Missed port insurance

[JOHNLS]

BouncingWheel, may I ask which bank you have your current cover with as it may be Barclays which could affect my future plans.

Thanks in advance

 

[kruzseeka]

Have just renewed our cover with Aviva - we travel early June and our policy renewal is 30.05.24 so I was anxious to know where we stood in case I had to start shopping around.

 

In a nutshell - cover done - so far not cost me as much as with UK Insurance but will have to buy additional cruise cover for future cruises (probably get two more out of it before I'm paying more than before - with riders see below). 

 

I'll share my experience with as many details as I was able to gather.  

 

Rang yesterday - difficult to find how to get through.  Didn't want to fill in the online form for medical screening in case I shot myself in the foot - I'd much rather explain to an agent and be able to clarify details and be sure they're correct.  Eventually got put through by UK Insurance to Aviva and was promised a call back at specified time which didn't happen.  But I did get a phone number for Aviva Flexplus insurance which i rang this morning:  0345 878 5445 (long wait for connection but at least I got to speak to an agent who was very helpful - guess they're a bit inundated at the moment with people like me!)

 

Both covered - no age extension which we already knew about (saving of £69)

Medical screening: relies heavily on medical situation in the last 12 months (investigations, hospitalisation, treatment etc) and declaration of conditions/medications etc.  We were covered at no extra cost (as was the case with UK Insurance - although we have had to pay a premium in the past when medical issues were current.)  Of course there was the standard not travelling against medical advice. 

 

Cruise upgrade:

Covers missed ports @ £150 p.p. per missed port

Covers cabin confinement on medical grounds @ £150 p.p. per day up to a max of £1500

 

Now this is where it gets a bit less clear..............apparently the cost of cruise cover isn't standard, it has to be quoted for and is subject to variables like length of the cruise, destinations and multiple countries which I suppose makes sense - some ports do have more misses than others and may constitute more risk????    

He didn't quiz me extensively (i.e. every port) but wanted to know each country we were visiting.  

 

Don't know how the previous add-on worked for World Cruises.  £40 for the whole period or per sector?  But this could be much more methinks given they want to pin down the details rather more.  

 

Bottom line - £40 to cover us both for a 16 night trip in Europe.  So same as before except of course we will need to pay again for any subsequent trips.  We may or may not take up that option but so far are nearly £70 to the good. 

 

I think it may well reduce the uptake of the 'add-on'.  We shall think carefully about whether to bother again but we've gone with it this time.  Paid over the phone and documents to follow (saves me printing them out for P&O if they want to see them at embarkation). 

 

Think that's all I managed to glean - hope it helps.  

 

 

 

[BouncingWheel]

2 hours ago, JOHNLS said:

BouncingWheel, may I ask which bank you have your current cover with as it may be Barclays which could affect my future plans.

Thanks in advance

 

My bank cover is HSBC who are currently using an Aviva annual travel policy with my credit card and it includes cruise cover but excludes missed ports. I was told there was no way to add that onto the policy. They are ending this package now anyway but I was very interested to hear about Aviva packages included with bank deals and missed ports as I had no luck getting it.

[Selbourne]

30 minutes ago, BouncingWheel said:

My bank cover is HSBC who are currently using an Aviva annual travel policy with my credit card and it includes cruise cover but excludes missed ports. I was told there was no way to add that onto the policy. They are ending this package now anyway but I was very interested to hear about Aviva packages included with bank deals and missed ports as I had no luck getting it.

Prior to changing my insurance provider to Nationwide, I had a stand alone annual travel insurance policy direct with Aviva. They didn’t offer separate cruise cover on my policy, as they considered a cruise to be a normal holiday so, as a result, there was no missed port cover. I guess they are only offering it now as they are taking over an established scheme that already included it. 

[JOHNLS]

BouncingWheel, many thanks for your response.

[Son of Anarchy]

On 4/28/2024 at 10:43 PM, terrierjohn said:

I think the old NW missed ports cover was far too generous, so it's no wonder the new underwriters have increased the price. Especially as missed ports now seem far more common than in the past, and if it conues to increase I imagine the cost of cover will have to increase as well.

We were on Arcadia's worldie this year.  Luckily for us we had moved our holiday insurance to Nationwide.  7 missed ports in total.  We put our claim in whilst still on the cruise.  Got paid out before we even got to South Africa.  There was a bit of a glitch with the actual insurance provider, the settlement payment was for only three ports.  However following a couple of phone calls to them, the settlement for the other four ports landed within a few days.

 

I vaguely recall that someone said there was something like 950 pax on the full worldie, so if we were all with NW that would have a been payout pushing £1M for that cruise.

