Travel insurance?

[cstimmons]

I know.... GET IT lol. My inquiry is as follows. I want to book a cruise (two cabins four people) but don't want to buy the insurance just yet. The cruise is next summer.

 

I've usually gotten travel insurance through a TA or RCI directly but found out my bank has travel insurance through a third party.

 

Not wanting to spend $400 now for a cruise that's ten months away, is there a disadvantage to buying third party insurance? Is there an advantage? Do you have a goto company you prefer? (If that's allowed here)

 

Thanks in advance.

 

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[stevea36]

I know.... GET IT lol. My inquiry is as follows. I want to book a cruise (two cabins four people) but don't want to buy the insurance just yet. The cruise is next summer.

 

I've usually gotten travel insurance through a TA or RCI directly but found out my bank has travel insurance through a third party.

 

Not wanting to spend $400 now for a cruise that's ten months away, is there a disadvantage to buying third party insurance? Is there an advantage? Do you have a goto company you prefer? (If that's allowed here)

 

Thanks in advance.

 

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Buy the minimum amount of insurance required to get coverage on pre-existing conditions and then increase the amount of the policy once you are ready to make final payment.

 

Steve

[Hey Tina]

Buy the minimum amount of insurance required to get coverage on pre-existing conditions and then increase the amount of the policy once you are ready to make final payment.

 

Steve

 

If this is a viable option this could be a game changer.

 

OP, to answer your question, I can't see any disadvantage (or advantage as it were) to buying third party insurance. It all depends on what coverage you want, the terms of the insurance, and the cost. Check out the review of the best travel insurance on wirecutter.com

[cstimmons]

If this is a viable option this could be a game changer.

 

OP, to answer your question, I can't see any disadvantage (or advantage as it were) to buying third party insurance. It all depends on what coverage you want, the terms of the insurance, and the cost. Check out the review of the best travel insurance on wirecutter.com

Thanks. I will check it out. I'm not so concerned about preexisting conditions as I am with booking the cruise to secure the rooms that I want. It's a late summer cruise and 12th deck balconies go quick.

 

Id definitely secure insurance prior to final payment but until then, I just don't see the need. Anyone else feel this way?

[rjrpar]

Thanks. I will check it out. I'm not so concerned about preexisting conditions as I am with booking the cruise to secure the rooms that I want. It's a late summer cruise and 12th deck balconies go quick.

 

 

 

Id definitely secure insurance prior to final payment but until then, I just don't see the need. Anyone else feel this way?

 

 

 

We always buy it at final payment. Until then you can cancel for free. Insurance costs are never refundable

 

 

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[Clarea]

We always buy it at final payment. Until then you can cancel for free. Insurance costs are never refundable

 

 

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That works if you don't have pre-existing medical conditions and no non-refundable expenses prior to cruise final payment like airfare or prepaid hotel.

[cstimmons]

That works if you don't have pre-existing medical conditions and no non-refundable expenses prior to cruise final payment like airfare or prepaid hotel.

Fortunately we are driving to port and both young..ish/healthy. Using wirecutter.com, as recommended earlier (cool site btw) I found one that covers both teenage kids for free. Pre-cruise hotel can be canx up to 48 hours prior.

 

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[lbjen]

We use Nationwide, they pay out a nice sum if your ports are changed, and they are pretty comparable in price to everyone else for our needs. They also allowed us to move our coverage to another sailing when we had to rebook this summer to another week, without any issues. There are situations where it’s better to get the RCI insurance, but generally it’s better to take third party.

[bighairtexan]

I do what Stevea said. I pay the minimum thru either travelinsurancestore.com or insuremytrip.com (this was something they actually SUGGESTED) so that pre-existing conditions don't require a "lookback period". And as I pay more (like add airfare or make payments on the cruise itself), I call them and add to the value of the insurance policy.

I find them much more flexible than most TA's and certainly the cruise lines. AND they offer a whole bunch of reputable travel insurers like Travel Insured (several policies at several price point), Global Alert, Travelex, TravelGuard etc etc. They'll help pick the one that covers what you need at the best price.

