Do you buy cruise insurance?

If you do, where do you buy it from? I read a post today that makes me think we need to invest in insurance just to be safe.

Yes we buy travel insurance thru our TA. If you use the search on this site you will find several suggestions.

Always. Travel guard. $155 family of 4 on a 7 day balcony. Want to be able to get back to the states for a medical emergency first and foremost. Other coverage just extra cushion.

We use insuremytrip dot com and have always purchased travelguard. The medical evac is worth it on its own.

Have a great cruise!

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I've been lucky

Never bought it

Never needed it

I hope I've saved enuf so when something goes awry, I can deal with it.

We also use the insuremytrip dot com site. I just bought a great policy the other day and it was 100 for our family of 4. I buy it mostly for medical and medivac. But it covers our flights and many other things too! I have used this site for many years and always gotten a good price.

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Call Steve at TripInsuranceStore.com (or one of his associates).

Please CALL them, and do not rely upon the plan summaries on their website, although you might want to browse through those briefly to get an idea of what's out there, if you've never purchased travel insurance before.

They'll take time to explain the different types of coverage (medical, evacuation, cancellation, trip interruption, etc.).

Some people feel it's mainly the medical and medevac that is important, but there are other reasons to consider (what if your plan is delayed and you miss the ship's sailing, for example).

Also, does your own health insurance cover you wherever you will be traveling including ON the ship?

They have vetted several insurance companies who pay claims without hassles.

However, it's critical to understand the precise terms of your policy.

Many people who write here about problems with insurance turn out to have had something that didn't work with the terms of their policy (such as a pre-existing condition; we always pay a bit extra so that exclusion is waived - and if this sounds confusing, just ask Steve to explain).

The most critical thing is that medical/medevac insurance. Without that, the costs could be catastrophic.

GeezerCouple

We have always bought cruise insurance, usually through the cruise company we are sailing. I have looked at other sites and there are a lot out there. We have never had to use it until this past January. We were to board the Navigator of the Seas on a Sunday. The Saturday before I ended up in the ER with a medical issue. We were not able to board and had to cancel our cruise(it was to celebrate our 45th anniversary:(). RCI had all the money spent on the cruise, taxes, gratuities, excursions, soda packages etc credited back to my credit card by Wednesday of the following week. I had to get the forms from the company after we were able to get home and get them all completed etc. and faxed to them. The company sent us a check to cover all of the fares within 3 1/2 weeks of the cruise. The only money we lost was the insurance premium and the prepaid parking. It was nonrefundable. We are now looking at what we want to rebook and when. On the other side of this, a close friend of mine who never buys insurance had a similar situation., she now gets insurance for every cruise. Lesson learned. Find the policy that suits you best but don't sail without it.:)

There is a forum on CC for just this very topic. Look under "Cruise Discussion Topics" for Cruise/Travel Insurance.You will find great information and discussion there.

We'll be taking our 6th cruise soon and this is the first one we have purchased insurance for. We got on insuremytrip .com through CSA. It was about $60 for a five day cruise for 2. On out last cruise, my husband got really sick with food poisoning a few days before our cruise and we were afraid we wouldn't be able to go. Luckily, we made it, but wont ever risk not having insurance again.

I never insure the cost of the trip for cancellation or interruption.

I ALWAYS insure for medical care outside the country and emergency medical evacuation/repatriation.

Medical - yes. Evacuation to my home - yes. Anything else even including trip cancellation - I can afford the loss.

BTW - I take an annual policy and not a single trip policy.

DON

Yes! We always buy Cruise Insurance.

Like any other insurance ... hope it's not needed but good to have in case you do. ;)

LuLu

It is very much like a parachute, you feel like buying it is wasted money, until you suddenly need it. I will second GeezerCouples post about Steve and the trip insurance store. They have been really good about asking questions and listening to answers to get us the best coverage more than the best price. Price matters, until your cheapo policy starts not paying for things you thought were covered. Yes, ready the fine print, ask lots of questions but for your peace of mind, at least get medical coverage. We had to cancel a trip last year, two days before we were supposed to leave and I was glad I had it insured but it took me over two months to get paid and I only got paid that fast becuase I made a lot of phone calls and wrote a lot of emails. I won't use that site or that carrier again. Thanks to Square Mouth we are not trip insurance store customers....

It is very much like a parachute, you feel like buying it is wasted money, until you suddenly need it. I will second GeezerCouples post about Steve and the trip insurance store. They have been really good about asking questions and listening to answers to get us the best coverage more than the best price. Price matters, until your cheapo policy starts not paying for things you thought were covered. Yes, ready the fine print, ask lots of questions but for your peace of mind, at least get medical coverage. We had to cancel a trip last year, two days before we were supposed to leave and I was glad I had it insured but it took me over two months to get paid and I only got paid that fast becuase I made a lot of phone calls and wrote a lot of emails. I won't use that site or that carrier again. Thanks to Square Mouth we are not trip insurance store customers....

Mr. Click, I think you want to edit the last line. [emoji6]

It is very much like a parachute, you feel like buying it is wasted money, until you suddenly need it. I will second GeezerCouples post about Steve and the trip insurance store. They have been really good about asking questions and listening to answers to get us the best coverage more than the best price. Price matters, until your cheapo policy starts not paying for things you thought were covered. Yes, ready the fine print, ask lots of questions but for your peace of mind, at least get medical coverage. We had to cancel a trip last year, two days before we were supposed to leave and I was glad I had it insured but it took me over two months to get paid and I only got paid that fast becuase I made a lot of phone calls and wrote a lot of emails. I won't use that site or that carrier again. Thanks to Square Mouth we are not trip insurance store customers....

