WHEN to buy travel insurance??

[belle2]

My cruise is in November 2015. I will be buying third party insurance. I can cancel up to 75 days in advance and I will only lose my deposit. So when is the best time to buy? Now or wait closer to final payment or the 75 day mark? I don't have shore excursions booked and want to include them in the insurance. My gut says wait until I know how much shore excursions will cost and I haven't decided if we will fly or drive to the port. If. We fly I will want to include the cost of my airline tix and shore excursion in the insurance I buy. Thoughts?

[GUT2407]

My cruise is in November 2015. I will be buying third party insurance. I can cancel up to 75 days in advance and I will only lose my deposit. So when is the best time to buy? Now or wait closer to final payment or the 75 day mark? I don't have shore excursions booked and want to include them in the insurance. My gut says wait until I know how much shore excursions will cost and I haven't decided if we will fly or drive to the port. If. We fly I will want to include the cost of my airline tix and shore excursion in the insurance I buy. Thoughts?

 

 

Well it may depend on the terms of your insurance and your cruise contract, but I won't let "Lose your deposit day" pass without it, after all I'm going to buy it anyway so why not get it before any money is actually on the line.

[springs741]

In order to have a waiver of pre existing conditions you must buy most within 14 days of booking the cruise.

I like to buy my insurance as soon as I book. I recently booked two cruises in October of 2016. After I secure hotel and airfare I will amend the policy to cover the additional expense.

[Swampbaby]

I buy within the time frame to cover any pre-existing conditions - usually 15 days.

[tonit964]

Maybe I'm doing something wrong.

 

I buy it as soon as I make final payment because if I have to cancel by that time, there is no $$ lost.

If I buy the insurance prior to final payment and decide to cancel, I lose the insurance payment.

 

Is my logic wrong?

[belle2]

Can you purchase pre existing condition coverage after the 14 days has passed?

[belle2]

In order to have a waiver of pre existing conditions you must buy most within 14 days of booking the cruise.

 

I like to buy my insurance as soon as I book. I recently booked two cruises in October of 2016. After I secure hotel and airfare I will amend the policy to cover the additional expense.

 

 

Tell me more about how you amend your coverage. I never knew this was an option!

[mjonis]

Maybe I'm doing something wrong.

 

I buy it as soon as I make final payment because if I have to cancel by that time, there is no $$ lost.

If I buy the insurance prior to final payment and decide to cancel, I lose the insurance payment.

 

Is my logic wrong?

 

It depends on the policy. Most Cancel for Any Reason or Waiver of Pre-existing require that the policy be purchased within 14 days of INITIAL deposit/purchase.

 

But not all.

 

I believe that is why most people are suggesting that you purchase within 14 days.

 

Insuremytrip has all the details when you look at the plans. Each company/plan is slightly different, but the majority of ones I've purchased require 14-days for the 2 things I mentioned.

[belle2]

Maybe I'm doing something wrong.

 

 

 

I buy it as soon as I make final payment because if I have to cancel by that time, there is no $$ lost.

 

If I buy the insurance prior to final payment and decide to cancel, I lose the insurance payment.

 

 

 

Is my logic wrong?

 

 

My logic has been similar! Maybe we will learn something new here![emoji2]

[tonit964]

It depends on the policy. Most Cancel for Any Reason or Waiver of Pre-existing require that the policy be purchased within 14 days of INITIAL deposit/purchase.

 

But not all.

 

I believe that is why most people are suggesting that you purchase within 14 days.

 

Insuremytrip has all the details when you look at the plans. Each company/plan is slightly different, but the majority of ones I've purchased require 14-days for the 2 things I mentioned.

 

We don't have any pre-existing issues and we know we can't cancel for any reason without that type of insurance, so I guess my original thought is correct.

[snowskier]

There are policies that will cover pre-existing conditions based on purchasing within a certain number of days of final payment. They are competitive with the ones that have the requirement based on initial payment.

 

The 14 days after initial payment is another myth that has been around on this board for a long time. CSA is one that uses the final payment date and I know there are others.

 

Another hint, if you use insurmytrip or another site to compare policies, take the time to look at the price for the policy you are going to purchase on the site of the provider. Sometimes -- not very often -- the same policy is cheaper from the provider.

