Insurance question please.

[portcbob]

Hi fellow Aussie Cruisers 

Does anyone have knowledge of an Insurance Company that will cover you for your cruise if you come down with Covid pre cruise and you have to cancel?

Research has told me the circumnavigation cruise around Australia albeit sounds Domestic is infact classified as International as the Doctor/s on board will be American.

PS. Some companies will give only $2500 each pax coverage for pre cruise cancellation which won't cut it on a $20,000 cruise.

 

[Aus Traveller]

The complimentary travel insurance under the ANZ Platinum Visa card will cover you and your companion if you are diagnosed with COVID. For international cruises, the limit on cancellation is $20,000.

 

To be eligible for this insurance, a person obviously has to have the card, spend at least $250 of the cost of the trip on the card and we aged 80 years or less when they book the trip.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Apparently some of the travel insurers are in the process of updating their policies now the resumption of cruising has been announced. I did see something from Covermore saying new policies will come out '"in a few weeks" and I've heard Insure&Go should have something in about four weeks.

 

The Princess Cruise with Confidence promise covers cruises through September so you have until a month before embarkation to find suitable insurance or cancel and if you do cancel any cancellation fees are given back as FCCs. 

 

I'm not even going to start looking for travel insurance for my late June cruise until next month.

[NSWP]

39 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

The complimentary travel insurance under the ANZ Platinum Visa card will cover you and your companion if you are diagnosed with COVID. For international cruises, the limit on cancellation is $20,000.

 

To be eligible for this insurance, a person obviously has to have the card, spend at least $250 of the cost of the trip on the card and we aged 80 years or less when they book the trip.

And the insurer - for ANZ - Allianz is prepared to give it to you, dependent on medical conditions. They knock many back including me !!

[Aus Traveller]

Just now, NSWP said:

And the insurer - for ANZ - Allianz is prepared to give it to you, dependent on medical conditions. They knock many back including me !!

Sorry about that. 😢

[NSWP]

2 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

Sorry about that. 😢

I have no tears left to shed.

[Aus Traveller]

Just now, NSWP said:

I have no tears left to shed.

Understood. 💘

[possum52]

We have decided not to cruise this year so have booked a trip to Cairns for ten days in July/August. I have been looking at domestic travel insurance to cover us in case we have to cancel, particularly for Covid cover.

 

Usually I have only ever taken domestic travel insurance to cover loss of luggage etc so has not cost us very much.

 

I am surprised that all the travel insurance poliices I have looked at include medical screening for each person on the policy. Has that always been the case for domestic policies or is new because of Covid? As medical is not covered because we have Medicare, I wonder why it is required.

[Aus Traveller]

1 minute ago, possum52 said:

We have decided not to cruise this year so have booked a trip to Cairns for ten days in July/August. I have been looking at domestic travel insurance to cover us in case we have to cancel, particularly for Covid cover.

 

Usually I have only ever taken domestic travel insurance to cover loss of luggage etc so has not cost us very much.

 

I am surprised that all the travel insurance poliices I have looked at include medical screening for each person on the policy. Has that always been the case for domestic policies or is new because of Covid? As medical is not covered because we have Medicare, I wonder why it is required.

If you are both under 81 years of age (I think you are), I suggest you consider the complimentary ANZ Platinum Visa insurance. You only have to spend $250 of the travel cost on the card. I covers COVID cover if you or your travel companion are diagnosed positive, but it does not cover you if you change your mind because you are concerned you might get COVID. That would probably be the case with any insurance that covers COVID.

[possum52]

2 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

If you are both under 81 years of age (I think you are), I suggest you consider the complimentary ANZ Platinum Visa insurance. You only have to spend $250 of the travel cost on the card. I covers COVID cover if you or your travel companion are diagnosed positive, but it does not cover you if you change your mind because you are concerned you might get COVID. That would probably be the case with any insurance that covers COVID.

Thanks but we don't have an ANZ visa card and don't intend to get one. 

[Aus Traveller]

4 minutes ago, possum52 said:

Thanks but we don't have an ANZ visa card and don't intend to get one. 

OK. Just thought I would mention it. 🙂

 

It has worked well for us. For $89 a year we have insurance on all our cruises. The only cost comes if we have to claim. The excess is now $300 for international.

