Cruise cancelled-Insurance did not cover

[Randy Z]

My group of six booked an October 2024 Mediterranean cruise approximately one year in advance in November 2023.  Insurance was requested and an invoice was generated by Silversea that included both the cruise and insurance, and Silversea requesting a $4,200 deposit.  The deposit was paid, however, Silversea did not purchase the insurance policy, instead deferring the insurance policy purchase to the final cruise payment date (June 2024), and retained the entire deposit.  After the booking, but before the final payment was due, one of our guests experienced a stroke.  Upon the June 2024 deadline for the final payment, and with the hope that the guest's medical condition would improve prior to the cruise, the guest was prepared to pay for the remainder of the cruise, including the cruise insurance, however, she was advised that the waiver of preexisting conditions exclusions would not apply, as one of the waiver conditions is that the guest is able to travel at the time the insurance is purchased.  Given the recent stroke, this was not the case.  Essentially, the cruise cancellation provision differs from the timing of the insurance purchase, catch-22 in the coverage and no coverage was available.  They were forced to cancel the booking and forfeit the entire deposit.  Given that they requested the inclusion of insurance at the time of booking, how is someone able to be protected during this gap period? 

 

This is a very bad look for Silversea who refuses to offer any compensation.  Any assistance or advise is much appreciated.   

[Gourmet Gal]

48 minutes ago, Randy Z said:

My group of six booked an October 2024 Mediterranean cruise approximately one year in advance in November 2023.  Insurance was requested and an invoice was generated by Silversea that included both the cruise and insurance, and Silversea requesting a $4,200 deposit.  The deposit was paid, however, Silversea did not purchase the insurance policy, instead deferring the insurance policy purchase to the final cruise payment date (June 2024), and retained the entire deposit.  After the booking, but before the final payment was due, one of our guests experienced a stroke.  Upon the June 2024 deadline for the final payment, and with the hope that the guest's medical condition would improve prior to the cruise, the guest was prepared to pay for the remainder of the cruise, including the cruise insurance, however, she was advised that the waiver of preexisting conditions exclusions would not apply, as one of the waiver conditions is that the guest is able to travel at the time the insurance is purchased.  Given the recent stroke, this was not the case.  Essentially, the cruise cancellation provision differs from the timing of the insurance purchase, catch-22 in the coverage and no coverage was available.  They were forced to cancel the booking and forfeit the entire deposit.  Given that they requested the inclusion of insurance at the time of booking, how is someone able to be protected during this gap period? 

 

This is a very bad look for Silversea who refuses to offer any compensation.  Any assistance or advise is much appreciated.   

Are you certain that the deposit paid included a payment for insurance?  All my SS bookings require a deposit that goes towards the cruise with the insurance amount being just a line item that will be charged when final payment is due.  We’ve always been fine with not having the deposit insured.  

[Host Jazzbeau]

When I have booked with Silversea, there is a link for insurance that takes me directly to the Allianz website where I purchase the insurance myself (at Silversea's excellent flat 10% rate).  Initially I insure just the deposit – to lock in 'pre-existing coverage' – and then increase the coverage later as I incur more non-refundable costs.  [Caveat, this may only work for NY residents, as NY prevents cruise companies from selling their own insurance.]

[mahasamatman]

Sorry your friend had to learn the hard lesson never to purchase insurance from or through a cruise line. We had a similar situation (though my wife only had pneumonia and not a stroke), and we were fully covered through her Chase Sapphire card.

 

Note that California does have better consumer protection than most of the rest of the U.S., so I would consider getting a free 30-minute consultation through your county's Lawyer Referral Service (every county has one).

[pavementends]

3 hours ago, mahasamatman said:

Sorry your friend had to learn the hard lesson never to purchase insurance from or through a cruise line.

 

I disagree with that as a general statement.

 

OP's unfortunate situation arose because of either a misunderstanding about the pre-existing condition coverage or a miscommunication to or by Silversea. Now if Silversea miscommunicated I would hope that they would make it right.

