Finally reading the fine print re: Trip Interruption

[Mary Ellen1]

Hi there,

 

I need to purchase insurance for our upcoming April cruise. I don't need Cancellation insurance (reason: after not buying any insurance for 10+ cruises, I figure I saved some $$ and am self-insured against cancellation...).

 

Which brings me to Trip Interruption. I had thought it would cover me for any unforeseen circumstance that interrupts my trip (flat tire on the way to the airport = missed flight; bad weather or mechanical delay diverting/cancelling my flight = missed cruise, Captain pulls a Sail-By stunt = sunken cruise ship :eek:, etc.). But in reading the fine print on several policies, it seems like it only covers for disaster-type of Trip Interruptions ("unable to continue the trip due to the death of an Immediate Family member ... or due to serious damage to Your principal residence from fire, flood or similar natural disaster...").

 

Are all the policies like this? Am I missing something? Is there a reasonably-priced policy that covers some of the potential Trip Interruptions I mention (short of death & natural disaster)?

 

I normally buy a policy from SquareMouth (or InsureMyTrip). Can any of you experts advise me, and possibly name a policy that I should look at more closely?

 

Thanks cruisers!

[cruiseco]

Hi there,

 

I need to purchase insurance for our upcoming April cruise. I don't need Cancellation insurance (reason: after not buying any insurance for 10+ cruises, I figure I saved some $$ and am self-insured against cancellation...).

 

Which brings me to Trip Interruption. I had thought it would cover me for any unforeseen circumstance that interrupts my trip (flat tire on the way to the airport = missed flight; bad weather or mechanical delay diverting/cancelling my flight = missed cruise, Captain pulls a Sail-By stunt = sunken cruise ship :eek:, etc.). But in reading the fine print on several policies, it seems like it only covers for disaster-type of Trip Interruptions ("unable to continue the trip due to the death of an Immediate Family member ... or due to serious damage to Your principal residence from fire, flood or similar natural disaster...").

 

Are all the policies like this? Am I missing something? Is there a reasonably-priced policy that covers some of the potential Trip Interruptions I mention (short of death & natural disaster)?

 

Yes, the trip interruption coverages pretty much all work the same way.

 

First of all, no insurance will cover that flat tire example if you're driving your own car. Some will if you're taking a bus to the pier.

 

Beyond that. instead of focusing on the trip interruption benefit, you should also be checking if the plan gas a strong "missed connection" benefit.

 

Here's one example from TravelSafe:

 

"Missed Connection: If You miss Your cruise or tour departure because Your arrival at Your Trip destination is delayed for 3 or more hours, benefits will be paid, on a one-time basis, up to the Maximum Benefit Amount, for a) the Additional Transportation Cost to join the Trip and b) the unused portion of the prepaid expenses for land or water Travel Arrangements, due to: a) any delay of a Common Carrier (the delay must be certified by the Common Carrier); b) a documented weather condition preventing You from getting to the point of departure; c) quarantine, hijacking, Strike, natural disaster, terrorism or riot."

 

What I look for is that it:

 

1) Covers ANY delay of a common carrier (which should include that bus ride)

 

2) It has a reasonable coverage limit -- $2500 per person in this case -- to cover the cost of a flight to the next port of call and the value of any missed days of the cruise

 

3) It has a reasonably low delay time to invoke the coverage -- 3 hours is about the best you'll find.

 

4) If you're driving your own car to the pier and weather closes the roads you'd be covered. But mechanical breakdowns of your car including flat tires still aren't.

 

Since with most plans the coverage limit of your trip interruption benefit is dependent on the amount of trip cancellation coverage you buy (often 150%), it's also nice with this TravelSafe plan that you can buy $0 trip cancellation coverage and still have the full $2500 missed connection coverage -- it's independent of your cancellation coverage amount.

