Cancellation/Interruption Insurance

[koolforkatz]

Does anyone know of a Canadian insurance company that provides this as it relates to Covid? I have read a couple of policies that suggest perhaps they do, but in one sentence they'll say something and then in the next something that seems to negate what they've just said. Insurance goes way over my head.

 

I will be sailing with Celebrity in June and their current Covid refund policy expires the end of the month and so far no signs that they're going to extend it. If we test positive we'll be out all our cruse fare as we will be outside the Cruise with Confidence window. 

 

 

[macmax]

Have you looked at Manulife?

https://www.igoinsured.com/TravelWeb/Announcement/COVID19FLYER2021E.pdf

[koolforkatz]

29 minutes ago, macmax said:

Have you looked at Manulife?

https://www.igoinsured.com/TravelWeb/Announcement/COVID19FLYER2021E.pdf

 

Thanks, @macmax. I will certainly consider them for their quarantine coverage but as far as I can see they don't provide cancellation/insurane. If I'm reading Allianz correctly on their website, I think they might, but not sure. 

 

Was hoping some others might know, especially with Celebrity's possible end to their Covid refund policy. 

[macmax]

1 minute ago, koolforkatz said:

 

Thanks, @macmax. I will certainly consider them for their quarantine coverage but as far as I can see they don't provide cancellation/insurane. If I'm reading Allianz correctly on their website, I think they might, but not sure. 

 

Was hoping some others might know, especially with Celebrity's possible end to their Covid refund policy. 

Manulife also sells a Non-med pkg that includes C&I that can be combined with their Covid policy.

[koolforkatz]

5 minutes ago, macmax said:

Manulife also sells a Non-med pkg that includes C&I that can be combined with their Covid policy.

 

Thanks. I took a look at their C&I but wasn't sure if it covered for Covid. I find insurance policies incredibly challenging to decipher :) 

[AlbertaCruisers]

I was able to find the below link from Manulife.  It looks like COVID may currently be covered with regular Medical coverage and if you had to cancel because you got COVID and couldn't travel regular cancellation travel insurance should cover as well.

 

https://www.manulife.ca/page/covid-19-statement.html

[koolforkatz]

Thanks, @albertacruisers. That looks like it would work for cancellation. But not sure if it provides much as far as interruption insurance. That is really what we need were we to test positive the day before cruise.  I think I've seen one company that would pay us back cost of cruise and any other nonrefundable portion of trip.  Not cheap, but at least we would get all our money back.

 

[AlbertaCruisers]

Sorry, to clarify, I sent an email to Manulife to try and get further information, and the bounce back email had some FAQs, including the below, so it looks like they won't cover travel, but this doesn't seem to be true on the Canadian Government website?  The website only says to avoid cruise ship travel if you are not fully vaccinated.

 

10. Has there been a change to the Travel Advisory for cruises?  

Currently, we do not have any new information regarding cruises outside of Canada. The Canadian Government still advises Canadians to “Avoid All Cruise Ship Travel” outside of Canada. The Manulife COVID-19 Pandemic Travel Plan offers coverage for COVID-19 and related complications for fully vaccinated cruise passengers.  

 

[AlbertaCruisers]

29 minutes ago, AlbertaCruisers said:

Sorry, to clarify, I sent an email to Manulife to try and get further information, and the bounce back email had some FAQs, including the below, so it looks like they won't cover travel, but this doesn't seem to be true on the Canadian Government website?  The website only says to avoid cruise ship travel if you are not fully vaccinated.

 

10. Has there been a change to the Travel Advisory for cruises?  

Currently, we do not have any new information regarding cruises outside of Canada. The Canadian Government still advises Canadians to “Avoid All Cruise Ship Travel” outside of Canada. The Manulife COVID-19 Pandemic Travel Plan offers coverage for COVID-19 and related complications for fully vaccinated cruise passengers.  

 

 

I believe this is old, because other travel insurance companies have said this has been lifted, but its unfortunate they have this in there information and it is impossible to get anyone on the phone!

[LHT28]

I have used  TIPS   pre covid  

https://gowithtips.com/

 

We did one cancellation before leaving the Country & one trip we had  to return home mid way through the cruise  with RSA

the claim was paid within 2 mths  as I recall

https://www.rsagroup.ca/

 

you can call & speak to them with any concerns & pick the coverage  that works for your needs

 

[latebuyer]

I phoned manulife and one person said cancellation covers covid and one said it doesn’t. I don’t think it does because you notice on their website they carefully separate out their pandemic medical insurance from cancellation. In my research i found allianz does and at one point td insurance as well but really low quarantine coverage with td.

[koolforkatz]

Thank you everyone for your help with this, @AlbertaCruisers and @latebuyerfor sharing your Manulife info and @LHT28for suggesting TIPS.

