Cost of insurance refunded if you cancel your cruise before final payment?

[DeltaOne]

Are there insurance policies that refund the cost if you cancel the cruise before final payment?  I recently had to cancel an upcoming trip to Disney World before final payment.  They refunded my deposit but said the cost of the insurance could not be refunded.  

 

We just booked a Celebrity Cruise for July 2020.  The following text was on our confirmation page:

 

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Help protect your vacation payment by purchasing travel protection. You can purchase Celebrity CruiseCare at any time from deposit up through and including final payment; however, the Cancellation Penalty Waiver takes effect only upon payment of the appropriate plan cost amount, which is in addition to any required cruise deposit/payment due. Payment of the cruise fare deposit amount without the additional plan cost due will not enroll you in this plan. To view the terms, conditions and exclusions, please visit https://www.archinsurancesolutions.com/coverage/celebrity.

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Does the "however, the Cancellation Penalty Waiver takes effect only upon payment of the appropriate plan cost amount, which is in addition to any required cruise deposit/payment due" mean that you're not covered for cancellation until the insurance is paid in full?  That seems too obvious?  It must mean something else?

 

We just booked today, do we have two weeks to purchase insurance so that pre-existing conditions are covered?

[Jersey42]

46 minutes ago, Paul from Maryland said:

Are there insurance policies that refund the cost if you cancel the cruise before final payment?

Maybe, but probably not if you buy a cruise line policy.  With many third party plans, you can transfer the policy to another trip as long as the policy has not paid any claim.  If you call broker such as tripinsurancestore or insuremytrip, they might be able to find you a policy that will give you a refund if you cancel the cruise before final payment.  See the following thread for more details. Take a look at responses from @iamtrustworthy. 

 

53 minutes ago, Paul from Maryland said:

We just booked today, do we have two weeks to purchase insurance so that pre-existing conditions are covered?

As far as I know, none of the major cruise line policies (including Celebrity CruiseCare) offer a pre-existing medical condition waiver.  Celebrity has a 60 day look back period from the day you purchase the policy.

 

Many third party policies offer a pre-existing medical condition waiver if your purchase within 14-21 days of your initial payment and meet any other specified conditions. I know tripinsurancestore has one policy that lets you purchase up to the final payment date. There may be others.

 

Again, it is always a good idea to call one of the brokers recommended in this forum for recommendations specific to your situation. 

[iamtrustworthy]

3 hours ago, Paul from Maryland said:

Are there insurance policies that refund the cost if you cancel the cruise before final payment?  I recently had to cancel an upcoming trip to Disney World before final payment.  They refunded my deposit but said the cost of the insurance could not be refunded.

 

Hi Paul,

 

In the "Premium Refund" thread Jersey42 referred to, I explained the answer in detail, so I won't duplcate it here.

 

If you have any more questions about this, ask me here.

 

You also asked "We just booked today, do we have two weeks to purchase insurance so that pre-existing conditions are covered?"

 

You generally have to get the policy within 10 - 21 days of paying the earliest money toward any travel arrangements. There are also plans which have the Final payment as the deadline. However, there are other requirements to meet the pre-existing medical conditions coverage rules that vary from company to company, so pay attention to them.

 

Steve

Edited September 7, 2019 by iamtrustworthy
typos

[DeltaOne]

2 hours ago, iamtrustworthy said:

If you have any more questions about this, ask me here.

 

Steve, I read those links, and want to make sure I understand this strategy.

 

When I booked the cruise today I paid a deposit of $750.  So within the next few days (maybe up to 14 days?) I would buy travel insurance for $750.  Buying insurance now, while the cruise is 100% refundable, gets me coverage for pre-existing conditions?  Or cancel for any reason coverage?

 

Then, when the final payment ($5,000) is due, I'd "up" the travel insurance by $5,000.  At that point I'm fully covered for the money I'm spending on the cruise.  

 

Have I got any of this right?  

 

It sounds like you're a professional in this business.  Can you tell me with who?  Or tell me if there are more questions I should be asking?

[DeltaOne]

5 hours ago, Jersey42 said:

Again, it is always a good idea to call one of the brokers recommended in this forum for recommendations specific to your situation. 

 

Hmmm.  I've participated around here for a long time but never knew there are "recommended" brokers.  Recommended by the folks that run Cruise Critic or recommendations by the folks that post public messages?  I'll look around on the main CC site for any such recommendations.  Thanks.

[Jersey42]

9 minutes ago, Paul from Maryland said:

 

Hmmm.  I've participated around here for a long time but never knew there are "recommended" brokers.  Recommended by the folks that run Cruise Critic or recommendations by the folks that post public messages?  I'll look around on the main CC site for any such recommendations.  Thanks.

I meant recommended by people on these boards.  Steve is with tripinsurancestore.com and is highly recommended.  Others have had excellent service from other brokers.  I mentioned one earlier and you can search for more.  The good news is you do not pay anything more for using a broker and their advice can also be helpful.

 

Hopefully Steve will respond to your question from two posts back.  You definitely understand.  But, be sure the policy you decide to purchase allows it  This is where a good broker can be invaluable.

 

Good luck.  

[iamtrustworthy]

55 minutes ago, Paul from Maryland said:

 

Steve, I read those links, and want to make sure I understand this strategy.

 

When I booked the cruise today I paid a deposit of $750.  So within the next few days (maybe up to 14 days?) I would buy travel insurance for $750.  Buying insurance now, while the cruise is 100% refundable, gets me coverage for pre-existing conditions?  Or cancel for any reason coverage?

 

Then, when the final payment ($5,000) is due, I'd "up" the travel insurance by $5,000.  At that point I'm fully covered for the money I'm spending on the cruise.  

 

Have I got any of this right?

