"Cancel for any reason", but only if it's one of their reasons

[amore4paws]

I'm sure this has been posted, but I can't seem to find it so forgive me if I'm repeating something. I know how some people get really upset by that. Sorry if this is a bit long, but can anyone let me know if they've had this experience before?

 

Here's my story and a warning. My husband and I, who have sailed over a dozen times with NCL, decided to book a trip on Celebrity. (Let's try something different I said...)

 

About a week after we booked and paid for it, (since it was leaving about 2 months from when we did this) we found out that we had a family issue and my mother can't come out to watch our home the 2 weeks we were going to be gone. Let me say that my husband and I run an animal rescue out of our home and are responsible for about 15 animals at any given time. My mom know's the routine and the animals know her, I also have a sick doggie who has special needs that she has dealt with in the past, which makes having someone else come to our home an impossible.

 

This all being said, I contacted Celebrity to cancel my trip (yes, I bought their insurance). After about a week of trying to get the person who is my rep at Celebrity (I left countless VMs to have someone call me back to get this canceled. I finally got a hold of someone who was able to cancel the trip.

 

Now a Cancel for Any Reason, you should be able to get a portion back of the non-refundable portion. So 25% of the non-refundable wouldn't be refundable and 75% would be refunded back to us on a "Celebrity Credit". OK. I'm cool with that, I know how this works.

 

AON insurance is horrible to deal with. I called them because I had additional questions, and they just read you their policy. I'm like...but...question, question, question. I get "Mame, we can only read you our policy, we can't answer questions for you". Are you kidding me? OK....fine. They sent me the forms, I filled them in and a month later (they told me it would only take about 2 weeks to process) they denied me my claim. My reasoning didn't fall within their "Cancel for Any Reason" reason's. I'm sorry, but "Cancel for Any Reason" should mean just that, no??? Am I missing something here?

 

I've never had to do this before. Have any of you had this experience?

 

Not only this, but I'm not happy with Celebrity. If I called my rep at NCL, they call me back that day (unless the guy's out sick). I called my cruise rep 4 times about every other day (giving him the benefit of the doubt) and still, to this day, have not heard back from him!!

 

Thanks to all of you who respond!

[phoenix_dream]

No excuse for Celebrity to not call you back, but no big surprise either. Their customer service at the home office is directly opposite the great customer service onboard.

 

I have never heard of a cancel for any reason insurance that was not just that. I don't think any of us can answer your question specifically without reading your actual policy. What specifically does your policy say the definition of 'cancel for any reason' is? The definition should be spelled out specifically in the policy. What is the exact wording?

[Bo1953]

a - I Am so sorry for the frustration over this, it is disappointing, to say the least.

 

Upon reading about X's CFAR it is limited to passengers traveling, only and not other reasons outside of these individuals. This can change pending on the state in which you live, as well.

 

A synopsis and details can be found here.This in no way exonerates your contact at X for not returning your calls promptly.

 

After clicking through to the plan details, you may find that denial still was not warranted, I recommend following up with X directly to have them help out. Per the website Arch Insurance is the carrier, are they the same as AON?

 

Also, you never disclosed the reason your claim was denied, I Am sure you were told in writing the reason.

 

Good luck and bon voyage

[amore4paws]

This is what it said....

• Cancel for Any Reason: 75% future cruise credit if you cancel for any reason (and we mean ANY reason!)
  

I haven't seen anything else other then this. I never thought to check into it further, because I had just assumed that ANY reason would be just that.

I'm really disappointed with both Celebrity and their insurance, which is thru AON. I was just more curious to see if anyone else had had this experience before.

Thanks for your quick reply. Much appreciated.

[phoenix_dream]

Wow - based on that wording that is exactly what I would expect! What was the reason they gave you for denying the claim?

[Cruise Raider]

What the heck?? That doesn't sound right! Could it be that the insurance covers refunds for covered (medical) reasons and the cruiseline is the one that gives you cruise credits if not for one of those covered reasons? I am not sure but 'cancel for any reason' should be just that.

Please keep us posted! Oh ... and good luck!

[Mr. Click]

This sounds like something you need to escalate with Celebrity. Be firm, be factual but also be nice. Certified/Registered US mail letter so you can prove that some one got it. Mail it, give them two weeks and then start calling again and again. Ask for a supervisor at speaks English at the start of your call.

