A Cautionary Tail - Buy Insurance....

[rgmacm]

I am happy to hear your wife is doing well, and thanks for posting your experience.

 

also I believe it is important to book your insurance within two weeks of making your cruise deposit so that pre-existing conditions are covered.

 

Good point to make!! Many people don't realize this. One point...with our insurance, the time frame is 10 days of the purchase of the cruise. Maybe different companies have slightly different policies, but just a word to the reader of this thread...there MAY be variance on this so check on that detail SOON after purchasing your cruise.

If you're going to the expense of the insurance (A VERY GOOD IDEA!!) do it within that time frame so pre-existing conditions are covered.

[rgmacm]

 

We always purchase Allianz. We have had a claim only once but they paid out quickly and without hassel. Our ship didn't get back into port until that evening (notorious Galveston fog) so we had to get a hotel rather than driving to relatives for the night. We had to pay for the hotel out of pocket, but sent in the receipts when we got home and payment came quickly with no questions asked. We included the ship name and date and they confirmed that it really did get into port at 9 pm that night...but no problem.

[Coral]

Important if you actually have pre-existing conditions. For a trip I just booked for my Mom and myself for October 2015, I don't want to shell out $300 for trip insurance when final payment isn't due until a year from August. Neither of us have a "condition" that could result in a medical problem on the trip, so I'm going to wait until final payment date and get insurance then. The risk is much greater that we'll have to cancel the trip if my Dad (non-traveler) gets ill well before final payment date, and then we'll get our entire deposit back anyway, but would lose the $300 insurance premium.

 

 

Have you ever needed the trip insurance? Just curious how Allianz does with customer service. If I recall correctly, it costs a bit more than insurance I've found through insuremytrip, or squaremouth.

 

Karen - I think we use the same TA (but could be wrong). My TA's company had Allianz create a policy just for them which includes pre-existing conditions if purchased at Final Payment. This is huge IMO! The policy also includes job clause - if my employer says I can't go, this is also included.

 

Question -have I had to use the insurance? Unfortunately, many times. Their former name was Access America and I have filed claims under both company names! Their Customer Service has been excellent. I have cancelled trips (multiple) before we sailed and have had checks in less than 2 weeks from when I mailed the info. I have even mailed in-complete information just to get the process going and they have paid on that. On my last cruise, both of us got sick (bronchitis and colds) and had doctor visits with medication, etc…. They also paid promptly once they received the documentation. The only hiccup on this didn't deal with their (allianz) portion but the fact that they were secondary insurance. I had to submit it to our health insurance's primary plan first and they sat on the claim forever and then I had to submit it to Medicare and get a rejection before I sent it to Allianz and this took some time only because the claim with the private insurance got directed wrongly at their company. Once Allianz received the claim, they were very quick every single time. Their Customer Service people were great and they also have a web interface to track the status. I even called about leaving the trip early but it was Memorial weekend and getting back from Alaska to the Midwest looked impossible (4 plane stops from Anchorage with a parent who was sick didn't look appealing) so I decided to stick to the original plan and just fly back from Vancouver.

 

If Allianz cost more, it may be due to what it covers. Also, the Allianz coverage on insuremytrip is a much different policy than what my TA sells.

 

In the past, when I didn't have access to this plan, the company (Access America) allowed me to move the insurance money from one trip to another if I cancelled before final payment. I have not done this for a long time as my TA has this new policy which is a dream policy IMO. As my parent had pre-existing conditions that changed often - I couldn't chance not having coverage for that.

Edited February 27, 2014 by Coral

[coo359a2]

Karen - I think we use the same TA (but could be wrong). My TA's company had Allianz create a policy just for them which includes pre-existing conditions if purchased at Final Payment. This is huge IMO! The policy also includes job clause - if my employer says I can't go, this is also included.