 

The requirement that the policy be purchased in order for pre-existing coverage to apply is common. The details of how that works seems to vary between insurance companies. One that I dealt with required that you pay for the insurance for the entire trip cost within a few days in order for the coverage to apply.

 

As far as buying from the cruise line- I was happy with the resolution of a claim I made recently against a Viking-issued policy.

 

That doesn't mean, by the way, that I will be cruising with Viking again, as I like Silversea better (despite the grumping you will read here from others).

[Randy Z]

22 hours ago, Gourmet Gal said:

Are you certain that the deposit paid included a payment for insurance?  All my SS bookings require a deposit that goes towards the cruise with the insurance amount being just a line item that will be charged when final payment is due.  We’ve always been fine with not having the deposit insured.  

That's exactly the problem.  Although the initial invoice included insurance, by not purchasing the insurance until the time of the final payment, Silversea created the gap in coverage.  But yes, the deposit was not insured.  

 

[Randy Z]

23 hours ago, Randy Z said:

My group of six booked an October 2024 Mediterranean cruise approximately one year in advance in November 2023.  Insurance was requested and an invoice was generated by Silversea that included both the cruise and insurance, and Silversea requesting a $4,200 deposit.  The deposit was paid, however, Silversea did not purchase the insurance policy, instead deferring the insurance policy purchase to the final cruise payment date (June 2024), and retained the entire deposit.  After the booking, but before the final payment was due, one of our guests experienced a stroke.  Upon the June 2024 deadline for the final payment, and with the hope that the guest's medical condition would improve prior to the cruise, the guest was prepared to pay for the remainder of the cruise, including the cruise insurance, however, she was advised that the waiver of preexisting conditions exclusions would not apply, as one of the waiver conditions is that the guest is able to travel at the time the insurance is purchased.  Given the recent stroke, this was not the case.  Essentially, the cruise cancellation provision differs from the timing of the insurance purchase, catch-22 in the coverage and no coverage was available.  They were forced to cancel the booking and forfeit the entire deposit.  Given that they requested the inclusion of insurance at the time of booking, how is someone able to be protected during this gap period? 

 

This is a very bad look for Silversea who refuses to offer any compensation.  Any assistance or advise is much appreciated.   

A bad look for Silversea indeed.  And there's no one to speak to other than an overseas call center with nobody in a position of authority.  

[Randy Z]

22 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

When I have booked with Silversea, there is a link for insurance that takes me directly to the Allianz website where I purchase the insurance myself (at Silversea's excellent flat 10% rate).  Initially I insure just the deposit – to lock in 'pre-existing coverage' – and then increase the coverage later as I incur more non-refundable costs.  [Caveat, this may only work for NY residents, as NY prevents cruise companies from selling their own insurance.]

This was booked thru a travel agent, but when I have booked directly, I don't recall an option to purchase coverage at the initial booking.  Perhaps CA is different than NY.  But in the future, I will book my own insurance separate from Silversea and be better able to control the timing of the insurance purchase.  

[Randy Z]

22 hours ago, mahasamatman said:

Sorry your friend had to learn the hard lesson never to purchase insurance from or through a cruise line. We had a similar situation (though my wife only had pneumonia and not a stroke), and we were fully covered through her Chase Sapphire card.

 

Note that California does have better consumer protection than most of the rest of the U.S., so I would consider getting a free 30-minute consultation through your county's Lawyer Referral Service (every county has one).

Lesson learned.  I wrongly assumed that purchasing insurance thru the cruise line would be more seamless.  I also booked a discounted fare that included cancellation penalties immediately upon booking.  However, Silversea was aware of that and should have not delayed the insurance purchase creating the coverage gap.  

[Port Power]

I agree.  Keep pounding away at SS to pay up per the cover that they insisted on and you paid them for.

 

I use credit card insurance, which means I have cover immediately the deposit is paid with said credit card.  Otherwise I would purchase a policy immediately. Anything can happen between the time of paying the deposit and boarding the ship, as has happened to @Randy Z’s friends.

