Trip Insurance NO GOOD!

[crusinmama22]

I have to say I am very disappointed and feel like we were lied to by Norwegian Cruise Line, Access America (Insurance Co) and our travel agent.

 

We had a trip on 2/12/10. Booked this 18 months in advance. Bought cruise air with Norwegian, purchased trip insurance and also had a travel agent.

 

We are a family of 4 and we were going on our last big family vacation as my children are now 27 and 25. My husband, daughter and myself flying from Albany,NY and my son from Buffalo, NY (as he is in college working on his PhD). When we arrived in Albany we were told that our connecting flight in Atlanta was canceled. Delta was the carrier assigned to us by Norwegian Cruise line. The Delta agent put the 3 of us on standby and said we would be the first on standby as it goes by the time your name is put on the list. OK Great. My son was not so lucky. Delta had canceled his flight from Buffalo and Atlanta.(he had the same connecting flight from Atlanta to Miami as we did)

 

He was offered no assistance by Delta, Norwegian or our TA. THis was Presidents week and all flights were booked. He even offered to travel to other airports including NYC or NJ

but Delta would not even bother to help nor would Norwegian. He is stuck in Buffalo, but we don't find this out till we land in Atlanta. Now the @#$% hits the fan. We are told we are stuck in Atlanta till Sun or Mon and my son is in Buffalo with no way out, our ship sails today at 4:00 pm When I told that to the Delta agent he told me "SO" I told him I was on stand by he told me "he did not care and that I did not pay enough for my air ticket to get on standby that it goes by price paid". By some luck and I am sure my TA had a lot to do with the luck we were on that flight from Atlanta to Miami. We 3 of us boarded the ship at 3:50pm and the gang plank was pulled behind me!

 

I got my head around my son not making the ship sort of -- knowing I had insurance and that I would be reimbursed as per my TA and my insurance policy. We are insured for bad weather which was the case so we were told that day.

 

GUESS WHAT THE INSURANCE COMPANY HAS DENIED MY CLAIM. Norwegian will not refund our passage per my TA, Delta said the plane took off, I have proof it did not and I have been denied. When I told this to my TA she was shocked. Said she does not understand why -- but that I WOULD HAVE TO FIGHT FOR IT. Wait a minute she picked this policy and told me this was the coverage I needed. I was concerned about bad weather in Feb and since we were unable to fly in a day ahead of the cruise we booked everything inclusive with Norwegian to cover us we were still screwed.

 

From what I can see the only need for insurance is to throw money out the window.

 

I am fighting this and will let you know if we win -- but this has changed my mind about cruising maybe for good. I LOVE to CRUISE. We did our first in 1979 and have been hooked ever since. But this is not right. I feel we were lied to by Norwegian, Delta and our TA.

 

Now I have to come up with the money my son was to get back so that he can go on his vacation that he never got to go on because of DELTA.

[Esmerelda]

I'm so sorry this happened to you.

 

I'm currently involved in a huge multi million dollar project at the hospital I work at. There is massive training involved. I believe to date, we have booked well over 400 tickets since last September. I will tell you, 90% of the problems that the travelers have had have been with Delta. Apparently it's been like pulling teeth to get refunds on cancelled flights and most everyone is now saying "please do not book me on Delta". I won't bore you with the horror stories that many have shared with me but they've been unbelievable.

 

I do hope you get resolution to this and get all of or some of your money back. I say; it ain't over til the fat lady sings and I can sing really loud. :D

 

Keep us posted on the progress...we can all learn from each others journeys.

[biker@sea]

I don't understand what NCL has to do with this. You and your TA picked the insurance. Your fight is with Access America. I hope you made the best of your cruise.

[Planer's Edge]

I'm confused.

 

The title of your post seems to be correct but most of the post is blaming NCL. Where exactly did NCL lie? It seems the fault lies firstly with the insurance company/policy followed closely by your TA who chose the insurance company/policy.