[tonit964]

My logic has been similar! Maybe we will learn something new here![emoji2]

 

I'm confident "our" logic is correct. I will continue to purchase third party insurance as I have been, at final payment.

[kicia]

If you don't have any pre-existing conditions then you don't have to purchase the insurance before final payment.

[b_cruise]

If you don't have any pre-existing conditions then you don't have to purchase the insurance before final payment.

 

Totally agree...in fact I called my insurance company and she told me to wait until final payment is due. Ido not have and preexisting though so it was never discussed.

[D4]

Maybe I'm doing something wrong.

 

I buy it as soon as I make final payment because if I have to cancel by that time, there is no $$ lost.

If I buy the insurance prior to final payment and decide to cancel, I lose the insurance payment.

 

Is my logic wrong?

 

It depends. Do you buy airfare before you make final payment? If so, you may want that covered. We spend thousands for just airfare.

 

I buy trip insurance within a couple weeks of our first payment of any type. It covers pre-existing conditions and allows us to buy the cancel for any reason option.

 

For people that don't have pre-existing conditions, please consider this scenario. You book a cruise that will sail in 6 months. Your family is healthy so you decide you'll buy trip insurance right before you make the final payment. Two months after you book your cruise, you have some medical problem, for example, high blood pressure, gall stones, etc. You go to the doctor and are prescribed high blood pressure pills or something else. BOOM, you NOW have a pre-existing medical condition!

 

Time goes on and you're feeling fine. You buy trip insurance and pay off the cruise. You have a heart attack a few days before the cruise and you have to cancel it because you're in the hospital, scheduled for surgery, etc. Your trip insurance will NOT cover your cancellation because you had a pre-existing condition (related to the medical emergency) BEFORE you bought the trip insurance.

 

You're furious and get on this board and bash your trip insurance company because they denied your claim and you bash Carnival because they follow their rules and won't refund your money. But it's all YOUR fault because you chose to delay purchasing trip insurance. If you had bought a trip insurance policy that waived pre-existing conditions within a couple weeks of booking your cruise, you would have been covered. You still would have been covered if you had bought trip insurance a month after booking your cruise because you were healthy at that time.

 

I could give you non-medical examples, but I'm sure you get the idea.

[belle2]

There are policies that will cover pre-existing conditions based on purchasing within a certain number of days of final payment. They are competitive with the ones that have the requirement based on initial payment.

 

The 14 days after initial payment is another myth that has been around on this board for a long time. CSA is one that uses the final payment date and I know there are others.

 

Another hint, if you use insurmytrip or another site to compare policies, take the time to look at the price for the policy you are going to purchase on the site of the provider. Sometimes -- not very often -- the same policy is cheaper from the provider.

 

 

What is CSA?

 

And I have noticed that about insure my trip[emoji12] I found a decent savings on the providers actual website.

[kicia]

I thought it had to be a pre-existing condition before you booked the cruise and not before you sailed.

[belle2]

It depends. Do you buy airfare before you make final payment? If so, you may want that covered. We spend thousands for just airfare.

 

 

 

I buy trip insurance within a couple weeks of our first payment of any type. It covers pre-existing conditions and allows us to buy the cancel for any reason option.

 

 

 

For people that don't have pre-existing conditions, please consider this scenario. You book a cruise that will sail in 6 months. Your family is healthy so you decide you'll buy trip insurance right before you make the final payment. Two months after you book your cruise, you have some medical problem, for example, high blood pressure, gall stones, etc. You go to the doctor and are prescribed high blood pressure pills or something else. BOOM, you NOW have a pre-existing medical condition!

 

 

 

Time goes on and you're feeling fine. You buy trip insurance and pay off the cruise. You have a heart attack a few days before the cruise and you have to cancel it because you're in the hospital, scheduled for surgery, etc. Your trip insurance will NOT cover your cancellation because you had a pre-existing condition (related to the medical emergency) BEFORE you bought the trip insurance.

 

 

 

You're furious and get on this board and bash your trip insurance company because they denied your claim and you bash Carnival because they follow their rules and won't refund your money. But it's all YOUR fault because you chose to delay purchasing trip insurance. If you had bought a trip insurance policy that waived pre-existing conditions within a couple weeks of booking your cruise, you would have been covered. You still would have been covered if you had bought trip insurance a month after booking your cruise because you were healthy at that time.

