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Travel Insurance


zoe sproodle
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In our case, the loss of deposit is less than the insurance premium, so it makes no sense for us to insure until the final balance is due. We never book early, so the risk on the deposit is kept to a minimum.

 

This year we had to cancel a cruise, so lost the deposit, but it wasn’t a P&O cruise so the deposit for two of us was £300, as opposed to insurance premium costing in excess of £3000. It makes sense for us to self insure the deposit.

 

Another point is that many insurance companies will not insure on a single trip basis until 12 months before. Many people are booking cruises 2years in advance now and not all can get an annual policy due to pre existing conditions.

 

There is no right or wrong way to do it, what is right for one is not for the next person. The main thing is to insure at the time the final balance is paid and ensure full cover for pre existing conditions.

 

Val

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In our case, the loss of deposit is less than the insurance premium, so it makes no sense for us to insure until the final balance is due. We never book early, so the risk on the deposit is kept to a minimum.

 

This year we had to cancel a cruise, so lost the deposit, but it wasn’t a P&O cruise so the deposit for two of us was £300, as opposed to insurance premium costing in excess of £3000. It makes sense for us to self insure the deposit.

 

Another point is that many insurance companies will not insure on a single trip basis until 12 months before. Many people are booking cruises 2years in advance now and not all can get an annual policy due to pre existing conditions.

 

There is no right or wrong way to do it, what is right for one is not for the next person. The main thing is to insure at the time the final balance is paid and ensure full cover for pre existing conditions.

 

Val

An insurance premium of £3000 ! I don't think we'd ever go on holiday again with a cost like that.

 

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We used to take three cruises a year, but have reduced to one because of the cost of insurance.

We book a suite, and enjoy to the full.

No cruise this year, due to my husband having major surgery followed by treatment that is still ongoing.

We worked hard and paid a lot into pensions, so we might as well spend it

 

Val

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Aviva and many other insurance companies have declined to cover us. There are very few companies who will cover cancer that has spread and those who do offer cover, charge extortionate premiums.

 

It is annoying because we only travel when we know things are stable. On one occasion one of the questions is ‘how many times have you seen your consultant in the last 12 months’. We answered two but realised afterwards that it was actually three times because we brought routine scans forward by a month to make sure all was well before taking insurance and paying the full balance. When I called to explain this, we were charged an additional £300. I argued that we were trying to prevent a claim to be told that we should not have bothered bringing the scan forward. Just make a claim if necessary.

 

Very frustrating and expensive

 

al

 

 

 

We have found GENERALI Travel Insurance to have the most liberal pre existing conditions coverage which allows for purchase at final cruise deposit. https://www.generalitravelinsurance.com/travel-resources/timing-when-to-buy-travel-insurance.html GENERALI was recommended to us by our diabetes doctor.

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We have found GENERALI Travel Insurance to have the most liberal pre existing conditions coverage which allows for purchase at final cruise deposit. https://www.generalitravelinsurance.com/travel-resources/timing-when-to-buy-travel-insurance.html GENERALI was recommended to us by our diabetes doctor.
Unfortunately of no use to us Brits, as it only insures Americans.

 

Sent from my SM-T700 using Forums mobile app

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We used to take three cruises a year, but have reduced to one because of the cost of insurance.

We book a suite, and enjoy to the full.

Val

 

Excuse the pun, but we are in the same boat!

 

We have been through 6 insurance companies over the years, and they drop you like a hot brick when report a problem! The only company that will insure will give us cover 6 months before the cruise. We have lost deposits on a couple of cruises, and when we did claim from a leading company, it took 3 months of auguring before they paid up.

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We have found GENERALI Travel Insurance to have the most liberal pre existing conditions coverage which allows for purchase at final cruise deposit. https://www.generalitravelinsurance.com/travel-resources/timing-when-to-buy-travel-insurance.html GENERALI was recommended to us by our diabetes doctor.

 

Unfortunately of no use to us Brits, as it only insures Americans.

 

Sent from my SM-T700 using Forums mobile app

 

My husband used to work for Generali and you are right they don’t do travel insurance in the UK

Val

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I guess pando don't really need to know if you have insurance or not. If you chose to have no insurance...and have to cancel after final payment you will lose everything..as pando will not refund and tell you to claim on your insurance.

