Cruise Insurance

[Colorado Babe]

What is everyone going to do now that cruising is starting up again?  Now that we know they will not cover COVID will you still get the insurance?

[Babr]

1 minute ago, Colorado Babe said:

What is everyone going to do now that cruising is starting up again?  Now that we know they will not cover COVID will you still get the insurance?

A lot has changed in the insurance business as a result of the pandemic. There are actually policies that will now cover COVID as any other illness.
 

The tricky part is if you require quarantine somewhere along the way because of a positive test. I found a couple, but they cost significantly more.

 

Some countries have specific entry requirements for insurance, and there are policies for that.

 

Look around on a website like insuremytrip or thetripinsurancestore  to get an idea of what is available. If you don’t want to do that, there is an insurance board here on CC where the broker for insurance store answers questions. He does not promote himself; he does it as a courtesy. I would feel comfortable calling him if I were seriously interested in getting insurance.

[Cigar King]

I never buy the insurance.  I basically self-insure.  So far, knock on wood, I'm ahead.

[Babr]

3 minutes ago, Cigar King said:

I never buy the insurance.  I basically self-insure.  So far, knock on wood, I'm ahead.

A lot of people go that route. It just depends on what you are comfortable with.

 

The biggest risk is medical expense. Be sure you know what you regular insurance covers when you are out of country.

 

And check your credit card. Many offer some coverage for cancellation.

[Cigar King]

To be clear, I have a separate, year long policy, that helps cover gaps in medical, and most importantly, evacuation, when traveling.  That cost is low, when weighed against the possible costs.  The actual cruise though, no separate insurance for that.  (although perhaps my credit card(s) may help)

[Babr]

3 minutes ago, Cigar King said:

To be clear, I have a separate, year long policy, that helps cover gaps in medical, and most importantly, evacuation, when traveling.  That cost is low, when weighed against the possible costs.  The actual cruise though, no separate insurance for that.  (although perhaps my credit card(s) may help)

Then you do have insurance. I misunderstood. Perhaps you meant you did not buy the cruise line policy.

 

So you self-insure the cancellation part except for whatever the credit card offers.

[Sunshine3601]

1 hour ago, Colorado Babe said:

What is everyone going to do now that cruising is starting up again?  Now that we know they will not cover COVID will you still get the insurance?

You might want to check out this thread on cc

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/499-cruisetravel-insurance/

 

I'm still shopping / undecided which policy will work best for us.    I used to have GeoBlue Trekker or Voyager but not sure I buy again.    

[Cigar King]

11 minutes ago, Babr said:

Then you do have insurance. I misunderstood. Perhaps you meant you did not buy the cruise line policy.

 

So you self-insure the cancellation part except for whatever the credit card offers.

No, I thought the question just referred to the cruise lines insurance, which I don't buy.  If anyone misunderstood, it was me.

[George C]

We always get insurance, also have excellent health coverage.

[Sea Dog]

We always go with Allianz and get the highest amount in case of medical evac. You never know, always good to be prepared.

[Colorado Babe]

12 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

We always go with Allianz and get the highest amount in case of medical evac. You never know, always good to be prepared.

That is who we had for years until COVID and let our Policy lapse.  Wondering if they are now covering COVID.

[Sea Dog]

7 minutes ago, Colorado Babe said:

That is who we had for years until COVID and let our Policy lapse.  Wondering if they are now covering COVID.

I know our policy when we bought it to cover our original sailing that was cancelled for October of 2020 said it would cover COVID. I need to reread the policy now to see if it's been updated and what kind of restrictions there are. I will get back to you.

[lenquixote66]

2 hours ago, George C said:

We always get insurance, also have excellent health coverage.

So do we .Our personal health insurance is the best available and we do not pay for it.

[RFerrington]

2 hours ago, Colorado Babe said:

That is who we had for years until COVID and let our Policy lapse.  Wondering if they are now covering COVID.

We have had an Allianz annual policy for the past several years, continuously without any break.  I questioned my decision to pay $900 last year for a policy which, in the end, was entirely useless...and I still don't know if my "loyalty" will mean a darned thing when I go to renew (which is very soon, BTW)...but I am going to keep my fingers crossed that the fact that I kept the policy current for some period of time, will make a difference.

'

The policy that I had last year did have a COVID rider.  It provided some COVID coverage

 

 

Not sure if it will include anything this year or not.  I will find out very shortly !

[3kidsncats]

We recently got the Allianz annual policy since we have several trips this year.  It does cover Covid -  including some quarantine related costs, but not long term — maybe a weeks worth, depending on how expensive your accommodations are.  

