Platinum Insurance - Has Anyone Else Had Problems Collecting?

[Middle Aged and Happy]

I read this with interest and disappointment for the cruiser. While there may be fine print, a single cruiser and contract lawyers hanging around to enforce HAL's fine print, I don't think most people read the fine print and assumptions are made that they are covered 10% for the $99 fee. Based on what I have read HAL may win out on this (ie not return the fare) but clearly the "spirit" of this protection was not met. I do not think it is in HAL's best interest to not work with this passenger. Will the travel agent representing 115 people recommend HAL in the future, much less this worthless insurance policy? It is not the intended spirit of the understanding. Please keep us updated on the outcome of this.

[Jade13]

I don't think most people read the fine print and assumptions are made that they are covered 10% for the $99 fee.

 

Will the travel agent representing 115 people recommend HAL in the future, much less this worthless insurance policy? It is not the intended spirit of the understanding. Please keep us updated on the outcome of this.

 

Why worthless? If they had no insurance they would be entitled to a 0% refund. Many passengers do not purchase any insurance at all.

 

If I were the OP, I would sbe arguing the fact that HAL's web site only mentions that the Standard Plan does not cover double occupancy and thereby implies that the Platinum Plan does. Until they change the language on their web site, the occupancy rate should be protected.

 

"The CPP Standard Plan is not insurance, is administered by Holland America Line Inc., and may not be available for purchase in some locations outside the U.S. and Canada; it provides no rights other than those explained above. For example, it does not protect double-triple-quad occupancy rates should one or more members of your party cancel, nor does it cover expenses or unused services due to trip interruption. "

[DWhit]

We have two ladies that have done everything right to protect their interests by purchasing the HAL protection plan,with an honest and sincere belief they were protected. Yet HAL has devised a self-serving system that leaves these ladies unprotected. Sadly, HAL could have easily fixed this issue and prevented others from gaming the system by waiving the supplement charge in those cases where cancellation results from death in the family, illness, etc. I can only conclude they have made a conscious decision not to do this.

Maybe I am drinking the HAL Kool-aid, but I don't see it that way. To me, the two ladies purchased a protection plan that pays 90% for canceling without reason, but which states it does not protect remaining party members against single supplement charges.

 

Instead, they stated if a claim was paid, a single-supplement rate would be imposed on the non-canceling passenger, effectively reducing the insurance reimbursement by the difference between the dual-occupancy rate and the single-occupancy rate. As represented by HAL, the net amount received would equal about a 40% reimbursement of the fare paid.

 

To me, if I am reading it correctly, the issue you have is HAL wants the lady who cancelled to foot the supplement bill for the lady who did not cancel. I would tell HAL they should pay the 90% due and should have charged the supplement to the lady who sailed, not the lady who cancelled. If they failed to do that, then that is HAL's problem.

[kjn]

Jade 13

 

The booking was done at the end of October, so I'm not sure which plan applies. I downloaded a copy of the CPP Plan in January when we did our first booking. That one has the old language, so I'm guessing (but not sure) that the changed happened sometime last year. As this thread is getting lots of attention, hopefully we can find someone that knows exactly when the change took effect.

 

Overall the net fare increase from the double to single rate was about $300. As the port charges and federal taxes paid change with the single occupant, the portion of increase attributed to the base fare is greater. I will ask our TA to send me these calculations.

 

Another question is how HAL will calculate any refund payment. It looks like the you get the 90% of the total fare minus whatever the travel agency retains (I assume commissions), so the actual refund back to the passenger is probably more in the 70 to 80% range. Unfortunately, I do not have exact refund numbers as it is my understanding that HAL is not being cooperative with our TA. I am told HAL will not even accept a claim until the single-supplement is paid. However, our TA has asked for a written clarification from HAL as to its position on this, so we will hopefully get this information.

 

As for incurring a big risk by offering "cancellation for any reason", I can tell you from experience with our group (which is large enough to make a pretty good statistical sample) that I see little risk to HAL. To the contrary, it looks as if the CPP could be a large money-maker.

