Viking Insurance Good or not?

[tango223]

We are booked on a Viking cruise which is over a year 1/2 away.  We were offered Travel insurance from Viking which included cancel for any reason & pre-existing conditions if booked within 15 days.  
 

The price is pretty good considering the above coverage. The cruise is in 2024 & if we book the insurance, we’d have to pay now. Is it a good deal?

[TayanaLorna]

7 minutes ago, tango223 said:

We are booked on a Viking cruise which is over a year 1/2 away.  We were offered Travel insurance from Viking which included cancel for any reason & pre-existing conditions if booked within 15 days.  
 

The price is pretty good considering the above coverage. The cruise is in 2024 & if we book the insurance, we’d have to pay now. Is it a good deal?

You don't really need the insurance until the 120 days before the cruise.  If for some reason you need to cancel before the 120 days, you will get a 100% refund anyways from Viking minus the $100 pp cancellation fee.  Once you pay for the insurance there is no refund of the cost of that insurance.  The cancel for any reason is nice but you will get a voucher for a future cruise not a refund.

 

I haven't been able to think of how the pre- existing conditions coverage works.  If I have high blood pressure or high cholesterol now, it still covers me if a have a heart attack on the ship.  Can't figure out what medical issue would require pre-existing condition coverage.  Anyone?

[Rusty Scupper]

Check out coverage directly from insurance companies and compare. You would get a cash refund on those policies. Our credit card provides trip cancellation--although not for any reason-- so we only purchase medical.

By my understanding, high blood pressure would not negate coverage for  heart attack. If you were diabetic and had to be hospitalized, then you could be nailed on the pre-existing condition exclusion. But don't go by that. Call the  insurance provider and get a sure answer regarding any specific condition.

[wcGma]

Pre existing condition waiver is always one big question that comes up for most travelers. AS I understand it for example, One caveat is you must be fit to fly on the day you purchase the insurance for the pre excising waiver. Chronic health conditions if stable do not preclude the waiver but I believe the medical definitions may be quite important e,g,  any tests or medicine changes could preclude. .I AM NOT AN INSURANCE EXPERT. EVERYONES SITUATION AND COMFORT LEVEL IS UNIQUE.  I found excellent advice and information at steve@tripinsurancestore.com. Very knowledgeable 

[Peregrina651]

9 minutes ago, TayanaLorna said:

You don't really need the insurance until the 120 days before the cruise.

 

Unless you or someone in your family has an existing condition which would not be covered should you have to cancel without the existing conditions waiver in place.

 

I have elderly parents. I always get insurance when I book so that if anything happens to them, it will be covered should I have to cancel my cruise or even worse, interrupt my cruise to return home.

 

 

[DrKoob]

1 hour ago, TayanaLorna said:

You don't really need the insurance until the 120 days before the cruise.  If for some reason you need to cancel before the 120 days, you will get a 100% refund anyways from Viking minus the $100 pp cancellation fee.  Once you pay for the insurance there is no refund of the cost of that insurance.  The cancel for any reason is nice but you will get a voucher for a future cruise not a refund.

 

I haven't been able to think of how the pre- existing conditions coverage works.  If I have high blood pressure or high cholesterol now, it still covers me if a have a heart attack on the ship.  Can't figure out what medical issue would require pre-existing condition coverage.  Anyone?

 

Typical situation. You have cancer. You are go through chemo and radiation and are cancer free as of now. That is considered a pre-existing condition. Between now and the cruise, your cancer comes back and you have to cancel to do another round of chemo. You are covered. Pretty much the same with any condition that is long term. Anything that you have that is dormant but could come back. 

[shadowlover]

I found out years ago from steve (my insurance guy) that you only need to insure your deposit and then you add to it as you go.  When you pay your final deposit you need to remember to update your policy. This way you get pre existing coverage without having to shell out a huge insurance payment.  With viking the final payment is so early that you will likely have to update the policy way before the 120 days.  If you're not concerned with pre existing conditions of anyone in your family then you can buy insurance anytime.  

[dwlmg]

If you are booking with a voucher, be VERY careful with respect to trip insurance. My agent tells me that as vouchers have no cash value, you will not receive any cash from a trip insurance claim for a trip booked with a voucher. It also seems that Viking is also not very informative about cancel for any reason voucher validity and expiration dates. Examine these provisions carefully when making a decision about trip insurance.

