cruise insurance

[superbonnie]

We purchased two cabins on the Spirit through an online agency and were charged $674 for travel insurance. I thought this was about right since we booked two cabins and there were 6 of us . I viewed the policy today only to discover that the cost was actually $277. I didn't realize that the agency could reap such profits on travel insurance. Anyone else been ripped off like this?

[linsue1231]

SuperBonnie,

 

Hi I just posted something about Travel Insurance on our roll call post last night. I would call them up that is a very very big profit/commission. Something may be wrong...Couldn't hurt to call and find out.

 

Linda

[lvtotrvl1]

I'm sure there was an error...or you purchased more insurance than you will ever need. Did they quote you that much? You can call the insurance company directly or price it on their website to check if you were charged too mcuh. Good Luck..that doesn't sound right at all.

[lvtotrvl1]

I'm sure there was an error...or you purchased more insurance than you will ever need. Did they quote you that much? You can call the insurance company directly or price it on their website to check if you were charged too mcuh. Good Luck..that doesn't sound right at all.

[newmexicoNita]

Either there is a huge error, you have a very detailed policy or you are paying too much. I would call the agent and ask for an explanation. Keep us posted. NMNita

[1st time crusier]

What should you look for when purchasing insurance? is there much difference in what the cruise line offers and what you can get on your own?

[newmexicoNita]

What should you look for when purchasing insurance? is there much difference in what the cruise line offers and what you can get on your own?

Really it depends on your needs: BAsically you want cancellation insurance, so if you have to cancel at the last minute you will get your cruise money back. Remember, this too depends on why you are cancelling. You want protection against lost or damaged luggage, trip delay. Also in case of illness you want enough insurance to cover medical bills out of the country and/or transportation to get the sick person and family back to the embarkation port. There are lots of other things that some will want, others don't care, but I consider these minimum. NMNita

[jerseyjk]

Ouch ... sounds like someone is taking advantage of you. I would hound them until they remove it or adjust the price. There's always your State department of Insurance to complain to if the agent doesn't correct things.

 

What should you look for when purchasing insurance? is there much difference in what the cruise line offers and what you can get on your own?

 

Keep in mind that coverage through the cruise line won't cover financial failure of the line or other things like flights you book on your own, pre/post hotels you book on your own etc. I'm of the opinion third party coverage is a better deal. It can cover flights, lost luggage, delays, cancellations, financial failure of providers, etc.

 

There's a great feature here on CC at http://www.cruisecritic.com/features/articles.cfm?ID=274 you should definitely read.

[newmexicoNita]

I never recommend clients take insurance from the cruise line nor would I? Sometimes a TA companies work with certain companies. That is ok, sometimes the rates are higher, sometimes not so much and usually they are very good companies. If you don't want to do it that way (easy is the reason some do it) there are several companies available via the net. Just make certain what you are getting. NMNita

[1st time crusier]

Thank you for the responses.:) Iam going to start looking into insurance on my own right now. I now know what to look for.

[superbonnie]

Thanks everyone for your comments and suggestions. I did call and email the agent and so far no response. I always purchase insurance and have never had to use it until last month. We were 36 days out for a Carnival cruise and my husband amputated 2 fingers on a saw here at home. What a nightmare, but we did get everything back except the insurance premimum which was very reasonable. Only took about three weeks. For me insurance is a must, but I expect to pay a fair price for it. This is the first time we are cruising with DD and family and I guess that's why I didn't notice the high price at first. Gotta watch those little details. We did get a very good price on an AC and BB, but I now believe the agent is getting the better deal. I will go back to my locale TA and warn everyone to beware of those online agencies offering to beat any price.