 

If my memory serves me correctly (and I will confirm these numbers with our TA), we had about 30 in our group that opted for the Platinum Plan. At $99 per person (and those in suites and balconies paid more), that comes to about $3000 received by HAL. From that amount, HAL will pay a premium to the Berkeley Group. Because Berkeley has no liability up to the point of sailing and very limited medical liability ($10,000 in coverage), I would guess the premium paid to Berkeley is very low. Even when purchased individually from a third-party carrier, the premium for this amount of coverage is already very low, so HAL should get a group rate that is a steal.

 

Now compare that to claims filed by those in our group who purchased the CPP. We had one cancellation long-before final payment date, so there was no payment under the CPP. A second cancellation occurred one week before sailing, with HAL re-booking the cabin at a higher rate and keeping the 10% non-refundable. Our last cancellation is the case-at-hand, with a risk of HAL losing a portion of only half of a fare.

 

The only risk to HAL that I see is a cancellation on the day of sailing (or maybe also a day prior to sailing) where HAL cannot re-book an otherwise re-bookable cabin from an existing wait-list or other source. As to that risk, I can say that in the 8 years I have been working with groups, I have booked almost 400 passengers with many flying from snow country, and this is the first last-minute cancellation I have ever encountered.

 

I do give credit to HAL for implementing a very creative and what appears to be a very profitable plan. After all, they are in the business to make a profit. Unfortunately, in this case, that Plan, as advertised, has left some passengers feeling that HAL over-promised and under-delivered.

[peaches from georgia]

Maybe I am drinking the HAL Kool-aid, but I don't see it that way. To me, the two ladies purchased a protection plan that pays 90% for canceling without reason, but which states it does not protect remaining party members against single supplement charges.

 

 

 

To me, if I am reading it correctly, the issue you have is HAL wants the lady who cancelled to foot the supplement bill for the lady who did not cancel. I would tell HAL they should pay the 90% due and should have charged the supplement to the lady who sailed, not the lady who cancelled. If they failed to do that, then that is HAL's problem.

If the policies clearly stated that the cancelling pax would receive 90% reimbursement and the non-cancelling pax would be charged the supplemental, then the cancelling lady should just do the right thing and reimburse her non-cancelling friend the amount of the supplemental from her 90% proceeds. The non-cancelling lady would be made whole for her loss which was through no fault of her own. Easier than arguing with HAL on what they should have do or how their policy should read. It doesn't read that way, so let the cancelling pax take the supplemental from her proceeds and that's the end of it.

[Hlitner]

Going to be a contrarian here. To me, buying so-called insurance from a cruise line is like going to a restaurant and paying that same restaurant an additional 10% for insurance against food poisoning. As to buying policies through travel agencies, most TAs are not insurance agents, have little knowledge of the product, and are simply selling tripinsurance which generate a very nice commission to the TA. We think the smart traveler generally shops around for the best policy that fits their individual needs. A good place to look at various insurance options (and different companies) is a web site at insuremytrip.com . There are also other similar web sites (just use Google) which allow you to compare options, read all the fine print, telephone experts if you have insurance questions, etc. We would also point out that in recent years several cruise lines have, themselves, gone bankrupt and left passengers stranded or did not return pre-paid fares. Relying on a cruise line to insure themselves is just not a smart practice although we would agree with most that the huge cruise lines (RCI and CCL) are both financially very strong companies.

 

I will add another thought that comes from over thirty years working for a large health insurance outfit. Many folks worry about trip cancellation, but keep in mind that your liability for a cancelled cruise is limited by the cost of the cruise (which is already paid). Losing that money is not a good thing, but also will not a life shattering event. However, getting sick while out of the country can quickly alter your entire life, leave you financially destitute, stuck in a foreign country with no ability to pay hospital bills, etc. Many common insurance such as Medicare do not offer any coverage outside the USA. Your liabiltiy for health expenses is unlimited (unlike the fixed amount you pay for your cruise) and can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. My point is that its very important to focus on your travel medical insurance and not get too hung-up on trip cancellation. For frequent international travelers it can often make more sense to purchase an annual medical insurance policy that gives you coverage when out of your home country. In some cases the annual policies are less costly then individual trip policies and actually give a lot better coverage. And lastly, for those that have American Express Cards, you might want to call AMEX and get information on their very low cost annual trip medical insurance policy (often about $150 per year per couple) which can be a good insurance fit for many travelers.