 

But if you do buy a plan with no trip cancellation coverage with most you'll end up with $0 trip interruption coverage also so if you have to leave the cruise early you're on your own. One exception is Travel Guard which with some of their plans includes a $1000 trip interruption / return air only benefit even if you buy $0 trip cancellation coverage. This means that you'll at least be able to buy up to a $1000 air ticket to get home but they're not going to reimburse you for any missed days of the cruise.

[Mary Ellen1]

Thanks cruiseco. I will look at TravelSafe plans. Thanks for the tutorial -- it was just what I needed.

 

Do you know anything about entering a very low trip value (like $1)? I remember reading on here that it enhanced your coverage slightly, but I'm not sure how it works... I guess I'll play around with it.

 

Thanks again! :)

[sirwired]

The $1 Trip Cost is sometimes suggested because some insurance providers change the policy effective date to the date of departure if you don't have any money at risk. This does strange things to pre-ex exclusions. (This is extra important if you don't insure cancellation at all, because you won't be eligible for pre-ex waivers from many providers.) You don't want a pre-ex to kill an expensive Trip Interruption claim.

 

It'll only raise the price of your coverage by a few bucks.

[Mary Ellen1]

The $1 Trip Cost is sometimes suggested because some insurance providers change the policy effective date to the date of departure if you don't have any money at risk. This does strange things to pre-ex exclusions. (This is extra important if you don't insure cancellation at all, because you won't be eligible for pre-ex waivers from many providers.) You don't want a pre-ex to kill an expensive Trip Interruption claim.

 

It'll only raise the price of your coverage by a few bucks.

 

Got it. Thanks so much for explaining! :)

[cruiseco]

Thanks cruiseco. I will look at TravelSafe plans. Thanks for the tutorial -- it was just what I needed.

 

Do you know anything about entering a very low trip value (like $1)? I remember reading on here that it enhanced your coverage slightly, but I'm not sure how it works... I guess I'll play around with it.

 

Thanks again! :)

 

Well, for one thing, don't ever put $1 for your trip cancellation amount. And since your trip interruption benefit is 150% of the trip cancellation amount you have a trip interruption benefit of a whopping $1.50.

 

With almost all insurers you'll find that your premium will be the same if you put $500 as they're in $500 brackets. For example, $1 - $500 will be one premium amount, $501 - $1000 will be the next higher bracket, and so forth. And that will bump your trip interruption benefit up to $750 -- a much more useful amount with no increase in your cost.

[sirwired]

Well, for one thing, don't ever put $1 for your trip cancellation amount. And since your trip interruption benefit is 150% of the trip cancellation amount you have a trip interruption benefit of a whopping $1.50.

 

With almost all insurers you'll find that your premium will be the same if you put $500 as they're in $500 brackets. For example, $1 - $500 will be one premium amount, $501 - $1000 will be the next higher bracket, and so forth. And that will bump your trip interruption benefit up to $750 -- a much more useful amount with no increase in your cost.

 

Yes, Trip Interruption is 150% of the cancellation amount, but many (most?) policies have separate Trip Interruption Return Air coverage of a fixed amount, irregardless of the trip cost.

[cruiseco]

Yes, Trip Interruption is 150% of the cancellation amount, but many (most?) policies have separate Trip Interruption Return Air coverage of a fixed amount, irregardless of the trip cost.

 

The only ones I can think of offhand are Travel Guard and Travel Insured. Definitely not Global Alert which the OP is considering -- $0 trip cost insured for trip cancellation = $0 for trip interruption. It's still a rather uncommon benefit.

[Mary Ellen1]

Sbyrne: thanks for the info re: Travelex & their All Events Upgrade.

 

cruiseco: thanks for explaining the impact of trip value on the cancellation/interruption benefit. Also, good info re: the $500 brackets. I'll take a look at the Travel Guard and Travel Insured plans you mentioned...

 

sirwired: "Trip Interruption Return Air ..." Got it. Thanks!

 

Thanks for all your expert advice! I really appreciate it!!!