Is there travel insurance coverage?

[chrismch]

In light of the current situations beginning with the Earthquake in Chile and now the volano eruptions in Iceland where they both stopped airline service, is there any coverage for these situations? Would any travel insurance cover this - such as getting you to a different port to get on the ship or just cancelling if you can't get there on time with full reimbursement for your paid cruise?

 

I've always flown into my cruise destination early but if you can't fly in what are you to do? Is this an exemption to the travel insurance?

[alphakitty]

I think the answer is you might be covered. It depends on the policy. Insure My Trip has this statement on their web site:

 

http://www.insuremytrip.com/blog/2010/04/15/volcanoes-airport-closings-and-travel-insurance.html

 

Volcanoes, airport closings and travel insurance

April 15th, 2010

John, Customer Care Manager

 

Volcanic ash has caused a halt to air travel in much of Europe. If you have purchased a travel insurance policy prior to the eruption and your flight has been canceled or your accommodation at your destination has been made uninhabitable because of the volcanic eruption, then you may have coverage under pre-departure trip cancellation or post-departure trip interruption.

 

There may also be coverage under travel delay to reimburse you for additional expenses such as temporary accommodations and meals due to the current situation.

 

If you need to file a claim, please call the phone number indicated on your confirmation of coverage. And as always, feel free to contact us if you have any questions

[bbbaby1976]

I heard that Travelex Insurance out of Omaha is covering for the volcanic ash situation.

[ilovhywd]

Peter Greenberg, who is a travel consultant on NBC, was on the Today show this morning, and he seemed to feel that losses due to "acts of God" like volcanoes and earthquakes are NOT covered under most travel insurance policies. It's going to be interesting to find out what companies are covering losses, and which are not. I hope the travelers who are affected by the cancelled flights will post their claims experience on Cruise Critic.

[AFT_LOVER]

is the biggie with many travel insurance. Berkley Care who handles Princess & other cruise line insurance policies, do not cover weather, earthquakes, volcanos and other ACTS OF GOD.

 

Travel Guard does! That is if you are insured before any of this happened in the area who are flying from or to.

 

Back in 2002 CLE had 3 feet of snow Christmas Eve night & we were flying on air purchased from Princess for a cruise. I had to fall from my kitchen window since the doors were snowed in & swim in the snow to my garage to get the snow thrower going to clear the driveway. But roads were not touched, folks with 4 wheel drive were stuck. Taxis were not running & TV said we were at a stand still. Flights were cancelling since the high winds & all the snow made for clearing close to impossible all over the Mid West.

 

I called Princess & was told to callback on Monday (it was Friday night). SO I phoned Berkley who told me if I could not get to the cruise via air they felt bad for my loss since Act of God cancels coverage due to weather. So we lost $8K & have never bought their insurance again. The following year we had Access America & all week we heard snow storm was headed to the Midwest. SO we went to the airport, which was running well with flights in & out. Tried to get a flight out that day with no luck. So we stayed at Marriott & got the airport 2 hours early to see all Delta flights cancelled. No storm, airport is open, but no DL flights. No personnel either. So I called Delta to be sure we got all our miles back which they said we did & I told them CLE is flying why not DL. They stated storms are due. So we hit CO for a flight but none available. So I phone Access America & they ask if CLE Hopkins Airport has been closed 24 hours. I said NO but DL cancelled all their flights & no message or phonecall to us. No other airline has flights & Access America states that cancels the refund. But they will fly us to the next port & our cruise was 2 weeks long, 1 week at sea to Spain. So no thank you. So I did phone Princess on the ridiculous air situation & they offered us the same cruise the following week but we pay air. I also gave the story to local news who used it & CO gave us air for free, keeping CLE happy as their hub. I had cancelled my Skymiles to AMEX Blue, gave CO my DL miles to use and never fly DL again.

 

So read very well the insurance coverage & make sure it covers everything. We now leave 1-2 days in advance just in case. Travel Guard Gold is what we buy.

[Sparkylok6]

I have heard that if you purchased a Policy with "Cancel for any reason" you will be covered in this situation.

 

I have purchased insurance with this option in the past, but not every time. May be something to consider for myself in the future.

 

What concerns me most about all of this with regard to the insurance is that if the Policy was not purchased by 4/15 it will not be covered in the future. Does that mean if I want to take a cruise out of Europe in a year or two and I purchase insurance for my trip at the time of my booking that I would not be covered if this happens again?

 

Insurance is such a complex industry isn't it?????

 

Good luck to anyone that has travel plans to Europe.

[chamima]

is the biggie with many travel insurance. Berkley Care who handles Princess & other cruise line insurance policies, do not cover weather, earthquakes, volcanos and other ACTS OF GOD.

 

Travel Guard does! That is if you are insured before any of this happened in the area who are flying from or to.