[Colorado Babe]

24 minutes ago, 3kidsncats said:

We recently got the Allianz annual policy since we have several trips this year.  It does cover Covid -  including some quarantine related costs, but not long term — maybe a weeks worth, depending on how expensive your accommodations are.  

Thank you,

[Sea Dog]

3 hours ago, Colorado Babe said:

Wondering if they are now covering COVID.

I checked and actually called Allianz. It's kind of confusing as the CSR said that COVID is covered, but when I read my policy under "Exclusions" a "epidemic" is not, which is what they are calling COVID. Here is a link to their policy on COVID. It looks like you need to buy a policy that included COVID.

https://azcontent.us/alert/2019-novel-coronavirus

[Sea Dog]

49 minutes ago, RFerrington said:

Not sure if it will include anything this year or not.  I will find out very shortly !

Please let us know. When I called Allianz the CSR said we were covered, the policy however says no.

[RFerrington]

8 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Please let us know. When I called Allianz the CSR said we were covered, the policy however says no.

I sure will.

[3kidsncats]

1 hour ago, Sea Dog said:

I checked and actually called Allianz. It's kind of confusing as the CSR said that COVID is covered, but when I read my policy under "Exclusions" a "epidemic" is not, which is what they are calling COVID. Here is a link to their policy on COVID. It looks like you need to buy a policy that included COVID.

https://azcontent.us/alert/2019-novel-coronavirus

I read that too — some of the policy options don’t have the coverage, although the one we got does.  The fine print and legalese can be brutal to navigate

Edited June 9, 2021 by 3kidsncats

[Sea Dog]

1 minute ago, 3kidsncats said:

I read that too — some of the policy options don’t have, although the one we got does.  The fine print and legalese can be brutal to navigate

Yes I agree. I am pretty sure we don't have COVID coverage. I'm not too worried as we are vaccinated. I'm more worried if something else were to happen being covered for a medical evac. Interesting I priced out a new policy for our September 2022 cruise. It  was $200 higher. That's with the COVID coverage.

[3kidsncats]

Funnily enough, my husband just handed me a letter from Allianz about the Covid coverage.

 

Basically, they cover you if you are diagnosed with Covid for emergency medical care under the “Emergency Medical Care” benefit IF you have that benefit with your specific policy.

 

Also, they cover trip cancellation/interruption also IF you are diagnosed with Covid, AND you have Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption benefits with your plan.

 

so if you have to quarantine due to exposure, you are unlikely to be covered.

 

 

[Sea Dog]

1 minute ago, 3kidsncats said:

 

Basically, they cover you if you are diagnosed with Covid for emergency medical care under the “Emergency Medical Care” benefit IF you have that benefit with your specific policy.

 

Also, they cover trip cancellation/interruption also IF you are diagnosed with Covid, AND you have Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption benefits with your plan.

 

so if you have to quarantine due to exposure, you are unlikely to be covered.

 

 

Thanks for the update. It looks like from their website you have to have this in your policy.

Epidemic Coverage Endorsement

 

Adds certain epidemic-related covered reasons for Trip Cancellation/Interruption; Travel Delay; Emergency Medical Care; and Emergency Transportation benefits. For example, you may be reimbursed for prepaid, nonrefundable, unused trip costs if you must cancel your trip because you, a travel companion, or a family member are diagnosed with an epidemic disease such as COVID-19. For more information, look for the Epidemic Coverage Endorsement page within your plan details.

[3kidsncats]

11 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Thanks for the update. It looks like from their website you have to have this in your policy.

Epidemic Coverage Endorsement

 

Adds certain epidemic-related covered reasons for Trip Cancellation/Interruption; Travel Delay; Emergency Medical Care; and Emergency Transportation benefits. For example, you may be reimbursed for prepaid, nonrefundable, unused trip costs if you must cancel your trip because you, a travel companion, or a family member are diagnosed with an epidemic disease such as COVID-19. For more information, look for the Epidemic Coverage Endorsement page within your plan details.

The letter, of course, doesn’t mention that 🙄. Our coverage doesn’t start until July, so I have time to double check that  in the 60-some pages of the policy 

[3kidsncats]

32 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Yes I agree. I am pretty sure we don't have COVID coverage. I'm not too worried as we are vaccinated. I'm more worried if something else were to happen being covered for a medical evac. Interesting I priced out a new policy for our September 2022 cruise. It  was $200 higher. That's with the COVID coverage.

We got a year of coverage for the three members of our household, for $700 total. That includes an extra $200 to increase the cancellation/interruption benefit because the limit is per policy, not per trip, and in addition to several other trips, we have a TA with time in NYC beforehand, and a few weeks in Italy after — and the base plan cancellation coverage was skimpy.  
 

it is definitely cheaper than buying insurance per trip.