 

Insurance companies can be terrible. I had a bad experience 4 years ago when we had to cancel last minute for a valid medical emergency. I pushed out all of the paper work they asked for and then they asked for more. I pushed that out and then they lost it.....It took using the L word to get them moving. Do not accept the insurance company's denial of your claim.

[Bo1953]

Now, please remember or go back and check in the front page it clearly states '... in the event that you or your traveling companion need to cancel your cruise vacation (for specified reasons). In addition, should you or your traveling companion need to cancel your cruise for "any other reason", you may be eligible for Cruise Credits. Brought to you by Celebrity Cruises*.

 

Please do not loose sight by not understanding the wording/exceptions/exclusions, which will be in the contract, which is the arbiter of what will or will not be covered, good bad or indifferent.

 

Please read the contract/policy for the state in which you live and be governed by that and not the broad statements made in the advertizing.

 

With insurance, any type, it is all about what the contract says and NOT what someone told you or you thought the words meant. If the wording is nebulous, then the insurance company wins, if the wording is specific then you may or may not win.

 

Good luck and bon voyage

Edited April 5, 2018 by Bo1953

[amore4paws]

Hi Bo1953,

 

So it looks like both companies X uses for insurance. Not sure how they determine which one covers you, that's probably based on state.

 

Unfortunately, I don't have my letter handy. My husband just got it at home, opened it, and called me to say that they denied our claim based on the fact that we didn't fall within their reasoning. I have to go home and read it better. Maybe I can appeal it.

 

I was just frustrated. Sorry if I jumped the gun in posting this.

 

Thank you for your response.

A

[warmwinds]

Several years ago we used the CFAR feature when our cat was very, very sick and we just couldn't leave her - she passed while we would have been on the trip.

 

To me that was a "reach" of a reason and we were very happy they agreed - however, it was several years ago when I believe Berkeley was the company? Not sure if things have changed with AON.

 

However, I do recall initially getting a letter stating that "your claim for refund has been denied, BUT you can get 75% credit on a future cruise". Are you sure your denial wasn't worded that way?

[Kamloops50]

I've used Cancel for Any Reason with AON and didn't have any trouble. They paid the cruise credit to the cruise line in 4 weeks. I got an email from them two weeks after submitting the claim.

[Bo1953]

Hi Bo1953,

 

So it looks like both companies X uses for insurance. Not sure how they determine which one covers you, that's probably based on state.

 

Unfortunately, I don't have my letter handy. My husband just got it at home, opened it, and called me to say that they denied our claim based on the fact that we didn't fall within their reasoning. I have to go home and read it better. Maybe I can appeal it.

 

I was just frustrated. Sorry if I jumped the gun in posting this.

 

Thank you for your response.

A

 

a - no worries, many of us have vented out of frustration of 'unjustified'...

 

 

No gun jumped, you are getting, hopefully, some good and valuable input on the situation which going forward will help in deciding where/how you purchase travel insurance for your unique life situation. As well, how to approach this one for a better result as much as possible.

 

 

There are policies, through third (3rd) parties which covers your situation very nicely.

 

In the future, you may want to consider visiting the insurance board here on CC before purchasing travel insurance for some sage input as to what and who to consider.

 

Good luck and bon voyage

[ghstudio]

• Cancel for Any Reason*: 75% future cruise credit if you cancel for any reason (and we mean ANY reason!)
  

That's directly from https://www.archinsurancesolutions.com/coverage/Celebrity

Did they deny that coverage????

[Bo1953]

 

• Cancel for Any Reason*: 75% future cruise credit if you cancel for any reason (and we mean ANY reason!)
  

That's directly from https://www.archinsurancesolutions.com/coverage/Celebrity

Did they deny that coverage????

 

That is from advertizing and not the actual policy which is the final decider of what will be covered or not.

 

bon voyage

[ghstudio]

OP....please read the section of your policy that is titled: "Cruise Vacation Cancellation Enhancement"....which covers the 75% credit. This is something offered by Celebrity in concert with the travel insurance policy, but apparently not part of the policy itself.

 

On reading...it appears that the insurance company was correct...they don't cover this situation. However, the "enhancement" does cover you. Did you follow the instructions on that page on filing a claim (different than filing a travel insurance claim).

[Cruise Raider]

This sounds like something you need to escalate with Celebrity. Be firm, be factual but also be nice. Certified/Registered US mail letter so you can prove that some one got it. Mail it, give them two weeks and then start calling again and again. Ask for a supervisor at speaks English at the start of your call.