 

Back in 2002 CLE had 3 feet of snow Christmas Eve night & we were flying on air purchased from Princess for a cruise. I had to fall from my kitchen window since the doors were snowed in & swim in the snow to my garage to get the snow thrower going to clear the driveway. But roads were not touched, folks with 4 wheel drive were stuck. Taxis were not running & TV said we were at a stand still. Flights were cancelling since the high winds & all the snow made for clearing close to impossible all over the Mid West.

 

I called Princess & was told to callback on Monday (it was Friday night). SO I phoned Berkley who told me if I could not get to the cruise via air they felt bad for my loss since Act of God cancels coverage due to weather. So we lost $8K & have never bought their insurance again. y.

 

What about the "cancel for any reason" coverage? Didn't you get $8K towards another cruise?

[robgvic]

It is interesting that the EU has a rule that the airlines are responsible for reasonable accommodation and meals. Obviously the airlines are not happy witht that one

[AJs Grandpa]

I have Travel Guard coverge for a cruise from Southampton next month. I do NOT have the cancel for any reason option. I looked at the policy and concluded I was covered. To be sure, I called Travel Guard and they confirmed--their policy coverrs cancellation due to natural disaster, and volcanic eruptions are specifically included.I then posed the following possibility: What if I changed my air to fly to Southern Europe and took land-based transit to get to the UK? Would my insurance cover added expenses (up to policy limits of course)? The answer was "Yes, and we will make arrangements for you. That's why you pay us."Of course, I'm still hoping things will clear up by the end of next month, but it is good to know I have some protection if worst case happens.

[Stevesan]

It is interesting that the EU has a rule that the airlines are responsible for reasonable accommodation and meals. Obviously the airlines are not happy witht that one

 

Not so obvious based on current events. Houston Intercontinental airport along with the airlines, notably Continental, are providing meal and hotel vouchers to stranded passengers. The number of vouchers is limited so a separate room has been outfitted with cots, TV and a wii for the kidddies.

 

Not all companies, even airlines, are grinches. :p

[sirwired]

Peter Greenberg, who is a travel consultant on NBC, was on the Today show this morning, and he seemed to feel that losses due to "acts of God" like volcanoes and earthquakes are NOT covered under most travel insurance policies. It's going to be interesting to find out what companies are covering losses, and which are not. I hope the travelers who are affected by the cancelled flights will post their claims experience on Cruise Critic.

 

For what seems like the sixth time since the volcano has erupted, I'll post this:

 

The words "Act of God" do not appear either the U.S. Princess policy, nor ANY major 3rd-party U.S. policy of which I am aware.

 

Some policies (like Princess) do not provide cancellation policies for anything but medical reasons so you aren't getting your money back that way, insurance or not.

 

However, 3rd-party policies, if it includes "natural disaster" coverage (most, though not all, do), WILL cover cancellations or delays due to the volcano, as long as your policy was purchased before the eruption began.

 

These policies are written in fairly plain English, and I don't know why so many media outlets are getting this wrong.

 

SirWired

 

P.S. The words "acts of war" or "acts of terrorism" most certainly do appear in some policies as exclusions. But "acts of god" don't.

[luvs2travl]

What about the "cancel for any reason" coverage? Didn't you get $8K towards another cruise?

 

 

Yesterday, DH & I cancelled our trans-Atlantic repositioning cruise on the Star Princess due to sail out of FLL on April 24th ( this Saturday). We felt extremely uneasy about cruising into an area of known turmoil and disruption, with clearly no definitive "end" to this volcanic situation.

 

We purchased hotels, air and cruise through Princess as a package deal. We also purchased the Princess Platinum insurance, which, does indeed, have the "cancel-for-any-reason" clause. We were told by Princess and again by the very nice lady that I spoke with at Berkely Insurance (Princess's carrier) that we would be issued a voucher for 100% of what we paid for the package, close to $9000.00, (less the cost of the insurance, obviously), for use on a future Princess cruise. She told us that we would be receiving our voucher within 4 to 6 weeks. She also congratulated us on purchasing that particular policy. Judging by what she told me, they are being bombarded with people wanting compensation that either had not purchased insurance at all, or had not purchased the Platinum Policy.

 

Our motto has always been: "Better to have it & not need it, then need it and not have it!" This is the first time we've ever had to use and we are so thankful that we did have it!! :)

[sirwired]

What if I changed my air to fly to Southern Europe and took land-based transit to get to the UK? Would my insurance cover added expenses (up to policy limits of course)? The answer was "Yes, and we will make arrangements for you. That's why you pay us."Of course, I'm still hoping things will clear up by the end of next month, but it is good to know I have some protection if worst case happens.

 

I was stranded in FL due to a Blizzard up North, and the TravelGuard travel agent I talked to was wonderful in rounding up new flights and arranging for a hotel and rental car!