[Cruisegirl6]

I always use GeoBlue, Voyager Plan...covers pre-existing conditions, is totally affordable, covers up to 1million, no out of pocket everything is included.....just a phone call or online very easy and totally reliable.

[CarrieAP]

I always use GeoBlue, Voyager Plan...covers pre-existing conditions, is totally affordable, covers up to 1million, no out of pocket everything is included.....just a phone call or online very easy and totally reliable.

 

I actually just looked at this policy today for our cruise next month. Already have cancellation and trip interruption coverage through our credit card (Sapphire Reserve- got it partially for this reason) so just looking to supplement the medical. Pleasantly surprised to see it covers pre-existing conditions for a reasonable price so good advice!

[Steelers0854]

I second the Nationwide recommendation. I would go with the luxury cruise policy, which I find to have excellent coverage limits and cruise specific items such as missed ports etc. pre-existing conditions are covered as long as you purchase the policy before final payment.

 

We had a good experience with them when we filed a claim on our January cruise when we missed a port due to weather, the policy cost us in total about $240 and we each received a check for $250.

[later]

Fortunately we are driving to port and both young..ish/healthy. Using wirecutter.com, as recommended earlier (cool site btw) I found one that covers both teenage kids for free. Pre-cruise hotel can be canx up to 48 hours prior.

 

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Do your parents/grandparents have preexisting conditions? This may not be a concern to you but it is something you may have to address.

 

 

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[cruisinfanatic]

Do your parents/grandparents have preexisting conditions? This may not be a concern to you but it is something you may have to address.

 

 

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Insurance covers the travelers, not everyone else related to them

[rukkian]

Insurance covers the travelers, not everyone else related to them

 

Many (most?) policies have a clause where if an immediate family member gets sick or passes away shortly before cruise, you can cancel and get refunded all money.

[Oceansaway17]

I just chatted with an agent on this subject. It used to be several years ago one had to prepay and now you don't. I had insurance added to 2 of my reservations and you pay it or remove it at final payment time.

 

sometimes a TA company will offer their own insurance too so check it out.

[later]

Insurance covers the travelers, not everyone else related to them

 

 

 

Not totally true many cover immediate family members not cruising with you. This relates to having to cancel or shortening a cruise due to one of the above family members becoming major ill or a death occurs. Obviously this would be for the money lost due to cancelling a cruise not paying any medical losses.

 

 

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[JuliaMS]

I use a site called insure my trip dot com to compare plans. I get one of the Nationwide cruise specific plans. I add a pre existing condition waiver and buy the policy just before final payment is due. My main concern is medical evacuation coverage and the cruise line plan doesn't have much. I know two people who would have been bankrupted without the insurance for the medical flights home, one got sick and one from a car accident. I have filed claims twice for trip delay. Once because I was sick and quarantined and once because DFW closed on our flight back from San Juan causing a missed connection and overnight stay. Both claims were easy to file.

[Travelling2Some]

We always buy it at final payment. Until then you can cancel for free. Insurance costs are never refundable

 

 

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Exactly this. If the deposit is refundable there is no risk until you buy the airfare and/or make final payment on the cruise. Usually I do both around the same time when leaving from a U.S. port so I buy third party insurance at the 90 day mark. For our next cruise I bought the airfare about 4 months out and it was very pricey since we live in New York and are sailing from Australia. I bought insurance right after purchasing the plane tickets. I've always thought that the only reason to buy insurance right away is if you need to cover pre-existing conditions.

[cruisinfanatic]

Many (most?) policies have a clause where if an immediate family member gets sick or passes away shortly before cruise, you can cancel and get refunded all money.

 

Not totally true many cover immediate family members not cruising with you. This relates to having to cancel or shortening a cruise due to one of the above family members becoming major ill or a death occurs. Obviously this would be for the money lost due to cancelling a cruise not paying any medical losses.

 

 

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I'm not disagreeing. My quote was at someone that thinks the preexisting clause relates to relatives not traveling