 

I have bought Access America travel insurance policies many times and have never had problems the few times I had to make a claim. I will be curious to see how this works out.

 

Hopefully you enjoyed your cruise.

 

PE

[Esmerelda]

I'm sorry, forgot to add....this is an insurance issue (as well as Delta), not really NCL. I would just sing really loud to this insurance company who you bought the policy from.

 

best of luck...

[newmexicoNita]

I have to agree with the posting above, I really don't see where NCL fits into this picture. It sounds more like the fault of the airline. I am not sure about the insurance company, but why do you say NCL lied. What did they lie about?

 

Now, let's hope you can find a way to prove Delta did not fly that flight. I wish I knew how you can do that..good luck, hope you can recoup, at least part of the costs.

 

 

Nita

[time2cruise1]

Advice for others caught in similar situations there was a great tip on the thread about all those stranded by the volcano. Get you camera or cell phone and take a picture of the board showing you fight is canceled. No questions by the insurance company.

[gliles]

No doubt Delta is at fault but &*^% happens, all the time with weather, etc. the real company at fault is the insurance company. NCL surely wasn't gonna hold the ship for a couple days and Delta wasn't going to fly if it was unsafe. Sounds like they treated all of you poorly but bottom line, you bought insurance to protect you against schedule irregularities and they should pay.

 

And I know you know this but flying in a day early is worth it even if that means you have to pick a different time to go. I would be very upset if I missed the ship even if my insurance reimbursed me.

 

There are websites that have historical flight activity (flightwise dot com) that you could check or you could even go to flyertalk dot com and ask someone on the Delta board to assist you. Good luck!

 

One more thing, and just asking as I have kids in their 20s... are you sure that he didn't miss the flight? Then again I don't have kids working on their PhDs so apples and oranges :p

[watchdiva]

Sorry but I don't see how NCL lied to you? Seems as though your "fight" is with the insurance carrier.....

 

That's a super great tip about taking a picture of arrival/departure boards in the airport when a flight is cancelled/delayed. You never know when it may come in handy.

[newmexicoNita]

Sorry but I don't see how NCL lied to you? Seems as though your "fight" is with the insurance carrier.....

 

That's a super great tip about taking a picture of arrival/departure boards in the airport when a flight is cancelled/delayed. You never know when it may come in handy.

 

I would never have thought about that, great tip!!!!

 

Nita

[daisy-mae]

Before we took our first cruise, I asked a travel agent who specialized in cruises if there was any real advantage in booking the air portion of our travel through the cruise line. I specifically wanted to know if the cruise line would be more flexible about delays or late arrivals if they had arranged the flight.

 

I was told that the cruise and air travel were separate, no matter how they were booked. I would not expect NCL to be any more accomodating than any other cruise line under the same circumstances.

 

As others have said, your quarrel should be with the insurance company, and possibly with the TA who advised you.

 

Good luck!

[momoftwinteens]

For those of us in the know, we believe that Delta is actually an acronym for Doesn't Ever Leave The Airport. Either that or Don't Expect Luggage To Arrive.

[antmilant]

I recently had a problem collecting from an Ins. Co for a cancelled cruise. I booked the cruise in Aug. with NCL and took their Ins. that was offered. ( I know big mistake) My DH got hurt in Nov. Our final payment was due in Dec. I called NCL and told them of my problem & that my DH may need surgery. I didn't know weither to cancel or since I had Ins. wait and cancel after final payment. I was told by NCL's agent "Don't worry you have insurance". Unfortunitly we cancelled about a month before the cruise when the Dr. said he would need surgery. I filed all necessary paperwork only to be denied because I didn't pay in full for the Insurance. It was paid at final payment time. So therefore his injury was suffered before Ins. was in effect and not covered. No one at NCL told me this. I assumed once I booked cruise Insurace was in effect and I guess so did their agent. I wrote to NCL and they said they always advise passengers that Ins. dosen't go into effect until paid for completely. I have booked many times with NCL never once was I made aware of this.

