HAL insurance question

Hello. I have a question. I'm in the process of booking a cruise and I was told recently that insurance did not need to be added to a reservation until just before final payment is due, can someone please verify that?

Thank you!

Hello. I have a question. I'm in the process of booking a cruise and I was told recently that insurance did not need to be added to a reservation until just before final payment is due, can someone please verify that?

 

Thank you!

That is true.

Our TA buys HAL's insurance 1 day before final payment. Reason -- you can cancel a cruise up to that time without losing any money -- meaning no penalties. We also book refundable deposits.

Thank you for the replies, your most kind. As far as refundable deposits, that is my next step, because I don't remember seeing it anywhere on the courtesy hold confirmation. And it's next to impossible getting ahold of my PCC during a holiday week, but I will do some digging over the long weekend.

Best Regards,

Atexsix

A few thoughts from one who does not buy trip insurance. When it comes to medical insurance, unless you purchase it shortly after booking (usually within a few days) your insurance will not cover preexisting conditions. This is not an issue with healthy folks...but if one has some medical issues it can be a big problem in the event of a related medical problem during the cruise.

Hank

We use a TA whom we have known for over 26 years. We are able to call her any time -- even at home. Thus she can take care of any problems that come up.

We are older and do believe in insurances. Have had to use HAL's insurance a couple of times when we had to cancel a cruise when I fell and broke my wrist in 2 places just 4 days before the cruise for instance.

We also book health insurance as Medicare and Security Blue do not cover us when we out of the states. And what we buy does cover pre-existing conditions.

Hello. I have a question. I'm in the process of booking a cruise and I was told recently that insurance did not need to be added to a reservation until just before final payment is due, can someone please verify that?

 

Thank you!

Let’s confirm you are talking about HAL’s plan, right?

Because if you are considering or planning to go outside HAL, you may have much tighter deadlines (like days or a few weeks) if you want cancel for any reason or a preexisting condition waiver.

A few thoughts from one who does not buy trip insurance. When it comes to medical insurance, unless you purchase it shortly after booking (usually within a few days) your insurance will not cover preexisting conditions. This is not an issue with healthy folks...but if one has some medical issues it can be a big problem in the event of a related medical problem during the cruise.

 

Hank

There are a few (I hesitate to say "many" but we don't have trouble finding them) independent insurers who will cover preexisting conditions when the insurance is bought before 24 hours after final payment. One that we've used a few times is CSA Travel Protection, via InsureMyTrip.

There are a few (I hesitate to say "many" but we don't have trouble finding them) independent insurers who will cover preexisting conditions when the insurance is bought before 24 hours after final payment. One that we've used a few times is CSA Travel Protection, via InsureMyTrip.

Love CSA :) and didn't realize they would do that. In forty years of cruising (more than a 100 cruises) we have only bought trip insurance one time....when we had very sick in-laws. That one time, we bought CSA insurance (via insuremytrip.com) because we had real concerns...which turned out to be well founded since my Mother-in-Law became very ill right before the cruise (and passed away when we would have been on the cruise). We canceled and got a complete refund from CSA. Ironically, we have never bought trip insurance for another trip and are now over $100,000 ahead of the game because of all the money we have saved by not buying insurance. But, as we always preach, folks need to look at their own situation and do what best meets their own needs and risk tolerance.

And before somebody chimes in....we do purchase some excellent annual travel medical insurance (which insures all of our trips for an entire year). And that policy costs very little...when compared to cancellation policies and has higher medical limits then most.

Hank

Yes, I was talking about HAL's plan and not a 3rd party.

Thanks for all the great info.

Love CSA :) and didn't realize they would do that. In forty years of cruising (more than a 100 cruises) we have only bought trip insurance one time....when we had very sick in-laws. That one time, we bought CSA insurance (via insuremytrip.com) because we had real concerns...which turned out to be well founded since my Mother-in-Law became very ill right before the cruise (and passed away when we would have been on the cruise). We canceled and got a complete refund from CSA. Ironically, we have never bought trip insurance for another trip and are now over $100,000 ahead of the game because of all the money we have saved by not buying insurance. But, as we always preach, folks need to look at their own situation and do what best meets their own needs and risk tolerance.