[gsmt47471015]

12 hours ago, Son of Anarchy said:

We were on Arcadia's worldie this year.  Luckily for us we had moved our holiday insurance to Nationwide.  7 missed ports in total.  We put our claim in whilst still on the cruise.  Got paid out before we even got to South Africa.  There was a bit of a glitch with the actual insurance provider, the settlement payment was for only three ports.  However following a couple of phone calls to them, the settlement for the other four ports landed within a few days.

 

I vaguely recall that someone said there was something like 950 pax on the full worldie, so if we were all with NW that would have a been payout pushing £1M for that cruise.

We applied for our missed ports when we arrived home and were paid out within two weeks with the full amount for the seven missed ports , well impressed with the NW policy which we only started using two years ago,  wished we had known about it years ago as our other policy did not cover missed ports ( we found this out after trying to make a claim) we then paid for the cruise cover and tried to claim when we missed ports on a later cruise , only to be told we could only claim if we had a shore excursion booked!!.

So pleased with the policy we now have and very easy to add on for things like the world and longer cruises 👍 

[terrierjohn]

44 minutes ago, gsmt47471015 said:

We applied for our missed ports when we arrived home and were paid out within two weeks with the full amount for the seven missed ports , well impressed with the NW policy which we only started using two years ago,  wished we had known about it years ago as our other policy did not cover missed ports ( we found this out after trying to make a claim) we then paid for the cruise cover and tried to claim when we missed ports on a later cruise , only to be told we could only claim if we had a shore excursion booked!!.

So pleased with the policy we now have and very easy to add on for things like the world and longer cruises 👍 

The new Aviva NW policy, charges £27 for missed port cover, but has to be paid for each cruise, and the extra charge for more than 31 days cover is significantly higher than  the old UK Isurance one.

Edited May 26 by terrierjohn

[gsmt47471015]

1 hour ago, terrierjohn said:

The new Aviva NW policy, charges £27 for missed port cover, but has to be paid for each cruise, and the extra charge for more than 31 days cover is significantly higher than  the old UK Isurance one.

Thanks ,we will be applying for the extended cover shortly for our January 2025 65 night cruise as we have been informed if we renew before the expiry date of our world extension we will receive the same charges as last year , hopeful  this is information will be correct 

[Son of Anarchy]

6 minutes ago, gsmt47471015 said:

Thanks ,we will be applying for the extended cover shortly for our January 2025 65 night cruise as we have been informed if we renew before the expiry date of our world extension we will receive the same charges as last year , hopeful  this is information will be correct 

Interesting.  We're doing a Ventura TA next year, so would be good to renew without paying the extra £27 per cruise (and possibly pp) for missed port cover.  Wait & see at renewal time.

[kruzseeka]

2 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

The new Aviva NW policy, charges £27 for missed port cover, but has to be paid for each cruise, and the extra charge for more than 31 days cover is significantly higher than  the old UK Isurance one.

The amount they charge is not fixed.  We paid £40.    As  mentioned in my post #27 it is quoted case by case and is based on destinations, cruise length and if involving multiple countries - at least that's what I was told.  You got a good price for yours. 

(Does yours cover cabin confinement too?) 

Edited May 26 by kruzseeka

[Winifred 22]

9 minutes ago, kruzseeka said:

The amount they charge is not fixed.  We paid £40.    As  mentioned in my post #27 it is quoted case by case and is based on destinations, cruise length and if involving multiple countries - at least that's what I was told.  You got a good price for yours. 

(Does yours cover cabin confinement too?) 

Thank you . I can’t see it will be value money for me. I renew in October and I think I will end up just taking out an annual policy elsewhere when I factor in the £13 a month for the account and potentially £27 to £40 per cruise it could be more expensive.

[david63]

21 minutes ago, Winifred 22 said:

Thank you . I can’t see it will be value money for me. I renew in October and I think I will end up just taking out an annual policy elsewhere when I factor in the £13 a month for the account and potentially £27 to £40 per cruise it could be more expensive.

That is dependant on personal circumstances such as age and medical conditions. I can save well over £1000 compared to an annual insurance policy.

[kruzseeka]

1 hour ago, Winifred 22 said:

Thank you . I can’t see it will be value money for me. I renew in October and I think I will end up just taking out an annual policy elsewhere when I factor in the £13 a month for the account and potentially £27 to £40 per cruise it could be more expensive.

Of course you have no need to take out the additional cruise cover for missed ports/cabin confinement.  You are covered by the travel insurance to cruise with associated medical, repatriation cover etc which you would expect from an insurance policy. 

 

The cruise add-on is an optional extra and you have absolutely no need to pay that element should you feel it unnecessary.   I'd be surprised if travel insurance costing less would give that cover - but would be pleased to know if so.  

[Winifred 22]

8 minutes ago, kruzseeka said:

Of course you have no need to take out the additional cruise cover for missed ports/cabin confinement.  You are covered by the travel insurance to cruise with associated medical, repatriation cover etc which you would expect from an insurance policy. 

