Why Buy the Insurance?

[mominwestlake]

We cruise on February 5th.  I just noticed that it is not too late for us to add Carnival's cruise insurance for $109 per person.
We have never purchased the insurance, and I am wondering if it would be a good idea to buy it now?  

Please give me the PROs for buying the insurance.  I suppose the CON would be that the $109 pp could be spent elsewhere.

 

[ninjacat123]

I get travel insurance through GeoBlue which gives me medical evacuation and medical coverage.  Our primary insurance wouldn't cover international medical issues.  Those are my main concerns.  I'm sure others will give their thoughts about Carnival insurance.  I've never bought through Carnival.

[GTO-Girl]

We never, ever buy our trip insurance through the cruise lines.  You can get better coverage for less money through a third party.

 

We use www.insuremytrip.com to compare different policies and pick the one that’s best for us….

 

 

[firefly333]

Are you flying or driving to the port. That for me would be a big part of my risk.  If I get covid I'm driving home. Not so easy if you fly in.

Edited January 11, 2022 by firefly333

[tallnthensome]

I don't know how anyone could ever sail without insurance especially now. I would read the cruise insurance forum . 

[klfrodo]

Hey, it's your call. You can either 100% take all risk and self insure, or, you can share the risk by buying travel insrance.

Only 2 reasons that I can think of for cruise line insurance.

*1. It includes CFAR up until ships scheduled departure (unless you're from NY)

*2 The price is not dependent upon age.

Edited January 11, 2022 by klfrodo

[Silent Penguin]

46 minutes ago, GTO-Girl said:

We never, ever buy our trip insurance through the cruise lines.  You can get better coverage for less money through a third party.

 

We use www.insuremytrip.com to compare different policies and pick the one that’s best for us….

 

 

I was thinking the same thing.  I don't know how big their party is or their ages, but even when we cruised with our elderly parents,  the cost and coverage through www.insuremytrip has been better.  I have no complaints about their customer service either on the occasions I've had to cancel or change the policy.

[firefly333]

31 minutes ago, klfrodo said:

Hey, it's your call. You can either 100% take all risk and self insure, or, you can share the risk by buying travel insrance.

Only 2 reasons that I can think of for cruise line insurance.

*1. It includes CFAR up until ships scheduled departure (unless you're from NY)

*2 The price is not dependent upon age.

I'm self insured, but I'm also solo, and my risk is I lose hotel and cruise parking cost. Prepaid. If I test positive before I think cruiselines will refund. Once onboard, dont care, they will feed me until we get back and I'll drive home and isolate.,

 

What I'd lose isnt worth the trouble of filing. 

[Drazil65]

We have always purchased insurance for all our trips (cruise, other countries, etc) thru insure my trip dot com.  Very reasonable for the peace of mind it provides, it is a relatively small amount compared to everything else you purchase on a cruise .  Its insurance, in case, trust me, if you need to fly home (emergency like someone at home dies or has accident or one of your group on the cruise has one), if you need extra medical attention (it happens all the time). Many hospitals or medical facilities on the smaller islands require full payment up front before they will treat you (I am sure they have had their share of people just leaving without paying at the end of treatment how would they collect), we always make sure the medical portion of the insurance pays as primary up front if required.  There are so many variables now a days when traveling, including transportation reimbursement, hotels etc.  

 

With covid dont assume you will walk away not affected or not get sic, you really have no idea how each variant will affect you or a loved one.   This is definitely not the time to travel without insurance (if you pay for the cruise or any travel with a credit card, check to see what travel insurance they may provide).  

[Babr]

Credit card insurance provides little if any medical coverage. It is primarily for cancellation and trip interruption with some other travel risks covered as well. The list of covered reasons is much shorter than the comprehensive travel plans, and credit card insurance generally does not cover pre-existing conditions.

Read the Benefits Guide carefully for requirements, coverage, and exclusions before you rely on it in place of a traditional travel plan.

[Duanerice1]

We travel all the time and have only bought insurance once (also don't buy extended warranties - lol).  Been on about 10 cruises and travel at least 4 times a year.

 

The only time we bought insurance is when we did a safari in Africa.   And that really was just evacuation insurance.  

 

For us, it's worth the gamble.  

