CruiseCare insurance involuntarily removed after final payment

[Mcart]

I have a cruise booked on the Solstice for Sept 16.  When I booked in June, I added CruiseCare, and paid in full with CruiseCare July 6.  This week, the CruiseCare was apparently removed from my reservation, and I just received a credit card refund for the CruiseCare portion.  I did not ask for this.

 

When I called Celebrity, they couldn't explain why it happened, but told me I need to contact the adminstrator of the insurance, Aon, to get it reinstated.  I went through the phone chain at Aon, and they eventually pointed the finger back at Celebrity and told me that Celebrity needs to fix the problem.

 

So with both sides saying I have no recourse but to call the other side, I ask if anyone else has experienced this problem, and if you were able to get it resolved?  Or if there are suggestions on who else I could contact to fix this issue.

 

I only booked this cruise in this travel environment because CruiseCare was available and provided a 90% FCC cancel-for-any-reason benefit.  I would not have booked without this option.

Thanks for any information/suggestions.

[wrk2cruise]

Time to go back to Celebrity and tell them what Anon said.  Your payment was processed by Celebrity so I would hold them responsible to resolve.  If you can't get anywhere get to Resolutions department. 

[omeinv]

I remember something that may be a clue in getting this resolved. 

 

It used to be that residents of the state where the insurance company was headquartered (I believe it was NY) could not purchase the insurance through Celebrity, but had to go directly to the insurance company.  This was due to an insurance regulation, not a policy of either Celebrity or the insurer.  It was Berkley at that time, and I think it's still the same company, but is now called AON. 

 

Also, if you moved your booking from Celebrity directly to a travel agent that may have caused an issue, depending upon the travel agent's location.  If the agent is in the state of the insurance company, or is not a US agent (I used to use a Canadian TA although I'm in the US, and thus couldn't purchase the insurance directly through Celebrity).

 

Not that any of this would make your situation right, but that might explain why the CruiseCare was removed from your booking; and help in getting your situation resolved.

 

Harris

Denver, CO

[Lastdance]

It is definitely unfair that you are caught in the middle of this conundrum, but hopefully it gets resolved quickly.  Please come back and share your findings, as it definitely helps others on this board.  Good luck!

[wrk2cruise]

I think it's only residents of NY which are not able to purchase CruiseCare from Celebrity.   Hopefully they would have never been able to add it to their reservation in the first place if this is the case.

[Jeremiah1212]

In addition to New York, Missouri and Minnesota also have different parameters. Are you a resident of any of those three states?

[Arizona Wildcat]

Again await the rest of the details.  AON is able to sell without restrictions in some 12 states.  37 more have various regulations imposed by the states.   Residents of other countries have again very different rules.  It is very complicated and would require a licensed insurance agent to determine eligibility (almost all are eligible).  What likely happened is AON got the details and rejected same.

 

Seems Celebrity should through their resolutions department provide an explanation and the opportunity to cancel at not cost.

 

To the OP - Welcome to CC as a new poster.  Let us know what happens.

[Babr]

Cruise Care is actually underwritten by Arch Insurance. AON just administers the policy.

 

Residents of New York and some other places can’t buy it because state regulation prohibit it. In New York, the problem is the CFAR provision. It is not considered insurance because it does not protect against a risk, merely the whim of the policy holder. Even though the CFAR is provided by the cruise line not the insurance company, it is contained in the same policy.

[Mcart]

I’m back with an update.  I am a resident of Massachusetts, and they confirmed that this should not result in a cancellation. 
 

I called back twice more before getting an agent that was able to help me.  In all three calls, the initial agent that answered had to escalate to their supervisor.  On the third attempt, they fixed it with no issue after about 10 minutes on hold.  
 

I guess I had the misfortune of getting new agents and/or supervisors that were providing incorrect information that it was Aon I needed to contact. 
 

I guess it’s a good lesson not to take the first answer you get from Celebrity.

 

Thanks for the suggestions.

[wrk2cruise]

I think you should send a message to Jennifer Morales jennifermorales@celebrity.com who is the director of Celebrity Engagement Center (Customer Service).   I would clearly state the issue and everything you had to do to correct their issue getting incorrect information and push back from multiple levels of her organization.

 

Your story is a demonstration of a total breakdown of customer service and should be escalated to management as a case study to examine,  root cause, and take corrective action.

 

You had to spend hours of your time and frustration to correct a problem that was entirely their doing.

[songbird1329]

Yes, New York has interesting regulations. 
 

You can get Cruise Care insurance, but the policy is underwritten by Arch Insurance Company (Arch is owned by Aon, but they’re considered a separate company for most purposes) and the the terms of coverage are slightly different than the policy written by Aon.

[songbird1329]

On 7/28/2022 at 5:40 PM, Babr said:

Cruise Care is actually underwritten by Arch Insurance. AON just administers the policy.

 

Residents of New York and some other places can’t buy it because state regulation prohibit it. In New York, the problem is the CFAR provision. It is not considered insurance because it does not protect against a risk, merely the whim of the policy holder. Even though the CFAR is provided by the cruise line not the insurance company, it is contained in the same policy.

That’s not correct.  We in NY can get Cruise Care coverage, but the policy is underwritten by Aon’s subsidiary Arch and the terms comply with NY law

[songbird1329]

^{There’s a separate notice for the three affected states on the website,  that coverage can be purchased from Arch, but when my boyfriend booked our upcoming trip, the agent he spoke to told him that we could not purchase coverage at all.}
 

 

[jelayne]

I’m glad you got it resolved.  If you write to Jennifer it would be nice to also  recognize the people who got it corrected.  I am sure she has heard plenty of complaints caused by a lack of staff and new staff that aren’t fully trained so complimenting those who did help would be nice.

[Mississippian]

I think this has happened to me. The way Celebrity does the accounting on their cruises is insane. I haven't called yet to see what is going on, but I intend to.

[watson61]

This just happened to me for my Sept. 3 sailing. I emailed Jennifer Morales. I've cruised many times but have never had this happen before.

[hcat]

We have been required to buy the Cekeb cruise ins separately for awhile now.

Not convenient  and not wrapped into funal payment.  And when we cancelled to lift and shift during Covid times...no refund!

 

Now we just buy an independent policy for medical and evac..better coverage and service!