 

 

I believe we use the same TA too. It's good to know that you haven't had any problems with the Allianz insurance through your TA. When our son travels with us, we get our TA's insurance instead of Princess due to the job's clause Allianz has and only needing to pay for the insurance at final payment. For our upcoming Royal cruise, my DH is in one cabin with granddaughter and I have my DS and grandson in my cabin (we switch once on board). The Princess insurance for DH's cabin was $64 each. The Allianz insurance in my cabin was $60, $53 and $43. DH and I are over 66 and usually go with Princess insurance due to our age. Do like that with Princess you can submit your claim straight to them instead of having to first go through Medicare to have the claim denied.

[COMBOY]

Well, I never thought I'd be writing this but my wife has taken ill, is hospitalized and we will not be going on our cruise. First and foremost, she is doing fine and will be released tomorrow but cannot travel for the foreseeable future. So... our 15 day cruise to Hawaii on the Star Princess on March 5th is a no-go. We had a Mini with our kids and we are within the 14 day window so we lose 100% of our cruise fare. In this case, over $8,000. So the lesson is, yes, ALWAYS buy trip cancellation insurance and, no, princess will not let you reschedule if you have to cancel under the circumstances described above. I know its just business and I did not buy insurance so that is how it goes. Just saying, the possibility of getting burned is real and, no, princess will not do anything extra to accommodate you - its just business. That's just the way it goes. Next time I will buy the insurance for sure.

 

So sorry to hear about this and I hope your wife has a full recovery.

 

Every so often people come on these forums and ask whether they should buy travel insurance because either they feel they don't need it or don't want to spend the extra $$. Well...this is a perfect example as to why you should always buy it. For the small extra amount you're protecting your investment. It gives you 100% piece of mind if you need to cancel due to an emergency you get you full cruise fare back and you are only out the insurance premium. Thank you for sharing. Jim

[stinky1]

Our friend booked a cruise to Alaska and suddenly needed to go in for heart bypass. Thank the travel agent for recommending Ins. They where reimbursed all, but the cost of Ins. Sudden things happen and you need to be prepared for everything !

[ceeceecruiser]

So sorry about your wife, but glad she's "on the mend". Along with other posters, when we were younger we never purchased cancellation/travel interruption/or even personal medical insurance -- and I worked in the Tourism sector.

 

Last May we had the best three week tour of Tuscany and Portugal booked with a 7-day river cruise in Portugal. Day 2 (Wed) - Our first walking tour in Florence to see "David", I wasn't watching where I was walking, there was a missing cobblestone in the road and my left foot sank into it.

 

Ambulance; Police; Florence Hospital - what a nightmare. But thankfully, we had purchased great insurance and on Friday we flew home; I had ankle surgery on Sunday.

 

We're convinced travel insurance is the way to go.

 

Cynthia

[FireStation46]

Allianz is a big global insurer which helps if stuff happens away from home. Fireman's Fund is owned by Allianz.

[Who Knew]

I don't know, young or older, I think insurance is important. I tend to have a lot of medical issues, so I've purchased insurance for my cruises right from the beginning, but the friend I usually travel with never did....until just before one of the cruises, she missed a step in her home and broke her ankle...severely. Since then SHE is the one who makes sure the insurance thing is covered.

[Coral]

I believe we use the same TA too. It's good to know that you haven't had any problems with the Allianz insurance through your TA. When our son travels with us, we get our TA's insurance instead of Princess due to the job's clause Allianz has and only needing to pay for the insurance at final payment. For our upcoming Royal cruise, my DH is in one cabin with granddaughter and I have my DS and grandson in my cabin (we switch once on board). The Princess insurance for DH's cabin was $64 each. The Allianz insurance in my cabin was $60, $53 and $43. DH and I are over 66 and usually go with Princess insurance due to our age. Do like that with Princess you can submit your claim straight to them instead of having to first go through Medicare to have the claim denied.

 

It was weird - we both had BCBS for private insurance. Mine paid right away, my mom's got lost in the process. Once I called them (several months later), they did process it quickly. Medicare gave their rejection pretty quick which surprised me. Once Allianz got it, it was paid promptly. On my cancellations before the cruise, they have also paid quickly. No complaints about the company what so ever.