iamtrustworthy

On 6/2/2024 at 4:48 PM, CJANDH said:

Yes.

Hi CJANDH,

If you want good medical and medical transportation coverage, I suggest you get the Geo Blue Trekker (Multi-Trip) Essential or Choice plan for your trips outside the USA that aren't longer than 70 days for any one trip. The Essential and Choice plans cover pre-existing conditions.

You may see all the Geo Blue Trekker plan details here:
https://tripinsurancestore.com/geo-blue-trekker-travel-medical-plans/

Steve Dasseos

Hi Pear Carr,

I'm sorry, but I don't know anything about plans from the UK.

On the other hand, do you own property in the USA that is title in your name?

Steve Dasseos

11 minutes ago, Takoma said:

Amex Platinum covers a round trip up to 365 days, per their declaration.

 

More specifically, if the CC insurance limit is $10k, and I buy additional trip insurance through another company, will the two play nicely together and fully cover a loss of $20k?

Hi Takoma,

Wow. 365 days is good.

All the plans I know will cover to the insured trip cost if you cancel or interrupt your trip for a covered reason, but not all plans will. Some plans have wording that says (I'm paraphrasing) if any other insurance pays, then that plan won't pay.

Steve Dasseos

4 hours ago, CJANDH said:

Medical: $50,000

Emergency Transportation: $500,000

My US medical insurance does not cover me outside the country.

Premium: $419 for the two of us for a year.

Hi CJANDH,

Are you old enough to be on Medicare?

Steve Dasseos

7 hours ago, Po. said:

In my experience, travel insurance brochures give you a summary of what is covered, but require you to buy to see the entire policy, with something like 5 days to examine and cancel. Is there a way to request them to let you read the entire policy?

Hi Po,

I can't speak for my competitors, but we have all the policy wordings available to read and download anytime.

Steve Dasseos

Hi Takoma,

If you are going on a long trip it's likely that your Credit Card's trip insurance won't cover you. For example, the Chase Sapphire card states that if the trip is longer than 60 days there's no coverage for your trip.

It's possible you could find a credit card that doesn't have a limit on the trip length. If so, make sure you see it in writing in the Terms and Conditions.

In addition, if you want specific recommendations on the plan to get for your World Cruise, email or call us. We currently have 566 customers on the 2024 and future World Cruises.

Steve Dasseos

Hi LodgeLady and travelfun77,

I haven't found an Annual Trip Cancellation plan that is good enough for me to sell due to their plan limitations, loopholes and with what's needed to cover the changes in travel since Covid started. Look at this this thread on my CruiseCritic.com TripInsuranceStore.com - Summer 2023 Q&A:

Steve Dasseos

9 hours ago, Po. said:

I wonder if a home-based travel agent would need a license. What are the requirements to sell travel insurance? Is a license difficult or expensive to get? Specifically in California. 

Hi Po,

Anyone who sells insurance of any kind needs to be insurance licensed in the States they will be offering insurance whether or not they actually sell a policy in that State. Plus, there are continuing education requirements in order to keep their license(s) active.

In addition, if you are doing business as a company or DBA, the agency itself has to meet the same licensing requirements.

Plus, the agent will need Errors and Omissions insurance and likely other business licenses.

It's not cheap to get the licenses because some States require you to pay more for the priviledge of selling to its residents than other States.

The licensing and other training costs is our biggest expense after payroll and our benefits.

Steve Dasseos

20 hours ago, TxLnghrnz said:

I go on several cruises (and other trips) each year, but can't seem to find an ANNUAL plan that offers much coverage.  One cruise cancellation would wipe-out the annual coverage limit...and quite likely not fully cover the paid amount of the cruise.

Should I continue to purchase a separate travel insurance policy for each cruise or trip?  Or, is there another product that you'd recommend?

Hi TxLnghrnz,

I haven't found an Annual Trip Cancellation plan that is good enough for me to sell due to their plan limitations, loopholes and with what's needed to cover the changes in travel since Covid started. Look at this this thread on my CruiseCritic.com TripInsuranceStore.com - Summer 2023 Q&A:

I hope this makes sense.

Steve Dasseos

Hi,

Thank You @LauraS and Cruise Critic for letting me do another Q & A. This is the 9th one I have done since December 2019 and they are fun to do.

I'm Steve Dasseos. I started and own https://TripInsuranceStore.com. I also have a Wall Street Journal recommended Travel Insurance Blog at https://www.TripInsuranceStore.com/blog. I have over 540 pages on my websites.

