Insure the airfare?

[GeezerCouple]

3 hours ago, Willwils said:

For a 1/22/24 15 night Panama canal cruise we purchased the IMG SE policy from InsureMyTrip on 6/10/23 where the original deposit was made on 6/1/23. Therefore, we should be within the window to get the preexisting waiver. But, as others have written, we have not yet booked our air. Unless I use Princess EZ-Air(no $$ due until  final cruise payment), it seems too early to book the air. But then, there's that issue of jeopardizing the preexisting and/or whether I need air coverage at all. The post cruise air is from LAX to PHL. I'm still confused after reading other posts and also speaking to InsureMyTrip. ANY THOUGHTS OUT THERE? 

 

Are you working with a travel insurance broker?  They can help you with all of this, and you wouldn't be stressing now.

 

FIrst, double check your own policy's "deadline" for the pre-existing waiver... it's state dependent and can be from 10 to ~20 days.

 

Second, you should not (depending upon policy, perhaps?) need to insure anything you haven't yet paid for.  So one insures the deposit only.  Then, as other payments are made, add the insurance for the additional amount.  NO need to insure the total cost of the trip months (or years!?) in advance.  At final payment for a cruise, then add coverage for that big payment, all within the same deadlines, and you'll be fine.

 

You only insure non-refundable payments.  So for example, with our awards flights, we insure the "fee" that we would pay if we needed to re-bank our points or switch to a different flight if a covered event required us to interrupt, change or cancel our reservations.  Will your flights we non-refundable, or just fees for cancelling?

GC

[Willwils]

4 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

Are you working with a travel insurance broker?  They can help you with all of this, and you wouldn't be stressing now.

 

FIrst, double check your own policy's "deadline" for the pre-existing waiver... it's state dependent and can be from 10 to ~20 days.

 

Second, you should not (depending upon policy, perhaps?) need to insure anything you haven't yet paid for.  So one insures the deposit only.  Then, as other payments are made, add the insurance for the additional amount.  NO need to insure the total cost of the trip months (or years!?) in advance.  At final payment for a cruise, then add coverage for that big payment, all within the same deadlines, and you'll be fine.

 

You only insure non-refundable payments.  So for example, with our awards flights, we insure the "fee" that we would pay if we needed to re-bank our points or switch to a different flight if a covered event required us to interrupt, change or cancel our reservations.  Will your flights we non-refundable, or just fees for cancelling?

GC

Thanks. Since I haven't booked my air yet, not sure what if any is refundable. When I asked InsureMyTrip agent, they said to add my air insurance  coverage when I booked the air. When do you think is best time to book air? If I use Princess EZ-AIR, which worked for criticle timing for our previous Alaska cruisetour, is doesn't matter. That's more money, but they will lower the fare if the price changes b4 final payment due. 

[Jersey42]

18 hours ago, Babr said:

In deciding to insure air fare, remember that you will likely receive a voucher if you cancel unless you book a fully refundable fare. Insurance will not reimburse in either case because you did not suffer a loss. 

I know you and others have said this in the past. Do you know if this is the case with pretty much all policies today?  My only experience with this was several years ago in early 2020 before the COVID shut down.  We canceled a cruise and our airline tickets for a covered reason. The insurance company (Nationwide) reimbursed us for the value of the air tickets after we signed their form saying the tickets would not be used. . .  The pertinent language from the form is shown below.  I am not sure if their policy is different today.

 

Your airline tickets will have transferable value until one year from the original booking date. It is necessary for us to have a document in hand from you verifying that you do not plan to use the tickets as outlined below.

 

The above noted parties agree that they do not plan to use the value of the tickets described above by themselves or by transfer/sale to another party, and that these tickets should be considered null and void. Even so, should the listed tickets be used by anyone, all parties noted above agree to reimburse Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and affiliated companies the value of the used ticket/tickets paid by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company less any fees associated with reactivating the tickets for use (except fees for use of the tickets by another party not listed above as an original ticket holder). Based on this agreement, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and affiliated companies agree to refund the full insured value of the tickets.

