Is it worth getting NCL’s AON Insurance?

[Crown Vic]

We have our own private insurance, booked separately, giving us $5 million in medical coverage, some Trip Interruption insurance, Evacuation coverage etc.

Norwegian appears to be providing refunds/FCCs for Covid caused inability to travel, denial of boarding or reboarding under the NCL Refund and Cancellation Policy. 
The question is has anyone had the need to claim under the NCL Policy and what review of the claim process would be given?

Appreciate your input. Cheers!

[hernando52]

We have had to make 3 claims in the past.  2 for me and once for my husband.  All were for trips to the medical department for sinus infections which required antibiotics.  Each visit cost over $300.  NCL provided all of the documentation (which we knew our insurance would not cover).  AON explained what we had to do & when all claims were denied by insurance, AON reimbursed everything.  It took time, and we did have to pay out of pocket while on the ship...I don't know if that is different with other insurances.  PS...I always travel with antibiotics now.

[GeezerCouple]

5 minutes ago, hernando52 said:

We have had to make 3 claims in the past.  2 for me and once for my husband.  All were for trips to the medical department for sinus infections which required antibiotics.  Each visit cost over $300.  NCL provided all of the documentation (which we knew our insurance would not cover).  AON explained what we had to do & when all claims were denied by insurance, AON reimbursed everything.  It took time, and we did have to pay out of pocket while on the ship...I don't know if that is different with other insurances.  PS...I always travel with antibiotics now.

 

 

Almost all travel insurance for medical costs requires the traveler to pay for the services/supplies and submit receipts for reimbursement later.  We always travel with several charge cards with high credit limits (our regular cards, nothing special for travel, but we take several with us, if for no other reasons in case one goes missing or gets compromised, etc.) in case ...

 

There are some insurers who may help with payment guarantees (or perhaps in the moment?) if it's required, but that's not common - but neither is the need for ultra-high cost care.  We saw one overseas ER, obviously an English-speaking tourist area, where the billing office had a sign displaying something like, "Cash or credit card only.  No travel insurance unless it is <and the names of a few major travel insurance companies>."

I handed a credit card over, while DH was being taken to the ER from the ambulance.  

 

When we had to have a hotel call a physician to see me, and then come back again, and then direct the hospital to call an ambulance, he (physician) required cash on the spot.  So we had to ask the hotel to help us with local currency in the middle of the night, which they did.

But the physician wouldn't take charge cards or check, etc.  Just cash.

He gave us a "receipt" that was just a statement of what he had collected and the date, on a piece of his letterhead.  That was accepted without issue by our travel insurer.

But you *NEED* to have RECEIPTS!  That isn't always thought of in the moment.

(I forgot when tipping a taxi driver.  We had a receipt for the fare, but not for the tip.  Small amount, no problem, but it reminded me of the importance of receipts.)

 

In the section I quoted, it sounds like the travel insurance was "secondary", meaning it REQUIRES that you get a denial (for all or part) of the costs before they'll pay anything at all.

We get "primary" insurance coverage, so nothing needs to be submitted elsewhere first.

NOTE:  For those with some Medicare add-ons, there is a $50k lifetime limit for foreign care. Much better to have primary travel insurance and *not* need to use up any of that $50k.  Also, apparently Medicare can be slow to issue the denial, so you can't collect from the travel insurer until that denial arrives.

 

GC

[4 cruisers]

YES!  It does take some footwork to get reimbursed but we got everything back except the insurance cost, of course!  Ours was covid cancellation.  ;-(

 

[BklynBorn47]

We have 2 claims submitted to AON right now.  2nd leg of B2B2B cancelled because of positive covid on 1st leg (last day)
It "should" take 30 days to be resolved (by Aug 1).  If this thread is still active I will let you know how it goes.

[Diver2014]

We've always taken the AON insurance.  Got reimbursed for remaining balance after NCL partially refunded a cruise that we cancelled.

[krittykat]

Had to cancel a cruise last minute due to my father's sudden health decline and enter into hospice. He passed away prior to claim to being fully reviewed. Took 3-4 months to settle but got our fare refunded. Still will use AON for next cruise.

 

[montecarloss]

Does anyone know how late you can purchase NCL's insurance? (Essentials)

Edited July 14, 2022 by montecarloss
additionalinfo

[tombli]

Had to cancel cruise in mid-March due to death of my father. Filed claim 3/18. AON is still processing claim four months later. I called them for the third time yesterday and they said "thank you for your submission, it will take 21 business days but may take longer."  Can't understand how it would take so long for something cut and dried. Annoying as hell, but what can you do?   Sure you are handling a lot of Covid cancellations, but four freakin' months? 

Edited July 16, 2022 by tombli

[BirdTravels]

19 minutes ago, tombli said:

Had to cancel cruise in mid-March due to death of my father. Filed claim 3/18. AON is still processing claim four months later. I called them for the third time yesterday and they said "thank you for your submission, it will take 21 business days but may take longer."  Can't understand how it would take so long for something cut and dried. Annoying as hell, but what can you do?   Sure you are handling a lot of Covid cancellations, but four freakin' months? 

You're also in line with thousands of claims from cancelled cruises (e.g., Escape grounding in the Dominican Republic). As noted, you are filing a claim with a commercial insurance company, not NCL. 

[Babr]

On 7/14/2022 at 6:02 AM, montecarloss said:

Does anyone know how late you can purchase NCL's insurance? (Essentials)

Any time up to final payment. You know the Essentials plan has minimal post-departure benefits with no cancellation coverage, right?