First, I think it’s important to get the issue of money out of the way up front. I do not pay, give any money, nor any other financial consideration to CruiseCritic or its related companies. And, the reverse is true: CruiseCritic or its related companies do not pay, give any money, nor any other financial consideration to me or TripInsuranceStore.com .

Next, if you live in the USA and want to know how a Trip Cancellation or a Medical Travel Insurance plan works, ask me here. I do these Q & As to help people understand how Trip Cancellation or Travel Medical plans work. One reason why Trip Cancellation plans are complicated is that they combine some coverages of Life, Health and Accident insurance with some coverages of Property, Casualty and Liability insurance.

Next, I don't sell all companies because I only offer a handful of pre-screened companies, but I know how the other plans work.

In addition to what insurance companies offer, there are also plans from Travel Suppliers (cruise lines and tour companies). They are technically known as “pre-departure waiver” plans that include elements of insurance to pay claims for accident and sickness medical benefits and evacuation / medical transportation. I cover these differences in detail here:
https://tripinsurancestore.com/travel-insurance-vs-travel-supplier-waiver-plans/

If you want specific information that requires personally identifiable or private information, neither CruiseCritic nor myself want you to post that information on a public forum. instead, you may email me at steve@tripinsurancestore.com or fill out this form: https://tripinsurancestore.com/travel-insurance-email-contact-form/

Some of my past Q & As are archived on Cruise Critic, too. Here are the links:

Here's the Cruise Critic Q & A I did last Summer:
https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/2648-qa-cruise-insurance-with-steve-dasseos-of-the-tripinsurancestorecom-summer-2023/

Here's the Cruise Critic Q & A I did in November & December 2022:
https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/2606-qa-cruise-insurance-with-steve-dasseos-of-the-tripinsurancestorecom-november-december-2022-read-only/

Here's the Cruise Critic Q & A I did in January 2022:
https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/2558-qa-cruise-insurance-with-steve-dasseos-of-the-tripinsurancestorecom-janfeb-22/
 
Here's the Cruise Critic Q & A I did in Dec 2020 and Jan 2021 that was re-opened in June 2021:
https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/2500-qa-cruise-insurance-with-steve-dasseos-of-the-tripinsurancestorecom-read-only/
 
Here's the Cruise Critic Q & A I did in June 2020:
https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/2484-qa-cruise-insurance-w-steve-dasseos-of-the-tripinsurancestorecom-june-2020-read-only/

I hope this Q & A helps you, Steve Dasseos

16 hours ago, klfrodo said:

For educational purposes only

With your vast 20+ years of experience, could you share the top 2 or 3 mistakes people with travel insurance make that either cause you to SMH or cause the biggest problems with their claims. Also, share what they could have done differently to have made the claim process easier.

 

Or, maybe you've covered this in a blog that you could provide a link to.

 

Thanks

Hi klfrodo,

Thank you for your kind words. I'm happy to do this, but I'll wait for the next Q & A I'll be doing here on Cruise Critic.

Steve Dasseos

5 hours ago, Willwork4cruises said:

We are doing a private excursion thru Adventure Antigua. They have been in business for many years and have a great reputation. The cruise ship doesn’t offer any excursions similar to this one. I’m not going outside of the cruise line to save money, it’s actually a very expensive excursion. I’ve always thought travel insurance would cover missing the ship, not that I plan to but something could happen. Recently on a podcast, they had an insurance rep on there who explained that missing the ship from a private excursion would usually not be covered. I was surprised. I checked with the carrier I bought our policy from and was told not covered. Are there any policies that cover this? 

Hi Willwork4cruises,

Which policy did you buy?

Steve Dasseos

16 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

May I suggest that a trip interrupted would not refund these fees, but a trip cancelled before departure would?

 

I can understand that once you are onboard and part of the ship's manifest that the ship would pay based on the number sailing, but if you never boarded, would this be different?

HI CDNPolar,

I've seen lots of claim settlements where the customers were refunded their unused port fees and taxes by the cruise lines. And, I've been on NCL and Royal Caribbean cruises that missed ports so the cruise lines refunded the port fees and taxes into my onboard account as a credit.

Steve Dasseos

On 5/16/2024 at 9:01 PM, klfrodo said:

Well, you are a reliable source. 🤣 Thanks for sharing.

