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"after initial deposit": What do you insure?


dread_pirate

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I'm a little confused about the insurance policies with the pre-existing condition or cancel for any reason provisions. They all say that you have to book within 10-15 days of initial deposit for all non-refundable costs. But if you book a cruise well in advance, before final payment, you don't have any non-refundable costs.

 

So what/how much do you have to insure to get those benefits?

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Be careful how you're reading the requirements for the waiver. For example, this is from a TravelSafe plan:

 

"Waiver of the Pre-Existing Condition Exclusion

 

The exclusion for Pre-Existing Conditions will be waived if this plan is purchased within 21 days of the date Your initial Trip deposit is paid."

 

So with this plan, it doesn't matter if that initial deposit is refundable or not, just that it's been paid. Here's another example from Travelex:

 

"Waiver of the Pre-Existing Condition Exclusion

 

The Pre-Existing Condition Exclusion is waived provided you meet all of the following requirements:

 

1) the payment for this plan and enrollment form is received within 30 days of the initial Covered Trip deposit/payment for your Covered Trip; and

2) you are not disabled from travel at the time you makes your plan payment; and

3) you insure all prepaid Covered Trip costs that are subject to cancellation penalties or restrictions; and also insures within 30 days of the payment for those arrangements the cost of any subsequent arrangements added to the your Covered Trip."

 

Again, the section relating to the timing of the purchase (#1) doesn't specify that the initial deposit be non-refundable.

 

Here's from a Global Alert plan:

 

"The Pre-Existing Conditions exclusion is waived if You enroll in the policy at the time You pay the deposit required for Your Trip (or within 10 days of the initial deposit) and You purchase the policy for the full non-refundable cost of Your Trip."

 

Same thing. There's two things going on:

 

#1 The timing of the purchase -- in these cases it makes no difference whether or not your initial deposit is refundable.

 

#2 The amount to be insured -- here's where the "prepaid, non-refundable" requirement pops up. But it's a totally separate requirement and does not have any effect on #1.

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So, in other words, if I put down a $1000. deposit for 2 staterooms, I could contact, say, Travelex, and insure just that $1000. to preserve the pre-existing condition clause? Then, as I pay for airline tickets, final cruise payment, pre- and post- hotels, etc., I contact them each time and revise the amount insured to reflect the additional payments?

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So even though I'd only paid $1000. up front, I would insure the entire $12,000 or whatever the total amount would wind up being for the cruise, then add additional costs for airfare, etc. later on as I incur those expenses? This is the first time I'm attempting to do this myself so thank you for your help!

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If you haven't paid in the 12k, yet, you don't need to insure it yet either. You insure money as you pay it. Simply call or e-mail the insurance company each time you make a payment, and they'll charge you the incremental premium.

 

On my last two cruises and with my upcoming one I had to pay the insurance for the entire amount (not just my deposit). The cruises were insured with three different companies.

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On my last two cruises and with my upcoming one I had to pay the insurance for the entire amount (not just my deposit). The cruises were insured with three different companies.

 

Which companies are those? I hadn't heard of that before, except with policies sold by the cruise line, where you don't get to decide how much money to insure.

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Which companies are those? I hadn't heard of that before, except with policies sold by the cruise line, where you don't get to decide how much money to insure.

 

The first one was through the cruise line, the second was Allianz and the last one was Travel Guard.

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To clarify the info in the last few posts, I called both Travelguard and Travelex directly. I posed the same questions to the representatives from each company I spoke to. They both confirmed that I need only insure the amount of my downpayment for now. After making payments for airfare, final cruise payment, etc. in the future, I have 24 hours after making each payment to call them back and update my coverage amount. I reconfirmed this several times with each company's representative, so I guess that's the official word!

Scrapnana, I don't know about Allianz, but Travelguard apparently either wrongly charged you or they have since your trip changed their policy.

Hope this helps others with the same questions I had!

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Update: I just bought two policies with Travelguard, and both agents verified that I only had to insure the deposit, then add additional amounts as I pay them. They also emphasized that I have to do the increase in insurance within 10 days of payment to keep the pre-existing condition waiver.

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Update: I just bought two policies with Travelguard, and both agents verified that I only had to insure the deposit, then add additional amounts as I pay them. They also emphasized that I have to do the increase in insurance within 10 days of payment to keep the pre-existing condition waiver.

 

Not to disagree, but each insurance company may have different criteria regarding insured values. While Travelguard may allow you to increase as you pay, other insurance plans may require you to "best guess" the total trip cost up front.

 

Best to verify with the insurer you choose.

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Not to disagree, but each insurance company may have different criteria regarding insured values. While Travelguard may allow you to increase as you pay, other insurance plans may require you to "best guess" the total trip cost up front.

 

Best to verify with the insurer you choose.

I understand and agree. That's why I limited my response to what TravelGuard told me. I didn't state an "opinion" with which you might disagree. I stated facts.

 

I agree that other insurers may have other requirements.

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