HAL CCP vs Travel Insurance

[TiogaCruiser]

I know this has been discussed (and argued) at length. I am hoping for just an answer, and no arguments).:)

 

This is my first time using Big Box Travel and I have a few more days that I can still buy their Travel Guard policy (at a good price with cancel any reason). I want to make sure I understand how to calculate the travel insurance:

 

1) If a component is partially refundable, you cover the non refundable portion, correct ( such as if an item is 80% refundable, you cover the 20%, right?) But what about those things that are refundable up to 2 weeks prior, when they become non-refundable: you cover the full cost at the time of insurance purchase, correct? (I.e.: hotel partially or fully nonrefundable 2 weeks prior) Or add it on later as the non refundable window approaches?

 

2) One more question: I am booked and ready to get flights. If I go with HAL CCP I will book flights through HAL. I booked through Big box travel. Is that why I cannot find flight options in my booking? Or am I looking in the wrong place? Any tips on streamlining flight booking when working with a TA?

 

 

I am taking a final look at this. If I book HAL all the way (cruise + pre tour + flights) HAL CPP is very attractive for my situation. I would add on additional medical and evac as it is cheap. My own HI does provide those coverages overseas.

Edited September 25, 2016 by TiogaCruiser

[cargo13]

Your TA should be able to answer your questions and is compensated to help.

 

1. Refundable tickets

If hotel or car or air are refundable, then insurance wont cover unless there are added fees to claim. Insurance would act as the secondary.

 

If insurance covers 80% of your non refundable cruise, then yes you cannot claim the remaining 20%.

 

Travel insurance is calculated off the trip cost that you are insuring. Direct travel insurance will likely be cheaper than HAL's insurance. If you want a price comparison or advice for your questions, try CSA 800-874-2442. CSA has insured all of our cruises.

 

2. Air

If you bought HAL's air, you should see air in your booking confirmation OR go online http://www.hollandamerica.com and retrieve your reservation--regardless if your TA booked it.

 

If your TA booked air directly (not w/ HAL), then TA needs to forward you the air booking confirmation.

[jayjaycan]

Due to our age and medications we have found HAL's CPP to be cheaper. No age or medical restrictions. We take the Platinum Plan for the medical and evacuation protection.

If we cancel before sailing we lose 10% of the non-refundable price. Check HAL's cancellation schedule for the non-refundable amount.

 

When comparing plans make sure you are comparing the same benefits and coverage.

 

Check HAL's cancellation schedule to determine the percent that applies.

[Tampa Girl]

Aren't you trying to compare a cancellation policy (CCP) with a travel insurance policy, like Travel Guard? As I understand HAL's CCP, it is not, per se, a travel insurance policy and won't cover missed hotels, tours, flights, etc unless booked through HAL. Am I correct?

[TiogaCruiser]

Aren't you trying to compare a cancellation policy (CCP) with a travel insurance policy, like Travel Guard? As I understand HAL's CCP, it is not, per se, a travel insurance policy and won't cover missed hotels, tours, flights, etc unless booked through HAL. Am I correct?

 

Yes, that is my understanding. But I've decided to go all HAL this time, both for the convenience, and the lesser monetary risk if I have to cancel, so I should be covered up to 90%. Because the cost is only based on the cruise, (less than pre cruise and air), it is very reasonable and works best for my circumstances.

[easyboy]

I agree. Unlike the traditional travel insurance, CCP only covers flights and other pre and post cruise packages purchased from HAL.

[Jemima]

We've always used 3rd party travel insurance, but I do see some advantages to using Hal's CCP platinum plan. 3rd party insurance has to be purchased within 10 to 14 days of booking to cover preexisting conditions while HAL's will cover preexisting even if purchased at final payment. Neither travel insurance nor HAL's plans are reimbursable, so there is a big advantage to being able to delay purchase until final payment. (While some 3rd party insurance will allow a pre-final payment transfer to another trip, there is no reimbursement if the new trip in less expensive.) Both HAL's plans include cancel for any reason while that is an extra cost item with travel insurance. The cost of HAL's CCP plans can be an advantage for older cruisers. In our case, one reason we haven't selected the CCP platinum plan is that I travel with DD who is much younger than me. Another reason if that I'd be comfortable with the medical coverage on some itineraries, but possibly not on others.

