Insurance ripoff?

[circleboy]

Going on the Mariner for 12 days Jan10, 2006.(2 of us) The cruise portion is approx. 15,000 dollars. They are charging me approx. 1450.00 dollars for trip insurance. RSSC changed insurance companies and raised the premium. This sounds awful expensive for a 12 day cruise. Any suggestions? Thanks PS I'm not canceling regardless but it sure looks like a rip to me.

[MrsBoo]

Try www.insuremytrip.com - you can compare many companies & plans that will fit your requirements. Premiums are based on the cost of the trip you are insuring & age of passengers. If I remember correctly, you can get trip cancellation & medical coverage & evac (remember, accidents happen) for around 5% of the cost of your cruise. I waited to purchase insurance until final payment was due.

[MrsBoo]

Try www.insuremytrip.com - you can compare many companies & plans that will fit your requirements. Premiums are based on the cost of the trip you are insuring & age of passengers. If I remember correctly, you can get trip cancellation & medical coverage & evac (remember, accidents happen) for around 5% of the cost of your cruise. I waited to purchase insurance until final payment was due. If

[MrsBoo]

Try www.insuremytrip.com - you can compare many companies & plans that will fit your requirements. Premiums are based on the cost of the trip you are insuring & age of passengers. If I remember correctly, you can get trip cancellation & medical coverage & evac (remember, accidents happen) for around 5% of the cost of your cruise. I waited to purchase insurance until final payment was due. If you

[smrtypnts]

Do a search on google for travel insurance. Travelguard.com and insuremytrip.com are two popular companies. Read them carefully so you're sure of what they may not cover.

[MrsBoo]

oops

[MrsBoo]

sorry - computer malfunction

[Cruisechick82]

Going on the Mariner for 12 days Jan10, 2006.(2 of us) The cruise portion is approx. 15,000 dollars. They are charging me approx. 1450.00 dollars for trip insurance. RSSC changed insurance companies and raised the premium. This sounds awful expensive for a 12 day cruise. Any suggestions? Thanks PS I'm not canceling regardless but it sure looks like a rip to me.

 

That does sound like a lot for insurance, but $15,000 sounds like ALOT for a cruise! :eek:

[Cruisechick82]

That does sound like a lot for insurance, but $15,000 sounds like ALOT for a cruise! :eek:

 

Oops, sorry I thought this one is the RCCL forum instead of "Ask a cruise question" so i just realized you were talking about a Radisson cruise.:o

[KreinKrunker]

I always budget 10% for insurance when planning, but hope it ends up around 6%.

[suznf]

Check out STA travel. This is a student travel website, but they will insure American and Canadian travelers of any age for trips up to $20000...including preexisting conditions if you book early enough. it is $70 for 15 days. The policy is available on their website. We found this was both comprehensive and inexpensive for our family (and it covers scuba diving and parasailing ...which some of the others dont)

 

From their website:

 

We’ve got you covered

Our Travel Protection offers affordable worldwide coverage for budget-conscious travelers of any age. We’ve structured our plan to provide maximum flexibility, offering you a broad travel protection package that will cover you while you’re traveling away from home.

 

Travel protection

Baggage protection » Trip Cancellation» Lost or stolen baggage » Trip Interruption » Delayed baggage »Trip Delay Medical protection Travel accident protection» Sickness or accident» Accidental death & dismemberment» Emergency Evacuation "Buy early” feature adds coverage for Worldwide emergency assistance services» Terrorism » 24-hour travel & medical emergency assistance » Pre-Existing Medical Conditions » Emergency cash transfer» Travel Supplier Financial Insolvency

[Laurab23]

I just checked out their website and they are alot cheaper.Has anyone ever gotten their insurance and used it?I can save over $100 if I go with them but I am looking for some feedback from someone who has gotten it. Thanks for the info!

 

Laura

[suznf]

We bought our ti from them in July, our trip is in December so we haven't had to use it. STA travel has been around for a long time (billed as the largest student travel agency worldwide) and has an excellent reputation, the insurance policy is underwritten by BerkelyCare which is the same company that is used by Princess Cruises, Seabourn Cruises, Holland America, Windstar, Trafalgar Tours and United Airlines Vacations (I checked their websites). I booked my son's travel to france with them about 6 years ago and had an excellent experience with the company (but didn't buy or use insurance). I assume it is so much cheaper than through the cruise lines because it is being sold on a student travel website. Not many people (who aren't students) would even think to look there. But it sure saved us some $$!!

 

If you search for BerkelyCare in the Seabourn forum there are plenty of posts from people that have filed claims with them (Berkelycare) and have been very pleased.

 

From the STA website: This plan was designed and administrated by BerkelyCare, a division of Affinity Insurance Services, Inc., in all states except: AIS Affinity Isurance Agency, Inc. in CA/MN/OK; and AIS Affinity Insurance Agency in NH and NY. Claims are administered by BerkelyCare, a division of Affinity Insurance Services, Inc. in OK; and AIS Affinity Insurance Agency in NH and NY. CA License # 0795465

[GottaLuvCruising]

If your airfare was booked through the cruise line, I'd advise spending the additional $100 to keep your insurance through them, too. We have found that resolution is faster and less complicated when there are issues related to delayed travel, if the insurance is purchased as part of the cruise line package. Just my 2 cents worth...

[Happy ks]

Yes, it does sound like an awful lot of $ for insurance, but can you cancel it to get other coverage? If you can't, I guess you're stuck paying it this time around, but in the future, always buy your travel insurance from a third party. I've also learned the hard way not to buy anything but the cruise through the cruiseline, or travel agent. They make extra on these items, so they will charge additional on what you can get it for on your own. The same thing goes for airfare, hotels and transfer transportation. I know, a lot of people like the convenience of having it all arranged for you by the cruiseline/agent, but you will pay dearly for it.

