Delayed airfare purchase for future cruise

[dloy1324]

Due to pre-existing conditions we always purchase trip insurance. We have put a deposit down (8/8/20) for a cruise in May 2022 however, of course, it is too soon to purchase the airfare. How do we account for the airfare when purchasing the trip insurance? Estimate the cost for the initial premium or update policy once airfare has been purchased?

 

Thank you

[klfrodo]

Pay as you go

Purchase the insurance when you pay deposit to ensure the Pre-Existing Condition coverage. Then, as you go along and make other "Non-refundable" purchases, call up your broker or travel insurance provider and include these expenses in the policy and pay the additional premium at that time.

[Babr]

2 hours ago, dloy1324 said:

Due to pre-existing conditions we always purchase trip insurance. We have put a deposit down (8/8/20) for a cruise in May 2022 however, of course, it is too soon to purchase the airfare. How do we account for the airfare when purchasing the trip insurance? Estimate the cost for the initial premium or update policy once airfare has been purchased?

 

Thank you

Since your trip is nearly two years away, I’m wondering if it makes sense to consider one of those policies that allow a pre-existing waiver at final payment.  A lot can happen in that time. Any premium you pay now is pretty much lost money if you cancel before final payment. Most companies will let you apply it to another cruise, but that matters only if you plan to or are able to cruise again.  
 

You could insure you airfare with a policy sold by the airline when you book the tickets. As long as you have a refundable deposit for the cruise, you could walk away clean before final payment.

 

Just a thought. It is something I’ve wrestled with myself when considering a cruise a long time out. I’d be happy for anyone to point out  any weakness in this line of thinking. It is likely to cost more and does not allow for CFAR coverage. Anything else that could go wrong with this?

Edited August 22, 2020 by Babr

[klfrodo]

1 hour ago, Babr said:

Since your trip is nearly two years away, I’m wondering if it makes sense to consider one of those policies that allow a pre-existing waiver at final payment.  A lot can happen in that time. Any premium you pay now is pretty much lost money if you cancel before final payment. Most companies will let you apply it to another cruise, but that matters only if you plan to or are able to cruise again.  
 

You could insure you airfare with a policy sold by the airline when you book the tickets. As long as you have a refundable deposit for the cruise, you could walk away clean before final payment.

 

Just a thought. It is something I’ve wrestled with myself when considering a cruise a long time out. I’d be happy for anyone to point out  any weakness in this line of thinking. It is likely to cost more and does not allow for CFAR coverage. Anything else that could go wrong with this?

Not a bad idea. I'd have to look at the numbers. (Maybe next time for me)

If all things being equal, sure, why not.

 

What would cause me to pause is if the medical  coverage numbers, or the evac coverage numbers, or the Primary vs. Secondary numbers, or the Trip Delay time numbers were outside of my comfort zone.

 

Okay, I just looked

 

CSA Freestyle has a policy where you buy at Final and it waives PEC (the only one I could see)

6.87% of total trip cost

Medical is $50K max and is secondary

Evac is $250K

Trip Delay $150/day after 6 hours

Look Back period is 180 days

 

Travel Insured was $30 more buy must buy within 21 days of deposit to waive PEC

7.12% of total trip cost

$100K medical and is Primary

Evac is $1M

Trip Delay is $200/day after 6 hours

Look back period is 60 days

 

This was on Tripinsurancestore  I used Missouri as the state of residence and trip cost of $6K per person in their 60's.

[Babr]

12 hours ago, klfrodo said:

Not a bad idea. I'd have to look at the numbers. (Maybe next time for me)

If all things being equal, sure, why not.

 

What would cause me to pause is if the medical  coverage numbers, or the evac coverage numbers, or the Primary vs. Secondary numbers, or the Trip Delay time numbers were outside of my comfort zone.

 

Okay, I just looked

 

CSA Freestyle has a policy where you buy at Final and it waives PEC (the only one I could see)

6.87% of total trip cost

Medical is $50K max and is secondary

Evac is $250K

Trip Delay $150/day after 6 hours

Look Back period is 180 days

 

Travel Insured was $30 more buy must buy within 21 days of deposit to waive PEC

7.12% of total trip cost

$100K medical and is Primary

Evac is $1M

Trip Delay is $200/day after 6 hours

Look back period is 60 days

 

This was on Tripinsurancestore  I used Missouri as the state of residence and trip cost of $6K per person in their 60's.

 

Good point.

 

I found a couple of policies from Nationwide on insuremytrip. Both allowed for a pre-existing waiver at final payment, but they were more expensive than the ones you found. I used the same cost as your example, but different state and ages. The age difference probably impacts cost, but anyone interested can enter their own information.  The point is that there are some options. The question is whether they are workable options.

 

Nationwide Choice about 11% of premium

$100,000 medical-secondary

$5000,000 evacuation

60 day look- back

6+ hour delay / $150 per day / $750 max

 

Nationwide Luxury about 13% of premium

$150,000 medical-secondary

$1,000,000 evacuation

60 day look-back

6+ hour delay / $200 per day /$1,000 max

 

The question of primary/secondary has never been a deciding factor for me. I see it mostly as a matter of convenience to deal with only one set of claims. I can see where it could be of special interest to someone on Medicare plus a supplement plan. It is my understanding that the supplement plans have a lifetime limit for out-of-country care. In that case, someone might want to have the travel plan as primary to protect that limit. Even with a primary travel plan, if medical coverage is inadequate, it is possible that one would have to tap the secondary coverage -whether it is a supplement or not - and pay the out-of-pocket costs. Having the travel policy as secondary requires more paperwork for filing a claim, but it would pick up all the excess  expenses such as deductibles and co-pays for what will be out-of-network costs.

 

As far as look-back, shorter is better; but it does not matter if you qualify for the waiver, correct? One of the conditions to qualify is to insure the full cost of the trip. I wonder if insuring the airfare separately makes any difference. That way you could still buy the airfare whenever the opportunity presents itself, and insure the cruise closer to final payment. As long as you insure the cost of anything for which you might file a claim, that should satisfy the condition. 
 

The other two conditions are to buy the policy on or before final payment and be able to travel on the day it is purchased. If you are not able to travel, you don’t buy the policy and cancel the cruise. No money lost on the premium. No money lost on the deposit. Deal with airfare separately. Seems as if it could work.