Insurance other than Princess

[AVCruzers]

We usually buy the Princess insurance but for some reason neglected to buy it and now too late to add it.  I would like suggestion of company.  Thanks in advance.  We have Medicare which would help once we get to Hawaii but concerned about sea days.  We do have MASA as medical transportation.

[JF - retired RRT]

We started cruising in our late 60s. One of the first things that I learned is that when you're in the "older" demographic the cost soars.

We get Princess insurance for that reason.

But, to sort of answer your question...here's a link from a Google search for "cruise insurance": https://www.travelinsurance.com/cruise-insurance/?utm_source=pap&a_aid=6501d6f777a6e&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAkp6tBhB5EiwANTCx1Bk0SSE6zmJvAYzsUnHI_x1dLKDiuYWbBZf9_3jxjhrJO862RuEZiBoCUdAQAvD_BwE

[LynnSD]

We now buy a yearly travel policy through Allianz.    When we went to Europe regularly I also bought medjet as a “just in case…”

I tend to be over-cautious!

[Thrak]

We also buy Medjet Assist. It's inexpensive and a good safety net. If we ever have to be admitted to a hospital they will fly us home to our local hospital at no charge - either commercially with an attendant if possible or else in a fully medically equipped private jet with attending physicians.

 

I've seen many other posts by folks who use Allianz and I have had folks recommend Insure My Trip, and  Travel Insured International as well.

[luv2kroooz]

Insuremytrip (linked in above post) is a great resource. There is also a great forum right here on cc. Insurance can be very confusing. It is important to understand exactly what is and isn't covered so that in the unfortunate situation where a claim is filed, there won't be any surprises.

Edited January 17 by luv2kroooz

[Wishing on a star]

If you are not past final payment, one of the broadest and best door-to-door cruise specific coverages is thru Nationwide.  I do not think Princess covers as much as this one does.  Not just a refund or FCC for the cruise fare.

[capriccio]

We've use The Trip Insurance Store at www.tripinsurancestore.com.  Don't be put off by the very basic website.  Read through it, do a comparison of recommended companies, and then give them a call.  Steve, the owner, and his staff are very knowledgeable and will ask you lots of questions to help determine which is the best policy for your specific circumstances.  Annually Steve takes questions on the Cruise/Travel Insurance board.

[coopco]

In the past, I always bought travel insurance through the affiliate of our car/home owner insurance but during the pandemic, I had a bad experience of actually needing the insurance when Princess cancelled our cruise 2 days before departure and the cruise was actually the transport to the second part of our vacation and the insurance company tried to tell me my claim wasn’t covered because a cruise line isn’t a “common carrier”. So after the pandemic, I purchased insurance through Princess because they can’t tell me their services aren’t covered. When I read through the policy, the medical evacuation coverage was way low, which concerned me, especially for international travel. Since you have supplemental coverage for med evac, that is not a concern for you. The other coverage seemed good from my evaluation and the price was reasonable so my next two cruises are covered by Princess, but beyond that, I’ve gone back to my previous insurer since they did eventually pay out my entire claim and they have much better med evac coverage for a reasonable price.

[DCThunder]

If you are a member of the big warehouse store that also has a travel agency, you can purchase travel insurance through a Zurich Insurance subsidiary called Cover-More.  You can do this even if you don't book through the warehouse store TA. 

 

Cost is 6.5% of the insured amount, and 5% of insured amount if you booked through the warehouse store TA.  Policy coverage is better than Princess and is usually less costly, even if you have the "platinum coverage for standard price" due to Princess status.  There doesn't appear to be an age cut off, although the benefits are reduced somewhat after a certain age. 

 

You might want to check them out if you're a member.

[eclue]

We never purchase insurance from Princess. it is not worth it. We use Squaremouth .com and can find multiple policies with different limitations, coverages,etc. It gives you much better coverage for a lesser price.

[WisCruiser2]

1 hour ago, DCThunder said:

If you are a member of the big warehouse store that also has a travel agency, you can purchase travel insurance through a Zurich Insurance subsidiary called Cover-More.  You can do this even if you don't book through the warehouse store TA. 

 

Cost is 6.5% of the insured amount, and 5% of insured amount if you booked through the warehouse store TA.  Policy coverage is better than Princess and is usually less costly, even if you have the "platinum coverage for standard price" due to Princess status.  There doesn't appear to be an age cut off, although the benefits are reduced somewhat after a certain age. 

 

You might want to check them out if you're a member.

Does it have "cancel for any reason" coverage?

[cr8tiv1]

My friend purchased insurance from Princess and an additional independent company since friend only has Medicare that doesn't cover outside of the country.

 

When she submitted a claim through the third party (not Medicare/not Princess), she was only reimbursed the difference between what OBC covered and what she was charged.  Was told that since Princess used OBC first, friend only had $xxx out of pocket.  She did not attempt to claim Princess first.  And did not try to resubmit claim to AON.

 

I on the other hand, filed through medicare, my secondary insurance, and then AON.  Medicare denied (out of country), secondary paid 100% medical costs, and AON (Princess) paid for my $28 medical history record.

 

When looking into an outside plan, be sure it covers "cancel for any reason".  Age also plays a factor.

[chisoxfan]

Our insurance is typically pretty cheap. Coverage through Chase Sapphire which has trip cancellation to 10k.

Nice small print is that you need only to pay for part of the cruise with this card. We used to have

Reserve card which also included 100k evacuation. Personally I feel evacuation is critical insurance as the costs can be so unpredictable so we now purchase separate evacuation (typically bundled with secondary medical) . On our upcoming 7night Carib found 150k evac, for 17 bucks from

reputable firm. Square Mouth and Insure Your trip good sites. Key is really just buying what you need and using CC coverages which can be liberal and free. 

[kokopelli-az]

For anyone who follows consumer expert Clark Howard, you might be interested in reading his take on insurance.    Click on the link in his rule #1. 

 

https://clark.com/personal-finance-credit/never-not-ever-money-rules/

[DCThunder]

3 hours ago, WisCruiser2 said:

Does it have "cancel for any reason" coverage?

Yes.

[kokopelli-az]

3 hours ago, WisCruiser2 said:

Does it have "cancel for any reason" coverage?

I have found that most of the "cancel for any reason" insurance is only available if you buy the policy within a certain number of days from your initial payment. 

[chisoxfan]

53 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

My friend purchased insurance from Princess and an additional independent company since friend only has Medicare that doesn't cover outside of the country.

 

When she submitted a claim through the third party (not Medicare/not Princess), she was only reimbursed the difference between what OBC covered and what she was charged.  Was told that since Princess used OBC first, friend only had $xxx out of pocket.  She did not attempt to claim Princess first.  And did not try to resubmit claim to AON.

 

I on the other hand, filed through medicare, my secondary insurance, and then AON.  Medicare denied (out of country), secondary paid 100% medical costs, and AON (Princess) paid for my $28 medical history record.

 

When looking into an outside plan, be sure it covers "cancel for any reason".  Age also plays a factor.

Everyone has different needs. I would question 'cancel for any reason' because it is so expensive and typically only gives you future cruise credit (when purchased through cruise line). These policies typically also must be paid at time of booking. Insurance (IMHO) should protect from significant financial trauma. If I loose several grand on Caribbean cruise I won't be thrilled but it isn't going to break me... a 75k evacuation would be painful.