[Old Fart Cruisers]

We had AON with Carnival.  Had to cancel the day before our flight (two days before the cruise), due to a death of a family member (May 29th).  Filed the claim on June 10th, but had to mail all documents because their website wasn't working to accept uploaded documents, so that added a few days.  

Got a check in the mail TODAY.  So just over one month from the time they received the documentation until we received the check.  It was actually easier than I expected. 

[BirdTravels]

11 hours ago, Babr said:

Any time up to final payment. You know the Essentials plan has minimal post-departure benefits with no cancellation coverage, right?

“Essentials” is just the name of the plan. The level determines your coverage.

 

The policy does not have a cancellation for any reason provision. However, NCL, not the insurance company, will provide you with a 75% or 90% FCC if your cancellation claim is denied by the insurance company depending on your level. 

[Babr]

56 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

“Essentials” is just the name of the plan. The level determines your coverage.

 

The policy does not have a cancellation for any reason provision. However, NCL, not the insurance company, will provide you with a 75% or 90% FCC if your cancellation claim is denied by the insurance company depending on your level. 

It appears NCL has three policies - Platinum, Standard, and Essential.  The Essential provides trip delay, but there are no provisions for covered reasons so you’ll never get 100% cash reimbursement for what might otherwise be allowed such as a death in the family or a last minute illness. If people are OK with losing 25% of the value and being reimbursed with FCC, then that policy serves well.

 

A very inexpensive premium provides a very minimum of medical coverage.

[montecarloss]

Thanks for all your replies.  Not looking for cancellation coverage, just medical and evacuation home.

[Babr]

12 minutes ago, montecarloss said:

Thanks for all your replies.  Not looking for cancellation coverage, just medical and evacuation home.

You’ll have some coverage as long as your expectations are in line with what the policy covers and any claim does not involve a pre-existing condition.

 

The evacuation part is for hospital-to-hospital transfer when it is approved as medically necessary. Otherwise, you’ll be treated at the nearest facility. 

[Old Fart Cruisers]

1 hour ago, Babr said:

It appears NCL has three policies - Platinum, Standard, and Essential.  The Essential provides trip delay, but there are no provisions for covered reasons so you’ll never get 100% cash reimbursement for what might otherwise be allowed such as a death in the family or a last minute illness. If people are OK with losing 25% of the value and being reimbursed with FCC, then that policy serves well.

 

A very inexpensive premium provides a very minimum of medical coverage.

 

I only see two options, not three - Standard or Platinum.  Both are "Essentials Travel Protection" plan options

[Babr]

40 minutes ago, Old Fart Cruisers said:

 

I only see two options, not three - Standard or Platinum.  Both are "Essentials Travel Protection" plan options

Well, that is interesting. Here is what I see when I search for NCL travel protection.

 

https://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/booksafe

 

I see three options under BookSafe - Platinum, Standard, and Essential. Is this current information?

[BirdTravels]

9 hours ago, Babr said:

It appears NCL has three policies - Platinum, Standard, and Essential.  The Essential provides trip delay, but there are no provisions for covered reasons so you’ll never get 100% cash reimbursement for what might otherwise be allowed such as a death in the family or a last minute illness. If people are OK with losing 25% of the value and being reimbursed with FCC, then that policy serves well.

 

A very inexpensive premium provides a very minimum of medical coverage.

 

All I can say is this is how it is listed on my reservation:

 

[Old Fart Cruisers]

6 hours ago, Babr said:

Well, that is interesting. Here is what I see when I search for NCL travel protection.

 

https://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/booksafe

 

I see three options under BookSafe - Platinum, Standard, and Essential. Is this current information?

 

It looks like I was wrong.  We were only offered Platinum or Standard, but both were listed as Essential plans as:

the Standard Essentials Travel Protection

the Platinum Essentials Travel Protection for $60 more per person

 

But now I see it looks like there are three plans.  Sorry for the misinformation

[Babr]

4 minutes ago, Old Fart Cruisers said:

 

It looks like I was wrong.  We were only offered Platinum or Standard, but both were listed as Essential plans as:

the Standard Essentials Travel Protection

the Platinum Essentials Travel Protection for $60 more per person

 

But now I see it looks like there are three plans.  Sorry for the misinformation

You are very gracious to apologize for something that is so confusing. You are correct that only two options are given at booking. I don’t know where the so-called Essential Plan fits in or how anyone is supposed to know about it.

[ChiefMateJRK]

3 minutes ago, Babr said:

You are very gracious to apologize for something that is so confusing. You are correct that only two options are given at booking. I don’t know where the so-called Essential Plan fits in or how anyone is supposed to know about it.

It shows up after final payment, at which time it is the only option.  It is generally a crappy option compared to third party catastrophic coverage policies.

[Babr]

14 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

It shows up after final payment, at which time it is the only option.  It is generally a crappy option compared to third party catastrophic coverage policies.

That makes sense. Final payment is the last opportunity for NCL to sell some basic coverage for medical. Since it is described as post- departure, there are no cancellation benefits. There is no mention of FCC whereas Standard will give 75%, and Platinum will give 90% if one cancels for a non-covered reason.

 

It appears that part of my statement in post #14 is incorrect, and my first interpretation was right.  Only Platinum and Standard offer the option of FCC for cancellations not covered by insurance.