 

It sounds like you're a professional in this business.  Can you tell me with who?  Or tell me if there are more questions I should be asking?

Hi Paul,

 

You are on the right track.

 

I call what you are considering doing "Pay as you go". I figured out how to do this in the early 2000's (I should have copyrighted this idea). Over the years more than various travel insurance sellers have complained to me that I created a lot more work for them and I also greatly hindered their ability to get paid all their commission as a "one and done" sale. Not all companies allow this, so you will want to make sure it's possible to do.

 

Here's how I explain it:

 

"If you are not getting the "Cancel For Any Reason" coverage, your trip is farther in the future and you are paying it in stages, an option to consider is this:

You would not have to pay for the insurance in full immediately upon purchase in order to get the pre-existing conditions coverage. All our plans allow "pay as you go" which means you must insure your deposit now and as you prepay more trip costs, you must increase the insurance coverage any time (as long as nothing has happened where you would file a claim) before but not later than 10 - 21 days of adding any additional trip costs above what has been insured to keep the pre-existing conditions coverage. This does not result in any extra costs, just the incremental price increases. You do have to insure the deposits even if they are refundable. The prices are locked in at the rates and your ages that were in effect when you bought it.

 

The key to making "pay as you go" work is you being organized and letting us know when you increase your trip's cost."

 

There are a few pitfalls with doing "pay as you go". The main ones are not insuring 100& of your actual per person prepaid non-refundable trip costs and the other is not increasing the coverage on time.

 

In your case, if you have other prepaid non-refundable trip costs like airfare, hotels & excursions, then increasing to $5,000 for the full cruise cost will not work for you.

 

> It sounds like you're a professional in this business.  Can you tell me with who?

I don't want to promote myself on Cruise Critic, nor do I want to make it sound like there are any strings attached to my advice. It's best if another member here told you about me.

 

I hope this made sense.

 

Steve

 

[DeltaOne]

1 hour ago, Jersey42 said:

I meant recommended by people on these boards.  Steve is with tripinsurancestore.com and is highly recommended.  Others have had excellent service from other brokers.  I mentioned one earlier and you can search for more.  The good news is you do not pay anything more for using a broker and their advice can also be helpful.

 

Nice info, thanks!

[DeltaOne]

14 minutes ago, iamtrustworthy said:

Hi Paul,

 

You are on the right track.

 

In your case, if you have other prepaid non-refundable trip costs like airfare, hotels & excursions, then increasing to $5,000 for the full cruise cost will not work for you.

 

Steve

 

 

I do not anticipate having other prepaid non-refundable costs.  So "pay as you go" may very well work for me.

 

Great info, thanks!

[GeezerCouple]

7 hours ago, Paul from Maryland said:

 

Steve, I read those links, and want to make sure I understand this strategy.

 

When I booked the cruise today I paid a deposit of $750.  So within the next few days (maybe up to 14 days?) I would buy travel insurance for $750.  Buying insurance now, while the cruise is 100% refundable, gets me coverage for pre-existing conditions?  Or cancel for any reason coverage?

 

Then, when the final payment ($5,000) is due, I'd "up" the travel insurance by $5,000.  At that point I'm fully covered for the money I'm spending on the cruise.  

 

Have I got any of this right?  

 

It sounds like you're a professional in this business.  Can you tell me with who?  Or tell me if there are more questions I should be asking?

 

In case you still aren't sure "who Steve is", he is the owner of www.TripInsuranceStore.com

We learned about him/them here on CC shortly before DH's first planned cruise to celebrate a (still waiting!) pre-retirement cruise and major birthday celebration..

 

They are VERY patient with questions, and we've learned so much from them.

 

We purchased, through TIS, a policy from Travel Insured, and... with less than 2 weeks until we were supposed to leave home, DH had a medical emergency.  We were SO glad that we had read up on travel insurance here... and that we decided to get a policy!

We were paid promptly.

 

GC

 

[DeltaOne]

8 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

We purchased, through TIS, a policy from Travel Insured, and... with less than 2 weeks until we were supposed to leave home, DH had a medical emergency.  We were SO glad that we had read up on travel insurance here... and that we decided to get a policy!  We were paid promptly.

Thanks!  I'll be calling TIS tomorrow.

[GeezerCouple]

5 hours ago, Paul from Maryland said:

Thanks!  I'll be calling TIS tomorrow.

 

They do have limited weekend hours, and will call back at other hours on many occasions.

In fact, I'll be calling them in a short time today to do just what you are asking about:  to transfer an "unused policy" (trip cancelled, no money lost/no claim) to another trip we just booked.

 

GC

[DeltaOne]

To wrap this up, I found the help and advice from Trip Insurance Store to be just what I wanted.  

 

I'm using the "pay as you go" method described above.  Today I purchased enough insurance to cover my cruise down payment.  Next April, when I pay the cruise balance, I'll call the folks at Trip Insurance Store to have them increase the insured amount.  

 

I'm very happy with this strategy.  Why pay now for insurance I won't use for ten months?

[GeezerCouple]

4 hours ago, Paul from Maryland said:

To wrap this up, I found the help and advice from Trip Insurance Store to be just what I wanted.  

 

I'm using the "pay as you go" method described above.  Today I purchased enough insurance to cover my cruise down payment.  Next April, when I pay the cruise balance, I'll call the folks at Trip Insurance Store to have them increase the insured amount.  

 

I'm very happy with this strategy.  Why pay now for insurance I won't use for ten months?

 

Also, "just in case" you need to cancel the cruise without incurring any losses, and thus no insurance claim, you'd have less sitting in that "policy" that you might be able to transfer to another trip - especially good if there isn't another trip in the needed time frame!

 

Glad you found them helpful!

 

GC