[Babr]

54 minutes ago, Jersey42 said:

I know you and others have said this in the past. Do you know if this is the case with pretty much all policies today?  My only experience with this was several years ago in early 2020 before the COVID shut down.  We canceled a cruise and our airline tickets for a covered reason. The insurance company (Nationwide) reimbursed us for the value of the air tickets after we signed their form saying the tickets would not be used. . .  The pertinent language from the form is shown below.  I am not sure if their policy is different today.

 

Your airline tickets will have transferable value until one year from the original booking date. It is necessary for us to have a document in hand from you verifying that you do not plan to use the tickets as outlined below.

 

The above noted parties agree that they do not plan to use the value of the tickets described above by themselves or by transfer/sale to another party, and that these tickets should be considered null and void. Even so, should the listed tickets be used by anyone, all parties noted above agree to reimburse Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and affiliated companies the value of the used ticket/tickets paid by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company less any fees associated with reactivating the tickets for use (except fees for use of the tickets by another party not listed above as an original ticket holder). Based on this agreement, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and affiliated companies agree to refund the full insured value of the tickets.

No, I don’t know if this is standard across all policies for air cancellation. I mention it as a caution so that people do not assume they are fully covered for a cash refund.

 

It does seem to be pretty standard for airlines to give vouchers for non refundable airfare so I would ask @iamtrustworthy about it before buying a policy or canceling a flight.

[Jersey42]

46 minutes ago, Babr said:

No, I don’t know if this is standard across all policies for air cancellation. I mention it as a caution so that people do not assume they are fully covered for a cash refund.

 

It does seem to be pretty standard for airlines to give vouchers for non refundable airfare so I would ask @iamtrustworthy about it before buying a policy or canceling a flight.

Hopefully Steve will provide his insights, at least for the companies he knows well. I can't find one now, but I am sure I have seen posts about people having to insure their non-refundable flights, even though they never expected to collect if they had to cancel.  I am not sure if my 2020 experience was atypical, or if it would be different today. In our case, the vouchers were for an airline we probably would not have flown on again that year, even without COVID.  I don't believe that was ever part of the reason for reimbursement.

 

I have looked at a number of policies in the past, but I can't recall one where this topic is addressed. 

[Firehunter]

On 3/5/2022 at 12:55 AM, iamtrustworthy said:

Hi Razor_Poke,

 

If you are buying a plan that requires you to insure all your prepaid trip costs, this is how it works:

 

If your airfare is 100% refundable, you don’t have to include its cost. Refundable means if you cancel your ticket you will get 100% of your money back in cash. If you receive an “E-credit” or any other reusable credit, your airfare is not refundable.

 

Steve Dasseos

 

How would you insure airfare if you have to buy a plan now to cover x days after 1st deposit for pre-existing coverage, but don't plan to buy airfare for another 8+ months and dont know the cost of it?

Edited June 15, 2023 by Firehunter
Added

[GeezerCouple]

18 minutes ago, Firehunter said:

 

How would you insure airfare if you have to buy a plan now to cover x days after 1st deposit for pre-existing coverage, but don't plan to buy airfare for another 8+ months and dont know the cost of it?

 

At least with the 3rd-party policies we get, one insures in steps, as one pays the money.  So the first payment, usually the deposit, is when we start the coverage, and just for the deposit amount (which also automatically includes the medical, so that first premium is somewhat disproportionately large).  If we then pay for a hotel or excursion, or more toward the cruise fare, or for air travel, we change the coverage and pay the extra premium (which always seems "small", because a lot of the initial premium already included some of the longer coverage!).

And that continues.

 

At least for our policies, EACH additional expense must be insured within that same 10-20 day time period to keep the pre-existing coverage.