 

 

 

I could give you non-medical examples, but I'm sure you get

 

Judging by the research I've done the look back period for pre existing conditions on most policies is 60 days. So in this scenario the high blood pressure diagnosis that led to the heart attack would not have occurred within the 60 days of your departure date. However, the heart attack would have occurred in those 60 days but I would assume that would not be considered a pre existing condition.

[belle2]

For those that are interested...I found a decent amount of policies that would cover pre existing conditions if the policy is purchased before final payment is due. And they are very comparable in price and coverage to the policies that require you to purchase with 15 days of initial payment. I found one in particular that is specifically for cruises. And you can purchase cancel for any reason coverage for an extra fee.

[mzloolue]

I have bought trip insurance the morning I was leaving, so the day before the cruise.

 

The reason was that the cruise was inexpensive.

We were driving to the port.

We were taking some family members who might have to cancel.

The cruise rate was not refundable and I was only buying the insurance for the medical coverage and medical transportation and I did not want to be out money for insurance too.

I could lose the cruise, but cannot afford a medical flight, which can cost more than a house.

[Peg_S]

Don't forget: the pre-existing conditions waiver is not just about those taking the trip. It includes family members at home too.

 

Peg

[b_cruise]

It depends. Do you buy airfare before you make final payment? If so, you may want that covered. We spend thousands for just airfare.

 

I buy trip insurance within a couple weeks of our first payment of any type. It covers pre-existing conditions and allows us to buy the cancel for any reason option.

 

For people that don't have pre-existing conditions, please consider this scenario. You book a cruise that will sail in 6 months. Your family is healthy so you decide you'll buy trip insurance right before you make the final payment. Two months after you book your cruise, you have some medical problem, for example, high blood pressure, gall stones, etc. You go to the doctor and are prescribed high blood pressure pills or something else. BOOM, you NOW have a pre-existing medical condition!

 

Time goes on and you're feeling fine. You buy trip insurance and pay off the cruise. You have a heart attack a few days before the cruise and you have to cancel it because you're in the hospital, scheduled for surgery, etc. Your trip insurance will NOT cover your cancellation because you had a pre-existing condition (related to the medical emergency) BEFORE you bought the trip insurance.

 

You're furious and get on this board and bash your trip insurance company because they denied your claim and you bash Carnival because they follow their rules and won't refund your money. But it's all YOUR fault because you chose to delay purchasing trip insurance. If you had bought a trip insurance policy that waived pre-existing conditions within a couple weeks of booking your cruise, you would have been covered. You still would have been covered if you had bought trip insurance a month after booking your cruise because you were healthy at that time.

 

I could give you non-medical examples, but I'm sure you get the idea.

 

But if it is before final payment, you could always cancel and rebook and buy within the time for pre-existing couldn't you??

[D4]

Judging by the research I've done the look back period for pre existing conditions on most policies is 60 days. So in this scenario the high blood pressure diagnosis that led to the heart attack would not have occurred within the 60 days of your departure date. However, the heart attack would have occurred in those 60 days but I would assume that would not be considered a pre existing condition.

 

The look back period is often 60, 90, or 180 days and can vary by policy and even by the state you live in. The look back period requirements can be messy and I wouldn't want to fall into that scrutiny when it can be easily avoided.

 

I tried to provide an example of a situation some people may not have considered. Each person needs to decide what is best for themselves and what risks they choose to take. Everyone is free to buy whatever policy they want, when they want or to not buy trip insurance at all.

 

There are also non-medical reasons to buy a policy earlier.

[D4]

But if it is before final payment, you could always cancel and rebook and buy within the time for pre-existing couldn't you??

 

No, that won't work. Policies usually have wording that says something like this is to cover the first booking for that sailing to prevent people from doing exactly that. At that point, you have an increased likelihood of filing a claim

 

The best time to buy insurance is before you need it.

[ryanedoyle]

We have just always bought when we booked the cruise. We have always bought travel insurance just to be on the safe side. We have never had to use it but its always better to sped a bit to protect your family.