How far out do you buy trip insurance?

[CSloan]

We've booked a cruise for November 2006 (Polynesia & Cook Islands). Our booking includes Princess Air and insurance. We also want to do a pre-cruise stay in an over-the-water bungalow. We haven't booked this with Princess yet, because it's not available yet.

 

Chances are very good that, after doing some research, we may book our own air and make our own pre-cruise arrangements to save some $$. If so, we would obviously need to cancel Princess insurance, and buy independent insurance. We don't have any pre-existing conditions now, but you never know what can happen in the future. With the quotes I received on Insuremytrip.com, the cost of Princess Insurance is about $75 (for both of us) cheaper.

 

So, I'm not sure if I should just go ahead and purchase individual insurance now, or wait until I know for sure what I'm doing.

 

How far out have you purchased insurance? An suggestions?

(I hope this post makes sense!)

[vmom]

I buy insurance within the time period needed to get preexisting conditions covered which is usually within a 14-21 day time period from booking.

[grandmaa]

Regarding this question..I called Princess' insurance company and they advised me that you are covered for 2 days before and 2 days after your cruise if you have booked your transportation with them...we paid a deviation fee for the change in departure dates at both ends of our cruise. Hope this info helps...Anita

[jerseygirl3]

Get the insurance through insuremytrip.com now. It will ensure that you are covered for pre-existing conditions. The policy that I like (and gets excellent ratings) is Travelex Travel Lite Policy. It gives you up to 21 days to purchase in order to have pre-existing conditions waived. If your plans change (our did, we decided to spend an extra week after our cruise and our airlines changed), we simply called them up. They will make the appropriate changes to your existing policy. If the cost of your trip is more than you already paid for (remember, the premiums usually raise with $500 increments, so unless your trip increases by more than that, you probably won't see an increase in your premium), then you simply pay the difference. It won't have any effect on your pre-existing condition waiver, since you already purchased the initial policy within the appropriate time frame.

 

I see no point in waiting...you never know what can happen between now and the time you purchase insurance. Even a simple thing like a medication change constitues a new pre-existing condition.

[sultan_sfo]

Once an insurance has been purchased, it cannot be cancelled even if you cancel the cruise. As a courtesy, Princess my allow it. /Sultan

[jerseygirl3]

Sultan, that is not true. Most of the companies on insuremytrip.com will allow you to credit the premium toward a future trip.

[candydane]

Insuremytrip.com states that CSA covers pre-existing conditions if the policy is purchased with 24 hours of final payment. Has anyone checked this to be sure that's true?

 

I've purchased CSA in the past but, fortunately, have never had to file a claim. They have refunded the premium difference when my cruise costs went down.

[Jobro2]

We purchased insurance thru www.insuremytrip.com for a cruise we were supposed to take this past June. I purchased the insurance after I made my final payment, and then my husband changed jobs. We canceled the cruise (did it in time to get all our $$ back) and got a full refund on our travel insurance. Insuremytrip gives you 30 days to look at your policy and cancel it if you like. Fortunately, this time frame worked out for us.

[CSloan]

Insuremytrip.com states that CSA covers pre-existing conditions if the policy is purchased with 24 hours of final payment. Has anyone checked this to be sure that's true?

 

I've purchased CSA in the past but, fortunately, have never had to file a claim. They have refunded the premium difference when my cruise costs went down.

 

I just talked to John at Insuremytrip. John said that the CSA Comfort package will cover preexisting conditions if you purchase the insurance within 24 hours of final payment. Apparently, they just started offering this feature a couple of months ago. The cost of this coverage, in my case, is in the ballpark with the other policies I'm looking at. It sounds like a good deal.

[AZPam]

Another important tip is to check to see what position the travel insurance is in. You want it to be in first position so that you don't have to file any claims with your homeowners insurance. Also be aware of the coverages. Insuremytrip.com has a very wide variety of coverages, some a lot better than others for just a few bucks more. It pays to do the research!

[City_Woman]

We booked out insurance the day we booked our trip with our TA.

[jerseygirl3]

CSloan, if you have made your cruise deposit within the past 21 days, I would suggest you purchase your insurance at http://www.insuremytrip.com and get the Travelex Travel Lite Policy. It will waive pre-existing conditions if purchased within 21 days of making your cruise deposit. It gets an A+ rating and is one of the most reasonably priced policies. It is also primary, which means they would pay first; you wouldn't have to submit any medical claims to your own insurance company first and wait for them to pay.

