By when do I need to purchase insurance?

[TravelingCircusof5]

In general, by how many days prior do i need to have bought insurance to get good coverage for a reasonable rate? i was thinking it was 10 days after booking, but a family emergency needed my attention, and now we are past that. I am 106 days out. TIA

[1025cruise]

Depends on your needs. You might want to ask on the insurance board.

For me, since I want CFAR and pre-existing conditions covered, usually have to buy 10-14 days after initial deposit.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

The main hard and fast rule I know is that for hurricane coverage you must get it BEFORE the storm has a name.

 

I thin pre-existing condition coverage requires purchase within 14 days usually.

[kathynorth]

I had this same question and found out you need to know what type of insurance you want before you can figure out the deadline. Trip cancellation, trip interruption, medical, medical with pre-existing, and/or evacuation? Each of these categories also have factors to consider. Some types of insurance require purchase within a booking period, others can be purchased the day before the trip. Timine can also influence price of the product. Figure out what type(s) of insurance you are looking for and then ask your same question specific to that type of insurance. 

[FourNines]

It really depends on your needs.

We purchase our plans within 14-21 days of initial booking, but we only purchase the plan to cover the initial amount at risk (deposit).

Once we make final payment, we increase the amount of coverage for the full trip cost, including flights, tours, stays, etc. This allows us to get coverage for pre-existing conditions while not having to layout all the funds for the full cost of coverage.

The folks at tripinsurancestore.com (Steve) are very knowledgeable and handle all of our trip insurance needs.

Edited November 18, 2022 by FourNines

[NorthStarStateCruiser]

13 minutes ago, TravelingCircusof5 said:

In general, by how many days prior do i need to have bought insurance to get good coverage for a reasonable rate? i was thinking it was 10 days after booking, but a family emergency needed my attention, and now we are past that. I am 106 days out. TIA

If I'm understanding you correctly, it sounds like you're seeking a travel insurance policy that will provide cancellation benefits for this family emergency that already occurred?  No insurance policy will cover events that took place prior to the policy being purchased, so there's no way that you could claim this family emergency event by taking out a policy today.

 

To answer your other question about the proper timing of purchasing a travel insurance policy, it depends on if you have any pre-existing conditions that might cause issues down the road and whether you're seeking a travel insurance policy that has trip cancellation benefits.

 

If you have a pre-existing condition

For many policies, there's a time window (usually a couple of weeks after initial deposit) where by purchasing the policy within that time period, you can obtain a pre-existing medical condition waiver where you would still be covered for a illness/disability that was pre-existing.

 

 If you don't have a pre-existing condition and want cancellation benefits (not "cancel for any reason")

In this situation, you likely don't need to purchase the insurance policy right after initial payment.  You could wait until prior to the final payment date since you don't have as much money tied up in non-refundable payments.  The reason why you'd want to wait to purchase the insurance policy closer to the final payment date is that the money that you pay for the insurance policy is not refundable.

 

If you only want medical and incidental coverage (whether you have a pre-existing medical condition or not)

You can wait to purchase until the day before your trip or you can purchase the policy right after initial deposit.  It doesn't make much difference since these types of policies don't cover cancellation and the premium is fully refundable up until the date of departure.

 

If you want a policy that covers "cancel for any reason"

You have the purchase the policy shortly after initial deposit date.  Most insurers require 2 weeks or less.

[NorthStarStateCruiser]

12 minutes ago, FourNines said:

We purchase our plans within 14-21 days of initial booking, but we only purchase the plan to cover the initial amount at risk (deposit).

Once we make final payment, we increase the amount of coverage for the full trip cost, including flights, tours, stays, etc. This allows us to get coverage for pre-existing conditions while not having to layout all the funds for the full cost of coverage.

This is a decent strategy for folks who want to get that pre-existing condition waiver while reducing the initial cost of the insurance policy.  I suppose you could also gradually increase the coverage amount at each interval of cancellation penalty for the cruise (25% at 90 days, 50% at 75 days, ...).  This does seem like a decent of work for a minimal amount of cost but it's doable.

[FourNines]

4 minutes ago, NorthStarStateCruiser said:

I suppose you could also gradually increase the coverage amount at each interval of cancellation penalty for the cruise (25% at 90 days, 50% at 75 days, ...).  This does seem like a decent of work for a minimal amount of cost but it's doable.

For us, this is not worth it.

I just deal with the insurance issue twice: once when we book and once when we make the final payment. By that time, I usually have the trip nailed down (ie flights, private tours, pre and post hotels) so I have a pretty good handle on what final coverage needs will be.