[Drazil65]

Pre existing conditions are not covered in most travel insurance unless you purchased the insurance within the specified time frame (usually 14 or 21 days from booking trip).  if someone has a pre existing condition then they need to pay special attention to that information.  You will pay more for coverage (if you can still get it covered) with pre existing conditions if out of the stated time frame.  

 

 

[klfrodo]

1 hour ago, firefly333 said:

I'm self insured, but I'm also solo, and my risk is I lose hotel and cruise parking cost. Prepaid. If I test positive before I think cruiselines will refund. Once onboard, dont care, they will feed me until we get back and I'll drive home and isolate.,

 

What I'd lose isnt worth the trouble of filing. 

I self-insure the cancellation, trip delay, and trip interruption. I do insure the medical and evac though

[Babr]

21 minutes ago, Drazil65 said:

Pre existing conditions are not covered in most travel insurance unless you purchased the insurance within the specified time frame (usually 14 or 21 days from booking trip).  if someone has a pre existing condition then they need to pay special attention to that information.  You will pay more for coverage (if you can still get it covered) with pre existing conditions if out of the stated time frame.  

 

 

You may be thinking of Cancel For Any Reason. That must be purchased within a defined time period after initial deposit, and, yes it does come at a significant extra cost. You have one shot to get it. After that, you can’t purchase CFAR.

 

That is one of the advantages of cruise line insurance. It is often included at no extra cost as an in incentive by the cruise line. The difference is that the cruise line gives FCC, but insurance will reimburse in cash, usually about 75% of nonrefundable expenses.

 

As you say, the pre-existing condition waiver must also be purchased in a specified time window, but there are some policies that allow it at final payment. There is no extra cost involved, but you must be mindful of the time sensitive purchase.

[CorbinCatFan]

As few mentioned already, I can afford to loose the cruise and air fare (even though I would hate to) but I get insurance for international medical coverage, med evac, and if needed, repatriation of remains.

 

Since we are taking several cruises this year, I've elected to take an annual policy for medical. 

Edited January 12, 2022 by CorbinCatFan

[AK2CA]

I haven't purchased through cruise lines.  I have quite a few cruises and land trips planned in 2022 so I bought an annual Premier plan with Allianz.  It's peace of mind for me that if something should happen, then I have medical coverage and evacuation, etc.  I also found it cheaper to buy an annual plan than insuring each trip.

 

Edited January 12, 2022 by AK2CA

[WildBlueYonder64]

You don't say what age group you're in, but don't use 'I'm young and healthy' as a reason not to buy insurance. Accidents and medical emergencies happen to all age groups. While on a stop in Jamaica, a teenage boy sustained a compound fracture and he and his family had to stay behind so he could have surgery. On another trip, a young woman was taken away by ambulance while we were still in port due to an appendicitis attack.

Edited January 12, 2022 by WildBlueYonder64

[ontheweb]

Think of it this way---do you have car insurance, homeowners insurance. You hope you don't need to use them, but you know you have to have them. 

 

But, I would agree with many of the other posters to look for private as opposed to cruise line insurance because of better medical coverage.

[Babr]

10 hours ago, AK2CA said:

I haven't purchased through cruise lines.  I have quite a few cruises and land trips planned in 2022 so I bought an annual Premier plan with Allianz.  It's peace of mind for me that if something should happen, then I have medical coverage and evacuation, etc.  I also found it cheaper to buy an annual plan than insuring each trip.

 

Be sure to check the policy for language about COVID. Allianz is one of the companies that places limitations on coverage unless your plan has the endorsement.

[Drazil65]

You may be thinking of Cancel For Any Reason. That must be purchased within a defined time period after initial deposit, and, yes it does come at a significant extra cost. 

 

No, I was speaking of pre existing conditions on travel insurance (not purchased through CCL as we always purchase through a 3rd party as mentioned in my original posting here).  It is an add on in some policies (after the initial time frame for purchasing the 3rd party ins) and/or some of the policies you cant add pre existing conditions after the fact. If someone has a diagnosis of a chronic or pre existing medical situation for which they were (or are) treated for, then it is something they want to be very cognizant about if looking at travel insurance coverage.  

 

We are fortunate in our family that no one has had anything that would be classified as a pre existing/chronic condition (that could negate a payout on a claim) so that is not something we actually look for.  

