Father-in-law has cancer, need to insure future trips...

[ROXIETHEHORSE]

Hello, we just found out that my husbands dad has pancreatic cancer (it has not spread and is very localized).

 

Our current trip is insured.

 

We are planning two trips for next year and I want to make sure we have the right insurance.

 

Will "trip cancellation" insurance be adequate to cover us for cancellation in the event of his death, or do we also need "cancel for any reason" insurance?

 

Thank you for your help!

[sirwired]

Well, technically, any policy with a pre-ex condition waiver (which is most 3rd-party policies if you purchase within a certain period of time) would cover you. Alternatively, there are policies that don't care about pre-ex conditions of people that are not travelling with you.

 

However, each one of those waivers states that they still don't cover things that were expected to occur as of the date of policy purchase. I'd personally go with an "Any Reason" policy so you'll still get something back if you end up having that kind of argument with the insurance company. (NOTE: I'm not sure if those clauses apply to people not travelling; I imagine they do.)

 

Example A:

You are diagnosed with arthritis and start taking drugs for it shortly before booking a cruise, and your doctor says he doesn't see why you can't go on your trip. This would be a pre-existing condition that a pre-ex waiver would cover just fine.

 

Example B:

You are diagnosed with arthritis and start taking drugs for it shortly before booking a cruise, but in this case the doctor says you'll need a knee replacement a month before your cruise is supposed to depart. If you buy the insurance anyway and "hope for the best", even a pre-ex waiver won't cover you because the doctor told you he'd need to replace your knee prior to the trip.

 

Where it gets tricky is the "border" between the two. You are probably fine for now, but if his prognosis changes for the worse (and it conflicts with a trip you would like to book), his death is now an event "expected to occur", claims may be denied for policies purchased after that date.

[ROXIETHEHORSE]

I realized that I did not make it clear that my father-in-law is not going on the trip.

 

We just might have to cancel or cut the trip short if he takes a turn for the worse or dies.

 

I am sorry about that. It has been a long week.

[Algebralovr]

The key here is that the cancer is localized and has not spread. However, that kind of cancer is a bit of a time bomb. A lot depends on what the prognosis is from the doctor and how far out you book.

 

In this case, as long as you purchase your insurance immediately, you may be fine, but I would read any policy you consider and contact the insurance company who issues it with any questions you many have. Get written answers to your questions from the insurance company, not from the cruise line rep or from a TA who sells the insurance along with the cruise.

 

Chances are the trip cancellation is enough, but you really need an answer directly from the insurance company for your situation.

[ROXIETHEHORSE]

I was able to do a live chat with an insurance company representative. They said the trip cancellation would work fine. We purchased our airfare today and I purchased the insurance directly after that. The airfare was our first payment towards this trip.

 

I had the chat emailed to me as proof of the conversation.

[Hlitner]

We think this a perfect example of when it makes a lot of financial sense to get a decent Trip Cancellation Policy that covers pre-existing conditions. DW and I do a lot of cruising (101 days on ships just last year) and other travel and normally do not spend the money on cancellation insurance (we are content to self-insure). But when we had a close relative who was ill, we did buy a policy for 2 cruises and actually had to cancel one of those cruises at the last minute (due to hospitalization that led to death of the relative).

In our case, the insurance company quickly paid-off on our claim.

 

For those not familiar with this type of insurance, it is usually necessary to purchase the policy very soon after booking your trip in order to have coverage for pre-existing conditions. It is important to read the "fine print" and comply with all the requirements necessary to have that "pre existing" coverage.

Hank