Insurance Question

[DreaminofOz]

I hope to book an Alaskan cruise for my father, daughter and I for 2011. Just waiting for everyone to get their itineraries out so we can make our choice:) We will probably book within the next 30 days.

 

That said, we will not be able to book airfare or pre/post cruise hotel stays for a few months since most places will not take reservations more than a year in advance.

 

How does that affect purchasing trip insurance since I will be getting it from an outside source (not the cruiseline)? Would I get a policy for just the cruise, then get a second one once we have the other arrangements? Or would I just get one policy, estimating what our total expenses will be? My father does have heart diagnosis (has never had any trouble or symptoms) so I want to make sure we get a policy that covers 'pre-existing conditions'. Will probably look at squarmouth.com when we are ready to make our choice on the insurance.

[Guest cadd4u]

I have had this problem too. Once I just estimated the price of the air and the next time the agent told me I could add it as soon as I booked it or to book the air insurance with the airline. I don't know if he told me the truth and looking to see what others say.

[cruiseco]

I hope to book an Alaskan cruise for my father, daughter and I for 2011. Just waiting for everyone to get their itineraries out so we can make our choice:) We will probably book within the next 30 days.

 

That said, we will not be able to book airfare or pre/post cruise hotel stays for a few months since most places will not take reservations more than a year in advance.

 

How does that affect purchasing trip insurance since I will be getting it from an outside source (not the cruiseline)? Would I get a policy for just the cruise, then get a second one once we have the other arrangements? Or would I just get one policy, estimating what our total expenses will be? My father does have heart diagnosis (has never had any trouble or symptoms) so I want to make sure we get a policy that covers 'pre-existing conditions'. Will probably look at squarmouth.com when we are ready to make our choice on the insurance.

 

This situation happens all the time -- the insurers know that many trips are booked in stages. With all of the major third-party insurers you can insure the cruise when you book it and then when you have your air arrangements in place just call them up and have them add those to the plan. If you need to change the dates on the policy you can do that later also so if you're not sure of your exact travel dates start with your best guess then change as needed once you get everything nailed down.

 

With some plans you have to buy the policy within a certain time frame in order to be covered for pre-existing medical conditions -- usually from 7 to 21 days depending on the plan -- of making the first payment on the trip. When you add the air or other arrangements to the policy be sure to do it within that same 7 - 21 day period do it within 7 to 21 days of making those arrangements in order to keep the pre-existing condition coverage in effect.

[cruiseco]

I hope to book an Alaskan cruise for my father, daughter and I for 2011. Just waiting for everyone to get their itineraries out so we can make our choice:) We will probably book within the next 30 days.

 

That said, we will not be able to book airfare or pre/post cruise hotel stays for a few months since most places will not take reservations more than a year in advance.

 

How does that affect purchasing trip insurance since I will be getting it from an outside source (not the cruiseline)? Would I get a policy for just the cruise, then get a second one once we have the other arrangements? Or would I just get one policy, estimating what our total expenses will be? My father does have heart diagnosis (has never had any trouble or symptoms) so I want to make sure we get a policy that covers 'pre-existing conditions'. Will probably look at squarmouth.com when we are ready to make our choice on the insurance.

 

This situation happens all the time -- the insurers know that many trips are booked in stages. With all of the major third-party insurers you can insure the cruise when you book it and then when you have your air arrangements in place just call them up and have them add those to the plan. If you need to change the dates on the policy you can do that later also so if you're not sure of your exact travel dates start with your best guess then change as needed once you get everything nailed down.

 

With some plans you have to buy the policy within a certain time frame in order to be covered for pre-existing medical conditions -- usually from 7 to 21 days depending on the plan -- of making the first payment on the trip. When you add the air or other arrangements to the policy be sure to do it within 7 to 21 days of making those arrangements in order to keep the pre-existing condition coverage in effect.