 

[sunpsyche]

37 minutes ago, FourNines said:

It really depends on your needs.

We purchase our plans within 14-21 days of initial booking, but we only purchase the plan to cover the initial amount at risk (deposit).

Once we make final payment, we increase the amount of coverage for the full trip cost, including flights, tours, stays, etc. This allows us to get coverage for pre-existing conditions while not having to layout all the funds for the full cost of coverage.

The folks at tripinsurancestore.com (Steve) are very knowledgeable and handle all of our trip insurance needs.

This is exactly what we do on every trip. Great minds 😉

[TravelingCircusof5]

50 minutes ago, NorthStarStateCruiser said:

If I'm understanding you correctly, it sounds like you're seeking a travel insurance policy that will provide cancellation benefits for this family emergency that already occurred?  No insurance policy will cover events that took place prior to the policy being purchased, so there's no way that you could claim this family emergency event by taking out a policy today.

 

No. You are incorrectly understanding. The family emergency only kept me from being able to look onto it and buy it in the original 10 days. I am not looking to cancel at all, especially not for that. It was a family crisis of elderly parent suddenly in hospital and being put on hospice right after we booked, so I was not worried about researching insurance when that happened. Now, i still have this booking that i made right before that, so i need to either protect it with cancellation coverage in case something else comes up. We are still in the refundable cancellation period. 
 

My husband and I do not have any preexisting medical conditions at all. The most likely concern is having to cancel if One of our parents or sons, one is still 14, has a problem. Of course, we could still get sick or injured onboard. 
 

thanks for the above information. It almost seems like i would be better to cancel the booking, then rebook a new one and buy the insurance soon afterward. That seems a shame,  but the price has gone down not up since we booked. 

Edited November 18, 2022 by TravelingCircusof5

[NorthStarStateCruiser]

24 minutes ago, TravelingCircusof5 said:

My husband and I do not have any preexisting medical conditions at all. The most likely concern is having to cancel if One of our parents or sons, one is still 14, has a problem. Of course, we could still get sick or injured onboard. 
 

thanks for the above information. It almost seems like i would be better to cancel the booking, then rebook a new one and buy the insurance soon afterward. That seems a shame,  but the price has gone down not up since we booked. 

If these family members are going with you on the cruise and you're purchasing coverage for them, then yes that's what you would need to do. The same would go for any flights or other travel arrangements you may have.

 

If they aren't traveling with you, there's no need to rebook since the pre-existing condition waiver is for the people named on the policy, not friends and family not travelling with you.

 

In either case, definitely call and get a price adjustment on the cruise fare if it went down, but make sure the included perks are the same now as when you first booked it.

Edited November 18, 2022 by NorthStarStateCruiser

[Baron Barracuda]

15 minutes ago, TravelingCircusof5 said:

No. You are incorrectly understanding. The family emergency only kept me from being able to look onto it and buy it in the original 10 days. I am not looking to cancel at all, especially not for that. It was a family crisis of elderly parent suddenly in hospital and being put on hospice right after we booked, so I was not worried about researching insurance when that happened. Now, i still have this booking that i made right before that, so i need to either protect it with cancellation coverage in case something else comes up. We are still in the refundable cancellation period. 
 

My husband and I do not have any preexisting medical conditions at all. The most likely concern is having to cancel if One of our parents or sons, one is still 14, has a problem. Of course, we could still get sick or injured onboard. 
 

thanks for the above information. It almost seems like i would be better to cancel the booking, then rebook a new one and buy the insurance soon afterward. That seems a shame,  but the price has gone down not up since we booked. 

Assuming you booked with non-refundable deposit If price drop is greater than than your forfeited deposit it makes sense to cancel and re-book regardless of insurance issue.  If not, since you have no pre-existing conditions there is no reason to cancel.  You can buy good coverage today.  Recommend a quick call to Tripinsurancestore or Squaremouth.  Either would be happy review your options and recommend coverage.

[TravelingCircusof5]

Thanks everyone for the advice. 
i did email the best price and have it repriced a couple of days ago with the Black Friday rate.  Any chance that repricing then = new booking? Seems like it used to with Disney. That would reset my 10 days. My new price invoice says Issue Date is now two days ago,.

 

No one is traveling with us, just me 50 and Dh 49, with no known medical issues. The problem is if a grandparent is keeping our youngest son, and something happens with grandparent or grandparent’s spouse, or if that son got ill, then we wouldn’t leave him. 

