Trip Insurance

[pamfj]

Next question from the newbies from Athens, GA. How much should we expect to pay for trip insurance? Is the insurance offered from SS reasonably priced?

 

Thanks!

[dwelsh]

For our upcoming trip we purchased SS insurance. It cost about 71/2% of the fare which was quite a bit less than other insurances offered. The only thing that it doesn't cover is, if there is a failure of the company. Having paid by AE I don't think this is a real concern.

[WesW]

Enjoy your first Silversea Alaska crusie.

 

Please see the site/link below for an excellent overview on Travel Insurance. You should

expect to pay between 5-7% of your cruise fare on reputable travel insurance.

 

We like the travel insurance comparison website http://www.squaremouth.com to

find the right policy for our land/cruise trips. We have used Travelex for our land

trip last year and have Travelex for our upcoming Spirit maiden crossing. A tip to lower your travel insurance up front cost to less than 5%, from a seasoned Lux line cruiser, Keith1010, who posts on this board is to cover your trip for less than the full cruise fare. In other words, if your cruise fare is $15,000, insure the trip for $12,000 you still get the same essential coverage; for pre-existing conditions, financial default, trip cancellation coverage, medical evac coverage, lost luggage, etc., but you're essentially taking a large deductable up front. We are relatively young and in good health so we are willing to take a large deductable.

 

In accordance with the article below, we prefer to buy our travel insurance that provides primary coverage and not to purchase it from the cruiseline (in case it goes bankrupt) or a Travel Agent (may only represent one company they have a relationship with). However,

some folks prefer the cruiseline insurance due to having pre existing conditions and find the cruiseline will insure them for

a better price than a company that will insure for pre-existing conditions (e.g. Travelex, CSA).

 

http://www.travelinsurancereview.net/

[Keith1010]

I agree 100% with what Wes has told you. In the end, the devil is in the details. So, my advice is to carefull compare what the SS insurance covers versus the other policies. While you may find that many of them cover the same items they may vary considerably in the value of the coverage. So, one needs to consider their current situation (age, health, specific itinerary, etc.) as one policy does not always fit all situations.

 

For example, one person might want a policy that provides higher medical costs including evacuation which can be considerably high. Or someone else might want to have insurance that allows them great input as to where they will be treated. All factors to consider.

 

I think there are four reasons why many times we do better with insurance not through the cruise line, many of which Wes has covered.

 

1. Some policies will protect against cruise line bankruptcy and pre-existing conditions if you book with a specified time of placing your deposit; usually within two to three weeks of deposit.

 

2. We prefer having a policy where the the travel insurance provider acts as the primary provider. Not all do this but some do and it is duly noted. This way we do not have to waste time first submitting bills to our own health provider and then when the are not approved having to submit them to the travel insurance provider.

 

3. We want the ability to not insure the entire trip. Insurance is all about how much risk you are willing to take. So we look at the cost of the policy relative to the cost of the trip and we adjust accordingly the same way one might adjust the deductible on their home or autmobile.

 

4. If we have booked itineraries in more remote places of the world we are likley more concerned with medical and evacuation costs and want a policy that is more itinerary specific where we can obtain higher medical coverage than say if we were cruising in Alaska.

 

Again, the devil is in the details and also what works for each person. A cruise line policy might work well for some depending on their situation and I do consider them along with several other policies. Each time we book a cruise we do thorough research rather than using the same insurer we used the last time around. Sometimes the research confirmed to stay with that insurer and other times based on the other factors mentioned above, including the specific itinerary, another provider turns out to be the better choice for that specific cruise.

 

Keith

[dwelsh]

Keith and Wes are well informed and have provided some very interesting information.

In our case, being somewhat older with medical issues not covered by insurance out of the USA, the medical coverage is of prime importance.

In our extensive travels we have seen too many serious situations with both young and elderly pax to not have maximum coverage.

[DaveFr]

Enjoy your first Silversea Alaska crusie.

 

Please see the site/link below for an excellent overview on Travel Insurance. You should

expect to pay between 5-7% of your cruise fare on reputable travel insurance.

 

We like the travel insurance comparison website www.squaremouth.com to

find the right policy for our land/cruise trips. We have used Travelex for our land

trip last year and have Travelex for our upcoming Spirit maiden crossing. A tip to lower your travel insurance up front cost to less than 5%, from a seasoned Lux line cruiser, Keith1010, who posts on this board is to cover your trip for less than the full cruise fare. In other words, if your cruise fare is $15,000, insure the trip for $12,000 you still get the same essential coverage; for pre-existing conditions, financial default, trip cancellation coverage, medical evac coverage, lost luggage, etc., but you're essentially taking a large deductable up front. We are relatively young and in good health so we are willing to take a large deductable.

 

In accordance with the article below, we prefer to buy our travel insurance that provides primary coverage and not to purchase it from the cruiseline (in case it goes bankrupt) or a Travel Agent (may only represent one company they have a relationship with). However,

some folks prefer the cruiseline insurance due to having pre existing conditions and find the cruiseline will insure them for

a better price than a company that will insure for pre-existing conditions (e.g. Travelex, CSA).