 

SirWired

[smeyer418]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/20/world/europe/20trip.html?scp=3&sq=insurance&st=cse

 

here is what the NY Times says and yes if you had purchased most insurance(in the US) it would be covered. However buying it now when the Volcano already erupted wouldn't work unless its a cancel for any reason coverage- lets be kind and assume that is what Mr. Greenberg meant.. Just like you can't buy insurance to cover for a hurricane after the hurricane has been named.

[Hlitner]

Instead of just looking for "Acts of God" you might want to look for a "Force Mejeure" exclusion clause. Force Mejeure is a legal term used in many contracts and insurance policies that is similar to an Act of God.

 

Hank

[Go-Bucks!]

Many of you have said that you have to have purchased a policy before the eruptions happened in order for the insurance to cover natural disasters, but how long is that in effect for?? Are you saying that from now on (and forever) natural disasters won't be covered just because one natural disaster has happened? So, if I book a cruise for 2011 and buy travel insurance at the same time, are you saying they won't cover forever?? That doesn't seem logical. Then why buy something if the company said they won't cover it if it happens? :confused:

 

I have an upcoming cruise in Sept. 2010 and am looking at buying travel ins. now. We are flying into London, so are you saying that no one will sell me a policy anymore??

[nhmike]

The company I use has an option for "cancel for any reason" which is obviously a bit more but allows me to cancel for any reason and get a full refund. The company is Travel Insured International (http://www.travelinsured.com) A trip for 2 costing say about 2k total with "cancel for any reason" option cost about 111.00 for both travelers. Also kids under 18 are insured for free...

[robgvic]

I think what they meant was that you could not buy insurance for the iceland volcano, this eruption. You have to have the insurance bought before the event happened. Just compare it to looking into your kitchen and seeing a fire so phoning an inurance company to buy insurance

[sirwired]

Many of you have said that you have to have purchased a policy before the eruptions happened in order for the insurance to cover natural disasters, but how long is that in effect for?? Are you saying that from now on (and forever) natural disasters won't be covered just because one natural disaster has happened? So, if I book a cruise for 2011 and buy travel insurance at the same time, are you saying they won't cover forever?? That doesn't seem logical. Then why buy something if the company said they won't cover it if it happens? :confused:

 

I have an upcoming cruise in Sept. 2010 and am looking at buying travel ins. now. We are flying into London, so are you saying that no one will sell me a policy anymore??

 

Firstly, other natural disasters (other volcanoes, Hurricanes, earthquakes, flooding, whatever) are certainly still covered under new policies if they were covered before. (Not all policies include natrual disaster coverage.)

 

As far as this particular volcano goes: that will be up to each insurance company. They may decide to exclude this particular volcano until the end of time; they may decide that once this eruption (and the cloud) is declared "over" by geologists, coverage for this volcano will resume. It's certainly something to ask when purchasing a policy.

 

SirWired

[Go-Bucks!]

The company I use has an option for "cancel for any reason" which is obviously a bit more but allows me to cancel for any reason and get a full refund. The company is Travel Insured International (www.travelinsured.com) A trip for 2 costing say about 2k total with "cancel for any reason" option cost about 111.00 for both travelers. Also kids under 18 are insured for free...

 

 

I just looked on this site and it costs alot more for my trip! And the "cancel for any reason" is only available within 30 days of initial deposit - I booked this trip in Nov. 2009. Oh well. :(

[stunnedinva]

Peter Greenberg, who is a travel consultant on NBC, was on the Today show this morning, and he seemed to feel that losses due to "acts of God" like volcanoes and earthquakes are NOT covered under most travel insurance policies. It's going to be interesting to find out what companies are covering losses, and which are not. I hope the travelers who are affected by the cancelled flights will post their claims experience on Cruise Critic.

 

Since you asked, I was on Star Princess's 2/18 itinerary that was affected by the Chilean earthquake. I had Travel Guard Gold, and they reimburse travel-delay expenses up to $750. They also covered the cost of "topping off" my prescriptions for my 11-day return from Valparaiso to Santiago. They denied my roaming cell-phone charges to airlines and additional internet expenses. So even though I didn't recoup as many expenses as I'd hoped for, I'm now a believer in Travel Guard.

People in our roll call and the 3/2 roll call are starting to get responses to their insurance claims, so you might want to check on the roll calls for more information about what insurers are making people happy. :)

[BridgeMates]

I'd like to see the different travel insurance response to claims you mention. Sorry for the ignorance, but how do I go back and read old roll calls from completed cruises?

Thanks.

[stunnedinva]

I'd like to see the different travel insurance response to claims you mention. Sorry for the ignorance, but how do I go back and read old roll calls from completed cruises?

Thanks.

 

You have to log in to access roll calls. Then just go to Princess roll calls, then Star Princess, and then they're listed by date. The ones affected by the earthquake are 2/18 and 3/2.

[kjg46]

I called Travelex as we insured our June cruise with them. They said their underwriters are calling the volcano eruption problem "weather related" after 24 hours of no fly etc. and WOULD BE COVERED by the insurance policy. This would also include trip dely and missed connection provisions etc.