Oceania Travel Inurance

[Royalco]

Oceania's Travel Insurance vs. independent inurer (i.e. Acess America). Any thoughts?

The big difference sems to be that the independent insurer insures against financial default of the cruise line. The premiums seem comparable.

[JimandStan]

Oceania's Travel Insurance vs. independent inurer (i.e. Acess America). Any thoughts?

The big difference sems to be that the independent insurer insures against financial default of the cruise line. The premiums seem comparable.

 

In the interest of transparency, it should also be noted that some of the larger travel insurance companies have changed their commission structure; making it far more lucrative for a Travel Agent to sell their policies than those offered through a cruise line.

 

On the other hand, the Cruise Line Policies remain much easier to set up, usually requiring only that a box be checked (or un-checked) during the booking process, so a high volume agent may still prefer to take the easy way out.

 

As is usual, if you are serious about getting the best deal, you MUST read the Policy, including the fine print, and try not to wear your rose covered glasses when you do.

 

Boring, but true

[Baby Hughy]

It is also important to know if insuravce policy is prime or secondary payer. That can make a great difference in cost of insurance but if you are comfortable having insurance that onl pays after all other forms of personal insurance you may have the you can find some fairly reasonable priced policies.

Bill

[Andee]

In 2001, the cruise line on which we were booked went belly up three days before we were to leave for a Med cruise. Since then, I have always used independent insurance. Actually, for that cruise, we didn't need to use insurance; Visa refunded our money within three weeks of our writing to them about the problem.

[sitraveler]

The non-line insurance is age dependant, as we get older the cruise line policy gets closer in price and becomes competitive, even cheaper.

[pacheco18]

We do not use the cruise line insurance but we get a very good deal on insurance from our TA. If I have problem with the insurance company, the TA will go to bat for me. They have more clout than I do.

 

A few years back, I missed a cruise because of flight cancellations due to weather. It was clearly an event triggering a full refund under the policy. The insurance company gave me the runaround. One call from the TA and I got my money. Many insurance companies thrive on not paying promptly, if at all.

 

You just have to make sure you are comparing apples to apples, coverage item to coverage item.

[azam71209]

If the cruise line goes bust and you have cruise sponsored insurance, you will not be reimbursed. Same if you get independent insurance through a travel agent and the agent goes bust before sending the payment to the cruise line, hotel, etc. Always verify that the payment was actually received by the cruise line, etc.

 

My husband (who never got sick ever) had a heart attack in St. Petersburg, Russia and had to go by air ambulance to Helsinki Finland for triple bypass surgery. He's fine now and we've gone on many trips since. We had Travelguard and they were great. But I learned a few things.

 

Definitely get trip insurance as primary. Otherwise you have to get the bills, get them translated into English, and submit them to your private insurer first and then to the travel insurer. You will need to get the bills to include the US recognized diagnosis and procedure codes or your insurance will not pay. Not always easy or possible.

 

Get a plan that covers pre-existing conditions not just for you but for family. This usually requires that you get the insurance within 15 days of your first nonrefundable payment.

 

Be prepared to put charges on your credit card. Some companies like Travelguard have contracts with major hospitals and medical centers but otherwise you will need to pay up before leaving the hospital. This happened to one of our fellow travelers who had the ship insurance.

 

Cheap insurance may actually cost a lot more in the long run if you have a problem.

 

Mary

[wripro]

If you have bought cruise line insurance and there's a problem who do you think the cruise line will favor? Just like hotels and transfers insurance is something that is best purchased separately imo.

[LHT28]

I might be wrong (it has happened before);)

But I did not think the cruise lines are in the insurance business

they just sell insurance as an added product for the customer

 

You have to check who is underwriting the policy & the fine print therein

 

Just like buying insurance from a TA they are the middle man

 

Someone correct me if wrong

[2travelers]

If the cruise line goes bust and you have cruise sponsored insurance, you will not be reimbursed. Same if you get independent insurance through a travel agent and the agent goes bust before sending the payment to the cruise line, hotel, etc. Always verify that the payment was actually received by the cruise line, etc.

