When to purchase trip insurance?

[bgyoshi]

Hello! Booked a Greece/Italy cruise for August 2024 for 5 people (husband, myself, 2 kids, and my mother) with RCL. Haven't purchased flights yet. We're looking to purchase travel insurance for two reasons. 1 - recoup some cost in case we have to cancel (i.e. sickness, but we're all relatively healthy, no pre-existing conditions), as it's not a cheap vacation. 2 - in case of medical/evacuation needs during cruise.

My question is, when should we purchase the insurance? I'm shopping plans now but it ask how much the trip costs, which I don't know yet since I haven't made all the purchases (flights, hotel, excursions, etc). Should I purchase it now or after final payment? Final payment is April 2024.  and RCL refunds certain amounts depending how many days is cruise.  But also want to make sure flights will be covered as well if we have to cancel last minute. 

Thank you!

[klfrodo]

1 hour ago, bgyoshi said:

Hello! Booked a Greece/Italy cruise for August 2024 for 5 people (husband, myself, 2 kids, and my mother)

Nobody has pre-existing conditions? Not even any family members not traveling with you should they get sick or worse and you need to cancel?  See this page for help and/or definition Get the Best Trip Insurance Details, Advice (tripinsurancestore.com)

 

We always purchase insurance from Steve within a couple of day of initial deposit. We put the lowest amount of trip cost of $500 just to get the wheels rolling. Then, as time goes buy we call Steve and increase as needed. I also make a spreadsheet for my own records with date of purchase, to whom, how much, is it refundable, which credit card did I use, and room for a note regarding the purchase. This way, I have a complete record if I need to file a claim. I know which CC I used and filter the account for that statement showing the purchase.

[bgyoshi]

16 minutes ago, klfrodo said:

Nobody has pre-existing conditions? Not even any family members not traveling with you should they get sick or worse and you need to cancel?  See this page for help and/or definition Get the Best Trip Insurance Details, Advice (tripinsurancestore.com)

 

We always purchase insurance from Steve within a couple of day of initial deposit. We put the lowest amount of trip cost of $500 just to get the wheels rolling. Then, as time goes buy we call Steve and increase as needed. I also make a spreadsheet for my own records with date of purchase, to whom, how much, is it refundable, which credit card did I use, and room for a note regarding the purchase. This way, I have a complete record if I need to file a claim. I know which CC I used and filter the account for that statement showing the purchase.

 

Thanks for the reference!  Honestly didn't' think about non-traveling family members getting sick.  Granted I have a pretty small family so there's only a handful of ppl I'd cancel a vacation for haha. Will check out the webpage.  Thanks!

[Smitheroo]

On 11/3/2023 at 4:57 PM, klfrodo said:

Nobody has pre-existing conditions? Not even any family members not traveling with you should they get sick or worse and you need to cancel?  See this page for help and/or definition Get the Best Trip Insurance Details, Advice (tripinsurancestore.com)

 

We always purchase insurance from Steve within a couple of day of initial deposit. We put the lowest amount of trip cost of $500 just to get the wheels rolling. Then, as time goes buy we call Steve and increase as needed. I also make a spreadsheet for my own records with date of purchase, to whom, how much, is it refundable, which credit card did I use, and room for a note regarding the purchase. This way, I have a complete record if I need to file a claim. I know which CC I used and filter the account for that statement showing the purchase.

One thing I learned doing this insurance research that I didnt previously know is the definition of "pre-existing condition" according to travel insurance.  Having a chronic stable medical issue (like hypertension or even diabetes if it has been stable) is not a pre-existing condition for travel insurance.  a pre-existing condition is an issue that changes in some way  during what they call the "lookback period" (often 60 days, others up to 180 days) The shorter the lookback period the better the deal. So, yes, its very possible that no one in the group has a "pre-existing condition" according to travel insurance rules if they have had no changes in or received medical advice about their chronic health issue.