Oceania Trip Insurance

[digby]

I never take a cruise without trip insurance. I didn't use Oceania's insurance on my Dec. Insignia cruise. Does anyone know if their insurance covers pre-existing conditions if you buy it when you make your deposit and reservation? I just looked in the brochure and can't find the answer.

[Benita]

I don't know if their insurance covers pre-existing conditions - most private ones will if you purchase it within 2 weeks of the initial deposit. What I do know is their insurance will not cover their own bankrupcy, so you will not be protected if they go under (no pun intended). You can usually purchase insurance for less money that will cover preexisting conditions and financial insolvency. An easy web site is http://www.insuremytrip.com This site lets you compare lots of the major companies.

[Guest Jancruz]

Berkley Care (Oceanias insurer) does NOT cover pre-existing..I usually sugges Access America which was wonderful when my husband had his heart attack

 

Jan:)

*****

[Benita]

I like Access America, but they only cover airlines based in the US for bankrupcy. Travelguard and Highway to Heath are the two I usually use, as they are more lenient in their bankrupcy coverage. I know Oceania is including the airfare as a part of the trip's cost, but I don't know what Acces America would do if you missed the cruise because a foreign based airline (like British Air or Luftansa had problems). We opted not to risk it and used Travelguard.

[Liss]

Our medical plan is great and I don't see a real need to purchase extra medical. When I go to www.insuremytrip.com it doesn't give me an option to opt out of medical. What I'm interested in is trip cancellation, trip delay, and lost baggage insurance.

 

Any ideas how to purchase these without medical? To tell you the truth I haven't done a huge amount of research on this so maybe the answer is a no-brainer. If so, please forgive my rambling!!:)

 

Liss

[Benita]

I don't know of any cancellation insurance that does not include some medical benefits. Most people have medical insurance and the coverage the companies provide is just supplemental.

[digby]

I just called Oceania, and the person who answered did not really know the answer! She gave me the # for Berkeley, and I called them. The agent said they do cover preexisting conditions if the condition has been dormant for 60 days or more. I am still unsure when those 60 days kick in. Is it 60 days before we sail (3/06), or 60 days before making the reservation, or 60 days before the final payment is collected. She is going to fax me a copy of the policy later today.

 

Since this is another company other than Oceania, I don't see how Oceania's bankruptcy would negate the policy. Am I missing something?

 

If I book on Oceania (including insurance) for a trip many months in the future and put down a $500. deposit and then cancel before the final amount is due, I would get back every cent. If I did the same thing using Travel Guard (which must be done within two weeks of booking) or some other such insurance instead of Oceania's, I would get my deposit back from Oceania, but lose the several hundreds of $$ I paid to Travel Guard. Right?

[digby]

"Our medical plan is great and I don't see a real need to purchase extra medical."

 

It may not apply to you yet, but remember Medicare doesn't cover you out of the USA.

[Benita]

I have another 20 years to go before Medicare kicks in (hopefully they will still be around by then). My health insurance will cover me out of the country (our of network benefits) but I like cancellation insurance for the emergency evacuation benefits, in addition to cancellation benefits.

As far as bankrupcy coverage, Berkeley may be underwriting it, but if you have purchased it from Oceania, it will not cover you in the event of Oceania's bankrupcy. That is why you should purchase that type of coverage from a third party, like Access America or the others.

I have cancelled trips before the penalty phase, but after I purchased travel insurance from Access America and Travelguard, and both gave me a credit to use for a future trip.

I am a bit of a nerd and actually read the small print on policies.

[Kruiserkate]

The agent said they do cover preexisting conditions if the condition has been dormant for 60 days or more.

 

I am a Class I diabetic with high blood pressure. How can that be dormant for 60 days?

 

Kathy

[Guest Jancruz]

You should go to www.insuremytrip.com and check out the different policies..

 

Jan:)

*****

[digby]

"if you have purchased it from Oceania, it will not cover you in the event of Oceania's bankrupcy"

 

That's what I don't understand since they are two separate companies just like Travel Guard and Oceania would be.

 

Does Travel Guard and Access America have a clause in their policy dealing with it that Berkeley does not? If Oceania were self-insuring, I could understand the problem.

 

I had to cancel a Baltic Cruise in 2001 because of a foot injury. We got the entire 7K back with no problem. So I know the value of having insurance.

[digby]

You should go to www.insuremytrip.com and check out the different policies..

 

Jan:)

*****

 

 

That's what I did for my South American Insignia cruise.

[ClaudiaF]

I. If I did the same thing using Travel Guard (which must be done within two weeks of booking) or some other such insurance instead of Oceania's, I would get my deposit back from Oceania, but lose the several hundreds of $$ I paid to Travel Guard. Right?

 

They would give you a credit towards another trip ( I believe).. fortuneately have not had to find out, but would ask them when buying it.

[Benita]

Digby, When you buy a cancellation policy from Oceania (or any other cruise or tour company), you are not buying it from Berkeley, you are buying it from the cruise company. Oceania, in turn, is getting it underwritten by Berkeley. Berkeley will not cover you in the event of Oceania's bankrupcy, as Oceania is the one who purchased the policy. If you purchased it from Travelguard, who may even use the same underwriter, you would be covered if Oceania went bankrupt, as Travelguard is the one who purchased the policy, not Oceania. It seems like splitting hairs, but that is the way it is.

[digby]

Why is there no worry about a company such as Travel Guard going under? Wouldn't the result be the same?

[Benita]

Travelguard is more like the insurance agent-they are brokering the insurance. The fear is whether Berkeley, or the other insurers go under. That is why it is important that they use a good insurance company (we try for A or AA ratings when we purchase insurance). Some of the insurance companies buy catastrophic insurance coverage from agencies like Lloyds of London to cover losses in excess of what they can.

If you read the policies, they will generally cover bankruptcies if you purchase the coverage within 10-14 days of the trip deposit and the tour, airline, or cruise company is not on a "watch list", provided you did not buy the policy from the tour or cruise company.

For us, it has always been a no-brainer. In addition to providing better bankruptcy protection, most of the companies base their charges on the ages of the passengers and it has always been cheaper to purchase it privately than from a tour or cruise company, as we are in our 40s. As I wrote in a previous post, we cancelled our trips twice before the penalty phase, and both times were allowed to use the insurance for a different trip.