 

Hank

[kjn]

Peaches from Georgia

 

I do understand your point, but I think the overall observation that has been made by the numerous posts on this thread is that the additional charge for the single supplement is not obvious. The only place that language appears is on the webpage summary, and as Jade 13 correctly notes, the inference created is that only the Standard Plan does not protect double occupancy rates. In fact, if you read the Plan Description, which is the controlling document, you will see it is not even mentioned in the Exclusions.

 

Please understand that I will not let either of these ladies incur any additional loss as a result of this. As the group leader, I didn't see a potential issue here, and if I didn't see it, I certainly can't expect either of them to have seen it. Although I still am not convinced that HAL's position is on firm ground, I will cover any shortfall if HAL doesn't step up to the plate.

 

However, there is a bigger issue here, and that is one of perceptions created, as Middle Aged and Happy so succinctly points out. HAL is marketing a "Cancel for Any Reason" plan with the intent of increasing sales by creating a product that offers security. And if HAL is willing to now hide behind what appears to be (at best) marginal "fine print" on this small issue, one can only wonder what other "fine print" is lurking on the big issues.

 

As a result, HAL already has and will create ill-will in its customers. I can tell you without hesitation that our last three group cruises have been on HAL as it fits our groups needs, but we have now decided to take our next group on Celebrity. If (and it's a big if at this point) our group does again cruise on HAL, there will be no one in our group that purchases HAL. Others in our group who are long-time HAL customers are watching to see the outcome of this issue. I have also been informed by my travel agent that he will not ever again recommend that his client purchase the CPP.

 

The bottom line here is that a cruiseline creates an image, and the actions of the corporate office are as important to that image as the actions of every staff member on the ship that makes the cruise experience a great one. If the ones in charge were doing half the job as the ones on the ship, I doubt we would even have this thread.

[Jade13]

Peaches from Georgia

 

I do understand your point, but I think the overall observation that has been made by the numerous posts on this thread is that the additional charge for the single supplement is not obvious. The only place that language appears is on the webpage summary, and as Jade 13 correctly notes, the inference created is that only the Standard Plan does not protect double occupancy rates. In fact, if you read the Plan Description, which is the controlling document, you will see it is not even mentioned in the Exclusions.

 

Please understand that I will not let either of these ladies incur any additional loss as a result of this. As the group leader, I didn't see a potential issue here, and if I didn't see it, I certainly can't expect either of them to have seen it. Although I still am not convinced that HAL's position is on firm ground, I will cover any shortfall if HAL doesn't step up to the plate.

 

However, there is a bigger issue here, and that is one of perceptions created, as Middle Aged and Happy so succinctly points out. HAL is marketing a "Cancel for Any Reason" plan with the intent of increasing sales by creating a product that offers security. And if HAL is willing to now hide behind what appears to be (at best) marginal "fine print" on this small issue, one can only wonder what other "fine print" is lurking on the big issues.

 

As a result, HAL already has and will create ill-will in its customers. I can tell you without hesitation that our last three group cruises have been on HAL as it fits our groups needs, but we have now decided to take our next group on Celebrity. If (and it's a big if at this point) our group does again cruise on HAL, there will be no one in our group that purchases HAL. Others in our group who are long-time HAL customers are watching to see the outcome of this issue. I have also been informed by my travel agent that he will not ever again recommend that his client purchase the CPP.