 

The way I read it, I think perhaps Manulife does not cover cancellation related to Covid. I could try calling but I've heard it takes forever to get to speak to someone.

 

Allianz was the insurance company I was referring to that I thought, if i was reading the policy correctly, did cover C&I for Covid. So I will follow up more with them.

Edited April 19, 2022 by koolforkatz

[macmax]

30 minutes ago, koolforkatz said:

Thank you everyone for your help with this, @AlbertaCruisers and @latebuyerfor sharing your Manulife info and @LHT28for suggesting TIPS.

 

The way I read it, I think perhaps Manulife does not cover cancellation related to Covid. I could try calling but I've heard it takes forever to get to speak to someone.

 

Allianz was the insurance company I was referring to that I thought, if i was reading the policy correctly, did cover C&I for Covid. So I will follow up more with them.

Manulife (All-incl or Non-med pkg) does cover cancellation if you test positive prior to departure.

[koolforkatz]

4 minutes ago, macmax said:

Manulife (All-incl or Non-med pkg) does cover cancellation if you test positive prior to departure.

 

Thanks @macmax That looks pretty clear for cancellation. But nothing for interruption 😞  My concern is testing positive day before boarding and then we'd be out all our cruise fare. 

[macmax]

I was just on a Manulife webinar and they are now covering quarantine costs under the trip interruption part of the All-incl and/or Non-med pkg.

Your TA should be able to help you with this.

Edited April 19, 2022 by macmax

[AlbertaCruisers]

6 minutes ago, koolforkatz said:

 

Thanks @macmax That looks pretty clear for cancellation. But nothing for interruption 😞  My concern is testing positive day before boarding and then we'd be out all our cruise fare. 

 

When I sent an email for information to: am_info <am_info@manulife.ca, I got an email back with a lot of information.  This is what it says for cancellation and interruption (but the same email has wrong information about the cruise advisory still being in place, so who knows):

• For Trip Cancellation:  
  
  COVID-19 is still considered a known event in relation to Travel Advisory status changes, and a Trip Cancellation claim will not be paid if an individual cancels their trip for a reason related to COVID-19, except for one of the three events mentioned below in Question #5.  
  
  For Trip Interruption:  
  
  COVID-19 is still considered a known event in relation to Travel Advisory status changes and Trip Interruption claims related to COVID-19 would not be covered.  
  
  5. Is Trip Cancellation Insurance impacted by the Travel Advisory change?  
  
  No, Trip Cancellation is not impacted by the Advisory change. Until further notice, Manulife still considers COVID-19 a known event.  
• EXCEPTIONS: The following three events are not considered known events if they occur after the purchase of your Trip Cancellation insurance:  

1. Your sickness (accompanied by a medical certificate) due to contracting COVID-19 that prevents you from travelling as planned.  
2. A positive COVID-19 test result (accompanied by a medical certificate) within 72 hours before your departure from home which prevents you from travelling as planned.  
3. Your job loss as a result of the pandemic impact at your place of employment.  
   
   6. Will Trip Cancellation Insurance provide coverage for events related to COVID-19 on any policy that is issued on or after February 28, 2022?  
   
   No, Manulife continues to consider COVID-19 as a known event and benefits are not eligible for claims related to COVID-19, except for the three events mentioned above in Question #5.  
    
   7. If the Travel Advisory changes to “Avoid Non-Essential Travel” or “Avoid All Travel” due to COVID-19 after February 28, 2022, will I be able to cancel my trip and be reimbursed for the non-refundable component?  
   
   No, Manulife continues to consider COVID-19 as a known event and Trip Cancellation benefits are not eligible for claims related to COVID-19, except for the three events mentioned above in Question #5. This applies to any policy that was purchased after March 5, 2020.   
   
   8. Is Trip Interruption Insurance impacted by the Travel Advisory change?  
   
   Yes, Trip Interruption Insurance is impacted by the Travel Advisory change. The following two events will now be considered for Trip Interruption coverage:  

1. Your sickness (accompanied by a medical certificate) due to contracting COVID-19 that prevents you from travelling as planned.  

A positive COVID-19 test result (accompanied by a medical certificate) during your trip which prevents you from travelling as planned.  

Note: The two events mentioned above will not apply if the Advisory reverts to “Avoid Non-Essential Travel”.  

[koolforkatz]

Thanks, @AlbertaCruisers. Looks like cancellation, maybe, is covered. But trip interruption definitely is not. I know I can get quarantine insurance coverage which is pretty good. But what I really want is interruption insurance that will pay me back for nonrefundable costs, i.e. the cruise fare if I can't board ship.

 

So far, and without picking up the phone to call Manulife, Allianz looks like the best bet.