 

And before somebody chimes in....we do purchase some excellent annual travel medical insurance (which insures all of our trips for an entire year). And that policy costs very little...when compared to cancellation policies and has higher medical limits then most.

 

Hank

Can you share the name of that policy with us? And does it cover cancellation for any reason?

Can you share the name of that policy with us? And does it cover cancellation for any reason?

The annual policy we have is issued by GeoBlue. It gives us $250,000 (drops to $100,000 at age 70) of Major Med (just about everything with a $50 deductable) and $500,000 of emergency medical evacuation. Our particular policy (available to residents of most states) covers the first 70 days of each and every trip we take (outside the USA) for an entire year. The GeoBlue policy does not include any cancellation coverage. The annual premium is $460.....which covers both DW and myself.

We recently obtained a Chase Sapphire Reserve card...since that gives us $10,000 of cancellation insurance ($20,000 if you split the trip cost among two cards).

I will be honest and say that DW and I traditionally do not care about cancellation insurance (we are content to self-insure that limited risk). But having worked in the Medical Insurance industry for decades, I am very cautious about insuring medical risk (unlike trip cancellation.,,,your medical risk in an unlimited liability).

I want to be very clear that we recommend that every cruiser evaluate their own situation (and risk tolerance) and find the policy that best meets their personal needs/wants. What works for me...may not work for you, etc etc. There are numerous places to look at insurance options including online sites like insuremytrip.com and squaremouth.com. Many on CC also recommend the Trip Insurance Store (especially Steve)...although we have never personally used that agency.

And finally I will add that I am not a big fan of the policies sold by most cruise lines (including HAL) because of their inadequate medical coverage limits. We would only consider a cruise line policy as a last option....if nothing else was available....which can often be the case for the older seniors (over 80 or 85).

Hank

The annual policy we have is issued by GeoBlue. It gives us $250,000 (drops to $100,000 at age 70) of Major Med (just about everything with a $50 deductable) and $500,000 of emergency medical evacuation. Our particular policy (available to residents of most states) covers the first 70 days of each and every trip we take (outside the USA) for an entire year. The GeoBlue policy does not include any cancellation coverage. The annual premium is $460.....which covers both DW and myself.

 

We recently obtained a Chase Sapphire Reserve card...since that gives us $10,000 of cancellation insurance ($20,000 if you split the trip cost among two cards).

 

I will be honest and say that DW and I traditionally do not care about cancellation insurance (we are content to self-insure that limited risk). But having worked in the Medical Insurance industry for decades, I am very cautious about insuring medical risk (unlike trip cancellation.,,,your medical risk in an unlimited liability).

 

I want to be very clear that we recommend that every cruiser evaluate their own situation (and risk tolerance) and find the policy that best meets their personal needs/wants. What works for me...may not work for you, etc etc. There are numerous places to look at insurance options including online sites like insuremytrip.com and squaremouth.com. Many on CC also recommend the Trip Insurance Store (especially Steve)...although we have never personally used that agency.

 

And finally I will add that I am not a big fan of the policies sold by most cruise lines (including HAL) because of their inadequate medical coverage limits. We would only consider a cruise line policy as a last option....if nothing else was available....which can often be the case for the older seniors (over 80 or 85).

 

Hank

I agree that the necessity for insurance depends on one's individual needs. In our case, because we have the same good medical coverage world-wide as we do at home,so we usually need only a good med-jet evacuation policy. We also have self-insured several times but are unwilling to do so on our future 2018 Grand Asia. $40+K is not something I want to risk, so HAL's Cancellation policy is perfect for us. I have checked other cancel-for-any reason policies though some of the sites that you mentioned, but none could beat HAL's. Now that our feline companion has crossed the Rainbow Bridge, however, we may not need that type of policy for other cruises.