 

http://www.travelinsurancereview.net/

Keith and Wes' advice to insure for less than the full value of the trip to save money is good, particularly if you don't need converage for pre-existing conditions. However, if you do need a waiver of the pre-existing condition exclusion, be very careful. According to the Trip Insurance Store, many policies require you to insure for the full prepaid, nonrefundable cost of a trip before they will waive the pre-existing condition exclusion. http://www.tripinsurancestore.com/3/pre-existing.shtml. Hope this helps.

 

Dave

[wripro]

I never purchase insurance directly from the cruise line. If they go bankrupt there goes the coverage. And if there is an issue whose side do you think they'll take? There are so many good options for insurance so heed the advice given by the posters above and do a little research to find the best one for you.

[WesW]

Dave, thanks for your post..will keep that in mind as we age (hopefully gracefully &

healthy) if we get any pre-existing conditions.

[Keith1010]

Dave what you say reaffirms my view that the devil is in the details and that one size does not fit all.

 

Each person needs to select a policy that meets their needs. And this will vary based on many factors from ones age, healt/medical situation, financial situation, along with other factors such as cost, length and specific itinerary of the cruise.

 

While I mainly use the same travel insurance company, many times we vary the specific policy we purchase based on the specifics of the cruise.

 

In my situation we are not concerned with pre-existing conditions, and we are willing to take risk in how much of the trip we insure. Regardless of whether we insure 100% of the trip or even 1% of the trip the same medical insurance features are provided. Again, not talking pre-existiing but the medical benefits should one or both of us become ill on the cruise. Just like the deductible on our home, on each trip I look at the value to ensure. And in our situation we find that I can get a policy that actually provides a greater level of the benefits that we are most interested in for less than the cost offered by the cruise lines.

 

But whatever policy that is considered whether one from the cruise line or one from the various companies we read the details of each policy. And the other item we care about is how does the process work if we do become ill or need assistance from the company. Understanding that is very essential as well.

 

Keith

[Jade13]

We have been using a CSA policy (The current one is a CSA FreeStyle) as we are able to get it for 3.5 or 4% of the amount we are insuring AND it covers pre-existing conditions when purchased within 24 hours of FINAL payment. It is the only one right now that can be purchased at final payment and covers pre-existing conditions and can be purchased in our state of residence.

 

We have insurance that covers us outside of the US, but we do not have Medical Evacuation. We specifically want secondary insurance because if we use it it will go towards our out of pocket for the year whereas primary will not.

[Jade13]

In my situation we are not concerned with pre-existing conditions,

 

Keith

 

We aren't either but concerned about potential pre-existing conditions of family members not traveling with us.

 

Plus, someone could be diagnosed with a pre-existing condition they did not know about.

[dwelsh]

The latest post on the Spirit problem that SS apparently had some financial pressures in financing the newbuild makes a lot of sense of the proponents of travel insurance carried by companies other than the actual carrier.

 

With the unreported and unverifiable rumors that seem to be surfacing I am of the opinion that SS needs to clarify the situation with a press release either refuting the rumors or, being honest with their clients and the business world and explaining the delay in delivery.:confused::confused::confused:

[Keith1010]

We aren't either but concerned about potential pre-existing conditions of family members not traveling with us.

 

Plus, someone could be diagnosed with a pre-existing condition they did not know about.

 

As I've tried to explain each person makes a set of decisions based on their own situation. I was talking about our own set of circumstances.

 

We do not insure the full cost of the cruise because we are willing to take the risk versus the cost of the insurance. We know the risk. We do make sure we have plenty of medical insurance and vary this based on the other factors I mentioned.

 

After a certain threshold of cruises is met with this approach should we have to cancel the cruise we would still be ahead of the game. For us, I wish I would have used this approach since our very first cruise. Again, insurance is exactly that. One has to evaluate the cost of insuring 100% of their cruise and doing this cruise over cruise versus the risk should they have to cancel with the amount of insurance they purchase.

 

Same goes for a house. One saves considerably the higher the deductible but they must evaluate the implications of this decision.

 

Again, the key is to know all of the facts and to figure out what is best based on ones situation. And the key is to know all of the facts associated with the policy and the implications of the approach they take.

 

Keith

[WesW]

Dwelsh, concur 100% with your sentiments, surprised others have not chimed in concerning Carolyn's post (which stated Shipyard sources said the Spirit delay was due to SS financial problems, and after three German banks became involved (after five days?) the ship was released. Why then did Gene Sloan of USA Today hear from a SS spokesman that the delay was due to a strike at the shipyard? Contradictory & confusing and leaves me as a SS cruiser w/questions.

 

Learned from another source a few months ago that SS was having a difficult time

financially, but checked with our TA who said everything was fine.

 

In any case, very glad we have financial default coverage (getting back to the topic of

this thread) with our Travel Insurance policy.

[dwelsh]

Since joining this web some months ago I have made several requests for the SS PR department to answer questions posed by CC posters.

 

There have been several questions that have arisen over that time, including an outdated web site, the down-grading by "Conde Naste Travel" magazine, food quality etc.

 

They are certainly not very forthcoming to the very loyal group of SS travelers who populate these boards. They need to be aware of any doubts about their companies image and address those doubts.