jclinard

I've stated before that the only surefire way I can see to collect on travel insurance is to die, at which point you won't need the money.

After I got stung, I made it a point to read the policies and look at reviews.  I sometimes try to warn people that insurance won't pay (under situations similar to my denial).  The trouble is, people want to believe they are covered, so they ignore me.  I figure I'll let them learn the hard way.

9 minutes ago, gumshoe958 said:

I know what you mean. I’ve cancelled all my planned trips to the US because Alaska’s only 55 miles from Russia. It’s just not safe.

Russia and the US are actually only 2.5 miles at their closest point.

On 8/22/2023 at 3:30 AM, tim_london0 said:

I'm new to this cruising lark, so I don't routinely carry additionally insurance for cruise cover.

 

and when I do buy a policy for a one-off cruise, my only interest in having the cruise insurance is to cover repatriation costs in the event of accident illness.

 

Everything else that I need would pretty much be covered by a non-cruise policy

 

So I was kind of surprised to see such additions as "Cruise Itinerary Change".

 

And whatdoyouknow, I've just come back from an expedition cruise where one of the expeditions was cancelled due to the weather, and not replaced by an alternative shore landing.

 

So does this mean that I'm entitled to make a claim for £40 from my insurer, a relativity trivial sum given that (due to the nature of the location) I cannot recreate the missed landing without completing 100% of an additional cruise.  But then I only paid £24 for the insurance :-)

 

And what am I expected to do to prove my claim?  Nobody on the boat (um ship) seems to think that this missed landing was anything that they needed to document with passengers.  It was just, shrug "it happens".

 

What do regular cruisers do here?  Do you make sure to claim for every nickel and dime that you might be entitled to for even the tiniest of changes to an Itinerary, or do you (as I do) think "I don't want to get myself a bad rep with insurance companies claiming for every nickel and dime, lest they refuse to insure me in future"?

 

FWIW, I missed out on claiming for being confined to cabin with Covid on the previous cruise because I didn't know that I had such cover.  That would have been £50pd for 5 days.  Fortunately all were "at sea" days so I lot very little of the experience - though my cheapie £24 police doesn't seem to include that.

 

 

File the claim.  

23 minutes ago, iamtrustworthy said:

Hi jclinard,

 

> I know of some people who have both urged people to get insurance and then urged people not to file legitimate claims.

 

That is completely unethical and against the law. Here's what we tell our customers:

 

"As a policyholder you have every right to file a claim. When you ask us if your claim will be covered, we tell you to the best of our knowledge. We cannot predetermine claims. However, the only way you can be sure if your claim will be paid or not is after you file your claim. The insurance company has the final say."

 

Steve Dasseos

I don't know if the person who recommended against filing a claim was an insurance agent or just a busybody.

Only take recommendations from people who have tried to collect on a policy.  Do not take recommendations from people who are impressed as to how fast the company deposited the premium and have no other dealings with them.

Read any policy in advance.

Understand what you want to insure.

Read complaint cases from the BBB.  You'll also find out what sellers can't or won't become part of the BBB.  

Be careful of randos on the internet trying to push an agenda.  I know of some people who have both urged people to get insurance and then urged people not to file legitimate claims.

Only take recommendations from people who have tried to collect on policies, not people who only know how fast the companies deposit the premiums.

Read the policy beforehand.

Understand what you want to insure.

AON is not accredited by the Better Business Bureau.  That should be a red flag to the careful consumer.

I was offered a policy from a TA for an upcoming Disney Cruise.  Needless to say, I did not use them.  I continue to urge people to read the policy, only take recommendations from people who have attempted to collect on a policy (instead of people who are impressed with how fast the company deposited the premiums), and read how they treat their policyholders on consumer forums.

I always urge people to only take recommendations for insurance from people who have attempted to make a claim.  Lots of people seem to pooh-pooh that, insisting they have a good company because they deposited the premiums promptly.

My guess is that they know it's a valid claim, so they are going through this dance to try to wear you out and abandon it.  It's funny how valid claims go through that, where denials are issued without any delays at all.

Only take recommendations from people who made claims.  It's foolish to take them from people who only know how fast the company deposited the premiums.

What are you trying to insure?  Medical?  Cruise fare?  What events are you looking to insure against?  

Did you want cancel for any reason?

Always read the policy.  I was reviewing one from Travel Insured where they specifically exclude coverage if you're directly involved in a traffic accident en-route to your trip departure city or scheduled destination. 

I'm constantly telling people not to take insurance recommendations based on how quickly the company deposited the premiums.

No matter how quickly they do that, or how cheap it is, it's worthless if it won't cover what you need covered.  

Ask for a policy in advance.  If they won't send one (I've run into that; I required one ten times and never got one), don't buy.  It never gets better than the marketing department.