[Bill Miller]

We have an annual trip insurance policy with Allianz.  We''ve had it for several years. Way cheaper than buying individual trip cancellation through cruise lines if you travel often.  Earlier this month, cruise .sails on Sunday.   She is walking the dog on Saturday, Dog sees ducks, wife gets yanked off her feet breaks hip. The next day while we are supposed to check-in she is getting total hip replacement. Allianz covered cruise and parking, no problem.

Wife is doing great, getting around and healing up very well.  (side note to husbands)  Fellas, it's really important to keep your wives spirit up and encourage her when they are feeling down. For example,  I know my wife really appreciates it when I encourage her to keep moving with the walker. "Hey those dishes piling up in the sink aren't going to wash themselves."

The hip replacement hasn't affected her aim with the frying pan and I expect to be out of the hospital soon.

[FourNines]

36 minutes ago, TravelingCircusof5 said:

Thanks everyone for the advice. 
i did email the best price and have it repriced a couple of days ago with the Black Friday rate.  Any chance that repricing then = new booking? Seems like it used to with Disney. That would reset my 10 days. My new price invoice says Issue Date is now two days ago,.

 

No one is traveling with us, just me 50 and Dh 49, with no known medical issues. The problem is if a grandparent is keeping our youngest son, and something happens with grandparent or grandparent’s spouse, or if that son got ill, then we wouldn’t leave him. 

Some plans DO cover pre-existing conditions for non travelling family members. I know for a fact that IMG iTravelinsured plans do. Might want to look into them.

[FourNines]

20 minutes ago, Bill Miller said:

The hip replacement hasn't affected her aim with the frying pan and I expect to be out of the hospital soon.

Pretty impressive if that's with one hand on the walker 🤣

[Babr]

1 minute ago, FourNines said:

Some plans DO cover pre-existing conditions for non travelling family members. I know for a fact that IMG iTravelinsured plans do. Might want to look into them.

Important point since OP is depending on grandparents to care for son. Older folks often do have pre-existing conditions, and one can’t assume that a cancellation caused by a non-traveling family member is covered.

 

Wouldn’t hurt to revisit the definition of pre-existing conditions for everyone involved. Sometimes people don’t realize it applies to them if they’ve had a test, treatment, diagnosis, or even a prescription change that can be associated with a cancellation.

[FourNines]

12 minutes ago, Babr said:

Important point since OP is depending on grandparents to care for son. Older folks often do have pre-existing conditions, and one can’t assume that a cancellation caused by a non-traveling family member is covered.

Agreed, but my point was that there can be coverage available and not to just discount that there isn't.

[zitsky]

There are a couple insurance brokers that could help answer the OP's question.  One is Trip Insurance Store that I have used and some people recommend.

[Babr]

4 minutes ago, FourNines said:

Agreed, but my point was that there can be coverage available and not to just discount that there isn't.

Yes. I did not mean to imply otherwise, only for the OP to be informed in order to get the right kind of coverage. As you pointed out, there are policies that cover both traveling and non-traveling family members for pre-existing conditions.

[TravelingCircusof5]

Thanks again everyone. I had no idea that medical issues happening to family not travelinG with us might be covered. Wow. So much to learn, and so little time (since I didn’t know to learn it beforehand.) 

[zitsky]

32 minutes ago, TravelingCircusof5 said:

Thanks again everyone. I had no idea that medical issues happening to family not travelinG with us might be covered. Wow. So much to learn, and so little time (since I didn’t know to learn it beforehand.) 

You have little time?  That’s why some people use insurance brokers who will answer these kind of questions and help you decide.

[NorthStarStateCruiser]

2 hours ago, TravelingCircusof5 said:

i did email the best price and have it repriced a couple of days ago with the Black Friday rate.  Any chance that repricing then = new booking? Seems like it used to with Disney. That would reset my 10 days. My new price invoice says Issue Date is now two days ago,.

 

No one is traveling with us, just me 50 and Dh 49, with no known medical issues. The problem is if a grandparent is keeping our youngest son, and something happens with grandparent or grandparent’s spouse, or if that son got ill, then we wouldn’t leave him. 

I'd agree that a travel insurance broker would be the best person to get answers to these questions.  Each insurance provider has different sets of inclusions/exclusions/criteria and need to be fully understood in order to make a smart purchasing decision.

[Z'Loth]

I just save myself the trouble and book the cruise through the travel agent associated with a major automotive club. I also insist that the travel agent purchase the travel insurance at the time of booking through their non-cruiseline associated provider. It's much easier to increase the coverage the closer you are to the cruise. 

 

Edited November 20, 2022 by Z'Loth