 

Insurance companies can be terrible. I had a bad experience 4 years ago when we had to cancel last minute for a valid medical emergency. I pushed out all of the paper work they asked for and then they asked for more. I pushed that out and then they lost it.....It took using the L word to get them moving. Do not accept the insurance company's denial of your claim.

 

+1

 

The L word ... funny!!

[RDC1]

I think that you are misunderstanding the situation.

 

There are two elements in action here. The insurance, and the Celebrity cancel for any reason.

 

One must first file with the insurance company to see if it is a covered cause and if the insurance can pay a refund. If it is not a valid reason, and thus denied by the insurance company, then Celebrities cancel for any reason comes into play and they will issue the future cruise credit.

 

With that in mind contact Celebrity, let them know that you have received the denial from the insurance company and ask for the procedure for and when you will be receiving the FCC credit as specified under the cancel for any reason coverage.

[wwcruisers]

I've bought insurance through the cruise line before, but it never was "cancel for any reason" insurance. BTW -- I just purchased 'cancel for any reason' insurance, through a private broker -- for a charter cruise that we just booked. I can tell you -- it was PRICEY!:eek:

[hcat]

Sounds very complicated.

We use the X cruise care and a pvt ins as well...

 

But reading through the contract is time consuming and confusing and like most folks we skip through...not any more !

 

Hope it works out for OP

[phoenix_dream]

Sounds very complicated.

We use the X cruise care and a pvt ins as well...

 

But reading through the contract is time consuming and confusing and like most folks we skip through...not any more !

 

Hope it works out for OP

Worked in the insurance industry for 30+ years - the contracts are definitely confusing even for veterans like me! But very important to make sure one understands what is and is not covered. The devil is in the details as the saying goes.

[Northern Aurora]

As someone who had to cancel a pair of cruises (the first two legs of a B2B2B) due to an ill elderly parent I have a quick comment which won't help the OP but may help others reading this thread -- when my mother was ill we actually canceled those first two legs and our travel insurance did reimburse us for the cruise fare (all of our air was refundable) but it was quite a bit of work just when we were dealing with the sick parent. I currently have a spouse who is having to undergo medical testing. We should be on the Solstice now on a B2B. But instead of cancelling those Solstice cruises I moved those two reservation numbers to a pair of interesting cruises sailing mid-summer. We still have dealt with refundable air and so forth, but moving those reservations to a future pair of cruises was much easier. Just a consideration.

[Zoedokey]

That is from advertizing and not the actual policy which is the final decider of what will be covered or not.

 

bon voyage

 

It is beyond unconscionable that they would put that wording in their advertisement to sell the insurance and then other wording in the actual policy to determine coverage. I was going to ask why they make things so complicated, but I know the reason is to make money.

[mnocket]

Now, please remember or go back and check in the front page it clearly states '... in the event that you or your traveling companion need to cancel your cruise vacation (for specified reasons). In addition, should you or your traveling companion need to cancel your cruise for "any other reason", you may be eligible for Cruise Credits. Brought to you by Celebrity Cruises*.

 

Please do not loose sight by not understanding the wording/exceptions/exclusions, which will be in the contract, which is the arbiter of what will or will not be covered, good bad or indifferent.

 

Please read the contract/policy for the state in which you live and be governed by that and not the broad statements made in the advertizing.

 

With insurance, any type, it is all about what the contract says and NOT what someone told you or you thought the words meant. If the wording is nebulous, then the insurance company wins, if the wording is specific then you may or may not win.

 

Good luck and bon voyage

I too noticed the "specified reasons" verbiage. The problem is that I don't see where it details these specified reasons. Do you know where they are listed?

[kenevenpar]

AON is not to my knowledge an insurance company, rather an insurance broker, and in this case probably a claim administrator.

 

I really think you need to contact Celebrity as it sounds like the cancel for any reason is outside the insurance policy and something that Celebrity provides. I know it is frustrating not getting a call back. I would suggest speaking with any agent, and keep asking for a supervisor until you get an answer that makes sense.

 

Just my $.02

[39august]

Yes, Aon handles the claims but are not the insurance company itself. I cancelled a cruise because we didn't want to drive to the port in stormy weather. In other word, we just decided not to go. Aon sent a letter denying the claim as it did not fall under covered reasons; however, the remainder of the letter informed me that we would be reimbursed as CFAR the 75% of the non-refundable cruise fare by RCI. Called RCI in a couple of days and applied the $$ credit to another cruise. I was quite happy with Aon. This was all done in about 3 weeks. Aon handles both Celebrity and RCI insurance claims.