 

My husband (who never got sick ever) had a heart attack in St. Petersburg, Russia and had to go by air ambulance to Helsinki Finland for triple bypass surgery. He's fine now and we've gone on many trips since. We had Travelguard and they were great. But I learned a few things.

 

Definitely get trip insurance as primary. Otherwise you have to get the bills, get them translated into English, and submit them to your private insurer first and then to the travel insurer. You will need to get the bills to include the US recognized diagnosis and procedure codes or your insurance will not pay. Not always easy or possible.

 

Get a plan that covers pre-existing conditions not just for you but for family. This usually requires that you get the insurance within 15 days of your first nonrefundable payment.

 

Be prepared to put charges on your credit card. Some companies like Travelguard have contracts with major hospitals and medical centers but otherwise you will need to pay up before leaving the hospital. This happened to one of our fellow travelers who had the ship insurance.

 

Cheap insurance may actually cost a lot more in the long run if you have a problem.

 

Mary

 

Hi - Just for anyone interested - there are two insurance companies (CSA and HTH) that will cover for pre-existing conditions if the policy is bought anytime before final payment is made, even up to 24 hours before. Since Oceania will refund your deposit in full before final payment, it seemed silly to me to purchase a policy after my initial deposit was made. If I had to cancel I would lose the amount I paid for the policy. Now I buy the policy a few days before final payment is made. As you say, the older we get, the more expensive the policy.

Ronnie

[azam71209]

Because the Oceania deposit is completely refundable until the final deposit is due, independent insurance will still cover pre-existing conditions until the final payment. The critical event is a deposit that is not refundable (but check with each policy to be sure). This includes any nonrefundable deposit for the entire trip-including hotels, airfare, etc. The first nonrefundable deposit for any trip activity starts the clock, at least according to Travelguard.

 

Also check if the Oceania insurance covers your entire trip (which for many of us includes vacation activities before or after the actual cruise days) or only the trip days when you are actually on the ship. Your independent airfare, hotels, etc. would not be covered if you got sick and couldn't travel. Oceania insurance would not likely cover if something happened with your independent transportation getting to or home from the cruise port. If you break your leg getting into the cab after leaving the ship, Oceania trip insurance would not cover you if you booked independent air because it would no longer be in effect.

 

You might also want to check reviews of various independent companies-esp. Access America. I think their policy has a lot more loopholes than others, especially regarding pre-existing conditions, coverage if a family member gets ill, etc.

[JimandStan]

I might be wrong (it has happened before);)

But I did not think the cruise lines are in the insurance business

they just sell insurance as an added product for the customer

 

You have to check who is underwriting the policy & the fine print therein

 

Just like buying insurance from a TA they are the middle man

 

Someone correct me if wrong

 

Although Cruise Lines will often sell Travel Insurance under their own banner (i.e. Oceania Travel Protection Program), it is quite common for a third party insurance company to administer the actual risk.

 

This is very similar to a company like Nabisco, allowing their product to be re-packaged as the "store brand" of a given Supermarket chain. Everybody wins, the Market seems a larger and more important enterprise and Nabisco gains market share.

 

The largest Lines, however, such as Carnival and RCCL, usually reach a point where they decide that their pockets are deep enough to self insure, at a point where they balk at splitting the profits, and that is where the conundrum that Wripro mentioned comes in.

[LHT28]

Although Cruise Lines will often sell Travel Insurance under their own banner (i.e. Oceania Travel Protection Program), it is quite common for a third party insurance company to administer the actual risk.

 

.

I noticed Oceania's insurance is underwritten by Berkley Care & the contact incase of problems is the insurance company not Oceania

 

I never want to assume but in this case would it not be safe to purchase as long as you read/understand the limitations of the policy

 

We used Travelguard in Canada but it was secondary coverage so will get primary next time ;)

we are getting older & falling apart

[nvgal]

We had Oceania's insurance in June 2011, when we missed the ship in Vancouver, due to an injury. The insurance paid every penny of the cruise cost. We were very happy with their prompt response.