 

If you are outside the 21 days limit, then by all means get one of the CSA products that allows you to waive pre-existing conditions as long as you purchase within 24 hours of final payment. But if pre-existing conditions aren't an issue right now, just pick any policy. Once you purchase it, if a condition comes up, you'd still be covered.

[CSloan]

jersygirl3-

Thanks for the advice. I was going to do the CSA Comfort that wouldn't be due until within 24 hours of payment, but this is so far out, there is no guarantee they'll have the same deal in a year. Travelex was less expensive. My only concern is if I have to cancel my plans before final payment is due - I'd probably be out the insurance $$.

 

Another factor I hadn't thought of before was the primary - secondary coverage. I was on a trip a few years ago and had to go to sick bay. I remember I did have to submit it to my personal health insurance first. My carrier paid it, so the travel insurance didn't have to pay anything! Good advice to take a look at that!

[Cruise Junky]

We only bought insurance right before we made final payment. Neither one of us have any "Pre-existing conditions". So why bother with insurance.

[cruiseco]

CSloan, if you have made your cruise deposit within the past 21 days, I would suggest you purchase your insurance at http://www.insuremytrip.com and get the Travelex Travel Lite Policy. It will waive pre-existing conditions if purchased within 21 days of making your cruise deposit. It gets an A+ rating and is one of the most reasonably priced policies.

 

Travelex does not have an A+ rating. Because nobody rates travel insurance companies.

 

The A.M.Best ratings shown on the insuremytrip site are for the plan underwriter which is a totally separate company. All the underwriter does is pony up the money if there is a claim. They don't answer the phone if you have a question, they won't be there at four in the morning when you need help in some foreign destination, and when it comes to paying claims, well, let's just say you don't get an A+ financial rating by being loose with the cash. The lower your "loss ratio" the better you're going to look to rating services like A.M. Best

 

It's possible for a travel insurer to have an underwriter with an A+ rating and still have an absolutely horrible record of customer service or be in court all the time.

 

The only time I'm aware of recently that any impartial third party did an evaluation of the various insurers out there was the Consumer Reports Travel Letter a few years back. They took into account things like plan features, custmer service, cost, records of complaints with each state's insurance departments, etc. The only company rated as a "Best Buy" was CSA which has never carried an underwriter rating better than A-.

 

That being said, I wouldn't hestitate to tell my own mother to buy a Travelex plan if it covered what she needed. That's my highest rating.

[CSloan]

We only bought insurance right before we made final payment. Neither one of us have any "Pre-existing conditions". So why bother with insurance.

 

The way I understand it, the pre-existing condition isn't nessessarily a conditon you have at the time you book the cruise. Different companies have different timelines, but here's an example:

Let's say I'm 90days from my vacation date and I come down with some ailment. I'm treated and don't cancel the vacation. When the day comes to leave, the ailment acts up again and I have to cancel. That would be a pre-existing condition, and would not be covered by insurance.

 

If anyone else has a better explanation - please chime in! I find all of this confusing.

[cruiseco]

The way I understand it, the pre-existing condition isn't nessessarily a conditon you have at the time you book the cruise. Different companies have different timelines, but here's an example:

Let's say I'm 90days from my vacation date and I come down with some ailment. I'm treated and don't cancel the vacation. When the day comes to leave, the ailment acts up again and I have to cancel. That would be a pre-existing condition, and would not be covered by insurance.

 

If anyone else has a better explanation - please chime in! I find all of this confusing.

 

Go to

 

http://www.tripinsure.info/pre_ex.htm

[jerseygirl3]

CSloan, that pretty much explains it in a nutshell. However, some companies have longer waiting periods..some as long as 180 days. So if anything were to occur within those 180 days prior to purchasing the insurance, you couldn't file a claim related to that illness. However...

 

If you purchase a policy that waives pre-existing conditions, then you don't have to worry about that. Also, a pre-existing condition can be as minor as a medication change within the above mentioned time frame. If your MD makes a medication change, and you are within the 180 (or 60 days, whichever your policy dictates), unless you've got a plan with a pre-existing condition waiver, you're out of luck if that condition acts up.

 

As far as purchasing the insurance and possibly having to cancel later, most allow you a credit that can be used at a future date.