[superbonnie]

Just spoke to the office manager at the TA office. He admitted that they charged me more for the insurance than the insurance company quoted me. This he said is legal because they have to make their commission somewhere. He said because I got such a "great" rate on the cruise they had to charge me more for the insurance to get their commission. He did agree to credit me $200 and send some coupons for use onboard. I am still very unhappy with the agency because I feel this is just fradulent. How can anyone advertise they will beat any price then try to make it up on insurance premimums. Just doesn't seem honest to me, lesson learned I will not be doing business with this agency again. Funny part was he got NCL rep on the line and had her quote price for purchase of the insurance from them. Then pointed out how much they had save me by selling me Travel Guard from them. Slick to say the least. What did that prove, I would never buy insurance from the cruise line they are not in the insurance business.

[jetskier]

Sounds like they tried to pull one over on you and you caught them at it. They are already making a commission off the cruisefare. You getting at a decent deal should have no bearing. Plus they are also making a commission off selling the insurance.

 

My rate through itravelinsured is only $54 for four people for $1200 of coverage.

Dave

[muzicgal]

I am looking into travel insurance for our Sept. 24th cruise. I did call the insurance company because I wanted to find out what would happen if someone got sick when we were in Bermuda and ended up in the hospital. Do we have to pay the entire amount out of pocket or does it get submitted through them after I get home. They told me that they would reimburse me after I submitted my claim forms. The reason I asked this is because when my son was in Mexico he ended up needing surgery. He didn't have insurance and was on a land vacation. We had to pay the entire hospital/doctor bill before they would release him. It was over $10,000. We did get reimbursed by bc/bs. So if they reimburse me, why would I need the medical part of the travel insurance? I'm not sure I see the benefit for the medical part.

 

I'm not questioning needed it in case anything happens and we can't go on the cruise, luggage is lost, etc. Just the medical part.

 

It comes out to 140.00 for 2 of us through travelinsured.

 

I would appreciate it if I'm not seeing something that is there.

 

Thanks

[lvtotrvl1]

Just spoke to the office manager at the TA office. He admitted that they charged me more for the insurance than the insurance company quoted me. This he said is legal because they have to make their commission somewhere. He said because I got such a "great" rate on the cruise they had to charge me more for the insurance to get their commission. He did agree to credit me $200 and send some coupons for use onboard. I am still very unhappy with the agency because I feel this is just fradulent. How can anyone advertise they will beat any price then try to make it up on insurance premimums. Just doesn't seem honest to me, lesson learned I will not be doing business with this agency again. Funny part was he got NCL rep on the line and had her quote price for purchase of the insurance from them. Then pointed out how much they had save me by selling me Travel Guard from them. Slick to say the least. What did that prove, I would never buy insurance from the cruise line they are not in the insurance business.

 

I would highly recommend running from this TA!!! First of all, TA's make better commission on insurance than they do on the cruise itself...and the insurance commission is built into the price of the insurance, just like the cruiseline. I have been an agent a long time, and what just happened to you is VERY UNETHICAL on the part of that agent. So what if you got a great cruise price...as an agent it is my job to try to find you the deals, not to charge you more because you got a deal. If this happened to me, I would not trust another thing they had to say. I hope you get it all straightened out and have a great cruise!!!

[cusyl]

Just spoke to the office manager at the TA office. He admitted that they charged me more for the insurance than the insurance company quoted me. This he said is legal because they have to make their commission somewhere.

There are laws regarding this, perhaps the insurance company would be interested in what their agent is doing. I would report it.:eek:

[Oregon D&B]

Just spoke to the office manager at the TA office. He admitted that they charged me more for the insurance than the insurance company quoted me. This he said is legal because they have to make their commission somewhere. He said because I got such a "great" rate on the cruise they had to charge me more for the insurance to get their commission..

 

wow, this is crap. Just shows that you should never let someone book your insurance...:mad:

[linsue1231]

I would report them to the Travel agent police :eek: or the BBB...there has to be someone you can file a complaint to against them.

 

I went to insuremytrip.com and got a great price for two only $112, compared to $180 with TA and $200 with cruise line. And to top it off it has more coverage then I would have gotten with the TA, not sure about the cruise line.