Yes, from other posts, we are quite sure that Mr. Click means he is *NOW* "trip insurance store customers" (not the "not" :eek:)

GeezerCouple

Call Steve at TripInsuranceStore.com (or one of his associates).

 

Please CALL them, and do not rely upon the plan summaries on their website, although you might want to browse through those briefly to get an idea of what's out there, if you've never purchased travel insurance before.

 

They'll take time to explain the different types of coverage (medical, evacuation, cancellation, trip interruption, etc.).

 

Some people feel it's mainly the medical and medevac that is important, but there are other reasons to consider (what if your plan is delayed and you miss the ship's sailing, for example).

 

Also, does your own health insurance cover you wherever you will be traveling including ON the ship?

 

They have vetted several insurance companies who pay claims without hassles.

 

However, it's critical to understand the precise terms of your policy.

Many people who write here about problems with insurance turn out to have had something that didn't work with the terms of their policy (such as a pre-existing condition; we always pay a bit extra so that exclusion is waived - and if this sounds confusing, just ask Steve to explain).

 

The most critical thing is that medical/medevac insurance. Without that, the costs could be catastrophic.

 

GeezerCouple

Anyone doubting insurance should read recent post from Splendor cruise wife.

thank you for information that a medical pre-existing could be waived. Have senior parent with a pre-existing, now maybe he can cruise with coverage.

Anyone doubting insurance should read recent post from Splendor cruise wife.

Glad to be of help.

However, please double check that on the day that the travel insurance is purchased, the traveler IS MEDICALLY ABLE TO TRAVEL.

If there is *any* question, get a letter that day from the regular physician, that the person is able to travel. Perhaps ask Steve at TripInsuranceStore.com about this, or the wording.

That's the main "gotcha" for this type of coverage.

But most people with pre-existing conditions are generally getting along just fine (taking blood pressure meds, insulin, being monitored following successful surgery, etc.).

But it's probably a good idea to make sure about this.

NOTE: Following our trip cancellation (yes, insurance!) for a medical emergency, we found out that we couldn't reschedule while he was recovering, because he did NOT have medical clearance "yet", even though we all expected that in 6 months this would all be long behind us.

This is different from if we had not just had a medical emergency, obviously.

So as soon as the doctor said DH could travel, and sure, he'd write a letter for us... we started booking a bunch of trips, and getting the insurance set up.

Later, when we made more reservations, we did not get special letters, because there was really no question about his ability to travel the day we got the insurance.

It's just something to be aware of, because that's the one reason why the waiver of pre-existing condition exclusion wouldn't work.

GeezerCouple

thank you for information that a medical pre-existing could be waived. Have senior parent with a pre-existing, now maybe he can cruise with coverage.

Anyone doubting insurance should read recent post from Splendor cruise wife.

Many cruisers/travelers have pre-existing conditions and it is very common to find travel health insurance that pays for pre-existing conditions as long as you buy the policy within prescribed time limits and meet the terms. Those terms are commonly not particularly hard to comply if you are healthy enough to travel.

Many cruisers/travelers have pre-existing conditions and it is very common to find travel health insurance that pays for pre-existing conditions as long as you buy the policy within prescribed time limits and meet the terms. Those terms are commonly not particularly hard to comply if you are healthy enough to travel.

 

To clarify, one must be "healthy enough to travel" on the specific day the travel insurance policy is started.

Importantly, it doesn't matter if you expect you "will be healthy enough to travel" when the trip dates come along in the future.

So if you are recovering from something, wait until you are fully recovered, and *then* get the travel insurance.

Better safe than sorry; travel insurance won't help if the insurer has grounds to deny a claim.

GeezerCouple

Yep, you guys are right...sometimes my fingers get way too far ahead of my brain...we are now trip insurance store customers......

To clarify, one must be "healthy enough to travel" on the specific day the travel insurance policy is started.

 

Importantly, it doesn't matter if you expect you "will be healthy enough to travel" when the trip dates come along in the future.

 

So if you are recovering from something, wait until you are fully recovered, and *then* get the travel insurance.

Better safe than sorry; travel insurance won't help if the insurer has grounds to deny a claim.

 

GeezerCouple

Yes, that is right.

Healthy enough to travel on the day you buy the insurance.

Of course, no one can know how healthy they will be on the scheduled date of travel...... that is WHY we buy insurance..... :). We buy it to protect us if we get sick or have an accident.

Call Steve at TripInsuranceStore.com (or one of his associates).

 

Please CALL them, and do not rely upon the plan summaries on their website, although you might want to browse through those briefly to get an idea of what's out there, if you've never purchased travel insurance before.

 

They'll take time to explain the different types of coverage (medical, evacuation, cancellation, trip interruption, etc.).

 

Some people feel it's mainly the medical and medevac that is important, but there are other reasons to consider (what if your plan is delayed and you miss the ship's sailing, for example).

 

Also, does your own health insurance cover you wherever you will be traveling including ON the ship?

 

They have vetted several insurance companies who pay claims without hassles.

 

However, it's critical to understand the precise terms of your policy.

Many people who write here about problems with insurance turn out to have had something that didn't work with the terms of their policy (such as a pre-existing condition; we always pay a bit extra so that exclusion is waived - and if this sounds confusing, just ask Steve to explain).

 

The most critical thing is that medical/medevac insurance. Without that, the costs could be catastrophic.

 

GeezerCouple

Simply agreeing... I found Steve easy to work with and he explained what the best policy for us was... Global Alert. I have all of my cruises now insured.

The other item I purchased was Med Jet... Not really insurance but I won't travel now without it... Think of it as AAA for your body!

~ Steve