Edited September 27, 2016 by Jemima

[Pstreet12]

We're currently wrestling with the insurance question, also. HAL is less expensive--but other plans will give you the money back. With HAL, it's just credit for another cruise. That's a big difference.

[Boatdrill]

Your TA should be able to answer your questions and is compensated to help. [ /QUOTE]

 

The TA will also tend to recommend the insurance that pays a higher commission.

Edited September 29, 2016 by Boatdrill

[Jemima]

We're currently wrestling with the insurance question, also. HAL is less expensive--but other plans will give you the money back. With HAL, it's just credit for another cruise. That's a big difference.

 

HAL's plans give you 80% or 90% of the covered fare back, depending on which plan, if you cancel by the designated time. That's also what people have reported on CC. Am I misunderstanding?

Edited September 30, 2016 by Jemima

[RuthC]

HAL's plans give you 80% or 90% of the covered fare back, depending on which plan, if you cancel by the designated time. That's also what people have reported on CC. Am I misunderstanding?

No, that's about right. You get cash back, to the extent of the percentage of the non-refunded fare. You don't get the insurance premium back, of course, but that's to be expected.

[Hlitner]

Just an observation from a HAL cruiser who worked over thirty years in the Medical Insurance industry. We are often amazed at how folks will get really concerned about buying insurance for a missed hotel, missed port, lost bag, etc....which are not going to put anyone into the poor house. Yet those folks will buy a policy such as the HAL Platinum which only covers up to $10,000 of Medical Expenses. One can easily run up over $10,000 of medical liabilities in a single day...and medical expenses of $25,000 or even $50,000 is not all that rare (especially among seniors). My advice is that any cruiser (especially seniors and those on Medicare) shop around for a policy that gives them a lot more medical protection! Sure, HAL (or another cruise line) may sell you a travel policy with all kinds of provisions for trip cancellation. But even if you had to eat the entire cost of a cruise...you would be no worse off (financially) then if you had taken the cruise. But what will you do if you get sick (or injured) on a cruise and run up $50,000 in medical bills (outside the US)?

 

Hank

[GradUT]

Just an observation from a HAL cruiser who worked over thirty years in the Medical Insurance industry. We are often amazed at how folks will get really concerned about buying insurance for a missed hotel, missed port, lost bag, etc....which are not going to put anyone into the poor house. Yet those folks will buy a policy such as the HAL Platinum which only covers up to $10,000 of Medical Expenses. One can easily run up over $10,000 of medical liabilities in a single day...and medical expenses of $25,000 or even $50,000 is not all that rare (especially among seniors). My advice is that any cruiser (especially seniors and those on Medicare) shop around for a policy that gives them a lot more medical protection! Sure, HAL (or another cruise line) may sell you a travel policy with all kinds of provisions for trip cancellation. But even if you had to eat the entire cost of a cruise...you would be no worse off (financially) then if you had taken the cruise. But what will you do if you get sick (or injured) on a cruise and run up $50,000 in medical bills (outside the US)?

 

Hank

 

Very useful and very true. That's why I don't buy travel insurance unless it provides at least $50,000 in medical coverage.

[Herfnerd]

Very useful and very true. That's why I don't buy travel insurance unless it provides at least $50,000 in medical coverage.

 

Same here - as much medical coverage as possible as well as medical evacuation. That can be extremely expensive if you need it

[Hlitner]

We do think that some cruisers are a bit gullible and get sucked in by cancellation provisions without even thinking about their medical coverage. Personally, we have found it very advantageous to purchase an Annual Travel Medical Policy (ours is issued by Geoblue) which covers every trip we take (up to the first 70 days per trip) during an entire year. That simple policy gives DW and me $250,000 of Med Coverage and $500,000 of Evac coverage for about $450 a year! Not only does it cover us on all of our cruises (we cruised 103 days this year) but it also covers us while we are Snowbirds in Puerto Vallarta.