[Gourmet Gal]

3 hours ago, Randy Z said:

That's exactly the problem.  Although the initial invoice included insurance, by not purchasing the insurance until the time of the final payment, Silversea created the gap in coverage.  But yes, the deposit was not insured.  

 

When there is a large non-refundable deposit paid then the insurance may not have helped unless you outright purchase cancel for any reason insurance which is very expensive.

[gnome12]

53 minutes ago, Gourmet Gal said:

When there is a large non-refundable deposit paid then the insurance may not have helped unless you outright purchase cancel for any reason insurance which is very expensive.

Not if you are cancelling for a covered reason, which having a stroke definitely is.

[late2cruisin]

Jeff- you are in the UK and things are very different there as far as insurance and consumer protections go You mention that SS says you are obligated contractually to purchase insurance. This is certainly not the case in the U.S. It is your choice to purchase insurance from SS (apparently NOT in New York!) or another carrier or not at all.

[Host Jazzbeau]

BTW, not just for OP but for everyone reading this thread:  Cruise Critic has a separate forum for Cruise/Travel Insurance with many experts who can give advice.

 

That advice is often to call Steve at tripinsurancestore – and coincidentally Steve is hosting a Q&A on Cruise Critic:  Cruise Insurance Q&A w/ Steve Dasseos of Tripinsurancestore.com June 2024

[UKCruiseJeff]

1 hour ago, late2cruisin said:

Jeff- you are in the UK and things are very different there as far as insurance and consumer protections go You mention that SS says you are obligated contractually to purchase insurance. This is certainly not the case in the U.S. It is your choice to purchase insurance from SS (apparently NOT in New York!) or another carrier or not at all.

 

 

Nevertheless.  The OP elected  to have SS secure and provide the insurance cover which he had perfectly good reason to expect them to do.  If they had, it should have covered the cancellation.  

 

The reason I suggested social media if all else failed was to reflect the lack of US consumer protection.

 

Jeff

 

 

 

Edited June 8 by UKCruiseJeff

[late2cruisin]

3 hours ago, UKCruiseJeff said:

 

 

Nevertheless.  The OP elected  to have SS secure and provide the insurance cover which he had perfectly good reason to expect them to do.  If they had, it should have covered the cancellation.  

 

The reason I suggested social media if all else failed was to reflect the lack of US consumer protection.

 

Jeff

 

 

 

I totally agree that the OP had every reason to believe that the insurance had been purchased at the time of deposit and that SS is clearly in the wrong here. I'm just saying that it may be an uphill battle to get them to admit it. And yes, I do think using social media could help.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Thanks.  I totally agree with you.

 

Jeff

[FauxNom]

I'm sorry this happened and I think Silversea ought to refund the deposit just as a goodwill gesture.

 

However, if I book a standard P2P or D2D fare, I would NOT want the insurance payment due at the time of booking--much preferring a refundable deposit on the cruise, since there's no way you would be able to get a refund on the insurance if you've already paid for it and then cancel. 

 

It seems that this problem arose because it was an "essential fare" booking and the Silversea consultant didn't understand that the nonrefundable aspect would have implications for insurance. For that very reason, I booked and paid for my last purchase on my Chase Sapphire card, which will cover trip cancellation.

[Randy Z]

22 hours ago, UKCruiseJeff said:

 

Randy,

 

Genuinely trying to help you.

 

You obviously know what to do next time.  However your friend is still left with the unresolved issue.

 

If you read SS’s terms it states clearly that when making a booking with SS, customers are obligated contractually to immediately purchase insurance that covers cancellation and provide a copy of that insurance to SS.  It even uses the word “immediately” later.  

 

It is therefore reasonable for customers to expect SS to comply with their own terms when offering to provide you with that cover directly when making the initial booking that includes insurance.  The cooling off period mentioned implies it is in force because you are expected to replace it if you cancel it. Why would you need to replace a policy that wasn’t in force? They have effectively placed you in breach of their contract by you not securing and duplicating the insurance that they have charged you for.  This is clearly nonsense, 

 

I’d pursue it with them more vigorously before giving up.  Also consider social media elsewhere. 

 

To help you, this  is what they say in their terms.

