Travel insurance

does everyone purchase travel insurance from the cruise line...or from another source? I just want to make sure we are covered.

We use one of these sources:

www.insuremytrip.com

www.squaremouth.com

www.quotewright.com

www.tripinsurancestore.com

It is almost always better to use one of the companies mentioned by the last poster. I understand that it might be better for the very elderly to check out the ship's insurance.

We've never purchased from the cruise line. I find their offerings very limited. We mostly want high medical and evacuation limits; not so worried about the cruise cost itself, although of course it's not great to lose that.

Our credit card covers for most cancellation/delay scenarios. I think this year we are going to buy year-long travel insurance that covers medical and evacuation.

Shop around.

Third party will tend to have higher payout limits across the board.

Cruise line will have a lower price for the elderly.

One thing I have found, if you want the medical, evac, and other coverages, but do not want to cover the cost of the cruise, some companies allow you to specific $0 for the trip cost. So the cruise/flights are not covered, but you get the other coverages. And at a very good rate. I paid $50 for 12 days recently where I wanted the medical, evac, and rental car coverage.

does everyone purchase travel insurance from the cruise line...or from another source? I just want to make sure we are covered.

This is an oversimplification but some people buy insurance from the cruise line; smart people do not buy insurance from the cruise line.

DON

You're always better off buying from a third party source - we use InsureMyTrip.com or Squaremouth.com. Better terms and you don't want to risk buying a policy that might benefit the cruiseline more........

The guideline that I've read is that your policy should not cost more than 10% of your insured trip costs unless you have special considerations (such as having to purchase cancel for any reason coverage).

I never purchase through the cruise line as the coverage is secondary. I'd rather deal with a third party insurer.

There is nothing that "everyone" does. Some people purchase insurance from the cruise line, some people purchase insurance via the recommendations of a broker, some purchase independently, some rely on a credit card policy, some knowingly self-insure, and some don't give insurance a passing thought.

The wisest course is to analyze your specific situation (risk analysis) and make your insurance choice based on what risks YOU want to have covered. Then compare policies, speak with a knowledgeable broker if you have questions or uncertainties, actually read and understand the terms and conditions and limitations of the policy you purchase.

I never purchase through the cruise line as the coverage is secondary. I'd rather deal with a third party insurer.

It's not limited to purchasing through the cruise line, I believe all but one of the third party policies that I've purchased over the years was primary, all of the others were secondary.

There is nothing that "everyone" does. Some people purchase insurance from the cruise line, some people purchase insurance via the recommendations of a broker, some purchase independently, some rely on a credit card policy, some knowingly self-insure, and some don't give insurance a passing thought.

 

The wisest course is to analyze your specific situation (risk analysis) and make your insurance choice based on what risks YOU want to have covered. Then compare policies, speak with a knowledgeable broker if you have questions or uncertainties, actually read and understand the terms and conditions and limitations of the policy you purchase.

This is the answer I'd go with.

Personally, I would not spend one dime on travel insurance. A good travel credit card includes the important stuff already in its bundle of travel perks. Cancel for any reason insurance is a silly concept to me.

I believe third party insurance comes in most handy when you have specific pre-existing condition issues. Again, ensure you read what the coverage actually is. There are so many differences.

If you travel out of the country for extended periods, or travel more than once a year, you may want to look at annual policies. We have had one for several years now. We have never bought the cruise line insurance because they're too restrictive.

We always use insuremytrip. Never would I get the insurance through the cruise line.

does everyone purchase travel insurance from the cruise line...or from another source? I just want to make sure we are covered.

Lots of first time purchasers use blanket statements like yours, assuming there is a policy out there that covers EVERYTHING. Insurance does not work that way. They explicitly list what is covered and the limits. They may explicitly list some items that are not covered. So things not in those two lists are not covered. There are lost of examples. Just one fairly simple one - Take trip delay insurance. The policy will define the delay time, if your delay is shorter, no coverage. The devil is in the details.

You will have to define what your concerns are and look for that coverage.

When it comes to insurance, we evaluate the risks and research the best options for us that are available. We keep an open mind and have no pre-conceived idea regarding cruise line or 3rd party.

Cruise Line insurance - our biggest concern is that they try to provide an inclusive package, with a little of everything - trip interruption/cancel, medical evacuation, medical insurance, etc.

Visa Cards - we use a premium card with extensive insurance benefits. However, one must read the small print as the limits on both trip insurance and medical insurance are fairly low. For medical, our card is multi-trip, but is only 15 or 30 days for each trip. Great option for short/inexpensive trips.