[tango223]

2 hours ago, shadowlover said:

I found out years ago from steve (my insurance guy) that you only need to insure your deposit and then you add to it as you go.  When you pay your final deposit you need to remember to update your policy. This way you get pre existing coverage without having to shell out a huge insurance payment.  With viking the final payment is so early that you will likely have to update the policy way before the 120 days.  If you're not concerned with pre existing conditions of anyone in your family then you can buy insurance anytime.  

Interesting concept to start with just the deposit….but Viking wants final payment 18 months prior to sailing which is much more than 4 months. 
 

I’m leaning towards getting insurance 120 days prior at this point. 
 

TY for your reply

[Heidi13]

8 hours ago, tango223 said:

We are booked on a Viking cruise which is over a year 1/2 away.  We were offered Travel insurance from Viking which included cancel for any reason & pre-existing conditions if booked within 15 days.  
 

The price is pretty good considering the above coverage. The cruise is in 2024 & if we book the insurance, we’d have to pay now. Is it a good deal?

 

Unfortunately, only you can determine if the insurance is a good deal, based on your financial risk and level of risk tolerance.

 

The financial risk depends on the length of cruise booked, as the short cruises only require about a $500 deposit and can be cancelled more than 120 days out, with a loss of $100 pp. Longer Grand Voyage and World Cruises have a significantly higher deposit, with a loss of $1,000 pp if cancelled more than 6 months out.

 

You also would need to carefully read the entire policy document, as even the CFAR and pre-existing conditions waiver have exclusions. The other consideration to note is the Viking insurance has very low medical coverage, well below what we consider acceptable. When we use Viking insurance for trip cancellation/interruption, we always supplement it with additional medical coverage.

 

 

[Babr]

On 7/18/2022 at 3:31 PM, Rusty Scupper said:

Check out coverage directly from insurance companies and compare. You would get a cash refund on those policies. Our credit card provides trip cancellation--although not for any reason-- so we only purchase medical.

By my understanding, high blood pressure would not negate coverage for  heart attack. If you were diabetic and had to be hospitalized, then you could be nailed on the pre-existing condition exclusion. But don't go by that. Call the  insurance provider and get a sure answer regarding any specific condition.

 

If you regularly depend on your credit card, then you know it does not cover pre-existing conditions. Also, the trip interruption reimburses unused nonrefundable expenses, but it does not pay any additional costs for return transportation, only change fees. In addition, trip delay is only $500pp. These observations are based on Chase Sapphire Reserve.  If you have a different card, there may be variations; but Chase is pretty typical.

 

As for pre-existing conditions, without a waiver, the insurance company will look back at your medical records for a specified number of days to determine if there is anything in your history that contributed to the cause of cancellation. They look for things like reported symptoms, tests, treatments, or a diagnosis - even a prescription change if it causes your condition to become unstable. To avoid this, people with concerns can buy insurance within a time sensitive period to get a pre-existing conditions waiver. Usually that period is 14-21 days after the initial deposit,  but there are policies that allow the waiver at final payment such as IMG LX. If you want CFAR, that is available only at initial deposit.

 

Pre-existing conditions can apply to family members not traveling with you such as elderly parents. There are also requirements in addition to time-sensitive purchase such as being able to travel on the day the policy is purchased, and some policies require you to insure the entire cost of your trip.

 

Your advice to consult the provider or a reputable broker is the safest route. Several here have recommended Steve or one of his associates at Trip Insurance Store. That is a good choice because they do business with a limited number of vetted companies with whom they have well-established relationships. 

[60s Wombat]

Hello chaps,  interesting to read your thoughts re Viking Travel Insurance.   Can anyone tell me whether this is only available to US customers or is it open to UK customers as well please?.  Thankyou.

[Peregrina651]

5 hours ago, 60s Wombat said:

Hello chaps,  interesting to read your thoughts re Viking Travel Insurance.   Can anyone tell me whether this is only available to US customers or is it open to UK customers as well please?.  Thankyou.

 

Most of us posting here are from the US and are talking about US insurance (which policies would not be available to UK residents).

 

The insurance situation in the UK market is very different from what goes on in the US. You should talk UK travel agent or UK Viking agent about it.

[Heidi13]

9 hours ago, 60s Wombat said:

Hello chaps,  interesting to read your thoughts re Viking Travel Insurance.   Can anyone tell me whether this is only available to US customers or is it open to UK customers as well please?.  Thankyou.

 

Based on our experience in Canada, I concur with Peregrina's suggestion of contacting Viking UK, who I suspect will offer some type of insurance.

 

While we have to use the Viking US booking office, they now provide a separate insurance provider for Canadians.