 

is this limited to “World Cruises”? Or are you finding the same thing with the more standard cruises that are less than 14 days.

Hi klfrodo,

I haven't seen this on a shorter cruise, but if I do, I will write about it here.

Something else that's odd about these cases is that all their travel agents are still maintaining they will get their unused port fees and taxes refunded.

I'll update this thread if anyone does get these refunded.

Steve Dasseos

On 5/15/2024 at 12:18 PM, klfrodo said:

Please share a link to this reliable source that port fees and taxes are no longer refundable.

I was of the same opinion as you.

Hi klfrodo,

I've had more than a few customers on world cruises who have had trip interruptions and neither Royal Caribbean and Holland America are refunding port fees and taxes to my customers who returned home early.

So far, no one has let me know if the cruise lines did anything different and all the claims are still being settled.

Steve Dasseos

On 5/13/2024 at 7:39 AM, Jersey42 said:

 

. @iamtrustworthy from TripInsuranceStore has explained why in previous posts.

Hi Jersey42,

Here's the link to where I talked about why I haven't found an Annual Trip Cancellation plan that is good enough for me to sell due to their plan limitations, loopholes and with what's needed to cover the changes in travel since Covid started.

Look at this this thread on my CruiseCritic.com TripInsuranceStore.com - Summer 2023 Q&A:

Steve Dasseos

On 5/7/2024 at 5:44 PM, newcruzer2 said:

My question is sooooo very specific, I am hoping you might know the answer. 

I MUST purchase celebrity (aon) insurance (must have cfar, put deposit jan 2023, cruise nov 2024, Not medicare age yet, so 25k medical should be enough)

I would normally wait until til the day before final payment to add the insurance. But as we age and I read about preexisting conditions (we have none NOW) and the look back time-frame is 60 days. I am considering adding insurance Now; 4 months before final payment just in case some medial thing arises.

 

My question is this.... usually travel insurance is nonrefundable (hence the usual, buy the day before final payment) if I add celebrity's travel insurance and decide to cancel the cruise before final payment.....would the insurance be deducted from my deposit refund???

I know others will say.... ask celebrity or aon BUT they have reason to tell me what I want to hear

Thank you for your time.

Hi newcruzer2,

> I MUST purchase celebrity (aon) insurance (must have cfar, put deposit jan 2023, cruise nov 2024, Not medicare age yet, so 25k medical should be enough).

Is there some reason you want the CFAR?

Steve Dasseos

46 minutes ago, coldweather said:

Hello.

I always have travel insurance.  My need for travel insurance has changed so I need to understand the new policy choices/process.

 

I booked a cruise for summer 2025 (well over a year from now).  I understand to purchase insurance that includes Cancel for Any Reason (CFAR) and pre-existing condition coverage, I need to purchase the policy soon after deposit is made.

 

Let's say I did that.  I booked a cruise for over 1 year before sailing and I purchased an insurance policy with CFAR and pre-existing coverage.

 

If the cruise price DROPS prior to final payment I have always been able to have my travel agent provide me the current/lower price.  Sometimes this is technically a cancel and rebook as I receive a new/updated booking number.

 

Questions:

If I reprice my cruise to get a lower price does this invalidate my insurance I purchased at the time to booking?

If I cancel my cruise prior to final payment and get a full refund of my cruise price, can I also cancel my insurance policy?  Technically I didn't use it.

 

Thanks for your input. 

 

 

Hi coldweather,

Do you live in the USA?

Steve Dasseos

4 hours ago, RobC1116 said:

We canceled a Viking cruise in late 2022 we had fully paid for, and received a "future cruise credit" voucher for the amount originally paid. We had two years to book something else, and an additional two years during which we could travel (so needed to book by July 2024 and travel by July 2026). We just booked a Viking cruise for December 2024. We never purchased an insurance policy for the original trip. I would now like to find a policy to cover the new trip, but I am getting confusing and conflicting information on whether or not there is any company/policy that will cover the cost of the voucher were we to have to cancel for a "covered" reason. Both squaremouth and insuremytrip agents said NO companies cover vouchers. But is this right? Does anyone know? Thank you.

Hi RobC1116,

If you live in the USA, there are a few companies plans that will cover the value of your Future Travel or Cruise Credits that you received instead of a cash refund on a trip that was cancelled.

And, not unsurprisingly, there are other potential traps that could affect your travel insurance coverage that come with using travel or cruise credits.