Edited April 6, 2022 by Aus Traveller

[MMDown Under]

10 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

OK. Just thought I would mention it. 🙂

 

It has worked well for us. For $89 a year we have insurance on all our cruises. The only cost comes if we have to claim. The excess is now $300 for international.

Sounds a good deal to me esp if you are frequent cruisers What is excess for domestic cruises?

[Aus Traveller]

2 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

Sounds a good deal to me esp if you are frequent cruisers What is excess for domestic cruises?

Domestic insurance under the ANZ platinum Visa card travel insurance.

 

EXCESSES – WHAT YOU CONTRIBUTE TO A CLAIM
You must pay the following excess amounts for each claim made under the following covers even if a number of claims are submitted on the one claim form. However If you make more than one claim as the result of a single event, the highest excess will apply but will only apply once.
Section Excess amount
1.1 Cancellation $100
2.1 Travel Delay Expenses Nil
3.1 Additional Expenses $100
4.1 Luggage $100
4.2 Luggage Delay Nil

[aussiecruiser66]

Aus Traveller

 

We used to always buy 1Cover Annual Multi Trip Travel Insurance, but now they don't seem to want to know us. Our ages are 67 and 65.

We both have Platinum Visa credit cards so have decided to use their travel insurance from now on, as we always pay for our trips on their cards.

My question is- Is there some form of document that I can print, that proves we have ANZ Platinum Travel Insurance, that we can show if necessary to prove that we are covered by Travel Insurance. We are going to Fiji for a week in September and apparently we need to be able to show that we have Insurance.

 

Thanks in advance

[Aus Traveller]

28 minutes ago, aussiecruiser66 said:

Aus Traveller

 

We used to always buy 1Cover Annual Multi Trip Travel Insurance, but now they don't seem to want to know us. Our ages are 67 and 65.

We both have Platinum Visa credit cards so have decided to use their travel insurance from now on, as we always pay for our trips on their cards.

My question is- Is there some form of document that I can print, that proves we have ANZ Platinum Travel Insurance, that we can show if necessary to prove that we are covered by Travel Insurance. We are going to Fiji for a week in September and apparently we need to be able to show that we have Insurance.

 

Thanks in advance

When I went on an Antarctic cruise I had to have proof of travel insurance. I was able to print out verification although it isn't an actual numbered policy. It was acceptable for my trip. I suggest you look at the PDF on line and print it out. This is what it says about proof of insurance:

LETTER OF ELIGIBILITY FOR INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL INSURANCE
You can obtain written confirmation of eligibility for cover for your overseas journey based on the answers you give us, by applying online at: www.checkyourcover.com.au/anz. If you provide us with incorrect answers to the questions we ask you, you may not be eligible for cover under the group policy issued to ANZ.

 

By the way, before I went to Antarctica I phoned the insurer and asked several questions to make sure I would be adequately covered for my trip. I was.

[aussiecruiser66]

Thanks so much for your reply and suggestions. I will do as you suggest.

[NSWP]

15 hours ago, aussiecruiser66 said:

Aus Traveller

 

We used to always buy 1Cover Annual Multi Trip Travel Insurance, but now they don't seem to want to know us. Our ages are 67 and 65.

We both have Platinum Visa credit cards so have decided to use their travel insurance from now on, as we always pay for our trips on their cards.

My question is- Is there some form of document that I can print, that proves we have ANZ Platinum Travel Insurance, that we can show if necessary to prove that we are covered by Travel Insurance. We are going to Fiji for a week in September and apparently we need to be able to show that we have Insurance.

 

Thanks in advance

When we used our ANZ card for travel insurance, I requested a letter, but ANZ and QBE the insurer at the time said 'The ANZ Platinum Card booklet available from branches is your certificate'? Uh?  These days Allianz is the insuer for ANZ.

[Aus Traveller]

12 minutes ago, NSWP said:

When we used our ANZ card for travel insurance, I requested a letter, but ANZ and QBE the insurer at the time said 'The ANZ Platinum Card booklet available from branches is your certificate'? Uh?  These days Allianz is the insuer for ANZ.

When I went on a cruise to Antarctica in 2017, I was able to get written proof of insurance from the ANZ's insurer (probably Alllianz but I can't remember).

[NSWP]

56 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

When I went on a cruise to Antarctica in 2017, I was able to get written proof of insurance from the ANZ's insurer (probably Alllianz but I can't remember).

It was QBE in 2017.

