Insurance denial of changed itinerary for Serenade departing to Bermuda next week

[LadyBerard]

I bought a cruise travel insurance policy which has trip delay and itinerary change prior to departure benefits.  I bought this policy very soon after purchasing cruise (I don't know if I can state the insurance company).  Today, I received an email that our cruise on the Serenade of the Seas which was scheduled to depart Boston this upcoming Tuesday is now being delayed until a Wednesday departure due to the hurricane.  Now, we will only be in Bermuda one day, instead of two.  

 

I called the insurance company, and they said that because our port of call was not changed, we have no claim.

 

???????????????????

 

Itinerary Change (prior to departure)
Maximum Benefit up to $100 per Trip
Itinerary Change – Inconvenience (after departure)
Maximum Benefit up to $100 per Trip
Itinerary Change – Pre-paid Excursion (after departure)
Maximum Benefit up to $250 per Trip
Missed Connection (3 hours)
Maximum Benefit up to $500 per Trip
Trip Cancellation
Maximum Benefit 100% of Trip Cost
Trip Interruption
Maximum Benefit 125% of Trip Cost
Trip Interruption for any Reason
Maximum Benefit up to $250 per Trip
Trip Delay (6 hours)
Maximum Benefit up to $500 per Trip / $100 per day

 

 

ITINERARY CHANGE
In the event a Cruise makes a Change in Your Trip Itinerary prior to Your actual departure date we will pay up to the Maximum Benefit shown on the Confirmation of Coverage.
Change in Your Trip Itinerary shall mean the Cruise has a documented change of Port of Call from the scheduled itinerary.
Verification by the Cruise of the change in the scheduled Trip Itinerary will be necessary for claim payment.

 

I'm very disappointed.

 

 

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GeezerCouple

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• August 25, 2013
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Posted 16 minutes ago

  28 minutes ago, LadyBerard said:

I bought a cruise travel insurance policy which has trip delay and itinerary change prior to departure benefits.  I bought this policy very soon after purchasing cruise (I don't know if I can state the insurance company).  Today, I received an email that our cruise on the Serenade of the Seas which was scheduled to depart Boston this upcoming Tuesday is now being delayed until a Wednesday departure due to the hurricane.  Now, we will only be in Bermuda one day, instead of two.  

 

I called the insurance company, and they said that because our port of call was not changed, we have no claim.

 

???????????????????

 

Itinerary Change (prior to departure)
Maximum Benefit up to $100 per Trip
Itinerary Change – Inconvenience (after departure)
Maximum Benefit up to $100 per Trip
Itinerary Change – Pre-paid Excursion (after departure)
Maximum Benefit up to $250 per Trip
Missed Connection (3 hours)
Maximum Benefit up to $500 per Trip
Trip Cancellation
Maximum Benefit 100% of Trip Cost
Trip Interruption
Maximum Benefit 125% of Trip Cost
Trip Interruption for any Reason
Maximum Benefit up to $250 per Trip
Trip Delay (6 hours)
Maximum Benefit up to $500 per Trip / $100 per day

 

 

ITINERARY CHANGE
In the event a Cruise makes a Change in Your Trip Itinerary prior to Your actual departure date we will pay up to the Maximum Benefit shown on the Confirmation of Coverage.
Change in Your Trip Itinerary shall mean the Cruise has a documented change of Port of Call from the scheduled itinerary.
Verification by the Cruise of the change in the scheduled Trip Itinerary will be necessary for claim payment.

 

I'm very disappointed.  Oh well.

 

[I_r_a]

Bummer.

 

Yes, you can tell us the name of the insurance co.

 

Ira

If anyone questions you, tell them I said it was OK.  🙂

[Clarea]

Please do tell us the insurance company.

[LadyBerard]

Nationwide Universal Cruise Insurance.

 

[tOSUSteve]

I can see why they would deny Itinerary Change, but did you ask about Trip Delay?

[LadyBerard]

2 minutes ago, tOSUSteve said:

I can see why they would deny Itinerary Change, but did you ask about Trip Delay?

Yes I did.  The rep. denied it.

 

[cruisinfanatic]

1 minute ago, LadyBerard said:

Yes I did.  The rep. denied it.

 

Because you are not out anything

[Pratique]

I bet trip delay means a delay getting to the ship, not a delay of the ship, but I would reread the policy if I were you and call them back. Don't give up too easily.

[tOSUSteve]

Just now, LadyBerard said:

Yes I did.  The rep. denied it.

 

Did they state what the criteria is for trip delay?

The reason they denied the itinerary is your port of call did not change

[LadyBerard]

Just now, tOSUSteve said:

Did they state what the criteria is for trip delay?