 

It gets me so mad when people try and take advantage of others....I just want to hunt them down and make them pay...lol

 

Linda

[BigDoug]

I am looking into travel insurance for our Sept. 24th cruise. I did call the insurance company because I wanted to find out what would happen if someone got sick when we were in Bermuda and ended up in the hospital. Do we have to pay the entire amount out of pocket or does it get submitted through them after I get home. They told me that they would reimburse me after I submitted my claim forms. The reason I asked this is because when my son was in Mexico he ended up needing surgery. He didn't have insurance and was on a land vacation. We had to pay the entire hospital/doctor bill before they would release him. It was over $10,000. We did get reimbursed by bc/bs. So if they reimburse me, why would I need the medical part of the travel insurance? I'm not sure I see the benefit for the medical part.

 

I'm not questioning needed it in case anything happens and we can't go on the cruise, luggage is lost, etc. Just the medical part.

 

It comes out to 140.00 for 2 of us through travelinsured.

 

I would appreciate it if I'm not seeing something that is there.

 

Thanks

Many health insurance companies do not cover out of the country medical care that is where the medical coverage would come in. If you need to be med-evaced, this insurance will cover it. You should also look for medical coverage that is primary not secondary.

[jlyn1216]

That seems like alot of money. I just bought insurance for my cruise and it only cost 114 for the two of us. My travel agent was going to charge me 96 a person. So that seems like way to much money. jamie

[MilVet]

Without advertising (I checked with the Cruise Critic Community Manager :)), can anyone provide some reputable insurance companies, maybe on the internet.

[muzicgal]

I just checked with my insurance company BC/BS and they cover medical out of the country. They would also medivac if it was medically necessary. So there isn't any reason for us to have medical coverage through a separate policy.

 

I think the rate that I was quoted was high because it goes by ages. We are 49 & 51.

 

Do you know if you can get insurance for cancelling the cruise or delays or lost luggage but not the medical?

 

Laurie

[cruiseladytexas]

We do not have any policies that have everything but medical. However, there are pretty inexpensive policies that limit medical to $10,000. One we sell would cost $47 per person for ages 35-59 for $1000 of trip coverage, and covers children age 16 and younger for free. I have never heard of an agency that charges a fee for insurance, since it's commissionable, and, if so, a fee should be disclosed as a seperate line item number and you should have agreed to the fee ahead of time. If an agency sells an inexpensive cruise, they don't make much, but so what? A satisfied customer that comes back and brings you business is a profitable customer. But, (and I'm biased), frankly, we all get similar pricing from the cruise lines, so why not establish a relationship with a travel agent who will advise you and take care of you. Furthermore, when my clients have to file a claim, I do the paperwork for them. You won't get that from an online agency, and it looks like you also get nasty surprises. I would pursue that overcharge further if it were me.

 

By the way, you purchase third party insurance for several reason, bankruptcy coverage, pre-existing medical waivers, usually less expensive, it covers non-refundable components that were not booked through the cruise line, somethimes better coverage,

 

Karen

Oh Say Can You Sea Cruises

[1st time crusier]

We booked our insurance from a website agency.. I actually called at one time with a question and they were very helpful. One thing you should know is that if you book insurance with these companies if you want terriorist or financial (if you lose your job) I can't remember exactlly what they called it you have to due that within 15 days of first payment for the cruise. Anyway we are paying $147 for two of us, but that also covers our two night pre-cruise. When I talked to the rep she told me to include everything that was non-refundable. So since the room was booked on Hotwire I included that. I didn't do that when I was on the site.

[swmrgrl]

I am envious of the low fares for insurance I've been reading on this thread. Since we stay in the Villa, the cancellation insurance is pretty high. for the first 2 and cheap, cheap, cheap for everyone else - regardless of age. We normally get full medical but get penalized for pre-existing conditions. It also gets more expensive as you get older since you are a higher risk for cancelling or requiring medical. For our back to back cruise (and extra few days of travelling) it cost 2672.00 Canadian for 2 of us for the deluxe package that covers just about everything but the kitchen sink.