 

The bottom line here is that a cruiseline creates an image, and the actions of the corporate office are as important to that image as the actions of every staff member on the ship that makes the cruise experience a great one. If the ones in charge were doing half the job as the ones on the ship, I doubt we would even have this thread.

 

Kjn,

 

Aside from the fact, with I pointed out, that the language on HAL's page would have one believe that the Platinum Plan does in fact protect a single occupant, I hope this lady in your group understands that she did in fact purchase insurance (once she boarded) whether or not she ever needed it. This included 10K in medical and 50K in medivac, trip interruption, etc., and I hope that she understands that. No policy protects for everything. If they did, they would cost a fortune.

 

I actually do not agree with your travel agent never recommending this policy. I think it is the best cruise line protection plan out there, and excellant for some people. No other plan will give 90% back in cash on the day of departure (it used to be 24 hours). It is good for those with teenagers and pets. It is also good for someone like us who already have medical insurance that we can use world wide.

 

As you have found out, it is not good for two unrelated people sharing a cabin. Most people travel with a spouse, partner, or child, and they would both cancel.

[Jade13]

Kjn,

 

As you have found out, it is not good for two unrelated people sharing a cabin. Most people travel with a spouse, partner, or child, and they would both cancel.

 

Another point of view -

 

Our experiance with HAL's Platinum Protection has been excellant. In 2007 we had a teenager just tell us they would not be joining us on our cruise in Europe. This was the third passenger in the cabin, and we notified HAL at 31 days. At that point the refund was 95% because we were in the 50% penalty phase. The insurance was $99.00 and the cruise fare for the 3rd occupant was $899.00 (not the cheap or free 3rd pax deals we are seeing today). We received everything back with the exception of the $99.00 insurance, plus $44.95 cancelation fee.

 

HAL has even enhanced the policy in the past year where one does not have to purchase the policy until final payment AND it includes pre-existing conditions AND it includes Cancel for Any Reason. Very few policies (I could only find one that could be purchased in my area) cover pre-existing conditions and can be purchased at final payment.

 

I can not find any other Cancel for Any Reason policy that pays 90% cash back if you decide to Cancel for Any Reason the day of the cruise. In fact, the RCCL/Celebrity policy as far as Cancel for Any Reason only gives 75% back in a cruise credit that I believe has to be used within a year. There is also some complicated process where the claim has to go through Berkeley before Celebrity will issue the certificate.

[sirwired]

This is really a fascinating case, and unfortunately the ladies ended up in a "hole" in the coverage that was probably not intentional on anyone's part. It really illustrates the difference between many 1st-party, and 3rd-party coverage.

 

As others have pointed out, if the Cancel For Any Reason coverage covered the single supplement, people would use it to weasel out of ever paying the supplement through the use of bogus "traveling companions." As a side note, 3rd-party Cancel for Any Reason coverage won't cover anything but the person that actually cancels.

 

Here is where the 1st/3rd-party difference comes in: 1st-party coverage rarely, if ever, explicitly covers medical cancellations (such claims are expensive and time-consuming to process); instead, they rely on the generous cruise credit in the Cancel for Any Reason coverage included standard with the policy. 3rd-party coverage Cancel for Any Reason riders are optional (and expensive, and less generous (50-75%)) because they pay in cold, hard, cash, instead of a cruise credit. However, 3rd-party coverage substitutes the lousy/expensive/non-existent Any Reason coverage with explicit medical cancellation coverage.

 

Really, I'm not sure why the sub-24 hour part of the policy run by Berkeley covers the supplement at all... maybe this is just a standard part of a BerkelyCare policy, and they didn't rewrite it just for HAL. If you don't need supplement coverage well before the trip, you are unlikely to need it at the last minute either.

 

In the end, I think HAL just expected that you'd either simply cancel the trip (and get your 90% coverage) or round up another traveler rather than pay a single supplement. The coverage wasn't really designed for a large group of unrelated travelers...