Pre-existing conditions are probably the most important small print to read and understand. Different providers can vary significantly on how they handle pre-existing conditions and some even provide riders for them. I note, pre-existing conditions also apply to trip insurance as well as medical insurance.

While we rarely use the cruise line insurance, for our next cruise - 2020 Viking World Cruise, we had no option. I researched insurance providers, both local and online, and nobody would provide insurance for that cost of cruise, 20 months out.

Therefore, for this particular cruise, we were stuck with the cruise line, who waive pre-existing conditions, when insurance is taken at time of booking. To account for the limited medical component of only $100K, we will also purchase separate medical insurance.

In summary, while cruise lines may rarely have the best option, they shouldn't be discounted, as you may also encounter a trip similar to ours, where the cruise line was our only option. Even our travel agent couldn't get a quote, as their broker would not cover the risk that far out.

Cancel for any reason insurance is a silly concept to me.

It may be a silly concept to you, but it wasn't for us when we had to cancel a cruise due to a sick cat.

If you travel out of the country for extended periods, or travel more than once a year, you may want to look at annual policies. We have had one for several years now. We have never bought the cruise line insurance because they're too restrictive.

+1. We have been doing that for years.

DON

Insurance is never a "one size fits all" kind of thing. Each person/family should analyze their own situation, wants, risk tolerance, etc. and then shop around for the best policy that meets their own needs. One warning about travel policies sold by cruise lines. In nearly all cases the Medical Coverage is very limited (often to only $10,000). Always keep in mind that while cancellation/trip interruption risk is pretty much limited to what you paid for the cruise, your medical liability is unlimited. Nobody goes bankrupt from a canceled trip (you were going to pay for the trip anyway) but medical bills are the #1 cause of personal bankruptcy.

Hank

You're always better off buying from a third party source - we use InsureMyTrip.com or Squaremouth.com. Better terms and you don't want to risk buying a policy that might benefit the cruiseline more........

ALWAYS is not correct.

When my parents went on a cruise at 87, the third party insurance prices were more than 5 times the RCI insurance.

It was almost as much as the cruise fare.

You have to shop around.

ANd BTW, they had to use the cruise insurance, it everything was paid promptly.

It may be a silly concept to you, but it wasn't for us when we had to cancel a cruise due to a sick cat.

Even if you use it, I'd still say it's a silly concept. On average, the premium is 10% of your vacation. On average, they give you 75% back. Unless you are a serial vacation canceler, it's not a good deal. I've never had to cancel any vacations in my life. Even if I did, I'd come out ahead eating the cost of one trip instead of paying for insurance on every one of them.

Even if you use it, I'd still say it's a silly concept. On average, the premium is 10% of your vacation. On average, they give you 75% back. Unless you are a serial vacation canceler, it's not a good deal. I've never had to cancel any vacations in my life. Even if I did, I'd come out ahead eating the cost of one trip instead of paying for insurance on every one of them.

Our risk tolerances are all different and so is the value of cruises and other holidays. Having paid a deposit of $30K for a World Cruise in 20 months, I have zero desire to self-insure. At about 6%, the premium is well below your stated 10% and pays back 100%.

Yes, we travel extensively and have had to cancel holidays for various reasons.

It may be a silly concept to you, but it wasn't for us when we had to cancel a cruise due to a sick cat.

This happened to us as well. It's a real bummer.

Unfortunately, we didn't consider that possibility when we got our third party trip insurance (Generali). We canceled so late that we'd have gotten nothing if we had opted for NCL's own coverage either. Our TA was nice enough to offer our cabin as an upgrade to someone else he represented and we got a small percentage of the trip back, but aside from that the insurance we picked didn't help us at all.

Our risk tolerances are all different and so is the value of cruises and other holidays. Having paid a deposit of $30K for a World Cruise in 20 months, I have zero desire to self-insure. At about 6%, the premium is well below your stated 10% and pays back 100%.

 

Yes, we travel extensively and have had to cancel holidays for various reasons.

In my opinion, the point of insurance is to protect you against severe events. At some point, there's a cutoff what is worth ensuring and what is not. Now a $30,000 cruise, I believe that is a big deal.

I like the way you can customize your insurance with private companies. My wife and are both self employed so we would don’t need the type of coverage that gives you coverage if you loos your employment. We check with several companies and then find a package that we like. Most of the time we get way more coverage then we need but the premium is always cheaper than the cruise lines. We got $75,000.00 each for medical and evacuation along with all the other typical stuff like flight delay, weather, etc for $157.00. The insurance company was Nation wife mutual insurance company.

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