If you actually travel without insurance and are ill on the ship I would think they would put you off at the next port..and leave you to your own devicesite. .after they have charged their medical bill against your card.

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I'm pretty sure that P&O wouldn't refuse to treat or evacuate you if you didn't have insurance, but they would send you a bill later. And the point of these forms demanding that you have insurance and asking whose insurance it was, is (I suspect) to remove any possible defence of "I didn't know, you never told me" from anyone who would rather not pay the bill.

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Have just tried an Insurance Comparison Web site - out of interest as we are, at the moment, happy with our insurance, to be told that no company will offer us an annual policy because of our age and pre existing conditions. We are 67 & 66 with relatively minor conditions. We made a claim this year as my mother had to have major surgery, she wasn’t on the policy. Within reason I am happy to pay for insurance for my peace of mind but am wondering when the price will out do the fare!! I am also curious as to how a fair few of the oassengers get insurance when you listen to them talking about their ills.

One of the question I was asked when I made the claim was had I taken out insurance at the time of booking? We have an annual policy so all was fine but the reason we have the annual policy is that insurance companies seem unwilling to quote for holidays that are more than 12 months ahead. Am I missing something?

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Have just tried an Insurance Comparison Web site - out of interest as we are, at the moment, happy with our insurance, to be told that no company will offer us an annual policy because of our age and pre existing conditions. We are 67 & 66 with relatively minor conditions. We made a claim this year as my mother had to have major surgery, she wasn’t on the policy. Within reason I am happy to pay for insurance for my peace of mind but am wondering when the price will out do the fare!! I am also curious as to how a fair few of the oassengers get insurance when you listen to them talking about their ills.

One of the question I was asked when I made the claim was had I taken out insurance at the time of booking? We have an annual policy so all was fine but the reason we have the annual policy is that insurance companies seem unwilling to quote for holidays that are more than 12 months ahead. Am I missing something?

I am 66 and have pre existing conditions. I also have reasonably priced annual world wide cover including the USA, medical evacuation etc. They even reduced my premium because a reported heart condition was deemed to be so minor. I have also claimed twice, for the death of my mother preventing me cruising and for unexpected hotel expenses etc in Singapore. Mothers are classed as close family so are covered. they paid no problem, same for Singapore, Things will change when I reach 70 so I hope to have completed 50 cruises by then. The policy is through my bank account.

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I'm pretty sure that P&O wouldn't refuse to treat or evacuate you if you didn't have insurance, but they would send you a bill later. And the point of these forms demanding that you have insurance and asking whose insurance it was, is (I suspect) to remove any possible defence of "I didn't know, you never told me" from anyone who would rather not pay the bill.

 

Wouldn’t need to send you a bill, they would simply add the charges to your registered credit card.

 

David

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Wouldn’t need to send you a bill, they would simply add the charges to your registered credit card.

 

David

 

For the ships medical facilities, this is added to your onboard account. The ship will not charge directly to your insurers. You have to claim this back when you return to the UK. I had a bill for £1200 which we paid and then claimed back from insurers.

P&O gave us a letter stating that if it was a problem to cover this on your registered credit card, you could either present another credit card or see the purser to arrange how you will pay it upon your return. I think they give you something like 3 weeks to raise the money.

 

Other costs like helicopter evacuation or ship diverting would be far in excess of the limit of most people’s credit cards. Probably in excess of £30,000. Not sure how this is handled if you don’t have insurance, but rest assured you will have to pay.

 

Val

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I repeat. Our insurance cover DOES cover my wife’s pre existing condition and is a small fraction of what some people seem to be paying. Admittedly, we are in our 50’s and I know that insurance premiums rocket when you are 70+ (for obvious reasons), but I also know that insurance premiums vary wildly for the same cover. It is quite common to find insurers who will charge up to 5 times or more than the price of another provider for identical cover. Do shop around. You do not need expensive bespoke cruise insurance if you find an insurer who does not exclude cruises from their regular cover. If in doubt, do as I did and call them and talk through worst case cruise scenarios (helicopter evacuation, ship diversion, procedures in ships medical centre etc) to reassure yourself that they are covered.

 

Yes totally agree. My husband is nearly 80 and has atrial fibrillation and high BP. We have done really well with Insure and Go and for our next cruise we are doing single trip with All Clear and it's £109 for both of us. It's a fraction of the cost of the cruise.

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