 

If I were in HAL's place, I'd make an exception for this case. (and this is a big thing from me; anyone that hangs out on the insurance board would know I'm big on the letter of the insurance contract) The only reason HAL doesn't spell out medical cancellation benefits (which include the supplement) is not because they don't provide them, but rather because the Cancel for Any Reason coverage would take care of most of those claims; it just doesn't happen to cover this case. Perhaps a cruise credit for the amount of the single supplement would be appropriate.

[pms4104]

HAL has even enhanced the policy in the past year where one does not have to purchase the policy until final payment AND it includes pre-existing conditions AND it includes Cancel for Any Reason. Very few policies (I could only find one that could be purchased in my area) cover pre-existing conditions and can be purchased at final payment.

While HAL does indicate in its materials that there are no pre-existing condition limitations, I would be suspect because of the following from the Plan Description:

 

From page #4, relative to trip interruption coverage: "IMPORTANT: You, Your Traveling Companion and Your Immediate Family member booked to travel with You must be medically capable of travel on the day You purchase this plan. The event which necessitated the trip interruption must first occur after Your effective date of Trip Interruption coverage."

And, from page #5: "Medical & Dental Expense The Insurer will pay benefits, up to $10,000, if You incur necessary Covered Medical and Dental Expenses as a result of an Injury or Sickness. The accident causing such Injury must occur during Your Cruise/Cruisetour. Similarly, the Sickness must first manifest itself during Your Cruise/Cruisetour. Only dental expenses for emergency treatment incurred during Your Cruise/Cruisetour are coveredSIZE]

The bold red portions seem to contradict the "no pre-existing conditions limitation" ... as the plan description seems to exclude medical events occuring prior to one's trip. More fine print, perhaps?

[Jade13]

While HAL does indicate in its materials that there are no pre-existing condition limitations, I would be suspect because of the following from the Plan Description:

 

From page #4, relative to trip interruption coverage: "IMPORTANT: You, Your Traveling Companion and Your Immediate Family member booked to travel with You must be medically capable of travel on the day You purchase this plan. The event which necessitated the trip interruption must first occur after Your effective date of Trip Interruption coverage."

 

And, from page #5: "Medical & Dental Expense The Insurer will pay benefits, up to $10,000, if You incur necessary Covered Medical and Dental Expenses as a result of an Injury or Sickness. The accident causing such Injury must occur during Your Cruise/Cruisetour. Similarly, the Sickness must first manifest itself during Your Cruise/Cruisetour. Only dental expenses for emergency treatment incurred during Your Cruise/Cruisetour are coveredSIZE]

 

The bold red portions seem to contradict the "no pre-existing conditions limitation" ... as the plan description seems to exclude medical events occuring prior to one's trip. More fine print, perhaps?

 

I confess I do not know what changes have occurred recently. I studied the plan when it still Cancel for Any Reason at 24 plus hours. Interestingly, for the lady having the problem right now, the old version would have covered her because the Berkeley insurance kicked in at 12:01AM the day of departure.

[sirwired]

While HAL does indicate in its materials that there are no pre-existing condition limitations, I would be suspect because of the following from the Plan Description:

 

From page #4, relative to trip interruption coverage: "IMPORTANT: You, Your Traveling Companion and Your Immediate Family member booked to travel with You must be medically capable of travel on the day You purchase this plan. The event which necessitated the trip interruption must first occur after Your effective date of Trip Interruption coverage."

 

And, from page #5: "Medical & Dental Expense The Insurer will pay benefits, up to $10,000, if You incur necessary Covered Medical and Dental Expenses as a result of an Injury or Sickness. The accident causing such Injury must occur during Your Cruise/Cruisetour. Similarly, the Sickness must first manifest itself during Your Cruise/Cruisetour. Only dental expenses for emergency treatment incurred during Your Cruise/Cruisetour are coveredSIZE]

 

The bold red portions seem to contradict the "no pre-existing conditions limitation" ... as the plan description seems to exclude medical events occuring prior to one's trip. More fine print, perhaps?