[aussiecruiser66]

UPDATE

 

I went on to have a look at the ANZ Travel Insurance Policy booklet.

A new booklet has been released and comes into effect on 27.4.22, with a few changes to the old policy.

There was a link that I could go onto which allowed me to find out if we were eligible for the travel insurance for a particular destination.

The link is checkyourcover.com.au/anz

 

You fill out a few simple questions, press submit and it came up that we were eligible. Then it asked if I would like a written confirmation of eligibility for cover. I filled in my email address and I have now printed out the document to take with me to Fiji.

 

Too easy and great peace of mind.

 

I hope this help others.

 

Cheers 🥂

[Aus Traveller]

I have done some quick research on the different credit card insurances available. There are differences, even when they are under-written by the same insurer (Alllianz). This discussion has been on the Roll Call for the 2023 WC.

 

Someone who has an NAB CC mentioned an annual fee of $450. ANZ is $87. HSBC has no charge.

 

NAB has a cut-off age of 75 (according to the post); with ANZ the trip has to be booked before the person's 81st birthday. HSBC doesn't have an age limit (as far as we can find out).

 

Length of trip - ANZ is limited to six months. HSBC is limited to four months.

 

 

 

 

[NSWP]

I am still researching cruises and travel insurance. With my medical issues the best I have come up with so far is 1Cover.

[Cruisers47]

2 hours ago, aussiecruiser66 said:

UPDATE

 

I went on to have a look at the ANZ Travel Insurance Policy booklet.

A new booklet has been released and comes into effect on 27.4.22, with a few changes to the old policy.

There was a link that I could go onto which allowed me to find out if we were eligible for the travel insurance for a particular destination.

The link is checkyourcover.com.au/anz

 

You fill out a few simple questions, press submit and it came up that we were eligible. Then it asked if I would like a written confirmation of eligibility for cover. I filled in my email address and I have now printed out the document to take with me to Fiji.

 

Too easy and great peace of mind.

 

I hope this help others.

 

Cheers 🥂

That’s sounds really good.    We have a Bankwest credit card and get insurance through them.   The credit card is no cost,   Before Covid I phoned and asked for a letter confirming we were covered and they sent me a letter confirming .  This is terrific but if you do not have a good credit card as a self funded retiree it is very difficult to get a good credit card even if you have a considerable amount of savings.   But if you are young and only have started your first job you can get a credit card.   Ridiculous.   A friend was told as a self funded retiree she could withdraw all her cash and spend it and not be able to pay the credit card.   
 

eileen 

[Aus Traveller]

22 minutes ago, Cruisers47 said:

That’s sounds really good.    We have a Bankwest credit card and get insurance through them.   The credit card is no cost,   Before Covid I phoned and asked for a letter confirming we were covered and they sent me a letter confirming .  This is terrific but if you do not have a good credit card as a self funded retiree it is very difficult to get a good credit card even if you have a considerable amount of savings.   But if you are young and only have started your first job you can get a credit card.   Ridiculous.   A friend was told as a self funded retiree she could withdraw all her cash and spend it and not be able to pay the credit card.   
 

eileen 

What a silly comment. If a person has enough cash/assets to be a self-funded retiree, it is reasonable to assume they can look after their money. They wouldn't spend it all and not be able to pay their CC.

 

We are self-funded retirees with substantial assets. Several years ago we had one credit card with a $10,000 limit. My husband wouldn't let me quote the number on line in case the card was hacked and we would have all sorts of problems. My solution was to get a second CC with a $2,000 limit that we would use for any on line or phone purchases. Before the bank would give us the card, they insisted on reducing the limit on our main credit card by $2,000. We refused on principle. In addition, when we want to pay for cruises on our 'main' CC, we need a reasonably high limit. Anyway, the bank backed down. They usually do if you threaten to take your business elsewhere.

 

I haven't investigated the travel insurance with Bankwest or Westpac. Maybe I should.

[Aus Traveller]

47 minutes ago, Cruisers47 said:

That’s sounds really good.    We have a Bankwest credit card and get insurance through them.   The credit card is no cost,   Before Covid I phoned and asked for a letter confirming we were covered and they sent me a letter confirming . 

I had a quick look at the Bankwest pds. It states that it doesn't cover COVID-related claims. This may change in the future. Here is a cut and paste.

 

Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Please note that this event is excluded from cover for all destinations. For more information please see here.