Sorry to air my grievance on your thread but I understand how you feel. Keep fighting and let us know how you made out.

[Ms belp]

OP, I understand your disappointment as well. We were supposed to go to Venice and then cruise the Greek Islands on 4/24. Thanks to that dumb volcano erupting and no clear idea of whether we would be able to actually get there, we did not go. Long story short, we are out much money as well. It's really frustrating when you get shuffled from insurance company to airlines, round and round and round you go. I hope it works out for you with the insurance company.

[sottovoce]

I don't understand what NCL has to do with this. You and your TA picked the insurance. Your fight is with Access America. I hope you made the best of your cruise.

NCL is just a favorite whipping boy. How nice it would be if people would sit down, relax, and think rationally before posting an illogical rant with false accusations.

[NMLady]

I have to say I am very disappointed and feel like we were lied to by Norwegian Cruise Line, Access America (Insurance Co) and our travel agent.

 

We had a trip on 2/12/10. Booked this 18 months in advance. Bought cruise air with Norwegian, purchased trip insurance and also had a travel agent.

 

We are a family of 4 and we were going on our last big family vacation as my children are now 27 and 25. My husband, daughter and myself flying from Albany,NY and my son from Buffalo, NY (as he is in college working on his PhD). When we arrived in Albany we were told that our connecting flight in Atlanta was canceled. Delta was the carrier assigned to us by Norwegian Cruise line. The Delta agent put the 3 of us on standby and said we would be the first on standby as it goes by the time your name is put on the list. OK Great. My son was not so lucky. Delta had canceled his flight from Buffalo and Atlanta.(he had the same connecting flight from Atlanta to Miami as we did)

 

He was offered no assistance by Delta, Norwegian or our TA. THis was Presidents week and all flights were booked. He even offered to travel to other airports including NYC or NJ

but Delta would not even bother to help nor would Norwegian. He is stuck in Buffalo, but we don't find this out till we land in Atlanta. Now the @#$% hits the fan. We are told we are stuck in Atlanta till Sun or Mon and my son is in Buffalo with no way out, our ship sails today at 4:00 pm When I told that to the Delta agent he told me "SO" I told him I was on stand by he told me "he did not care and that I did not pay enough for my air ticket to get on standby that it goes by price paid". By some luck and I am sure my TA had a lot to do with the luck we were on that flight from Atlanta to Miami. We 3 of us boarded the ship at 3:50pm and the gang plank was pulled behind me!

 

I got my head around my son not making the ship sort of -- knowing I had insurance and that I would be reimbursed as per my TA and my insurance policy. We are insured for bad weather which was the case so we were told that day.

 

GUESS WHAT THE INSURANCE COMPANY HAS DENIED MY CLAIM. Norwegian will not refund our passage per my TA, Delta said the plane took off, I have proof it did not and I have been denied. When I told this to my TA she was shocked. Said she does not understand why -- but that I WOULD HAVE TO FIGHT FOR IT. Wait a minute she picked this policy and told me this was the coverage I needed. I was concerned about bad weather in Feb and since we were unable to fly in a day ahead of the cruise we booked everything inclusive with Norwegian to cover us we were still screwed.

 

From what I can see the only need for insurance is to throw money out the window.

 

I am fighting this and will let you know if we win -- but this has changed my mind about cruising maybe for good. I LOVE to CRUISE. We did our first in 1979 and have been hooked ever since. But this is not right. I feel we were lied to by Norwegian, Delta and our TA.

 

Now I have to come up with the money my son was to get back so that he can go on his vacation that he never got to go on because of DELTA.

 

I'm sorry this happened to you. However did YOU read your insurance policy before accepting it? I always use Access America so I know that within 24 hours of your paying the premium they email you a copy of your policy and you have a week in which you can reject it and get your premium back.