 

The cruise add-on is an optional extra and you have absolutely no need to pay that element should you feel it unnecessary.   I'd be surprised if travel insurance costing less would give that cover - but would be pleased to know if so.  

You have misunderstood. I previously always took the £40 a year extra cruise cover for missed ports etc. If now it’s going to be £27 or more extra per cruise  based on last year and   what I have booked it is going to be around extra £160 + a year just for extra cruise cover plus the £150 for the bank account basic cover. Perhaps I am naive and will not get full annual cruise cover for less than £300 a year in which case I will stay with Nationwide and just purchase the cruise cover each cruise that I take. Having previously benefited from the returns from missed port insurance I would not consider not having it included in whatever policy I cruised with. 

[kruzseeka]

17 minutes ago, Winifred 22 said:

You have misunderstood. I previously always took the £40 a year extra cruise cover for missed ports etc. If now it’s going to be £27 or more extra per cruise  based on last year and   what I have booked it is going to be around extra £160 + a year just for extra cruise cover plus the £150 for the bank account basic cover. Perhaps I am naive and will not get full annual cruise cover for less than £300 a year in which case I will stay with Nationwide and just purchase the cruise cover each cruise that I take. Having previously benefited from the returns from missed port insurance I would not consider not having it included in whatever policy I cruised with. 

I understand.  I hope you can find a more economical product and would be pleased to know if so as we do prefer to take out the additional cruise cover too. 

 

At the moment, we've benefitted from them dropping the age extension so for now N/W still represents good value for us even if we do take on the extension cover per cruise.  

Edited May 26 by kruzseeka

[majortom10]

9 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

The new Aviva NW policy, charges £27 for missed port cover, but has to be paid for each cruise, and the extra charge for more than 31 days cover is significantly higher than  the old UK Isurance one.

Don't know who has told you £27 for missed port cover. We recently took out our new policy with Arvia at the normal £13 per month, pre existing medical cover was £40pp last year I paid £68 to UK. Now instead of annual missed port cover and cabin confinement ours for our next cruise for 14nts was also £40. The only thing I can think is perhaps the charge varies on length of cruise.

[terrierjohn]

8 hours ago, kruzseeka said:

The amount they charge is not fixed.  We paid £40.    As  mentioned in my post #27 it is quoted case by case and is based on destinations, cruise length and if involving multiple countries - at least that's what I was told.  You got a good price for yours. 

(Does yours cover cabin confinement too?) 

Not mine but a friends, and I think the cruise length was 14 days. However if the same friend is correct then we are in for a shock when it comes to extending cover above 31 days, she paid over £100 for the extra 4 days on the Jan Iona Caribbean 35 nighter.

[kruzseeka]

21 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Not mine but a friends, and I think the cruise length was 14 days. However if the same friend is correct then we are in for a shock when it comes to extending cover above 31 days, she paid over £100 for the extra 4 days on the Jan Iona Caribbean 35 nighter.

Gosh that's a hefty surcharge for 4 days!   I think we'll be seeing more details emerge as more get to the renewal stage and there will be gains and losses dependent on a variety of factors. 

 

It's not surprising really that they are charging per cruise for additional cover.  I guess the old £40 flat rate for 2/3/4 cruises in a year (and that's the same for a couple with joint account) was a steal given the more days at sea, the greater the chance of a missed port and/or cabin confinement.  And it's a very decent pay-out per day of confinement or missed port. 

 

For the moment we are very satisfied with our quote and are paying less than last year and still have almost enough in hand to pay the cruise add-on for two more cruises. 

[yorkshirephil]

3 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

Not mine but a friends, and I think the cruise length was 14 days. However if the same friend is correct then we are in for a shock when it comes to extending cover above 31 days, she paid over £100 for the extra 4 days on the Jan Iona Caribbean 35 nighter.

We have paid £32 extra to extend from 31 nights to cover the Iona 35 nighter.

[kruzseeka]

6 hours ago, yorkshirephil said:

We have paid £32 extra to extend from 31 nights to cover the Iona 35 nighter.

Well that's interesting.  It's to be hoped that any additional surcharges are consistent (like for like) and not dependent on who answers the phone.  Or did you do it on-line? 

Anomalies of this kind are a concern - If all other factors are the same (cruise length, destinations, number of ports etc).

[Gettingwarmer]

1 minute ago, kruzseeka said:

Well that's interesting.  It's to be hoped that any additional surcharges are consistent (like for like) and not dependent on who answers the phone.  Or did you do it on-line? 

Anomalies of this kind are a concern - If all other factors are the same (cruise length, destinations, number of ports etc).

It could be due to different medical conditions. 

[kruzseeka]

1 minute ago, Gettingwarmer said:

It could be due to different medical conditions. 

True.  So many factors/variables.