Travel Insurance Question

[malmj]

I am wondering if anyone has had an experience with the following travel insurance scenario:

- Both travel companions take out the travel insurance (Travel Guard) at the time of booking cruise with RCCL

-One of the companions finds out months later that they are very ill and needs surgery and will not be able to cruise and the illness is a covered area of the insurance policy

-The other companion would still like to cruise

1. If the ill companion cancels her trip and files an insurance claim, how does that affect the travel companion that still plans to go?

2. What if the cancellation is beyond the 0% refund policy (within last 7 days)?

3,What if it is before that when partial refund is available? What kind of charges would be incurred to the traveling person?

4 Is the room considered paid for and the other companion can travel alone?

5, Are they responsible for any additional charges if there was no refund made to the traveler that cancels?

6. Can that person invite someone else to travel with them?

7. Is there any additional fees due if someone else does travel with them?

My travel buddy is in the process of going through some testing but there is a pretty strong chance that she will need to have surgery asap and may not be able to make the trip. We don't know when she will find out and she insists that if she can't go, that I still continue the trip. We do not know when she will find out for sure so want to cover all bases so we know what the outcome may be for the travel plans.

Thank you in advance four your help

[JanineM]

I personally would call Travel Guard to get an accurate answer. I've called insurers to ask questions about coverages and they've been great about providing info, and directing me to the specific verbiage in a policy that covers my situation. We can all guess here, but they'll be able to give you factual info.

 

Hope the question is moot and your friend is well and able to travel with you!

[cruznjan]

Some policies will forgive the singles supplement. If a pre-existing condition is not waived, this may not be the case. Check with the insurance company.

[CaribbeanBound]

Agree with Water Baby. Call the insurer. We have always used Travelex' Travelite product.

 

Generally, a replacement traveler is not covered or provided for. That person would need to start form scratch, especially if you are flying. Once a plane ticket is booked, you cannot change the passenger name. Period.

[kitty9]

I've had this happen, but with Access America. If the person cancels after final payment, the cruise line will already have their full payment and they don't care if one doesn't show up. The insurance will pay the canceling person's fare, and the person who will still be cruising will have the cabin all to him/herself. And no single supplement because the cruise line was paid for two fares.

[cruiseco]

Somewhere in the fine print you should find something similar to this from a Travelex policy:

 

"SINGLE SUPPLEMENT UPGRADE BENEFIT You are also covered for the single supplement upgrade when Your Traveling Companion cancels or interrupts a Covered Trip for a covered reason and You do not."

 

As previously posted, a last-minute cancellation probably would not result in a single supplement being charged as the cruise line is keeping all of the other person's money anyway. But if the cancellation occurs before the final payment it definitely can happen.

[malmj]

Thanks for your replies. Yes, due to the circumstances, my partner probably won't be canceling until last minute just in case she will still be able to go. I have confirmed with my TA that we would both be covered.

Thanks again

[sail7seas]

Hope your friend gets better medical news than she expects and is able to cruise with you.

 

Good luck.