Travel Insurance

[mollydogsmom]

Does anybody know of a reputable on-line travel insurance company? I've heard going through the cruise line might not be best because instead of getting your money back you get credit toward a future cruise. If my parents can't make the upcoming cruise for some reason, it's pretty likely they wouldn't be able to go on a future cruise either. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

[Cubechick]

Does anybody know of a reputable on-line travel insurance company? I've heard going through the cruise line might not be best because instead of getting your money back you get credit toward a future cruise. If my parents can't make the upcoming cruise for some reason, it's pretty likely they wouldn't be able to go on a future cruise either. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

Check out www.insuremytrip.com

 

Great way to book and compare several options.

[JOANN226]

For the last couple of cruises I used Travel Guard

[knitlady037]

I use Allianz. Very easy to deal with. Used to be called access america

[Shelli]

I used squaremouth.com to find my insurance for my upcoming cruise. It's similar to insuremytrip.com, but I felt they provided more choices.

[coffeecat]

We almost always go with Steve Dasseos and trip insurance store - have purchased from him about 5-6 times. He sells policies from some major travel insurance companies. There are a handful of people that work in his office. Someone (a real person!) always answers the phone and they are always exceedingly nice and efficient. You basically just tell them what you want and they will find a policy for you so it's super easy if you are not inclined to read all the different policies which can be tricky to sort out. Very reasonable prices (much less than NCL for more coverage). My dad got a policy from him a few years ago and spent a day in the ship hospital. He was promptly refunded the $1400 with zero hassle. You will have a lot of peace of mind after you get trip insurance-we never cruise without it!

 

Have a great cruise.

[phrogpilot73]

I used squaremouth.com to find my insurance for my upcoming cruise. It's similar to insuremytrip.com, but I felt they provided more choices.

 

I used square mouth as well, for our upcoming trip to Ireland. I liked that they showed who was underwriting your policy, etc. For our 1 week trip to Ireland I found someone (underwritten by well known insurance company) that would give us "cancel for any reason at any time" for $350.

 

 

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[more cruises]

We almost always go with Steve Dasseos and trip insurance store - have purchased from him about 5-6 times. He sells policies from some major travel insurance companies. There are a handful of people that work in his office. Someone (a real person!) always answers the phone and they are always exceedingly nice and efficient. You basically just tell them what you want and they will find a policy for you so it's super easy if you are not inclined to read all the different policies which can be tricky to sort out. Very reasonable prices (much less than NCL for more coverage). My dad got a policy from him a few years ago and spent a day in the ship hospital. He was promptly refunded the $1400 with zero hassle. You will have a lot of peace of mind after you get trip insurance-we never cruise without it!

 

Have a great cruise.

 

I also used to use them but last time I had some really complicated issues with preexisting illness so I called their agent. The agent was obviously working from home ( child crying in the background) and wasn't interested in answering my questions. I ended up not buying any insurance.

 

Insurance is really tricky. Ask a lot of questions.

[sparks1093]

I used square mouth as well, for our upcoming trip to Ireland. I liked that they showed who was underwriting your policy, etc. For our 1 week trip to Ireland I found someone (underwritten by well known insurance company) that would give us "cancel for any reason at any time" for $350.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

The same info is available on insuremytrip.com.

[Us2inFL]

Double check the definition of "pre-existing condition."

 

I thought it meant (for example) if you had knee surgery three years ago, that was the reason you'd opt for P-E-C coverage, so I purchased coverage at the time of booking.

 

It really means that you're covered for a condition that has come up between the time you book and the time you travel.

[Us2inFL]

More specific:

 

You are eligible for coverage for Trip Cancellation/Interruption and Emergency Accident & Sickness Medical Expense (and the Medical Upgrade if this is purchased) due to a pre-existing medical condition if you purchase your travel insurance plan no longer than 30 days after initial trip deposit for Worldwide Trip Protector Gold, 21 days for Worldwide Trip Protector, and 14 days for Trip Protector Lite Expanded. Pre-existing Medical Conditions coverage is not available on Trip Protector Lite.

 

A pre-existing medical condition is defined as any accident, sickness or condition that affects you, your traveling companion (insured or uninsured), or any member of your immediate family (insured or uninsured) and for which medical advice, diagnosis, care, or treatment was obtained in the 180 days prior to the day you purchase your policy.

 

If the medical condition and its treatment has remained unchanged for 180 days prior to the day you purchase your policy, it is not considered pre-existing and is covered as a regular medical condition for both Trip Cancellation/Interruption, Emergency Accident & Sickness Medical Expense, and the Medical Upgrade even if you do not purchase your policy within the time limits mentioned above.

 

All medical conditions, even if considered pre-existing, are covered under Emergency Evacuation, Medically Necessary Repatriation and Repatriation of Remains.

[DevCruise]

Since we started bringing up purchase time periods, I have a question. I booked two cruises back in April and declined the NCL insurance. Last time I booked from a Travel Agent and she insisted that I didn't need to worry about it until closer to final payment and that's when we purchased it from her. This time I booked through NCL and figured I would do what the TA did and just get it once I started to incur non-refundable expenses.

 

I haven't purchased airfare or any pre/post-cruise hotel arrangements yet as I'm waiting for USCIS to approve my wife for international travel.

 

So question is this.....is it worth even trying to buy trip insurance anymore? Should I cover the cruise, hotels, airfare in one policy? Is it possible to cover the hotel/airfare under one policy and the cruise under another?

[Us2inFL]

I'm in the same boat (ugh.)

 

We used to purchase travel insurance at time of booking (had extensive leg surgery) so pre-existing was important as was "cancel for any reason/work obligation or separation etc.

 

Now we take out the coverage at time of final payment after air travel is confirmed.

 

I think two different policies would end up costing more than one comprehensive all inclusive.

 

As for insurance being worth it; that will always be the "insurancey" question of the hour. We're looking at insurance costing $2000 and that's a large amount, until you NEED to be medivac'ed off the ship or in a foreign country.

[Kaye from Chicagoland]

We book the cruise directly with NCL and use a travel agent for our insurance. Every agency in our area recommends Travel Guard. We book the cruise and within the 15 day frame to cover preexisting conditions and then update when we get airfare and hotel. If necessary we then pay the extra if anymore cost is involved. It is based on age and amount spent - so if we decide to change cruises we can just make that alteration.

[Us2inFL]

Some insurance companies were very disagreeable when it came to canceling a cruise. Some offer a credit to a future booking, others offer no refund.

[DevCruise]

We used to purchase travel insurance at time of booking (had extensive leg surgery) so pre-existing was important as was "cancel for any reason/work obligation or separation etc.

 

I don't really have anything I'm concerned about specifically, however, it does look like without the cancel for any reason clause that they can pretty much deny a claim for anything they want.

 

 

Now we take out the coverage at time of final payment after air travel is confirmed.

 

See, that was my thinking.

 

 

As for insurance being worth it; that will always be the "insurancey" question of the hour. We're looking at insurance costing $2000 and that's a large amount, until you NEED to be medivac'ed off the ship or in a foreign country.

 

Yeah, I know "worth" is subjective. I've also read on here that you can get medical only policies that will cover medivac/hospital stays/etc.

[mollydogsmom]

Wow, so many replies. Thank you all!! I will let me parents know what everyone said.

[blindrid]

I do not use cruise lines' insurance as it does not cover air unless you book with them. I use http://www.tripsinsurancestore.com as I like their side by side comparison tool.

 

That and Steve is a phone call away.

[cruisers04]

We use TravelGuard. We actually had to cancel a trip once and use the TravelGuard policy and had no problems.