

TIA

Are you buying Princess insurance or third-party?

 

Since you said you don’t buy it until final payment, I’m thinking Princess. The rules are different for cruise line policies because the FCC provision is not insurance. It is a benefit provided by the cruise line. That is why you get FCC instead of cash. 

[PacnGoNow]

1 hour ago, Babr said:

Are you buying Princess insurance or third-party?

 

Since you said you don’t buy it until final payment, I’m thinking Princess. The rules are different for cruise line policies because the FCC provision is not insurance. It is a benefit provided by the cruise line. That is why you get FCC instead of cash. 

Yes, I have used PVP on cruises since the restart.  Although, isn’t it handled by AON, an insurance company?  They now have a link on their website to request FCC and you tell them which Cruise line it is for.

 

[Babr]

51 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

Yes, I have used PVP on cruises since the restart.  Although, isn’t it handled by AON, an insurance company?  They now have a link on their website to request FCC and you tell them which Cruise line it is for.

 

Claims go through AON, who administers the claim process. The policy is a hybrid with the insurance portion being underwritten by Nationwide, and the non-insurance FCC issued by Princess. AON handles this service for a number of cruise lines.

 

Once  the claim is  denied for being a non-covered reason, it is reimbursed with FCC from the cruise line. The link expedites the process for those who want FCC.

[PacnGoNow]

2 hours ago, Babr said:

Claims go through AON, who administers the claim process. The policy is a hybrid with the insurance portion being underwritten by Nationwide, and the non-insurance FCC issued by Princess. AON handles this service for a number of cruise lines.

 

Once  the claim is  denied for being a non-covered reason, it is reimbursed with FCC from the cruise line. The link expedites the process for those who want FCC.

Thank you so much for the explanation.

You’re extremely helpful.

[Samkitty1]

I purchased the Princess policy underwritten by Nationwide/ for my upcoming British Isles cruise, paid for standard was upgraded to platinum.

 Medical coverage 20K/ and medivac 75K is kind of low,  however, my medicare advantage plan  covers emergency care anywhere in the world, so there would be additional coverage there if it is needed.

 

 I dont really care about coverage for trip delay or baggage delay as we can self insure for that, but with Covid still being around, I wanted the CFAR option, and the price for the policy was reasonable 

 

This is what works for me, but everyone's situation is different. I would encourage people who shop for a policy to use the comparison tools that on line agencies provide to compare coverages and prices, and to read the policy provisions so that you understand the coverages and policy provisions

 

[PaperSniper4]

20 hours ago, llarsen said:

Update: Turns out that the CFAR would not help in our case if we needed to cancel due to our passports not arriving in time.

The reason being is that we use FCC to pay for our cruise, and the insurance company considers the initial deposit date, the date in which you first left a deposit on the trip in which you received FCC.

 

So this is another reason why I only use Steve Dasseos at TripInsuranceStore when buying insurance. If you don't know all the fine print and exclusions you will be out of luck. Leave it to an expert. He also has a lot of examples of insurance stories and information on his website and blog.

Re: your update. Was that Princess Vacation Protection CFAR or another insurance carrier?

[PaperSniper4]

19 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

I don’t purchase the CFAR insurance until I make final payment. So, I shouldn’t buy the CFAR, if I’m using some FCC’s as payment?

Sorry, just seems complicated.  But, I do have quite a few cruises booked.  All deposits were using CC, not FCC’s.  But, final payment may have some FCC’s.

 

TIA

Please don't quote me, but I believe one can purchase Princess' insurance up to the final payment date (generally 90 days prior to sailing) and be covered. Please check that out if anyone is considering getting Princess' Vacation insurance.

For other insurance companies, in my experience at least, yes, insurance must be covered "soon" after booking the trip.

 

 Doug

[PaperSniper4]

15 hours ago, Babr said:

Claims go through AON, who administers the claim process. The policy is a hybrid with the insurance portion being underwritten by Nationwide, and the non-insurance FCC issued by Princess. AON handles this service for a number of cruise lines.

 

Once  the claim is  denied for being a non-covered reason, it is reimbursed with FCC from the cruise line. The link expedites the process for those who want FCC.

This is my understanding also.

[Babr]

47 minutes ago, PaperSniper4 said:

Please don't quote me, but I believe one can purchase Princess' insurance up to the final payment date (generally 90 days prior to sailing) and be covered. Please check that out if anyone is considering getting Princess' Vacation insurance.

For other insurance companies, in my experience at least, yes, insurance must be covered "soon" after booking the trip.

