Babr

Book With Confidence expired. You can still cancel for a refund only if you test positive for COVID within 10 days of sailing for cruises until April 23. Otherwise, regular cancellation fees apply. Your travel insurance may cover it if you cancel for a covered reason as defined in your policy.

https://www.windstarcruises.com/health-safety/covid-protection-policy/ It appears the policy just expired at the end of December.

I don’t know what details were provided on the receipt you received. Perhaps they would ordinarily want something with the diagnosis billing code and the attending physician’s certification / license number.

Correct. Check the language for Effective Date. Cancellation coverage usually begins at 12:01 AM on the day after the company receives payment. From that moment on, you are protected for covered reasons as defined in the policy. The purchase of insurance within the defined window of 14-21 days after payment, in your case - full payment, also gives you the pre-existing conditions waiver and CFAR if you want to purchase it. CFAR requires an additional premium.

Not necessarily. Notice that item (a) provides for hospital-to-hospital transfer. It just means they will move you to another hospital capable of providing a higher level of care. “Nearest” is the key word. Usually the patient is returned home by commercial air once he is able to travel as described in part (b). Do not assume that you will have transportation by air ambulance from distant parts of the world.

The difference is that you have to pay to get your money back if something happens in that 11 month window that keeps you from sailing. It is not a revenue-neutral proposition. Once the deposit is paid, one faces at least a cancellation fee or a more significant cancellation penalty starting at 120 days based on percentage of cruise fare. To protect against the penalty, one can buy a nonrefundable insurance policy. One may not be making much on his money during that time, but he stands to lose more than your hypothetical $250.

The same is true of third-party insurance. Although there are some policies that allow the waiver of pre-existing conditions at final payment, that makes no difference when the final payment is so close to initial deposit. If you wait until the penalty period for cancellation, you have given up all time-sensitive coverages such as CFAR, pre-existing conditions waiver, or financial default. The policy can be moved to another sailing, but it is nonrefundable.

And your primary medical insurance will cover any medical expenses in case of illness, injury, or accident?

In my experience, yes. I found agents to be ill-informed and snippy, quick to take my money for a booking but not helpful or forthcoming with information any other time I call.

The difference is that third-party insurance with CFAR refunds in cash; however, people who live in states where CFAR is restricted have few choices. I’m guessing that the OP will still have to buy a comprehensive travel policy to cover standard cancellation and other travel risks as well as medical/evacuation. For anyone booking a cruise with FCC, it might be useful to know that they can be insured as a form of payment; but the initial deposit date is set by the original cruise so CFAR is not available for the replacement because the initial deposit date now falls outside of the time-sensitive window.

Medigap is another name for a Medicare supplement plan. They are the plans sold by AARP but can be purchased elsewhere. Plan F is the most comprehensive. What you are calling Retiree Secondary is probably a Medicare Advantage plan provided through your employer.

Medicare supplement plans have lifetime limits on foreign travel benefits.Those are the ones identified by letters of the alphabet. Not all of them offer it. Medicare advantage plans vary quite a bit depending on whether they are provided by former employers or purchased separately.

Trip Interruption does allow up to 150% of cruise fare, depending on the policy, to reimburse for unused days of the trip as well as return transportation. The extra percentage is there to cover both, but it does not pay more than actual expenses/loss.

Third-party insurance can be purchased up to the day before departure, but you lose any time-sensitive benefits such as the pre-existing conditions waiver, CFAR, or financial default. At that point it covers medical / evacuation and a few travel benefits like trip delay or baggage. There are a few policies that allow the pre-existing conditions waiver at final payment. None allow CFAR or financial default after the initial deposit window.

Claims go through AON, who administers the claim process. The policy is a hybrid with the insurance portion being underwritten by Nationwide, and the non-insurance FCC issued by Princess. AON handles this service for a number of cruise lines. Once the claim is denied for being a non-covered reason, it is reimbursed with FCC from the cruise line. The link expedites the process for those who want FCC.

Are you buying Princess insurance or third-party? Since you said you don’t buy it until final payment, I’m thinking Princess. The rules are different for cruise line policies because the FCC provision is not insurance. It is a benefit provided by the cruise line. That is why you get FCC instead of cash.

When you buy insurance with CFAR, it must be purchased within 14-21 days of the initial deposit. The FCC’s used to pay for the cruise set the initial deposit date at the time of original booking so the subsequent cruise does not qualify for CFAR coverage. It falls outside the required time window. Under normal circumstances, CFAR would cover any reason for cancellation beyond those listed in the policy.

If you are thinking of third-party insurance, check to see what is recognized as a form of payment. You’ll find it under Definitions or ask the person selling you the policy. There are policies that will insure vouchers but only the amount you actually paid, not any excess value. So FCC granted for goodwill or gift cards purchased at a discount would not be covered at face value. If you are considering Princess insurance, ask the same question.

If the airline cancels the flight, they are responsible for compensating you. If you cancel a flight, the airline typically issues a voucher. Either way, insurance is not involved. Are you concerned about trip delay because you have booked a nonrefundable resort in Colorado? In that case, your flight would have to be cancelled for a covered reason such as a weather event, strike, or mechanical breakdown. There are a number of stipulations before other provisions of the policy come into play. Most hotels have cancellation policies that allow you to cancel without penalty if you cancel within X hours unless booked under take-or-pay. It depends on the terms of your booking; however, if you want insurance to cover the loss, you’d have to document that public roads were closed by local authorities. I’m not sure if I’ve answered your question because I’m not sure what you are trying to accomplish by insuring this kind of trip.

Your credit card covers normal trip insurance as long as you or a family member does not have a pre-existing condition. Anyone who relies on such coverage needs to understand how that provision applies.

Sorry about the medical scare. Try not to worry. It happens to lots of women when there is nothing wrong. The doctors just want more or different views to be sure. As to insurance, you have missed the window for a pre-existing conditions waiver because you have already made final payment regardless of the official date. You can buy insurance; however, the mammogram falls in the look-back period even though there is no diagnosis so if anything associated with the test causes you to cancel, it will be considered a pre-existing condition. Best wishes. You’ll be able to sail in April.

Perhaps in the UK. Not so much in US policies. In this case, I am confident that Viking will take care of its guests.

No. Itinerary change post-departure. Nationwide has some cruise-specific policies that reimburse non-refundable shore excursions. I’m not sure even that would apply here. Insurance would probably see this as a maintenance issue which is the responsibility of the cruise line.

What kind of claim would insurance cover in this instance? I can’t think of which provision would cover snail infestation.

CFAR in a third-party policy has a time limit of at least 48 hours prior to departure, depending on the policy. That is no help for a last-minute flight cancellation like the ones that happened over Christmas. Cruise line policies generally allow cancellation up to departure though I have not checked the Princess policy recently. Same-day cancellation requires quick action to notify the cruise line and the insurance administrator of intent to cancel in order to be on record before the ship sails. Otherwise, you are a no-show unless you can convince the insurance people that it was impossible to contact them in time.