Steve Dasseos

8 hours ago, happy cruzer said:

Planning on using the same combination of Chase Sapphire and GeoBlue Trekker,  when should we buy the GeoBlue Trekker policy?  We already have a deposit on the cruise and will buy airfare soon but the trip starts in Aug of this year. 

 

Also if your US medical insurance provider changes during the travel period does it affect the GeoBlue Trekker policy in anyway.  One of us may go from a private policy to Medicare during the time. 

 

Thanks to Steve and all the other great poster for being a great resource.

Hi happy cruzer,

Geo Blue only covers you outside the USA, so the time to get it is when you are closer to your departure date. You would make the effective date the day before you leave home.

Steve Dasseos

1 hour ago, MommaK2D2 said:

Hello. So- purchased an Alaska cruise for June with insurance thru Generali. (Purchased In January). 
   Early this month my elderly dad (not going on the cruise) was hospitalized and diagnosed with lymphoma. He will need chemotherapy ongoing for at least 6 monthts.  He got out of the hospital this week, and is requiring 24hour assistance from us for safety and health, as well as frequent blood transfusions which could require him to be readmitted frequently. 
     Because the cancer is new (occurred after buying insurance, not pre-existing), I assume trip cancellation will be covered?  But because he is not in the hospital at this time I don’t know if things will be complicated?

    Does anyone have experience with this?  Is there particular wording I need from his oncologist to make a claim go smoothly?  When is the best time to cancel? (He goes for his first non-hospital chemo next week so can get physician documentation at that time, to add to his diagnosis dates etc?)
   

Hi MommaK2D2,

I'm sorry to hear about your Dad. I hope his treatment cures him.

If you haven't already done it, call whoever you bought your Generali plan from and make sure they help you with your claim. They would have received a commission for your sale and, in my opinion, they are ethically obligated to help you with your claim.

Steve Dasseos

1 hour ago, mcrcruiser said:

Who is Steve ?

Hi mcrcruiser,

1 hour ago, Mary229 said:

I hope he can help you.  One thing about his organization is they pick up the phone!  He has a special relationship with cruise critic and you can find him as a lead on the insurance forum.   

Hi Mary229,

Thank you for your kind words.

All the annual trip cancellation plans all have limitations in their wording. In the Summer 2023 Q & A I did here on Cruise Critic, there is a thread called "Annual policy or singletrip?". Here's the link to the thread. Look at the last post where a CruiseCritic member wrote what he discovered about the Allianz plan:

Steve Dasseos

12 hours ago, chloe77 said:

Thanks so much. He has not seen his allergist since June 2023 for a routine annual check up. No medication changes were made. He hasn't had an allergic reaction requiring medical attention since 2022. So are you saying that even though his allergy was diagnosed many years ago, since he hasn't had any of the listed issues during the lookback period, it wouldn't be considered a preexisting condition?

 

That's where I'm confused. It's preexisting, but nothing happened during the lookback period. 

 

Thanks so much.

Hi chloe77,

> So are you saying that even though his allergy was diagnosed many years ago, since he hasn't had any of the listed issues during the lookback period, it wouldn't be considered a preexisting condition?

That's correct, his allergy doesn't meet the definition of pre-existing medical condition when nothing has occured as defined by the plan's lookback period.

> That's where I'm confused. It's preexisting, but nothing happened during the lookback period.

His allergy would be considered preexisting for a medical, life or disablility insurance plan, but not necessarily for a Trip Cancellation plan.

Steve Dasseos

5 hours ago, chloe77 said:

Is it important to use each person's exact cruise fare rather than the trip total cost when buying cruise insurance? We have a 3rd and 4th person deal where my kids are around $500 each but my husband and I are thousands each. Some of the broker websites just ask me for total cost. But when I go to the insurance company's direct site, some (IMG LX for example) want fare per person. If I put exact fare per person, the total cost of insurance is higher than if I put the total fare divided by four people in. Does it matter whether I use exact cost per person or total cost? Thanks!

Hi chloe77,

I only know of a few plans that will pay your full Trip Cancellation or Trip Interruption claim for a covered reason if you average the trip cost between all of you.

I wrote this on Feb 27, 2008 and it's still correct:

How To Correctly Quote a Travel Insurance Plan

https://tripinsurancestore.com/blog/how-to-correctly-quote-a-travel-insurance-plan/

I hope this helps you,

Steve Dasseos