Insurance question

[travgurl]

Questions about insurance-- Do you purchase it through the ship or what company do you recommend and do you go by the total approximate cost of the trip? When should I purchase it? Thanks!

[RuthC]

I highly recommend you take a good look at Insuremytrip.com before you make any decisions.

 

If you, anyone in your traveling party, or any loved one who will be back home has a prior existing condition (or if it's possible any of those people could develop a prior existing condition) it's customary that the travel insurance should be purchased by within about 7-21 days after deposit to be covered. (The number of days varies by company.) The HAL cancelation policy can be purchased the day before final payment and still cover pre-existing conditions.

 

It's important to consider just what you want/need to have covered, and in what amounts. Does your medical cover you outside the country? In case of medical emergency, would you want to be transported home? Would treatment in the country you were visiting be acceptable? Do you want to cover such things as lost luggage? Missing the ship? Other things?

Purchase what you need to make you comfortable with the coverage.

 

I have called and spoken to a representative at Insure My Trip, and was quite pleased with the contact. The rep listened to me to get an idea what I was looking for, then asked appropriate questions about related coverage so we both knew the entire picture.

Then, she found the right policy to cover what I wanted and needed. It was painless, and I was very satisfied.

[hawkeye3d]

I second RuthC's comments re Insuremytrip. I had a problem a few years back with a claim that was taking to long to process. They jumped on it and got it taken care of. Their service was terrific They no longer use that particular company by the way.

 

Bob

[NMLady]

Questions about insurance-- Do you purchase it through the ship or what company do you recommend and do you go by the total approximate cost of the trip? When should I purchase it? Thanks!

 

As others have said I'd recommend using insuremytrip.com since they are brokers and offer a variety of plans from various companies. You can compare policies online or can call and talk to a rep.

 

I always purchase insurance within a few days of booking so that pre-existing conditions of passengers and immediate family are covered.

 

I base on total cost per passenger. After we book airfare I contact insurance company and have them add the air travel as well. I pay the additional cost.

Edited July 1, 2014 by NMLady

[mollyanne]

You do not have to insure the costs for taxes or port fees. Those would be returned if you had to cancel.

 

 

 

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[catl331]

"pre-existing conditions" scare me. Who decides what is pre-existing. Best to get it covered and their will be no argument. Yes, there is a fee for these policies but I am sure we have all heard of the scary bills some people receive. Get it covered and sail in peace!

[LindaM]

We have also used The Trip Insurance Store out of MN. The owner is great. I like "cancel for any reason" at this time in my life. You have to do that within a couple weeks or less of initial booking. What I like about HAL ins. is that I don't have to commit until final payment. Of course, only 90% is insured. I'm sure if you just need ins., HAL would be more expensive and there are lots of other good options out there.

[Typhoon1]

Insure my trip is always a good place to go shopping.

[take us away]

Some insurance companies charge based on your age, HAL does not - but it is usually more expensive. Learned this from a friend who is a regular cruiser; she is in her late 70's and he is in his early 90's so HAL's insurance is cheaper for them.

 

READ the entire policy very carefully before you decide.

 

Had a friend get ill on a WC and had to fly home from Cape Town. Her insurance would have paid for a medical attendant to accompany her but would NOT pay for her husband to accompany her home even though the ship's MD wrote a note saying she needed some assistance due to her pain meds (she was a bit goofy). His flight was rather expensive, needless to say.

 

Shop around as there are several companies, some are mentioned here and you can run a search for others, read the fine print, definitions and exclusions.

[eandj]

The cost is based on the total amount of nonrefundable monies. ANd that does include air. Also anything like nonrefundable hotel stays, train tickets etc. Most will ask ages and length of trip too. All is part of their computation. You should not have to pay more than 7-9% of the total trip.

There are many policies that include all kinds of categories of coverage...cancelation, missed flight, lost bags, medical, evacuation etc.

You really need to look at what your personal helath insur covers and if they do cover out of the country. If not, then that will be a big requirement for you. Preexisting conditions doens't just mean yours. It could be a parent or other relative that you need to cancel the trip to care for.

 

There's lots to know. :eek: So go to insusremytrip and theinsurancestore and start reading the details and how to choose. Everyone has their own needs. Have fun!

[Linda&Vern]

Some insurance companies charge based on your age, HAL does not - but it is usually more expensive. Learned this from a friend who is a regular cruiser; she is in her late 70's and he is in his early 90's so HAL's insurance is cheaper for them.

 

READ the entire policy very carefully before you decide.

 

Had a friend get ill on a WC and had to fly home from Cape Town. Her insurance would have paid for a medical attendant to accompany her but would NOT pay for her husband to accompany her home even though the ship's MD wrote a note saying she needed some assistance due to her pain meds (she was a bit goofy). His flight was rather expensive, needless to say.

 

Shop around as there are several companies, some are mentioned here and you can run a search for others, read the fine print, definitions and exclusions.

I have to assume your friends 70's & 90's know that Medicare does not pay medical for expenses outside the US and have some type of personal medical coverage. HAL's insurance coverage is so low it wouldn't cover the cost of a broken toe.:eek:

[Scrapnana]

For my last three booked cruises I found that an independent insurance company was cheaper and gave more coverage than the cruise line (and this was on three different cruise lines). I also purchase insurance within a week of booking a cruise - don't have to worry about anything cropping up in the interim.

 

I have read on CC that some companies will not insure you after a certain age so you would have to get the ship's policy.

[AlohaPride]

We also use Insure My Trip. I purchase before final payment usually. I like to have plans that include cancellation for work reasons.

[Jean1946]

We generally book thru BJ's (like Sam's and Costco) and always purchase the insurance - although it is thru BJ's it has great coverage (although we've never had to try it out). I'd hate to need it and not have it. One of these days I'm going to look into buying a policy that is for a year - I think I've read that some people do this. If you take 2 - 3 cruises a year it might be the thing to do.

[RJ2002]

We also use insuremytrip.

 

Be sure to use the compare feature on the website so that you can learn about the various options. Choose the policy that has the features you want.

 

We usually buy the insurance in the early window (two-three weeks) in order to take advantage of the pre-existing condition waiver that some of the policies offer.

 

Up front, you can just insure the cost of your current non-refundable costs. As you make further arrangements (air, hotel, etc) you can incrementally add to the coverage amount.