Death in Family Contract not Clear

We lost my Father-in-law last week. I have two cruises coming up in October both have third party insurance.

I'm reading my contracts and both state the following:

(a) Sickness, Accidental Injury or death of You, a Traveling Companion or Family Member; which results in medically imposed restrictions as certified by a Physician at the time of loss preventing your continued participation in the Trip. A Physician must advise cancellation of the Trip on or before the Scheduled Departure Date;

There is also a section "Notice of Claim" which has 20 days after a covered loss first begins.

Question is are we covered now if we cancel though reading above the placement of the first semicolon makes it seems I need a doctors note?

Also do I have only 20 days from the death to get my money back if I cancel?

We are beyond the final payment, first cruise is currently at 50% cancellation penalty and there is no air travel involved. My DW is insisting on canceling, she can't enjoy a cruise. I'm of the opinion time heals and to wait but if the 20 day restriction falls into place, I'm better off canceling and now if we are covered.

Yes I've contacted them but I have not got a straight answer, they just quote what I copied above and won't say definitively if they cover this without applying for coverage.

TIA

If I were you, I would have my wife visit her physician and have him write her a note documenting her depression/bereavement. Then send in that note along with the death certificate to the insurance company.

That is an oddly-written policy. If your F-I-L has passed away, you don't need a doctor's note about "medically imposed restrictions"; his death should be sufficient.

Can you post a link to the Description of Coverage?

In any case, as a claimant, you have a duty to minimize your loss; if you delay filing the claim, the insurance company (understandably) doesn't want your 50% penalty to turn into a 100% penalty.

(P.S. Most (all?) policies do not cover claims due to mental conditions; don't even mention your wife's grief/anxiety/depression/etc., as it's not the basis for a claim, and will totally confuse things.)

We lost my Father-in-law last week. I have two cruises coming up in October both have third party insurance.

I'm reading my contracts and both state the following:

 

(a) Sickness, Accidental Injury or death of You, a Traveling Companion or Family Member; which results in medically imposed restrictions as certified by a Physician at the time of loss preventing your continued participation in the Trip. A Physician must advise cancellation of the Trip on or before the Scheduled Departure Date;

There is also a section "Notice of Claim" which has 20 days after a covered loss first begins.

 

Question is are we covered now if we cancel though reading above the placement of the first semicolon makes it seems I need a doctors note?

Also do I have only 20 days from the death to get my money back if I cancel?

 

We are beyond the final payment, first cruise is currently at 50% cancellation penalty and there is no air travel involved. My DW is insisting on canceling, she can't enjoy a cruise. I'm of the opinion time heals and to wait but if the 20 day restriction falls into place, I'm better off canceling and now if we are covered.

 

Yes I've contacted them but I have not got a straight answer, they just quote what I copied above and won't say definitively if they cover this without applying for coverage.

 

TIA

Very sorry for your loss!

It's not quite clear what that 20 days is.

However, on another point... Make SURE that if you wait to cancel, that the insurer doesn't make the [reasonable] claim that IF you had cancelled while in 50% penalty, they wouldn't have had to pay a 100% penalty, etc.

(Is it possible that is what the 20 days is for?)

In the future, you might want to purchase travel insurance through

http://www.TripInsuranceStore.com

Steve and the others there will happily answer questions about policies that you purchased through them, or questions you have prior to deciding what/whether to purchase.

We've had quite a few policies purchased through them, with 2 insurers, and we'd have 2 claims.

Both claims were with Travel Insured, and both claims were paid with no nonsense.

For one claim, it was complicated, and Steve contacted TI and asked how we should file the claim to get it covered.

GLAD we asked him; at the time, we almost assumed it wouldn't be covered.

Good luck.

That is an oddly-written policy. If your F-I-L has passed away, you don't need a doctor's note about "medically imposed restrictions"; his death should be sufficient.

 

Can you post a link to the Description of Coverage?

 

In any case, as a claimant, you have a duty to minimize your loss; if you delay filing the claim, the insurance company (understandably) doesn't want your 50% penalty to turn into a 100% penalty.