 

When they say they don't exclude pre-existing conditions, they mean that you can cancel at any time before you leave without regard to what may be wrong with you before you purchase the insurance. (This is more of an issue with policies that don't have such generous Cancel for Any Reason coverage... in that case having a pre-ex waiver for medical cancellation claims is a big deal.)

 

The bolded sections are saying that if you break your leg, come down with the flu, etc. before you leave, don't expect the insurance company to pay for your treatment once you show up on board. This is reasonable; you can't expect them to be a substitute for your medical insurance at home.

[durangoscots]

I knew someone who cancelled last year - did not have to give a reason - it is "cancel for any reason, you could say your parrot died. He did cancel before 24 hours. The real issue here is the imposition of the single supplement to the continuing traveller... and that should be made more explicit in the policies. However, as someone who travels with a friend on occasion, if she were to cancel, I would expect the single supplement to be imposed and it is still my choice as to continue or not. Many cruises limit the number of singles, and that bed can not be resold. It certainly does need to be clarified.

 

Susan

[pms4104]

The bolded sections are saying that if you break your leg, come down with the flu, etc. before you leave, don't expect the insurance company to pay for your treatment once you show up on board. This is reasonable; you can't expect them to be a substitute for your medical insurance at home.

I understand what you're saying ... I was thinking more in terms of chronic or recurring conditions, under control at time of sailing, flaring up during the travels. Hard to tell from the wording whether coverage would be applied or denied.

[cruiseco]

While HAL does indicate in its materials that there are no pre-existing condition limitations, I would be suspect because of the following from the Plan Description:

 

From page #4, relative to trip interruption coverage: "IMPORTANT: You, Your Traveling Companion and Your Immediate Family member booked to travel with You must be medically capable of travel on the day You purchase this plan. The event which necessitated the trip interruption must first occur after Your effective date of Trip Interruption coverage."

And, from page #5: "Medical & Dental Expense The Insurer will pay benefits, up to $10,000, if You incur necessary Covered Medical and Dental Expenses as a result of an Injury or Sickness. The accident causing such Injury must occur during Your Cruise/Cruisetour. Similarly, the Sickness must first manifest itself during Your Cruise/Cruisetour. Only dental expenses for emergency treatment incurred during Your Cruise/Cruisetour are coveredSIZE]

The bold red portions seem to contradict the "no pre-existing conditions limitation" ... as the plan description seems to exclude medical events occuring prior to one's trip. More fine print, perhaps?

 

As far as the medical coverage goes, this is pretty standard with any insurer. What they're saying is that if you get on the ship with a medical problem (say you need dialysis twice a week or cut yourself at home and need bandages or stitches attended to) they're not going to pay for ongoing care. That expense is on you.

 

This differs from a pre-existing condition. Say you had pneumonia six months ago and when you board the ship you're healthy. Halfway through the trip you have a relapse. The insurance would pay for it because the illness wasn't present when you boarded. A plan that does exclude pre-existing conditions might deny the claim but the HAL plan will not.

 

As far as the trip interruption situation, this is another downside to having the coverage for the trip split between two parties -- HAL covers any pre-departure cancellations and BerkleyCare covers any post-departure interruptions. What BerkleyCare doesn't want to cover is something like: Grandpa had a heart attack a couple of days before sailing. You decide to go anyway figuring that if he recovers there's no harm done. If not, you can always interrupt the trip and BerkleyCare will pick up all the expenses. That would be fine if the heart attack happened while you were on the cruise. But they're not going to allow you to bring that huge risk of loss with you when you board. They want you to cancel (putting the loss onto HAL).

[sirwired]

I understand what you're saying ... I was thinking more in terms of chronic or recurring conditions, under control at time of sailing, flaring up during the travels. Hard to tell from the wording whether coverage would be applied or denied.

 

It is hard to tell... I think because they want this to be a "judgement call" between you and the insurer when you file the claim.

 

Differentiating between the two is hard to put into words, but the insurance company is not out to "get" you. They are looking for legitimate claim denials, not spending quality time bending the dictionary to heck and back in order to deny everybody.