[1kaper]

I don't usually buy the cruise line insurance.  I have travel insurance through my work that covers my medical and stuff (trip delay, interruption, etc).  I also have travel insurance on my credit card that I use to book. 
However, this time around, I did buy the Cancel for Any Reason insurance because there is so much uncertainty around COVID, particularly because I have to travel from Canada and changes to their COVID policies may make it more difficult for me to travel.  The policies I have cover COVID health insurance but will not cover it if I have to cancel due to COVID.  
I have to say, it was worth it.  I am not stressed at all about the situation right now. I am keeping an eye on it and know I have the luxury of cancelling without losing everything.  The promotion I booked on was a non-refundable deposit regardless of when you cancelled, which also factored into my decision.  But my final payment date already passed.  Lots of people had to make their decision to cancel or not already.  I can wait longer to have a better idea of what things will look like. 

I will say that CFAR only gives you 75% of the cost back in FCC.  It's better than nothing. 

If this is about other types of insurance, regardless of age don't travel without adequate health insurance!

[mz-s]

Read what the insurance covers and decide if the risk of you experiencing a covered event is outweighed by the cost of the insurance. Only YOU can make that decision.

[crazy4themouse]

10 hours ago, WildBlueYonder64 said:

You don't say what age group you're in, but don't use 'I'm young and healthy' as a reason not to buy insurance. Accidents and medical emergencies happen to all age groups. While on a stop in Jamaica, a teenage boy sustained a compound fracture and he and his family had to stay behind so he could have surgery. On another trip, a young woman was taken away by ambulance while we were still in port due to an appendicitis attack.

 

All of the above is exactly what I was about to say. C19 might be what's on everyone's mind right now, but we always get travel insurance because of everything else that could go wrong and our regular health insurance wouldn't cover. I've personally witnessed a lady slip on the pool deck, just walking, and break her leg. Stuff happens! And as a previous poster mentioned, quite a lot of the countries visited by cruises require a HUGE amount of money at the door before they'll even treat you... and I've read horror stories of people's spouses and families in a panic trying to quickly raise the funds just to get their loved one treated. It's not like your neighborhood hospital here in the U.S. -- they absolutely do NOT have to treat you if they don't feel like it. 

 

tl;dr: It's not being able to cover the cost of the cruise you need to worry about -- It's the costs of an unexpected emergency happening. Also, I always go through Insure My Trip as well.
 

[1kaper]

21 minutes ago, crazy4themouse said:

 

All of the above is exactly what I was about to say. C19 might be what's on everyone's mind right now, but we always get travel insurance because of everything else that could go wrong and our regular health insurance wouldn't cover. I've personally witnessed a lady slip on the pool deck, just walking, and break her leg. Stuff happens! And as a previous poster mentioned, quite a lot of the countries visited by cruises require a HUGE amount of money at the door before they'll even treat you... and I've read horror stories of people's spouses and families in a panic trying to quickly raise the funds just to get their loved one treated. It's not like your neighborhood hospital here in the U.S. -- they absolutely do NOT have to treat you if they don't feel like it. 

 

tl;dr: It's not being able to cover the cost of the cruise you need to worry about -- It's the costs of an unexpected emergency happening. Also, I always go through Insure My Trip as well.
 

 

I had a "young and healthy" friend experience a severe heart issue while at Disney.  The costs would have been astronomical.  I think he spent at least a month down there before he was stable enough to return to Canada. 

[Babr]

1 hour ago, Drazil65 said:

You may be thinking of Cancel For Any Reason. That must be purchased within a defined time period after initial deposit, and, yes it does come at a significant extra cost. 

 

No, I was speaking of pre existing conditions on travel insurance (not purchased through CCL as we always purchase through a 3rd party as mentioned in my original posting here).  It is an add on in some policies (after the initial time frame for purchasing the 3rd party ins) and/or some of the policies you cant add pre existing conditions after the fact. If someone has a diagnosis of a chronic or pre existing medical situation for which they were (or are) treated for, then it is something they want to be very cognizant about if looking at travel insurance coverage.  

 

We are fortunate in our family that no one has had anything that would be classified as a pre existing/chronic condition (that could negate a payout on a claim) so that is not something we actually look for.  

Interesting. I’ve never seen it as an add on. You either qualify by buying it in the required window or not. None allow you to add it after the fact, at least not to my knowledge.