 

Hank

[Lizzie68]

We do think that some cruisers are a bit gullible and get sucked in by cancellation provisions without even thinking about their medical coverage. Personally, we have found it very advantageous to purchase an Annual Travel Medical Policy (ours is issued by Geoblue) which covers every trip we take (up to the first 70 days per trip) during an entire year. That simple policy gives DW and me $250,000 of Med Coverage and $500,000 of Evac coverage for about $450 a year! Not only does it cover us on all of our cruises (we cruised 103 days this year) but it also covers us while we are Snowbirds in Puerto Vallarta.

 

Hank

 

We quite possibly over-insure, but with serious pre-existing conditions even just DH's insurance comes to way, way more than that. Of course we could be less than totally honest and pay much less, but it's not worth the risk. However, we still choose, on most of our longer cruises, to add HAL's CPP insurance as well, because of other circumstances at home that just may lead to having to cancel, and those circumstances would not be covered under the regular insurance. It's worth it to recoup the cost of a long cruise if necessary. Peace of mind is worth the cost.

 

That is my stance. What others do is entirely up to them and makes no never-mind to me.:D

[Hlitner]

We quite possibly over-insure, but with serious pre-existing conditions even just DH's insurance comes to way, way more than that. Of course we could be less than totally honest and pay much less, but it's not worth the risk. However, we still choose, on most of our longer cruises, to add HAL's CPP insurance as well, because of other circumstances at home that just may lead to having to cancel, and those circumstances would not be covered under the regular insurance. It's worth it to recoup the cost of a long cruise if necessary. Peace of mind is worth the cost.

 

That is my stance. What others do is entirely up to them and makes no never-mind to me.:D

 

We are of the same mind on this subject :). But if you want both cancellation and decent health insurance you might do better to shop around for a single policy that provides both! While you cannot buy that from HAL (or most other cruise lines) there are plenty of decent policies. Web sites like insuremytrip.com and squaremouth.com provide good tools to compare policies. Many here on CC also recommend the Trip Insurance Store where you can get good advice from a real human :).

 

Hank

[Lizzie68]

Believe me we have shopped around and researched to the max. Insure My Trip tells us to go elsewhere! I'm OK with what I have. I can't go into detail but the Cancel for any reason is huge for us.

 

Sent from my SM-G386W using Forums mobile app

Edited September 30, 2016 by Lizzie68

[kalliekae]

Since the 1990's, we've always purchased HAL's Platinum plan and we only had to use it once when we had to cancel our cruise this year. We received 100% of our money back except for the cost of the insurance because we were within the allotted time to cancel without any penalty. Now that we have some medical issues to consider, we will be looking at other insurance in the future just in case there would be cause for additional medical coverage while cruising. I used to skim over the insurance posts, but now find them very interesting. Thanks for sharing your tips here.

[chisoxfan]

Just an observation from a HAL cruiser who worked over thirty years in the Medical Insurance industry. We are often amazed at how folks will get really concerned about buying insurance for a missed hotel, missed port, lost bag, etc....which are not going to put anyone into the poor house. Yet those folks will buy a policy such as the HAL Platinum which only covers up to $10,000 of Medical Expenses. One can easily run up over $10,000 of medical liabilities in a single day...and medical expenses of $25,000 or even $50,000 is not all that rare (especially among seniors). My advice is that any cruiser (especially seniors and those on Medicare) shop around for a policy that gives them a lot more medical protection! Sure, HAL (or another cruise line) may sell you a travel policy with all kinds of provisions for trip cancellation. But even if you had to eat the entire cost of a cruise...you would be no worse off (financially) then if you had taken the cruise. But what will you do if you get sick (or injured) on a cruise and run up $50,000 in medical bills (outside the US)?

 

Hank

 

Great and important post. We typically use 'free'included insurance from Chase Sapphire and purchase a separate medical policy with at least 250,000 evac. The Chase coverage seems fairly comprehensive as regards transport delays, luggage, etc. although we have never used it.

Regarding medical policies, you have to read them to see what they cover.. specifically they will often have different excluded activities if you plan to do para- sailing, diving, etc.