 

O. Travel Insurance

Travel Insurance must be taken out at the time of booking and details of the Insurance stated on the Guest Information Form. This must include cover for cancellation or curtailment of the holiday by yourself as well as the cost of repatriation in the event of accident or illness. It is your responsibility to arrange suitable insurance cover for your holiday. If you require further information, we recommend that you speak to an independent insurance broker or expert. If any insurance policy is returned during a “cooling-off” period, then equivalent insurance must be taken out and paid for immediately and details immediately provided to Silversea.

 

Good luck.

 

Jeff

Unlike in the UK, travel insurance is not a requirement.  It is optional,  But i did request the SS arranged insurance and they did not purchase it, putting my deposit at risk and not covered.  

[UKCruiseJeff]

11 minutes ago, Randy Z said:

Unlike in the UK, travel insurance is not a requirement.  It is optional,  But i did request the SS arranged insurance and they did not purchase it, putting my deposit at risk and not covered.  

 

 I think we’ve covered that in the posts.

 

I hope you’ve found the posts in the thread helpful and sympathetic and worth posters’ time and efforts in trying to help you.

 

Good luck.

 

Jeff

 

 

 

 

Edited June 9 by UKCruiseJeff

[Randy Z]

47 minutes ago, FauxNom said:

I'm sorry this happened and I think Silversea ought to refund the deposit just as a goodwill gesture.

 

However, if I book a standard P2P or D2D fare, I would NOT want the insurance payment due at the time of booking--much preferring a refundable deposit on the cruise, since there's no way you would be able to get a refund on the insurance if you've already paid for it and then cancel. 

 

It seems that this problem arose because it was an "essential fare" booking and the Silversea consultant didn't understand that the nonrefundable aspect would have implications for insurance. For that very reason, I booked and paid for my last purchase on my Chase Sapphire card, which will cover trip cancellation.

You are correct..  Many of their fares are refundable deposits, so no need to insure.  Our fare was not, and was immediately subject to cancellation penalties.  

[Randy Z]

18 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

BTW, not just for OP but for everyone reading this thread:  Cruise Critic has a separate forum for Cruise/Travel Insurance with many experts who can give advice.

 

That advice is often to call Steve at tripinsurancestore – and coincidentally Steve is hosting a Q&A on Cruise Critic:  Cruise Insurance Q&A w/ Steve Dasseos of Tripinsurancestore.com June 2024

Thank you.  I will try reposting this in the cruise insurance forum.  

[labrasett]

This was a very unfortunate situation.   As a former lawyer in the insurance industry I would suggest (1) never buy your insurance from your travel company unless you are absolutely certain what the terms and conditions are and that they are both reasonable in their own terms and cover all the risks you wish to have covered (think hard about it) and the cost is comparable with similar freestanding cover   (2) always always read the policy terms and conditions very carefully and consider what are the risks you wish to cover and are they included in the policy (3) consider the type of payments you are making, is your deposit refundable or mostly refundable if you change your mind if so you might put off buying your insurance until you make your final payment (4) would an annual policy offer you a better overall deal, quite often single trip cover costs nearly as much as annual cover and if you are travelling regularly it is a no brainer.   In UK quite usually single trip policies can only be purchased within a relatively short period before the trip ie possible only 30 or up to 90 days before the date of departure.   Always always ensure you declare every medical condition you have and complete any medical history questions accurately so as to ensure that in the event of an unexpected medical issue you are not denied cover due to avoidance of the policy because of the failure to disclose full medical history from outset.    Shop around prices vary hugely.  Never ever decide to "wing it" and travel without cover well, that is unless you are mega rich and could afford to pay for a private medevac from some far distant part of the world and/or some monumentally expensive hospitalised in somewhere like, say, US of A.   Happy sailing everyone.

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

Travel Insurance rules are very jurisdiction-dependent.  It is clear from this thread (pre-cleanup) that UK rules are very different from US, and US rules even vary from state to state.  OP has gotten good advice, and is following up on the Cruise/Travel Insurance thread – so this thread is closed.