[sirwired]

To the OP: I wrote a prominent travel consumer advocate, Chris Elliott, and he said you were welcome to contact him to see what he could do. (He also promised to check out this thread.)

 

His e-mail address is elliottc@gmail.com

His website is elliott.org

 

He just had a case posted this morning where somebody refused the HAL insurance, and then wanted a cruise credit when his wife broke her collarbone... your case is far more interesting and far less clear-cut. (And therefore amenable to mediation.)

[Jade13]

 

 

As far as the trip interruption situation, this is another downside to having the coverage for the trip split between two parties -- HAL covers any pre-departure cancellations and BerkleyCare covers any post-departure interruptions. What BerkleyCare doesn't want to cover is something like: Grandpa had a heart attack a couple of days before sailing. You decide to go anyway figuring that if he recovers there's no harm done. If not, you can always interrupt the trip and BerkleyCare will pick up all the expenses. That would be fine if the heart attack happened while you were on the cruise. But they're not going to allow you to bring that huge risk of loss with you when you board. They want you to cancel (putting the loss onto HAL).

 

I thought the pre-existing waiver did in fact cover non-traveling relatives. When not using HAL's plan we will often use CSA Freestyle and our understanding is it would cover the situation as described with Grandpa having a heart attach prior to sailing (but after the insurance was purchased). If he was stable at the time of departure we may still be traveling, but might have to interrupt our vacation if he took a turn for the worse. The reason we get insurance with the waiver is that we do not have to delve into family members medical conditions (unless we have to make a claim).

[kjn]

Jade13

 

I think you have a good point on this protection being suited for some, and I should wait to see how HAL handles this whole situation before I write-off ever using the CPP in our group. I guess it's sometimes hard to focus on the positives when you feel like you have been dealt a bad hand. What's that old saying about being once bit?

 

However, I do share Hank's view on insurance, in that you insure against the financially catastrophic event and absorb the loss on the things that won't break you. When we travel outside the US, my wife and I always have a minimum of $100,000 in medical coverage that we can usually buy for less than $25 per person for a 7-day cruise. In 39 cruises, we have never purchased trip cancellation insurance, nor would we have ever used it.

 

I have shared my insurance views with everyone, but many in our group believe in the "Holland America Brand" and have, like you, had good experiences.

 

In any event, I just spoke with our TA and apparently someone at HAL has now decided this issue needs to be elevated up the chain. I'm not sure if it's the result of someone at HAL reading this thread, but if it is, I think it is because of the great comments everyone has contributed. Regardless of how this turns out, everyone is getting a great education on travel insurance.

[Jade13]

 

 

He just had a case posted this morning where somebody refused the HAL insurance, and then wanted a cruise credit when his wife broke her collarbone... your case is far more interesting and far less clear-cut. (And therefore amenable to mediation.)

 

That is really clear cut. Don't buy insurance as HAL will give you credit anyway...

[Jade13]

Jade13

 

I think you have a good point on this protection being suited for some, and I should wait to see how HAL handles this whole situation before I write-off ever using the CPP in our group. I guess it's sometimes hard to focus on the positives when you feel like you have been dealt a bad hand. What's that old saying about being once bit?

 

However, I do share Hank's view on insurance, in that you insure against the financially catastrophic event and absorb the loss on the things that won't break you. When we travel outside the US, my wife and I always have a minimum of $100,000 in medical coverage that we can usually buy for less than $25 per person for a 7-day cruise. In 39 cruises, we have never purchased trip cancellation insurance, nor would we have ever used it.

 

I have shared my insurance views with everyone, but many in our group believe in the "Holland America Brand" and have, like you, had good experiences.

 

In any event, I just spoke with our TA and apparently someone at HAL has now decided this issue needs to be elevated up the chain. I'm not sure if it's the result of someone at HAL reading this thread, but if it is, I think it is because of the great comments everyone has contributed. Regardless of how this turns out, everyone is getting a great education on travel insurance.