That's why I also urge people to look at consumer sites regarding insurance companies, such as the Better Business Bureau.  You'll get a feel for what they want to do with legitimate claims.  You'll find plenty of companies that spend months "processing", then "lose" the forms, and eventually issue checks that are short the full amount, knowing people will give up on pursuing the claims or the amounts they haven't paid.

What are you trying to insure?  Medical, or the costs of cruise / air tickets, hotels, and other pre-paid expenses?

No matter what, don't take recommendations from people who only know how fast the company deposits the premiums.  Look at people who know what color checks they use.

Read the policies before buying, if they'll provide you with a copy.  Understand the conditions on which you can collect.  

Read the BBB and consumer reviews of companies before buying a policy.

Understand the difference between a vacation protection plan and actual insurance.

I thought you blocked me.

You lied.

Funny how this person is big on insurance, and then seems to discount it being worth it when something does happen...

The new menus are a conceptual mistake, and Mexican night was the worst of the bunch.  I had it twice on my last cruise.  Put it this way, if it was a land based Mexican restaurant, I wouldn't go back.  

I actually regret not abandoning the MDR and going to the buffet.  I had noticed they had some fajitas that looked pretty good.  

Medical and related items would be the biggest insurable issue with (more or less) unlimited costs.  It's what I look at.

I prefer not to insure costs which are fixed.  If something happened and I couldn't take my next trip, I'm out about a mere 10K between air and cruise tickets (as well as prepaid hotel and tours), but that's assuming it's a total loss.  I've never canceled a cruise before, so I haven't looked into what I could recover (unlike Royal Caribbean, which has canceled at least five cruises on me).

7 hours ago, seasidemama said:

Pricing different insurance coverages for upcoming trips.

 

Anyone know what the recommended amounts are for cruises that would reasonably cover emergency medical and emergency evacuations? I'm thinking this would be the biggest cost if ever needed.  

Don't blame Carnival; blame the state of New York.

I think they followed their training exactly.  They didn't want to pay, so they issued a check for a pittance and hoped you'd go away.  

It's worth noting that AON is NOT accredited with the Better Business Bureau.  That alone should make anybody nervous about buying a policy from them.

I'd run the math on CFAR before buying.  How much are you putting up, and if you have to use it, what do you really get back?  It's especially important because without it your losses are limited to the amount of pre-paid items (hotel, airfare, cruise, etc.).   In addition, I think you can't cancel within 48 hours, so with a last minute issue you're stuck with both having paid for the policy and for the non-refundable portions.  

46 minutes ago, KR1994 said:

Yes, we did try....app was not working.  I have a screen shot.  I need to send that....I just got an email that my claim was denied from my insurance provider!

I trying to check in at the WestJet desk at Athens.  Of course, I don't know if it was open then.

I'm not surprised the insurance won't pay.  Maybe the people who push insurance can explain to you what you did wrong. 

Have you read the airline policies?  

I'm curious if you tried to check in with WestJet at Athens.  

Athens must be the worst.  On the way back from a cruise there, they boarded the passengers before the luggage.  No a/c, no water, just people cooking in the summer heat and humidity.  We were in the last non-smoking row.  It was awful.  The plane was delayed and we missed our connection in New York.  The original route home was Athens to New York to Dallas to Las Vegas.  They rebooked us and got us a hotel voucher.  The next day, we find they rebooked us to Dallas only... and there were no seats to Las Vegas.  The agent just wanted to get rid of us and make us somebody else's problem in Dallas.  We ended up having to go to Newark and go Chicago to Las Vegas.   

Interestingly, from what I've read from people, old people and people traveling with other old people are supposed to be getting more value out of travel insurance as they are more likely to die or have medical issues that prevent them from traveling.

Getting medical is a good thing though.  I've stated many times people should get that because the costs are high.  Anything else (air, hotel, cruise) costs are limited to the non-refundable portions of those.

Several people here don't agree with that philosophy. 

Read any policy before you buy one.

Examine the record of the company with the BBB beforehand.

Don't take recommendations from people who only know how quickly the premiums are deposited.  Look at people who have attempted to make claims.

Travel insurance generally costs around 6% of the cost of the trip.

Be wary of recommendations from people with a financial interest in selling policies.

Understand the conditions on which you can collect.  Pay particular attention to requirements to get approval before getting treatment.
 

I'm considered the bad person here for pointing these things out.

I'd read the policy from your CC, and any policy you think might cover you. 

See if what events you think will apply to you is a covered reason, or not.  

See how messy it might get in trying to collect from two different insurance companies.

Only take recommendations from people who have collected on a claim.  Don't take recommendations from people who only know how fast they deposited the premiums.

Be very careful in taking recommendations from somebody with a financial interest in selling a policy.

Read the BBB reviews of any company you consider.

Don't end up being a sucker like I was.