 

(P.S. Most (all?) policies do not cover claims due to mental conditions; don't even mention your wife's grief/anxiety/depression/etc., as it's not the basis for a claim, and will totally confuse things.)

"Great minds think alike" (about that 50% possibly turning into 100% penalty)! ;)

Question for you about the bereavement.

This is July. OP's cruise is in October.

Are there any conventions (however named) about how soon the trip must occur, especially if the deceased was not going to be ON the trip?

For example, if there is a cruise 2 years away... well... never mind... at least in the USA, AFAIK, that wouldn't be any penalty time.

But for a few months away?

And it IS tricky.

One might think "I can't possible go; I can't even think about going", etc.

But after some time has passed?

One might decide to go, or even that "he would have *wanted* us to go", and after a time, that might seem to work...?

This is NOT moot for us.

MIL is going on 96...

She's still sharp as a tack (if we could be so fortunate!), and only recently - and reluctantly - started to use a walker.

But... she's almost 96...

Something to think about.

And yes, which insurer has that wording?

They are conflating "death" of a relative/companion with "medical restrictions", and those aren't at all alike.

Odd.

While I do sympathize with the OP for their loss, I doubt very much that the insurance carrier will reimburse them if they cancel a cruise 3 months out.

Ditto. It is hard to say that this would be covered with any degree of certainty, given the period of time between the passing and the sailing.

No wonder why the claims people are reading back the policy. Until a claim is filed, it may be hard to get a ruling.

We lost my Father-in-law last week. I have two cruises coming up in October both have third party insurance.

I'm reading my contracts and both state the following:

 

(a) Sickness, Accidental Injury or death of You, a Traveling Companion or Family Member; which results in medically imposed restrictions as certified by a Physician at the time of loss preventing your continued participation in the Trip. A Physician must advise cancellation of the Trip on or before the Scheduled Departure Date;

 

TIA

Since your October cruise is 3 months off, I sort of doubt that the death of your father-in-law now will cause a significant medically imposed restriction 3 months from now. Also, unless your wife is suffering from much greater than normal grief, I do not see how any reasonable physician would certify the restriction. Just remember, insurance companies try to find any reason to deny claims. However, since I am not either an insurance agent or a lawyer, what do I know.

DON

I wouldn't be surprised if this is one of those cases that ends up being decided by a third party. Is it reasonable to cancel your cruise three months prior to sailing because of a death in the family. Maybe, but I can see why the insurer might decline the claim. This is why when a claim is declined you will be given information on how to appeal the decision to a third party -- either an arbitration service of some kind or to your state's department of insurance. That's what they're there for. Personally, I would deny the claim but wouldn't be completely surprised if I was overruled.

Can you post a link to the Description of Coverage?

I uploaded the PDF but I quoted in the OP directly from page 7 with the semicolon.

Did not expect the death, who does, nor purchased the insurance for that specific reason.

I used the website recommended here on CC. I will wait a little while longer within the 20 day period (before the 27th) to make a decision to cancel with the cruise line. Maybe DW will come to terms about this or not.

Thank everyone for your input.

Lou

TTIPr2_cert_NYfulfillment.pdf

Since your October cruise is 3 months off, I sort of doubt that the death of your father-in-law now will cause a significant medically imposed restriction 3 months from now. Also, unless your wife is suffering from much greater than normal grief, I do not see how any reasonable physician would certify the restriction. Just remember, insurance companies try to find any reason to deny claims. However, since I am not either an insurance agent or a lawyer, what do I know.

 

DON

I will add to my own message - if I were the insurance company, I would deny the claim.

DON

Lou,

Two points

1. I think you may have figured your penalty period and amounts wrong. Today, Sunday, is 77 days before your Oct. 2 cruise. Penalty up to 75 days is 25%. Which means you have to act on Monday to preserve your loss limit.

2. Doctor notes, etc are only for the illness or sickness portion of the coverage, death is death. Since you are currently in penalty period, you are covered for the loss. You will have to submit a death certificate. And the decision to cancel or not for 3 months out is your choice. You don't have to, but if you do, you are in penalty period now. You have 20 days from the date of the death to start the claim, but you cannot go unto higher penalty period to do so.