Travel insurance

[desiree741]

I’m assuming it covers everyone in the cabin on medical?  This is the first time I even got the insurance so I don’t know much about it. 

[shof515]

depending on the policy purchased, yes

[GradUT]

And depending on the policy, no.  

 

You have to read the fine print to see who, if anyone,  is covered and to what extent. 

[cherylandtk]

You may want to start at the link below and enter your state of residence and read the specific coverages using the Carnival insurance, as well as the exclusions.  Be aware of Pre Existing Conditions.   Both people in the cabin need to purchase the insurance in order to both be covered.

 

https://affinitytravelcert.com/document/pdfs/CCL_Landing.html

[Solo1959]

On page 9 of the document cited previously by cherylandtk:

 

https://affinitytravelcert.com/document/pdfs/Carnival_FL_COI_v3.pdf

 

it says that your coverage ENDS on the EARLIEST of the following:

 

"(a) the Scheduled Return Date as stated on the travel tickets;"

 

This is VERY important to consider. I was on a Carnival cruise during hurricane Irma. The ship was delayed by several days returning to Port Canaveral. According to the policy, the insurance terminated on the original return date which was several days prior to returning to port.

 

Please check your policy very carefully, and if you believe you might need continual coverage even during an extended cruise, look for a policy which will cover you for the full extended trip.

[SempreMare]

8 hours ago, Solo1959 said:

On page 9 of the document cited previously by cherylandtk:

 

https://affinitytravelcert.com/document/pdfs/Carnival_FL_COI_v3.pdf

 

it says that your coverage ENDS on the EARLIEST of the following:

 

"(a) the Scheduled Return Date as stated on the travel tickets;"

 

This is VERY important to consider. I was on a Carnival cruise during hurricane Irma. The ship was delayed by several days returning to Port Canaveral. According to the policy, the insurance terminated on the original return date which was several days prior to returning to port.

 

Wow.  So slippery of them...

 

That's example # 999 that I've read here on this forum for the oft-repeated advice:

"Don't buy insurance from the cruise lines."

"Buy a separate 3'rd party policy for better benefits & coverage at a lower cost." 

 

[Solo1959]

4 minutes ago, SempreMare said:

 

Wow.  So slippery of them...

 

That's example # 999 that I've read here on this forum for the oft-repeated advice:

"Don't buy insurance from the cruise lines."

"Buy a separate 3'rd party policy for better benefits & coverage at a lower cost." 

 

That's not just cruise line coverage. MOST independent policies have that same limitation. And the telephone agents at the independent insurance companies are very uninformed. You need to read the policy, not just the highlights, to see what is covered.

 

The job of these insurance companies is to not pay whenever possible. They write so many loopholes into their policies that it can be difficult to know what is actually covered and what isn't. So if you are looking at an independent coverage web site and they list the benefits of the specific policies - that isn't the policy. You really need to read it to see what they cover.

 

And sometimes, especially depending on the person's age, cruise line insurance can cost much less than comparable coverage from an independent agency. It's just very important to read the policy to know what it covers and what they won't pay for. 

[SempreMare]

1 minute ago, Solo1959 said:

That's not just cruise line coverage. MOST independent policies have that same limitation.

 

I just purchased my first  trip insurance policy with  Travel Insured (via Trip Insurance Store.  The owner Steve answered the phone at 8pm and answered all my specific What-If questions.) 

 

I simply gave the estimated start date and end date of my trip.   That's what showed up on my policy.  Since this is for a 2020 cruise, I don't know what my exact travel dates are yet.  There were no questions about " is this date the cruise end date or your travel end date?"

 

Or, maybe I'm un-clear on how you described what Carnival covers.

>> "(a) the Scheduled Return Date as stated on the travel tickets;"

 

Does that mean the Cruise ship return date or the airplane ticket return date? 

If you bought your own airplane tickets would that date become the cruise ship return date? 

 

 

 

 

[Solo1959]

First of all, it's not likely to be a problem. 100's of thousands of people buy and use travel insurance every year for their cruises and by far the vast majority have zero problems with either independent coverage or cruise line coverage.

 

In the instance that I described, my cruise was scheduled to return to port on a given date, and that is what my original "ticket" stated on it. Just a cruise. I didn't have flights or anything, just simply drive to and from the port.

 

So if my original "ticket" said the cruise returned on, let's say the 10th of the month, but didn't actually get back until the 11th of the month - the insurance ended on the scheduled return date, the 10th of the month, leaving one day uncovered.

 

Many policies do automatically extend, many do not. It's not so much of a price thing, just a detail thing. You only really know if you read the policy.

 

But I bet you dollars to donuts that if you call Steve back at your insurance store, he likely won't know the this unless he reads the policy.