 

The policy spells out exactly what is covered and not covered for airline delays etc. Travel Agents are not in the business of selling insurance so do not always know exactly what is covered. And in no way is it NCL's fault that your son missed the ship even though the original air was booked through them. They have no control over airline schedules. Have you read your NCL cruise policy?

 

Even though I can understand your grief in your son missing the cruise, I think you need to learn to read your insurance policy and your cruise line contract.

[FLAHAM]

Should you choose to cruise again, I respectfully suggest not traveling 1,000 miles by air, through connecting flights, in mid-winter, on embarkation day.

[rsohn65820]

I'm sorry this happened to you. However did YOU read your insurance policy before accepting it? I always use Access America so I know that within 24 hours of your paying the premium they email you a copy of your policy and you have a week in which you can reject it and get your premium back.

 

 

I purchased Access America insurance though NCL on our last cruise in October and never recieved an email copy of the policy from the insurance company or NCL. The only information I had was what was posted on the NCL website telling what the insurance covered. They also never gave me a choice to reject and cancel the premium I purchased the insurance when I booked the cruise. When I paid at final payment date all I received was our edocs and I didn't see anything in those stating that it was our insurance policy. I'm not sure why we didn't get a copy of the policy but we didn't.

[TravlGrl]

Wow, I am sooo sorry this happened to you (and your son). What a shame for him to miss the family vacation, and for you to have the stress of dealing with this now.

 

I'm in agreement that your fight is with Access America, not with NCL, or even your TA. Just keep up the fight and PLEASE let us know how it was resolved.

 

We have two current claims with Access America -- a medical claim and a "canceled excursion" claim. The medical claim has been approved, but we're still providing them with what feels like massive amounts of paperwork to prove we missed a port and our pre-paid excursion was canceled. In the end, I'm confident we'll be reimbursed for our pre-paid missed excursion, but it's taking some pushing and prodding...and patience.

 

Good luck to you! :)

[trish1c]

I have a really simple solution for you -- get a LAWYER. Insurance company's wrongly deny claims all the time. It's why the lawy usually says you get your attorney's fees paid if you fight & win.

[TravlGrl]

I have a really simple solution for you -- get a LAWYER. Insurance company's wrongly deny claims all the time. It's why the lawy usually says you get your attorney's fees paid if you fight & win.

 

Trish, I almost said the same thing. This is when having Pre-Paid Legal is perfect! The other thing that is happening right now is that insurance companies are likely bombarded with massive amounts of claims as a result of the grounding of thousands of flights, so they're probably adding extra scrutiny to each claim.

[smeyer418]

You live in NY file a complaint with the NY State Insurance department, they will at least do an investigation and report back. For All insurance sold to NY residents, including trip insurance sold by the cruise lines, must be licensed in NY State(the only exception is for the health insurance you get through your employer where ERISA preempts NY State law).

 

 

The Insurance department will get all the facts and make a determination. They are as good or better than 95% of the lawyers who sue insurance companies....

http://www.ins.state.ny.us/complhow.htm

[NMLady]

I purchased Access America insurance though NCL on our last cruise in October and never recieved an email copy of the policy from the insurance company or NCL. The only information I had was what was posted on the NCL website telling what the insurance covered. They also never gave me a choice to reject and cancel the premium I purchased the insurance when I booked the cruise. When I paid at final payment date all I received was our edocs and I didn't see anything in those stating that it was our insurance policy. I'm not sure why we didn't get a copy of the policy but we didn't.

 

If the information about the insurance was on NCL's website, then you received NCL insurance regardless of what company it was through. That is not the same as booking directly with Access America.

 

We have always booked directly with Access America, never booked it through cruiseline.

[FLAHAM]

The NCL website says that the NCL travel protection plan is designed and administered by BerkelyCare and underwritten by the National Union Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh. What does Access America have to do with it?

[david_sobe]

Please be specific so we can all learn

I have travel insurance sold by NCL. I was told that you can cancel for any reason and get 75% refund. NCL refused to refund at least 75%?

Please let us know so that those of us can amend or change our insurance