And YES, the insurer WILL ask for all receipts and they WILL make sure that the timing of extra costs and extra premium payments match up.  We learned that the very first time we got travel insurance.

 

GC

[Firehunter]

23 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

At least with the 3rd-party policies we get, one insures in steps, as one pays the money.  So the first payment, usually the deposit, is when we start the coverage, and just for the deposit amount (which also automatically includes the medical, so that first premium is somewhat disproportionately large).  If we then pay for a hotel or excursion, or more toward the cruise fare, or for air travel, we change the coverage and pay the extra premium (which always seems "small", because a lot of the initial premium already included some of the longer coverage!).

And that continues.

 

At least for our policies, EACH additional expense must be insured within that same 10-20 day time period to keep the pre-existing coverage.

And YES, the insurer WILL ask for all receipts and they WILL make sure that the timing of extra costs and extra premium payments match up.  We learned that the very first time we got travel insurance.

 

GC

 

Oh good to know. I thought you insured the total cost of the cruise right away, not as each payment was made. Which insurance company do you normally use and have you ever had to submit a claim? I'm going to call a couple companies with some questions. With my 89 yr old MIL, insurance is pretty high.

[klfrodo]

2 minutes ago, Firehunter said:

 

Oh good to know. I thought you insured the total cost of the cruise right away, not as each payment was made. Which insurance company do you normally use and have you ever had to submit a claim? I'm going to call a couple companies with some questions. With my 89 yr old MIL, insurance is pretty high.

GC and I both recommend checking out Get the Best Trip Insurance Details, Advice (tripinsurancestore.com)

 

Don't hesitate in calling them. Pleasent to speak with and very helpful in guiding you to a coverage plan that fits YOUR needs, not their commission needs.

[GeezerCouple]

6 minutes ago, Firehunter said:

 

Oh good to know. I thought you insured the total cost of the cruise right away, not as each payment was made. Which insurance company do you normally use and have you ever had to submit a claim? I'm going to call a couple companies with some questions. With my 89 yr old MIL, insurance is pretty high.

 

Yes, as klfrodo knows, we use www.TripInsuranceStore.com

 

And we STRONGLY urge you to *call* them.  The online summaries cannot possibly include enough information for you to know for sure which is best for *your* needs.

Also, in addition to asking them questions, chances are good that they'll ask you some questions, to try to help you find the best fit policy.  (Any frail non-traveling family members?  Any pre-existing conditions, which are defined very differently for travel insurance purposes vs. our everyday usage?  Do you want coverage from the time you leave home until you return, etc., or "just the cruise"?)  And if needed, they can also help with a claim.

 

Yes, as we've mentioned several times here on CC (nope, we don't have much luck with the search function, either!), we've filed quite a few claims, including a few large ones.  And we've been paid promptly every time.

Through TIS, we get coverage from Travel Insured, but TIS works with several travel insurers.  The policy we get might not be the best fit for you, but we can certainly speak for TI's claims paying!

 

Note:  You *must* submit RECEIPTS for EVERY expense claimed, so keep all receipts.

(That meant, once, getting a handwritten letter/receipt from a physician a hotel had called for us, for example.) The insurer has the right to do their best to prevent fraud, after all...

 

We wish we didn't have so many claims, but alas... we each have several medical conditions, and until just a couple of years ago, we had a very elderly MIL (who passed just a few weeks before her 100th, fully alert until the last two weeks or so - amazing!).  IF she had been, er, less cranky, we'd have considered bringing her along.  [But... nope! 😠 ]

We've had full cancellations and other claims for each of us, plus full cancellations because of MIL's sudden medical issue.

 

TIS do not "upsell".  Quite the opposite.  Once, Steve (the owner, who had gotten to know use because of a large claim) actually suggested that for a particular trip, we did NOT need travel insurance, and he explained why.  He was correct, and he talked his way right *out* of a commission. 😉  We never forgot that! 

 

GC