 

In my case, nothing happened. I got an extended cruise and I had a good time. I ultimately didn't need insurance, though I was glad I had it just in case.

 

If this is important to you, then by all means ask before you buy.

[SempreMare]

Thanks for the clarification @Solo1959!  

 

Many of the "gotchas" here don't apply to me.

 

However, this is one of the "gotchas" where...

if I'm going to all the trouble to buy a policy, I'd want it to cover this scenario.    Especially since unexpected delays in returning home could happen for a million reasons completely beyond my control.   Like a hurricane delaying the trip back!

[GeezerCouple]

4 hours ago, Solo1959 said:

First of all, it's not likely to be a problem. 100's of thousands of people buy and use travel insurance every year for their cruises and by far the vast majority have zero problems with either independent coverage or cruise line coverage.

 

In the instance that I described, my cruise was scheduled to return to port on a given date, and that is what my original "ticket" stated on it. Just a cruise. I didn't have flights or anything, just simply drive to and from the port.

 

So if my original "ticket" said the cruise returned on, let's say the 10th of the month, but didn't actually get back until the 11th of the month - the insurance ended on the scheduled return date, the 10th of the month, leaving one day uncovered.

 

Many policies do automatically extend, many do not. It's not so much of a price thing, just a detail thing. You only really know if you read the policy.

 

But I bet you dollars to donuts that if you call Steve back at your insurance store, he likely won't know the this unless he reads the policy.

 

In my case, nothing happened. I got an extended cruise and I had a good time. I ultimately didn't need insurance, though I was glad I had it just in case.

 

If this is important to you, then by all means ask before you buy.

 

TripInsuranceStore folks sell policies from a limited number of vetted insurers, and they don't sell certain policies with "gotchas".

 

They surely will know the answer to the above, as they do READ those policies that they do sell.

And IF one asks a question that they aren't SURE of, they'll re-read it or, if necessary, CALL the insurer to double check whether "x" is covered, and which precise terms of the policy are relevant.

 

Indeed, when we were first "learning" about travel insurance, they repeatedly asked whether we needed coverage for this or that, etc.  Many issues I had already learned about here, but many I learned about directly from them.

 

Here is the relevant wording of the policy we (repeatedly) purchase from TIS, from Travel Insured:

 

"Extension of Coverage: All coverages under this Policy will be extended if Your entire Trip is
covered by this Policy and Your return is delayed due to unavoidable circumstances beyond Your
control. This extension of coverage will end on the earlier of the date You reach Your originally
scheduled return destination or 7 days after the Scheduled Return Date."

 

It is very clear and specified near the top of the policy, not in some tiny fine print somewhere.

 

Also, Steve will make a point of suggesting a different policy if there is something about a trip that wouldn't fit with our regular policy (or we miss a deadline for purchasing, etc.).  That is why I so strongly suggest that one CALL them and *not* just read the online summaries!

 

And finally, yup, we (or I) DO read the policy. Travel Insurance.  Homeowners' insurance.  Etc.

 

GC

Edited May 31, 2019 by GeezerCouple

[Walfam]

On 5/30/2019 at 4:03 PM, Solo1959 said:

 

 

"(a) the Scheduled Return Date as stated on the travel tickets;"

 

This is VERY important to consider. I was on a Carnival cruise during hurricane Irma. The ship was delayed by several days returning to Port Canaveral. According to the policy, the insurance terminated on the original return date which was several days prior to returning to port.

 

That is interesting.  Seems like it would have been covered as a travel delay? Unless cruise insurance is different from travel insurance...

Edited May 31, 2019 by Walfam

[cherylandtk]

On 5/30/2019 at 2:03 PM, Solo1959 said:

On page 9 of the document cited previously by cherylandtk:

 

https://affinitytravelcert.com/document/pdfs/Carnival_FL_COI_v3.pdf

 

it says that your coverage ENDS on the EARLIEST of the following:

 

"(a) the Scheduled Return Date as stated on the travel tickets;"

 

This is VERY important to consider. I was on a Carnival cruise during hurricane Irma. The ship was delayed by several days returning to Port Canaveral. According to the policy, the insurance terminated on the original return date which was several days prior to returning to port.

 

Please check your policy very carefully, and if you believe you might need continual coverage even during an extended cruise, look for a policy which will cover you for the full extended trip.

Just as an FYI, the next paragraph in that document discusses extensions; one of them (c) is an unavoidable delay in return of the ship. So you would still have been covered for the extra days had something happened.  

Edited June 10, 2019 by cherylandtk

[pspercy]

Make sure you're adequately covered for medevac:

https://www.newsweek.com/italy-cruise-ship-coma-stroke-girlfriends-dnr-1447977?amp=1