 

Not HAL, but there is someone on the Cruise Critic Africa/Middle East Ports of Call board who just posted in the past day. They were not on a HAL cruise but were suppose to fly out of NYC on Saturday for Egypt and a land tour that included a Nile Cruise. Up until Thursday (or maybe Friday morning) their tour company was not canceling the tour and kept telling them the trip was a go. I'm assuming they did not want to lose all of their money so they flew to NYC on Friday, and flight to Egypt was scheduled for Saturday. On Friday night at 7:30pm they were finally notified (while en-route) that their tour was canceled. So, they went and saw the mummies at the Metropolitan Museum of Art before heading back home. They probably would have been happy to have had a Cancel for Any Reason Policy so they could have just stayed at home on Thursday.

 

I also do not know if there were further changes, but up until a year ago HAL's Protection included airfare purchased through them. What other policy will give 90% back in cash at the last minute on airfare that would otherwise be non-refundable? The airfare was also never used in calculating the insurance cost so it was like an additional free protection. The downside was that if you bought your own air, it would not be covered under this policy.

 

In our case the canceling passenger had air through FFmiles as we must have known something like this could happen. We were able to get the airlines to waive the than $150.00 redeposit fee.

 

For those who think that Celebrity has a better plan, please note that the Celebrity Medivac is only $25K while HAL's is $50K. Most people cruising could afford to loose their vacation money but most do not want to lose their home with a huge medical evacuation bill. I have spoken to Berkeley and they admitted that the Celebrity Medivac should be sufficient for someone from the US traveling near home, such as in the Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, or Canada New England, but may be a problem in other locations such as the Amazon etc.

 

Also, many people might like Cancel For Any Reason as they simply want to keep their medical problems private if possible.

[Hlitner]

For those who think that Celebrity has a better plan, please note that the Celebrity Medivac is only $25K while HAL's is $50K. Most people cruising could afford to loose their vacation money but most do not want to lose their home with a huge medical evacuation bill. I have spoken to Berkeley and they admitted that the Celebrity Medivac should be sufficient for someone from the US traveling near home, such as in the Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, or Canada New England, but may be a problem in other locations such as the Amazon etc.

 

Also, many people might like Cancel For Any Reason as they simply want to keep their medical problems private if possible.

 

We would find even $50k Medevac as inadequate. Many private insurance companies (such as CSA) provide a minimum of $250,000 evacuation insurance (CSA also offers a million dolllar option) which can be needed if you get sick in many parts of the world (i.e. Africa, Egypt, etc). Private Air Ambulances can be very very pricy...but also very necessary. As we said in our other post, we are always amazed that folks will pay hundreds of dollars to insure against a few thousand dollar loss (cruise fare) but not spend a few dollars to insure against a catastrophic loss.

 

Hank

[DWhit]

We would find even $50k Medevac as inadequate. Many private insurance companies (such as CSA) provide a minimum of $250,000 evacuation insurance (CSA also offers a million dolllar option) which can be needed if you get sick in many parts of the world (i.e. Africa, Egypt, etc). Private Air Ambulances can be very very pricy...but also very necessary. As we said in our other post, we are always amazed that folks will pay hundreds of dollars to insure against a few thousand dollar loss (cruise fare) but not spend a few dollars to insure against a catastrophic loss.

 

Hank

That is very good advice and why I enjoy these boards. I would have thought $50K was plenty.

[kazu]

We would find even $50k Medevac as inadequate. Many private insurance companies (such as CSA) provide a minimum of $250,000 evacuation insurance (CSA also offers a million dolllar option) which can be needed if you get sick in many parts of the world (i.e. Africa, Egypt, etc). Private Air Ambulances can be very very pricy...but also very necessary. As we said in our other post, we are always amazed that folks will pay hundreds of dollars to insure against a few thousand dollar loss (cruise fare) but not spend a few dollars to insure against a catastrophic loss.

 

Hank

 

You are absolutely right on the money here (no pun intended) Hank.

 

well put :):)