Trip Insurance - OceaniaCare

I've booked a cruise for the fall and I was shocked at the price of the OceaniaCare trip insurance. I bought trip insurance on Royal Caribbean last summer and it was around 6% of the cost of the cruise. Oceania wants 13% for the same coverage. That seems a bit steep to me.

I've looked at some third party insurers and they are running around 8%. Does anyone use OceaniaCare or do you use 3rd party insurance? Is third party insurance safe? Any words of wisdom here? Thanks

We use tripinsurancestore.com.

Very good website compares many options and several insurance carriers. Have used them many times and no problems.

I use a Canadian Insurance company

You have pick the insurance that works for what you need

Some are Primary & some are secondary policies

Read the fine print

We use tripinsurancestore.com.

Very good website compares many options and several insurance carriers. Have used them many times and no problems.

We always buy our travel insurance from TripInsuranceStore.com, too.

They can help you decide what types of coverage you might want/need for each trip, and they don't "oversell" (a nice surprise).

But CALL them; don't just read the online policy summaries.

The fine print/details *matter*.

The two main types of coverage are travel costs (cancellation/trip interruption, getting sick prior to travel, etc. - and this might include family) and medical costs/evacuation while traveling.

They can help you sort through what coverage you might already have, and what you might want to add (or not).

We've also had some claims, and there was no funny business when the insurance was actually needed and used.

You might also want to post questions or just do some reading on the Travel Insurance sub-forum of CruiseCritic:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=635

You'll find a wide variety of experiences there, and many of those are not restricted to any single cruise line or type of trip.

I've booked a cruise for the fall and I was shocked at the price of the OceaniaCare trip insurance. I bought trip insurance on Royal Caribbean last summer and it was around 6% of the cost of the cruise. Oceania wants 13% for the same coverage. That seems a bit steep to me.

 

 

 

I've looked at some third party insurers and they are running around 8%. Does anyone use OceaniaCare or do you use 3rd party insurance? Is third party insurance safe? Any words of wisdom here? Thanks

Why would you buy insurance from a business that may be the subject of your potential claim?

Take a look at a combination travel/med/evac policy from Travelex (e.g., their Select Traveler package). Travelex is one of the very few "direct pay" insurers. Figure a premium of about 10% of the cruise cost. Use travel-centric credit card (e.g., United Explorer Visa) for purchase (and, therefore, insurance of air tix, pre/post hotel, etc.)

When Renaissance went bankrupt it became obviously clear that you should NEVER buy insurance from the cruiseline. Another good source for travel insurance is http://www.insuremytrip.com.

I have read many reports that say don't buy insurance from your carrier.

It's not so much a matter of price (although certainly your experience shows that can be a factor) but the fact that you won't be insured in case the line should go bankrupt. It's probably highly unlikely that the major carriers would ... but you never know!

Also, International Travel News (itn.com) has a regular insurance article.

Mura

Thanks to all for your advice. This has been very helpful

I use Allianz because they have a policy that covers pre-existing conditions with no need to purchase until final payment. I filed a claim recently for using the ship's Doctor; it was all done online and I was sent a check promptly.

Harry

I agree with Mura.

We were booked on a Renaissance cruise scheduled to leave 3 days after they went belly up. Visa refunded all of our money, so we didn't need to file an insurance claim, but I suspect that cruise line insurance wouldn't have helped.

We also like insuremytrip and have found the reps to be helpful and knowledgeable when I called with questions.

I've booked a cruise for the fall and I was shocked at the price of the OceaniaCare trip insurance. I bought trip insurance on Royal Caribbean last summer and it was around 6% of the cost of the cruise. Oceania wants 13% for the same coverage. That seems a bit steep to me.

 

 

 

I've looked at some third party insurers and they are running around 8%. Does anyone use OceaniaCare or do you use 3rd party insurance? Is third party insurance safe? Any words of wisdom here? Thanks

We have been buying our insurance with the Allianz. However we only purchase the medical coverage. We have decided not to buy the trip cancellation coverage, but just the medical. The medical portion of the coverage is very reasonable. You can go on line to the Allianz or your travel agent. Recently we had 2 claims while on 2 cruises, the Allianz paid the claims within 3 weeks.

We have been buying our insurance with the Allianz. However we only purchase the medical coverage. We have decided not to buy the trip cancellation coverage, but just the medical. The medical portion of the coverage is very reasonable. You can go on line to the Allianz or your travel agent. Recently we had 2 claims while on 2 cruises, the Allianz paid the claims within 3 weeks.

If you purchase your cruise using Chase Sapphire preferred CC or several other cards trip cancellation insurance is covered up to $10,000 per person. Also , you get 2-1 points on travel. Medical is not covered. There are a couple of lengthy threads on trip insurance if you type in "trip insurance" in the search option.

Richard

If you purchase your cruise using Chase Sapphire preferred CC or several other cards trip cancellation insurance is covered up to $10,000 per person. Also , you get 2-1 points on travel. Medical is not covered. There are a couple of lengthy threads on trip insurance if you type in "trip insurance" in the search option.

Richard

True, but keep in mind that Chase Sapphire does not cover pre existing conditions. I am not sure what pre existing means.

Pre-existing MAY change from insurance company to insurance company, so you need to be sure you know the definition. With our last company (which reimbursed us for last minute cancellation of a cruise with a pre-existing condition) it was a condition diagnosed within the past 6 months. If you had a condition in the past that is no longer a problem, this would not be a concern.

In my husband's case, he had glaucoma surgery. He has had glaucoma for many years. So it was clearly pre-existing. But if he had only recently been diagnosed, it would still have been pre-existing.

Read the rules carefully!

Mura

Actually, a pre-existing condition is something diagnosed OR a change to a longstanding issue within the "look back period" (e.g., 6 months) before you purchase the insurance.

So if you've had an issue for many years and it remains unchanged during the "look back" period before you purchase the insurance, a waiver of pre-existing conditions is not a crucial requirement. If that longstanding condition causes you problems DURING the cruise, you're covered.

However, if something "new" happens to you during the "look back period" (i.e., a new diagnosis) or you experience certain complications related to a longstanding issue (in existence before the "look back period"), it may be interpreted as a "pre-existing condition" identified during the "look back period" for the purposes of travel insurance.

In essence then, if you learn that you REQUIRE unavoidable surgery during the "look back period" and it is related to a new diagnosis, you better have a "waiver of pre-existing conditions" (usually available if you purchase the insurance within the company's required time span immediately following your cruise deposit payment).

A bit more of a gray area is that same surgery related to a longstanding issue. Complications from an ELECTIVE (not emergency or otherwise required to maintain your health) surgery might require a "waiver of pre-existing conditions" since it may be considered apart and even unrelated from that longstanding condition that prompted your decision to get the surgery before the cruise rather than after it.

In any case, to avoid any confusion, it is always a best practice to comply with any insurer requirements for a "waiver of pre-existing conditions."

As several have pointed out you need to be very careful and read the policies before purchasing. Another "trap" some insurers use on the pre existing conditions clause is that the you must purchase the policy to cover the entire cost of your cruise. Travelguard is an example of such an insurer.

A nice option for more affordable travel insurance is the website square mouth.com - you can select the type of insurance you want and get multiple bids.

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A nice option for more affordable travel insurance is the website square mouth.com - you can select the type of insurance you want and get multiple bids.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

How easy a claim is paid is another important concern.

There have been some recent problems reported about policies from them.