[Hlitner]

Great and important post. We typically use 'free'included insurance from Chase Sapphire and purchase a separate medical policy with at least 250,000 evac. The Chase coverage seems fairly comprehensive as regards transport delays, luggage, etc. although we have never used it.

Regarding medical policies, you have to read them to see what they cover.. specifically they will often have different excluded activities if you plan to do para- sailing, diving, etc.

 

Good advice. But we would add that before you buy ANY insurance policy...one should take the time to carefully read all the details (and fine print). Sometimes the language is a real eye opener.

 

Hank

[Tampa Girl]

We are of the same mind on this subject :). But if you want both cancellation and decent health insurance you might do better to shop around for a single policy that provides both! While you cannot buy that from HAL (or most other cruise lines) there are plenty of decent policies. Web sites like insuremytrip.com and squaremouth.com provide good tools to compare policies. Many here on CC also recommend the Trip Insurance Store where you can get good advice from a real human :).

 

Hank

 

I have checked all the sites on insuremytrip.com, and I have found none which will provide what HAL's CPP has, to wit: Purchase up to the time of final payment and last minute cancellation. As I recall, the CPP provides adequate evacuation, so a second policy for medicals or, as you suggested, medicals and evacuation would be desirable. But one cannot compare travel insurance with a cancellation policy. They serve to different purposes. And the older I get, the more important is the cancellation policy, along with medical and medevac.

[TiogaCruiser]

As the OP of this thread I am coming back to update it for future cruisers benefit.

 

I ended up taking the HAL Platinum insurance that covers the cruise, flights and a pre-cruise tour.

 

I ended up having to cancel due to family matters during the full fare penalty period and several days prior to travel. It took less than 10 minutes to cancel through my TA contacting HAL. All HAL shorex and specialty dining were cancelled at the same time, and refund will be separate of the expenses covered through the Platinum plan. I am to get the refund on my CC within 7 days.

 

In this circumstance, the Platinum Plan fee was calculated on the cruise only, but it covered flights and a pre-cruise tour of 3 days with all hotels and transfers. (The vast majority of the trip cost was flights, hotels and precruise tour). So it cost me only approximately 10% of the cruise cost, and the return is 90% of the entire package. And I did not have to get it until I made final payment, so there was no financial risk until then.

 

I ran lots of numbers, and if i had gone independent on air and tour, Cancel Any Reason (CAR) insurance would have made the full package much more expensive, and would have returned only a small percentage when the cost of the policy was considered against the return. (This even included the discounted Travel Guard protection offered by that BigBoxco TA).

 

So the take away- if it helps anyone- is to know your exposures and know what coverages you are buying.

I am fortunate in that my health insurance covers out of country (including evac., but i usually buy an inexpensive supplemental for just that.)

 

When you consider cost, coverage and loss, the Cruise line plan may just be the best coverage for you- or it may not.

 

A big Thank You to Lisa (LaffnVegas) for the info you posted many months back about the precruise tour, hotel and flight coverage policy through HAL. That is what made the big difference for me. :D

[Tampa Girl]

Something else to consider with the HAL's CPP, which I, too, have found to be better for my situation, the cost of the insurance was not based on what I actually paid for the cruise, but on HAL's listed price. Since I had booked with an online TA and had received a 12% discount, I nonetheless had to buy insurance to cover the full, non-discounted rate.

[lazey1]

For many of us that are older and have pre-existing conditions it is not possible to purchase sufficient medical coverage from any travel insurance carrier. The only place we found that would cover these pre-existing conditions was the HAL Platinum policy. Admittedly the insurance is not sufficient but at least it is something.

 

After entering the correct age and listing the pre-existing conditions every carrier absulutely refused to insure my husband and only offered severely limited coverage for me at a rate that was almost triple HAL's Platinum coverage.

 

As all the others have said do your own research and READ the Insuring Agreements, the Exclusions and the Conditions of the policy. Do not rely on the agents spoken word and do not rely on the agents written word unless you know that the agent is the representing the actual Insurance Carrier not the selling agency.