The reason they denied the itinerary is your port of call did not change

I know that now.  lol.  

 

[DrivesLikeMario]

I had the same problem when the Summit was having engine problems and half of our cruise was cut out.  Insurance did not apply to that situation.  Really frustrating.  I feel your pain.

[LadyBerard]

1 minute ago, DrivesLikeMario said:

I had the same problem when the Summit was having engine problems and half of our cruise was cut out.  Insurance did not apply to that situation.  Really frustrating.  I feel your pain.

I'm just a little annoyed.  I paid more for this insurance policy than others would have cost without those coverages.  I guess, if we had to go to Canada instead of Bermuda, we could have collected something.  It's no big deal, just a little frustrating though.  That's what happens when you don't carefully read the fine print.  lol

[kochleffel]

9 minutes ago, Pratique said:

I bet trip delay means a delay getting to the ship, not a delay of the ship, but I would reread the policy if I were you and call them back. Don't give up too easily.

 

I know that trip delay includes a delay in returning - to use a recent example, when ships could not return on schedule to Florida ports last weekend or, an older example, when a volcanic eruption in Iceland cause transatlantic flights to be cancelled. I'm not sure how it would apply to a delay in the ship's departure, especially if passengers could board the ship on the scheduled day and spend the night in their staterooms, albeit still in port. Even so, I'd expect it only to cover extra costs incurred, not the passenger's choice to cancel altogether.

[Pratique]

All of these policies seem to have a catch. They're really only good for exceptional situations.

 

Is Royal offering any compensation for the change? OBC? Not that they have to, but it would be a nice gesture.

[gandt]

They are offering reimbursement for the one day missed in the form of credit and a 1 day credit towards a future cruise. 

[AshleyDillo]

Coverage will not begin until you leave your house.  They spell that out in the policy.  If your cruise is delayed and your prior plans were to arrive the day before, then you can file for trip delay as long as you travel to your embarkation port as scheduled.  You will be reimbursed per the policy's schedule of coverages for trip delay and that's the type of claim you file.  Travel insurance policies consist of several different types of coverage and only trip cancellation coverage will apply if you haven't left your house for the trip.

 

Just went through this on my shortened Allure of the Seas cruise.

 

 

[fredflint]

What about travel changes do you have any cost there?

[MrMarc]

Tell them you are making a claim for the day where the port of call was changed (the day you are not in Bermuda).  In other words the port(or lack of port) for that day has changed.

[papaflamingo]

4 hours ago, gandt said:

They are offering reimbursement for the one day missed in the form of credit and a 1 day credit towards a future cruise. 

One would have to see the policy to really address this. But since Royal Caribbean is reimbursing you for the delayed departure and lost day with credit and FCC,  why would the insurance company also pay?  You aren't out any money because of this delay are you?  And you are getting compensation from the cruise line.  So it seems reasonable for the insurance company to deny this. 

Again, I haven't read the policy, so just guessing here.  

[AshleyDillo]

1 hour ago, papaflamingo said:

why would the insurance company also pay? 

There is a missed or cancelled port coverage out there.  I haven't seen the exact policy language but it typically is a flat amount for a skipped or cancelled port.  Even if the cruise line gives you OBC or refunds port fees this policy will still pay out.  It's a pretty unique coverage in that you can make a claim for this happening prior to taking the cruise and also during the cruise.

[motheroftwocats814]

30 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said:

There is a missed or cancelled port coverage out there.  I haven't seen the exact policy language but it typically is a flat amount for a skipped or cancelled port.  Even if the cruise line gives you OBC or refunds port fees this policy will still pay out.  It's a pretty unique coverage in that you can make a claim for this happening prior to taking the cruise and also during the cruise.

Allianz has a missed port of call up to three ports! 100 dollars for the missed port of call.

 

[Saab4444]

Would 100 USD reimbursement make the changed itinerary any better? 

[robandana]

Insurance companies have great lawyers to write their contracts. They know just how to word things.....the house always wins....

 

 

[LadyBerard]

10 hours ago, papaflamingo said:

One would have to see the policy to really address this. But since Royal Caribbean is reimbursing you for the delayed departure and lost day with credit and FCC,  why would the insurance company also pay?  You aren't out any money because of this delay are you?  And you are getting compensation from the cruise line.  So it seems reasonable for the insurance company to deny this. 

Again, I haven't read the policy, so just guessing here.  

NCFs and government taxes are quite high for Bermuda sailings.  The one day they are giving back is not including those fees.  

[Judyrem]

16 hours ago, LadyBerard said:

Nationwide Universal Cruise Insurance.

 

I had issues with Nationwide when my sister was in intensive care while I was in France.  They were absolutely hideous and I will never use them again.