[cachouonacruise]

First I just checked the website Travel.gc.ca and it no longer advises to Avoid all cruises. That advice was reduced around March 7. This said, there is still a warning for unvaccinated passengers.

 

Trip cancellation/interruption versus Covid. 
 

Our upcoming cruise is in June 2022, our final payment was in March. Had a lot of soul searching, taking in consideration the Celebrity Cruise with confidence program and other printed documents from Insurance providers. So I called Manulife and the company associated with my credit card. Twice each.

 

First, given that I am already insured through my former employer group insurance for medical related cost including Covid. I did not look into that.

 

I was trying to insure the cost of a cancellation insurance/trip interruption due to Covid and the need to extend my stay/quarantine prior to my return home as a result of a positive test.

 

Nuances that I have learned. There is Covid and the is testing positive for covid.

 

Because the Covid context is known, insurances will not cover if a whole cruise is cancelled because of Covid. (I am hoping, the cruise line will refund in that case)

 

Testing positive for Covid. Both companies would cover the trip cancellation/interruption since the government removed the "Avoid all cruises, warning".

 

From memory, with Manulife, I needed to purchase two insurances: their normal one plus their specific Covid policy. From my credit card, since we're already partially covered, I only needed to update the covered amount, which was cheaper, to obtain the coverage I was looking for.

 

Hope this helps!

 

P.s. I really suggest to speak to a representative directly to ensure that all your specifics are understood and covered.... The only wording.....is.... what it is.

 

 

[macmax]

Manulife DOES cover Trip Interruption if you test positive within 72 hrs.

 

[latebuyer]

Manulife seems to have similar wording to allianz and i wonder if they are just trying to specify that it won't be covered if covid cases increase, you are only covered if you are actually sick.

[macmax]

2 minutes ago, latebuyer said:

Manulife seems to have similar wording to allianz and i wonder if they are just trying to specify that it won't be covered if covid cases increase, you are only covered if you are actually sick.

 

You would need to provide the positive test result from a medical practitioner, lab, pharmacy etc not a rapid antigen test that you administer yourself.  The coverages may change if the Gov't raises the travel warning to avoid travel.

[koolforkatz]

1 hour ago, cachouonacruise said:

First I just checked the website Travel.gc.ca and it no longer advises to Avoid all cruises. That advice was reduced around March 7. This said, there is still a warning for unvaccinated passengers.

 

Trip cancellation/interruption versus Covid. 
 

Our upcoming cruise is in June 2022, our final payment was in March. Had a lot of soul searching, taking in consideration the Celebrity Cruise with confidence program and other printed documents from Insurance providers. So I called Manulife and the company associated with my credit card. Twice each.

 

First, given that I am already insured through my former employer group insurance for medical related cost including Covid. I did not look into that.

 

I was trying to insure the cost of a cancellation insurance/trip interruption due to Covid and the need to extend my stay/quarantine prior to my return home as a result of a positive test.

 

Nuances that I have learned. There is Covid and the is testing positive for covid.

 

Because the Covid context is known, insurances will not cover if a whole cruise is cancelled because of Covid. (I am hoping, the cruise line will refund in that case)

 

Testing positive for Covid. Both companies would cover the trip cancellation/interruption since the government removed the "Avoid all cruises, warning".

 

From memory, with Manulife, I needed to purchase two insurances: their normal one plus their specific Covid policy. From my credit card, since we're already partially covered, I only needed to update the covered amount, which was cheaper, to obtain the coverage I was looking for.

 

Hope this helps!

 

P.s. I really suggest to speak to a representative directly to ensure that all your specifics are understood and covered.... The only wording.....is.... what it is.

 

 

 

Thank you! Very helpful. Yes, I would definitely speak to someone rather than just purchasing it online.

[koolforkatz]

1 hour ago, macmax said:

 

You would need to provide the positive test result from a medical practitioner, lab, pharmacy etc not a rapid antigen test that you administer yourself.  The coverages may change if the Gov't raises the travel warning to avoid travel.

 

Interesting. Thanks for pointing that out. I guess a proctored rapid antigen test would be okay?  But something to consider.

[AlbertaCruisers]

2 hours ago, macmax said:

Manulife DOES cover Trip Interruption if you test positive within 72 hrs.

 

 

Can you let me know where these screen shots are from, these are really helpful.

 

Edit - I see now, these may be from a webinar.  

 

Does anyone know if this information is anywhere on Manulife's website?

Edited April 19, 2022 by AlbertaCruisers

[koolforkatz]

13 minutes ago, AlbertaCruisers said:

 

Can you let me know where these screen shots are from, these are really helpful.

 

Edit - I see now, these may be from a webinar.  

 

Does anyone know if this information is anywhere on Manulife's website?

 

I'd like to know too. I definitely haven't seen that on their website.