 

The last cruise we took, total travel related costs were around $7000 for a family of 4, our insurance cost was $125. The cruise line wanted $395 for the same coverage.

[MrsPete]

Going on the Mariner for 12 days Jan10, 2006.(2 of us) The cruise portion is approx. 15,000 dollars. They are charging me approx. 1450.00 dollars for trip insurance. RSSC changed insurance companies and raised the premium. This sounds awful expensive for a 12 day cruise. Any suggestions? Thanks PS I'm not canceling regardless but it sure looks like a rip to me.

It does sound like a lot for insurance, but 15K for a 12-day cruise is also a lot of money! The more you insure, the more the insurance will cost. I mean, you expect to pay more to insure a Jaguar than you'd pay to insure a Nissan.

 

I'd suggest you compare to other insurance companies.

[Laurab23]

Did you have to book your cruise through STA or did you just purchase the insurance through them?

[Happy ks]

I did a comparison with insuremytrip.com, the cheapest coverage for a $15,000.00 cruise was $550, the most expensive was $1232, they were similar, with coverage in the same areas, but the more expensive policy paid out more $. The biggest difference was medical evacuation, the higher priced policy covered a million $ evac, the cheaper policy one hundred thousand.

 

When we fly, the credit card we use to purchase our airfare already covers flight, so I don't include that in my ins. quote. It also covers lost luggage and hotel stays if there is a flight delay. We mainly buy travel ins. for the medical coverage while out of the US and medical evacuation, if neccesary. Many people over-insure, but a whole lot under-insure. It's a surprise to some who lose all their vacation $ because they did not insure their trip.

[suznf]

No, you don't have to book your cruise through STA, in fact, I don't think you can! They specialize in trips for students....but for some reason they offer the travel insurance for anyone. I knew about the site because I am a faculty member at a college (and we get student rates sometimes)...when I was looking to insure our cruise I ended up at STA by coincidence and was amazed at the prices. The cheapest I was finding for our family was $445...and it didn't cover scuba diving...which my kids will do. STA covers the scuba diving and at $70 per person covered everything--including luggage and flight delays!...and it was only $280 for all four of us. I love a good deal.

 

The plan is administrated by BerkleyCare which is the same group that is used by many of the cruise lines. A search of any of those forums (windstar, seabourn, princess, carnival) show that most people are reimbursed w/in two weeks and are happy with the service. The policy limits may be too low for some people (it will only cover up to $20000), but it really is comprehensive---and for us, that $20000 will more than cover our cruise, our flights and the pre/post cruise hotels!

[Laurab23]

Thanks so much.When I'm ready to book my cruise I will certainly give STA a call! I know I can book online but I feel more comfortable booking with a real,live person.

 

Laura

[McDebbie]

Make sure you check all policies for pre-exsisting conditions, some of them don't cover cancellations for hospitalization or cancellationf for those reasons.

[fideauxdon]

Several things cited in your note appear to be wrong. According to my info, the Mariner doesn't sail on January 10th. I see Caribbean sailings on January 8th and 15th. There are no 12 day sailings in January; putting together back-to-back cruises for 14 days is the closest that you could come to 12 days. Using practically any web-based TA site, you could easily get a suite for two people for a little over $3000 for each week (about $6000 for 2 weeks).

 

What does the $15,000 include. Even with airfare from the most distant point in the globe, $15,000 is very high.

 

Are you positive that you're dealing with a real, honest, accredited travel agent??

[TheWog]

Several things cited in your note appear to be wrong. According to my info, the Mariner doesn't sail on January 10th. I see Caribbean sailings on January 8th and 15th. There are no 12 day sailings in January; putting together back-to-back cruises for 14 days is the closest that you could come to 12 days. Using practically any web-based TA site, you could easily get a suite for two people for a little over $3000 for each week (about $6000 for 2 weeks).

 

What does the $15,000 include. Even with airfare from the most distant point in the globe, $15,000 is very high.

 

Are you positive that you're dealing with a real, honest, accredited travel agent??

 

I think they are sailing Radisson and not Royal Caribbean.

[EmJakeBubbie]

Several things cited in your note appear to be wrong. According to my info, the Mariner doesn't sail on January 10th. I see Caribbean sailings on January 8th and 15th. There are no 12 day sailings in January; putting together back-to-back cruises for 14 days is the closest that you could come to 12 days. Using practically any web-based TA site, you could easily get a suite for two people for a little over $3000 for each week (about $6000 for 2 weeks).

 

What does the $15,000 include. Even with airfare from the most distant point in the globe, $15,000 is very high.

 

Are you positive that you're dealing with a real, honest, accredited travel agent??

I was thinking this very same thing! thanks for speaking up.

[smrtypnts]

Several things cited in your note appear to be wrong. According to my info, the Mariner doesn't sail on January 10th. I see Caribbean sailings on January 8th and 15th. There are no 12 day sailings in January; putting together back-to-back cruises for 14 days is the closest that you could come to 12 days. Using practically any web-based TA site, you could easily get a suite for two people for a little over $3000 for each week (about $6000 for 2 weeks).

 

What does the $15,000 include. Even with airfare from the most distant point in the globe, $15,000 is very high.

 

Are you positive that you're dealing with a real, honest, accredited travel agent??

 

The OP didn't say anything about the Mariner, he didn't even say anything about RCCL!