 

 Doug

Third-party insurance can be purchased up to the day before departure, but you lose any time-sensitive benefits such as the pre-existing conditions waiver, CFAR, or financial default. At that point it covers medical / evacuation and a few travel benefits like trip delay or baggage.

 

There are a few policies that allow the pre-existing conditions waiver at final payment. None allow CFAR or financial default after the initial deposit window.

[llarsen]

4 hours ago, PaperSniper4 said:

Re: your update. Was that Princess Vacation Protection CFAR or another insurance carrier?

It was other insurance carrier. 

[GeezerCouple]

18 hours ago, Samkitty1 said:

I purchased the Princess policy underwritten by Nationwide/ for my upcoming British Isles cruise, paid for standard was upgraded to platinum.

 Medical coverage 20K/ and medivac 75K is kind of low,  however, my medicare advantage plan  covers emergency care anywhere in the world, so there would be additional coverage there if it is needed.

 

 I dont really care about coverage for trip delay or baggage delay as we can self insure for that, but with Covid still being around, I wanted the CFAR option, and the price for the policy was reasonable 

 

This is what works for me, but everyone's situation is different. I would encourage people who shop for a policy to use the comparison tools that on line agencies provide to compare coverages and prices, and to read the policy provisions so that you understand the coverages and policy provisions

 

 

About that "medicare advantage plan" and covering emergency care anywhere in the world...

Is there a lifetime cap on that, such as $50k?  I thought there was, but there could be some policies that are different, of course.   Just double check that it covers what you feel you need.

 

GC

[Babr]

Medicare supplement plans have lifetime limits on foreign travel benefits.Those are the ones identified by letters of the alphabet. Not all of them offer it.
 

Medicare advantage plans vary quite a bit depending on whether they are provided by former employers or purchased separately.

[GeezerCouple]

10 minutes ago, Babr said:

Medicare supplement plans have lifetime limits on foreign travel benefits.Those are the ones identified by letters of the alphabet. Not all of them offer it.
 

Medicare advantage plans vary quite a bit depending on whether they are provided by former employers or purchased separately.

 

Thanks.

We're still on "Employer" healthcare, so I haven't fully studied "what's coming next"... 🤔

Then we'll have "Medicare primary and Retiree secondary" I think.  Lots to learn, in the not-too-distant future.

Is "Medigap" one of the two you mentioned, or a different critter?

 

GC

[Babr]

28 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

Thanks.

We're still on "Employer" healthcare, so I haven't fully studied "what's coming next"... 🤔

Then we'll have "Medicare primary and Retiree secondary" I think.  Lots to learn, in the not-too-distant future.

Is "Medigap" one of the two you mentioned, or a different critter?

 

GC

Medigap is another name for a Medicare supplement plan. They are the plans sold by AARP but can be purchased elsewhere. Plan F is the most comprehensive.

 

What you are calling Retiree Secondary is probably a Medicare Advantage plan provided through your employer. 

 

 

[Samkitty1]

57 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

About that "medicare advantage plan" and covering emergency care anywhere in the world...

Is there a lifetime cap on that, such as $50k?  I thought there was, but there could be some policies that are different, of course.   Just double check that it covers what you feel you need.

 

GC

Great question! I could not find any reference to a lifetime cap of 50 in the policy documents, but just to be sure I will call and ask  

 

Lots of different policies out there and they vary a great deal from state to state and company to company. I don't understand why it needs to be so complicated, but here we are. 

 

The name of my plan is AARP Medicare Advantage Choice (PPO)  

 

Plan Coverages outside the US  are as follows for my plan: 

Urgent care: $40 copay ($0 copay for urgently needed services outside the United States) per visit

Emergency care : $90 copay ($0 copay for emergency care outside the United States) per visit

 

 

Our plan covers worldwide emergency and urgently needed services outside the United States under the following circumstances: emergency services, including emergency or urgently needed care and emergency ambulance transportation from the scene of an emergency to the nearest medical treatment facility. Transportation back to the United States from another country is not covered.

 

$0 copayment for worldwide coverage for emergency services outside of the United States. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PaperSniper4]

23 hours ago, Babr said:

Third-party insurance can be purchased up to the day before departure, but you lose any time-sensitive benefits such as the pre-existing conditions waiver, CFAR, or financial default. At that point it covers medical / evacuation and a few travel benefits like trip delay or baggage.

 

There are a few policies that allow the pre-existing conditions waiver at final payment. None allow CFAR or financial default after the initial deposit window.

That has been out experience also. And it takes an insurance attorney to wade through the legalize about "pre-conditions", so all of us over a certain age need to read them carefully.

 

 Doug