Best Cancel for any Reason policy offered by a cruise line?

[Debate]

I am recovering from foot/ankle surgery and want to plan a summer cruise.  I expect to be able to travel by our trip date however due to my foot I’m not eligible under the pre-existing clauses for cancellation. I want to purchase insurance for the “what if”.  My best bet is a cancel for any reason policy.  Which company has the best policy?  

[Jersey42]

31 minutes ago, Debate said:

I am recovering from foot/ankle surgery and want to plan a summer cruise.  I expect to be able to travel by our trip date however due to my foot I’m not eligible under the pre-existing clauses for cancellation. I want to purchase insurance for the “what if”.  My best bet is a cancel for any reason policy.  Which company has the best policy?  

If you are looking for a cruise line CFAR policy (as the title says), Holland America offers the best option by far.  With their Platinum plan, you get 90% back in cash for any cancelation.  There are no covered reasons for cancelation, so all cancelations are essentially CFAR.  Other cruise lines offer 75% to 100% but it is in the form of a future cruise credit with an expiration date. If an FCC is acceptable, Princess and Viking offer 100%.

 

On the other hand, HAL's medical coverage is poor ($10K and pays secondary), so I would not rely on the HAL plan as my only source of medical coverage.

 

Edited February 16, 2023 by Jersey42

[klfrodo]

1 hour ago, Debate said:

I am recovering from foot/ankle surgery and want to plan a summer cruise.  I expect to be able to travel by our trip date however due to my foot I’m not eligible under the pre-existing clauses for cancellation. I want to purchase insurance for the “what if”.  My best bet is a cancel for any reason policy.  Which company has the best policy?  

I'm going to go with a warning here. I huge "gottcha" is that on the day you purchase Travel Insurance, you must be in a healthy condition to be able to travel on that day. If necessary, you may be required to provide a Dr's note that you were healthy enough to travel on the day the insurance was purchased.

 

An extreme example would be you just suffered a major heart attack. The Dr's. performed open heart surgery and you are recovering. The family insists on celebrating your new life, so, in anticipation of a full recovery, they purchase a bucket list trip for 1 year from today to celebrate the life altering event and your recovery. Well, you're still in the hospital on the day they buy the trip and the insurance. You are not in any condition to travel on that day. The travel insurance is null and void.

Edited February 16, 2023 by klfrodo

[Jersey42]

35 minutes ago, klfrodo said:

I'm going to go with a warning here. I huge "gottcha" is that on the day you purchase Travel Insurance, you must be in a healthy condition to be able to travel on that day. If necessary, you may be required to provide a Dr's note that you were healthy enough to travel on the day the insurance was purchased.

Yes, that is true with most if not all 3rd party insurance plans. That is why I did not mention them.  But, are you sure about the "gottcha" for the HAL plan and if so can you point me to something specific. I have never noticed this with the HAL plan, but I may have missed it.

 

A couple of unique things about the HAL plan:  

• Unlike other plans, all trip cancelation benefits are not considered insurance, they are a non-insurance benefit provided by Holland America. This is because there are no covered reasons with HAL.
• Unlike other cruise line plans, there is no pre-existing conditions clause for cancelation or any of the "insurance" benefits.

Edited February 16, 2023 by Jersey42

[Babr]

https://affinitytravelcert.com/document/pdfs/HollandAmerica_Generic_12_20.pdf

 

The language is there in the HAL policy. See paragraph 4 under Travel Protection Certificate.

 

Apparently it applies only to the benefits provided by Nationwide. I suppose someone who is receiving treatment or is otherwise unfit to travel could buy the policy for the HAL cancellation waiver, but he’d jeopardize all the other benefits of the plan.

[Jersey42]

22 minutes ago, Babr said:

The language is there in the HAL policy. See paragraph 4 under Travel Protection Certificate.

 

Apparently it applies only to the benefits provided by Nationwide. I suppose someone who is receiving treatment or is otherwise unfit to travel could buy the policy for the HAL cancellation waiver, but he’d jeopardize all the other benefits of the plan.

Thanks for the quick research. I believe your interpretation is 100% correct.

 

If the OP primarily wants CFAR coverage with cash back (which they indicated here https://boards.cruisecritic.com/gallery/image/16327-img_5700/), they will be fine with the HAL plan.  If they are relying on the plan for other benefits, you are correct that they are jeopardizing coverage. But, given there is no pre-existing conditions clause for any of the benefits, more than likely they will be fine. I know of a few instances where people have made claims on the HAL policy (cancellation, medical and baggage delay) . In none of these few cases were they ever asked to prove fitness to travel on the plan purchase date.  It could happen, but I think the risk is very small.  

 

[oldboyscoutfox]

AVOID the American Cruise Lines “Cancel for any reason Protection Plan.”

