Cancel for any reason insurance from Silversea Cancelled

[Genoabay]

Has anyone had an unfortunate experience of finding out that the "cancel for any reason insurance" with Silversea? As of October 1st apparently one cannot purchase the cancel for any reason insurance any longer. I am told a letter went out to all Silversea guests notifying them of a change. I have cruised 6 times with Silversea and I am a "customer" who did not receive the notification. In the absence of this information I made decisions that I would other not have done if I had been aware of this change,

Any comments? 

 

[wripro]

I.m surprised they ever offered this in the first place.

[Stumblefoot]

2 hours ago, Genoabay said:

I am told a letter went out to all Silversea guests notifying them of a change.

No letter, or email message, received about the change at our abode.

[spinnaker2]

Never heard about the change here either

[dusababy]

18 minutes ago, spinnaker2 said:

Never heard about the change here either

 Nor me either..... ?

[tripperva]

I purchased their insurance yesterday and "any reason" was not offered,although I have bought it before. The cost of their regular insurance is 10% which is similar to other choices.

[Observer]

3 hours ago, wripro said:

I.m surprised they ever offered this in the first place.

 

Agreed.  They have offered insurance with a range of allowable circumstances for cancellation, but all had clearly stated conditions.  I was not aware of a policy that flatly allowed one to cancel on a whim.  It must have been an actuary's nightmare.  Could someone provide the text for this provision?

[CruisinPashmina]

I have a vague memory of this type of trip of “Any Reason” cancellation policy immediately after the tragedy of 9/11. 

[nowornever]

We did get an e-mail a couple of months ago announcing "an exciting new partnership, " or some other hyperbole, with a company other than the one they have been using.  I don't recall a specific statement that the cancel for any reason would no longer be available but the devil is in the fine print details.  I also have a vague memory that it's a state by state thing anyway depending on your state's rules, at least for US citizens, & some do not permit that option anyway...I think we are one of them. 

[Genoabay]

Hello All

Thank you for the response. I have been purchasing cancel for any reason insurance on my cruises with Silversea for approximately 10 years now. Prior to October 1, 2019 I was able to purchase the CFAR insurance either along with the medical coverage plan or as stand alone product. If one applies the CFAR insurance to their cruise they do not receive a monetary amount in return. What one is provided is a cruise credit that you can apply to another trip with them within the next 12 month period. This CFAR is to cover the exposure during the 120 days prior to the trip where cancellation penalties occur.

 

I am not interested in cancelling an entire trip for any reason in order to whimsically use it. There are however situations in life one cannot anticipate that would not be covered under a medical plan. With the CFAR both the cruise company and the client are covered for the loss incurred should one have to cancel. The cruise company will  receive the same amount that was paid for that trip because they may not be able to sell that cabin and thus will have monetary loss. The customer is allowed to transfer the credit they receive to another cruise.

 

This product is sold by several insurers in the United States, however for people who are residents of other countries, they may not be eligible to purchase insurance in their country or they are able to purchase the insurance at a prohibitive rate that far exceeds that which Silversea formerly charged.

 

The reason for writing this post is to let others who have a CFAR insurance policy on their booked cruise, should they need to make a change or cancel in the 120 day penalty period and their use their resulting credit on a future trip, the CFAR is no longer a product they sell, thus with this knowledge they could make an informed decision. 

[Observer]

25 minutes ago, Genoabay said:

If one applies the CFAR insurance to their cruise they do not receive a monetary amount in return. What one is provided is a cruise credit that you can apply to another trip with them within the next 12 month period.

 

Thanks very much for the clarification.  I had assumed that you were describing a policy with a full monetary refund.  This arrangement makes much more sense.

[Fortunate2]

Our Silversea rep let us know it was no longer available when we booked for Spring 2021.  He knows we liked it but said they were told that it had been "abused" (his word not mine) by the trade to book and then do last minute cancelations when the cabin couldn't be sold.  On another insurance topic, we were told travel cancellation coverage has been improved (particularly for evacuation) and the price increased by point 25%, (one-quarter of one percent).