Estimating cost of flight and hotels for insurance

[JaneyLynn]

I've booked a transatlantic cruise (Carnival NY to Dover Jun 2020) but I'm stumped about the insurance.  I have to purchase the insurance within 14 days to get the pre-existing coverage, which is fine BUT how do I factor in the flight back to NY and all the hotel costs?  We plan on staying in England for 3 days after the ship docks.  

 

Should I estimate what I think they might be?  I've search for fares for Jun 2019 to get an idea what they "might" be, but I don't normally fly.  Do fares change a lot year to year?

 

Will my insurance (I normally use travelguard) allow me to add the flight and hotels in Sept 2019? 

 

 

[Jersey42]

Normally you can just insure the non refundable payments you have already made, then add to the insurance as you make more payments. If you purchased through one of the sites typically mentioned on these boards, they should be able to help walk you through it.  I normally use www.tripinsurancestore.com  and if you call them, I know they will be very helpful.  I expect the other insurance brokers will do the same.

[GeezerCouple]

1 hour ago, Jersey42 said:

Normally you can just insure the non refundable payments you have already made, then add to the insurance as you make more payments. If you purchased through one of the sites typically mentioned on these boards, they should be able to help walk you through it.  I normally use www.tripinsurancestore.com  and if you call them, I know they will be very helpful.  I expect the other insurance brokers will do the same.

This is pretty much what we do, also through TripInsuranceStore.  Call them, and they'll guide you through the process.

 

All I can add is that we've used Travel Insured policies through TIS.  Travel Insured has paid our clams *promptly*, and that's what matters, after all.  This was for a couple of large claims, and also some smaller ones.

 

GC

[Walfam]

18 hours ago, JaneyLynn said:

 how do I factor in the flight back to NY and all the hotel costs?  We plan on staying in England for 3 days after the ship docks.  

 

Should I estimate what I think they might be?  I've search for fares for Jun 2019 to get an idea what they "might" be, but I don't normally fly.  Do fares change a lot year to year?

 

Will my insurance (I normally use travelguard) allow me to add the flight and hotels in Sept 2019? 

 

 

We insured any prepaid flights and hotels that are non refundable.  Most times, the hotels we stay at are not prepaid and have decent 24-hr notice cancellation policies, so we do not insure that amount.  

 

Fares can change  from week to week, so we just make a guesstimate based in internet flight search pricing, and guess in the high end.

 

i have no idea about adding flight and hotel later on.  Your insurer/agent would know.

[JaneyLynn]

Thank you!  

[GeezerCouple]

On 12/7/2018 at 7:42 AM, Walfam said:

We insured any prepaid flights and hotels that are non refundable.  Most times, the hotels we stay at are not prepaid and have decent 24-hr notice cancellation policies, so we do not insure that amount.  

 

Fares can change  from week to week, so we just make a guesstimate based in internet flight search pricing, and guess in the high end.

 

i have no idea about adding flight and hotel later on.  Your insurer/agent would know.

 

Why pay for any not-yet-paid airfare (or anything else)?

Get a policy that allows one to add on as more money is spent.

(Aren't you contradicting yourself if you write that you "insure any prepaid flights...", and then write that you also add in to insure guestimates of flights not yet purchased?)

 

Also, at least for the policies we have (and also some others we have considered), one only needs to insure what would be "lost" (indeed, one cannot insure for something that wouldn't be lost).  So for most airfares (ditto for awards travel), one only needs to include the cost of "penalties", if one would otherwise get the difference paid back.

Otherwise, one would be paying premiums that are likely higher than one might need to get.

 

Also, one then doesn't need to "guestimate too high", and pay even *more* unnecessary premiums.

 

GC

[Walfam]

21 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

 

(Aren't you contradicting yourself if you write that you "insure any prepaid flights...", and then write that you also add in to insure guestimates of flights not yet purchased?)

 

 

Good questions.  I was suggesting to insure a guestimate in case the OP did not want to book flights at that time.    I have no idea if TravelGuard (our preferred insurer)  will allow us to increase coverage later on, but I could always ask.  Their "cancel for work reason" is more friendly to our situation.   

 

We always purchase  trip insurance inside the "pre-existing health waiver" time period.   Usually, we have the flights booked by then, too.  Only occasionally will we wait a bit longer on booking flights, if the trip is farther out than airlines are showing flights on the internet, but we like to get those reservations made early on or ASAP.

 

   We are not quite the seasoned travellers that most of you are    and like to have everything in place, even though airlines will later change a flight time, layover interval,  aircraft, etc.   Been there, experienced that.