We decided to reserve our bucket list trip on the Columbia and Snake Rivers in November 2022. After selecting date (June 2023) and cabin we were presented with Cruise Protection Options. While expensive, the “Cancel Any Reason, Deluxe Protection” plan looked good and we added it for $1340 in addition to $990 for airfare for our down payment. What was not made clear at the time of purchase (but was on the receipt we received later) was that this plan is NOT insurance AND its cost would NOT be refunded in case of trip cancellation. Unfortunately, an upcoming medical situation caused us to cancel our June 2023 trip in January 2023. But this turned out to be very costly for us. So, in addition to the $500 Cancellation Administrative Charge, we are also losing the $1340 charge for the Deluxe Protection Plan. In total it has cost us $1840 to cancel a trip six months before the date of travel. STAY AWAY FROM the American Cruise Lines “Cancel for any reason Protection Plan.” Buy your own trip insurance.

[Debate]

Thank you for everyones responses.  They are so helpful as I've walked through the risks associated with planning a trip while recovering!  I'd expect that I am not the only one who spends their time while laid up, homebound planning a trip for better days!  We've decided to research trips that are on the lower side of costs and rely on a "Cancel for any Reason" plan offered through a cruise line.  Although these plans generally give you only 75% of your cruise cost back towards a future cruise (depending on the line) at least its something.  I do realize we'd be out the cost of the plan itself as well, hence looking for lower cost cruises to minimize the financial risk (plan cost + 25% of cruise cost).  Also, for those researching this topic in a similar situation .... I did confirm the medical coverage on these plans would likely not cover me (or at least anything related to my current injury) so making sure my medical insurance covers me wherever we go is key!  I was told they do a 60 day "look back" to determine coverage - 60 days prior to the date you purchase the coverage.   If anyone has any further tips or information given my situation please share!! Thanks again!  

[klfrodo]

1 hour ago, Debate said:

   If anyone has any further tips or information given my situation please share!! Thanks again!  

This is from Steve's TripInsuranceStore.com FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page.

I found it very valuable and educational when I first started learning about and understanding travel insurance. Hope this helps.

 

Travel Insurance Frequently Asked Questions « Get the Best Trip Insurance Details, Advice (tripinsurancestore.com)

[Jersey42]

34 minutes ago, Debate said:

We've decided to research trips that are on the lower side of costs and rely on a "Cancel for any Reason" plan offered through a cruise line.  Although these plans generally give you only 75% of your cruise cost back towards a future cruise (depending on the line) at least its something.  I do realize we'd be out the cost of the plan itself as well, hence looking for lower cost cruises to minimize the financial risk (plan cost + 25% of cruise cost).

 

Also, for those researching this topic in a similar situation .... I did confirm the medical coverage on these plans would likely not cover me (or at least anything related to my current injury) so making sure my medical insurance covers me wherever we go is key!  I was told they do a 60 day "look back" to determine coverage - 60 days prior to the date you purchase the coverage.   If anyone has any further tips or information given my situation please share!! Thanks again!  

What you describe here is pretty accurate for the cruise line plans Here are some variations for some of the lines:

• All cruise line plans that I have seen (except HAL) have a pre-existing conditions clause with a 60 day lookback period. HAL has no pre-existing conditions clause.  
• Two (MSC and Viking) provide a waiver of pre-existing conditions. Viking requires you purchase the plan within 15 days of initial payment.  MSC requires purchase within 24 hours of final payment. 
• Pre-existing conditions clauses apply to coverage beyond medical such as cancelation, interruption and delay.  I don't believe pre-existing exclusions apply to medical evacuation and repatriation for any of the cruise line policies. 
• Some lines apply the pre-existing conditions exclusion to travelers while others also apply it to non-traveling family members. For example, if you had to cancel due to an ill parent some lines would not cover the cancelation if the parent had a pre-existing condition.
• The plans underwritten by Nationwide and Generali (Viking, Carnival Cop lines, MSC and NCL) require you be fit for travel on the day of purchase.  I have not seen this requirement for plans underwritten by Arch (Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Disney). 
• CFAR is always considered a non-insurance benefit provided by the cruise line.  HAL is the only one that provides refunds in cash (90%) and teats all cancelations the same no matter what the reason. Many lines provide up to 90% FCCs.  Princess and Viking offer 100%.  Carnival and Disney offer 75%.  MSC offers none.
• None of the fit for travel language applies to the non-insurance benefits provided by the cruise line.
• Medical insurance on the cruise line plans (with the exception of Viking) is pretty poor.  They all pay secondary. The limit is only $10K - $25K depending on the line.  So it is not a good idea to rely on a cruise line policy as your only source of medical coverage.  Viking offers $100K coverage which is much more reasonable.

 

* I believe all of this is accurate as of July 2022, but if any of this is wrong, please correct and provide a link. I have primarily looked at only the major cruise lines that market to US cruisers.

 

** IMHO - all of this is way too complex and most people only figure it out when a claim is denied.

[GeezerCouple]

9 hours ago, klfrodo said:

This is from Steve's TripInsuranceStore.com FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page.

I found it very valuable and educational when I first started learning about and understanding travel insurance. Hope this helps.

 

Travel Insurance Frequently Asked Questions « Get the Best Trip Insurance Details, Advice (tripinsurancestore.com)

 

And do NOT hesitate to CALL Steve and his associates at TIS.

They are incredibly patient with even the most naive newbie questions, and calling to speak directly with one of them also gives them an opportunity to ask a few questions about you and your situation.  That can lead to a much better understanding of what type of policy might work best for you and for that trip.

(There is no extra charge for using their services.)

GC