Cost of trip for insurance?

[Crusin Karen]

Silly question but I’m buying cruise insurance. They want to know cost of the cruise. Is that just cruise fare or do I include tax/port fees?  And pre paid tips? TIA! 

[mz-s]

Ask the insurance agent but typically it's whatever you paid out that you won't get back if you have to cancel. So fare+mandatory fees. Prepaid gratuities are refundable.

 

Also there is an insurance board on here for questions like this that have nothing to do with Carnival.

Edited December 13, 2023 by mz-s

[klfrodo]

They are asking for your total trip costs that are non-refundable. Trip costs could include hotel (if you go the nonrefundable way), airline travel costs ( here, just remember that some airlines will give you a credit towards future travel. In this case, the insurance will claim that this future travel credit is your reimbursement.) Also, ensure that your travel dates begin the day you walk out the door to begin your trip and ends when you walk back into the house. Not just the cruise dates.

[Crusin Karen]

Ok thanks. I live 20 minutes from Manhattan so it’s just the actual Cruise. I’m booking at the website I don’t have an angent. 

[klfrodo]

45 minutes ago, Crusin Karen said:

Ok thanks. I live 20 minutes from Manhattan so it’s just the actual Cruise. I’m booking at the website I don’t have an angent. 

Unless the policy you are looking at and/or NY State requires you to, AND you're not concerned about pre-existing medical conditions for you or non-traveling family members, you don't have to cover the entire cost of the trip.

I work with a well known broker and I only cover $500 pp of my trip. I "risk" the cost of the cruise if I have to cancel. What I can't risk, is the possible medical expenses. The cost of the cruise won't bankrupt me. The medical could cause financial hardship. By doing it this way, I save on insurance costs and I still receive the $100K in "primary" medical coverage.

[Crusin Karen]

Thank you. Very good advice. Yes it’s the medical coverage. I was researching: I can get $250,000 coverage for $35 more than $100,000 coverage so picked that. $35 is little price to pay just in case! 

[mz-s]

1 hour ago, Crusin Karen said:

Ok thanks. I live 20 minutes from Manhattan so it’s just the actual Cruise. I’m booking at the website I don’t have an angent. 

 

Do you understand what you're buying? What is covered, what isn't, pre-existing health conditions, etc?

[klfrodo]

23 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

Do you understand what you're buying? What is covered, what isn't, pre-existing health conditions, etc?

In case OP is not, here is a great Basic 101 FAQ site

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

[GeezerCouple]

59 minutes ago, Crusin Karen said:

Thank you. Very good advice. Yes it’s the medical coverage. I was researching: I can get $250,000 coverage for $35 more than $100,000 coverage so picked that. $35 is little price to pay just in case! 

Are you clear about the exact terms and conditions of that policy?  There's a reason it's so inexpensive...  It might be fine for your purposes, but.... it might not be.

We are among those who STRONGLY suggest dealing with a travel insurance broker (there is no extra charge for the services).

They can help you get the *right* policy for *your* needs.

 

We use www.TripInsuranceStore.com

but CALL them; do not rely upon the brief policy summaries online.  There's almost no way that limited information can provide enough detail for someone to know if it really works for their specific situation.

 

When you call, they can not only answer your questions, but they can ASK you questions to help find the best policy for your specific needs.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

GC

[klfrodo]

1 hour ago, GeezerCouple said:

Are you clear about the exact terms and conditions of that policy?  There's a reason it's so inexpensive...  It might be fine for your purposes, but.... it might not be.

 

Just sharing my info with you GeezerCouple.

My policy only cost $35pp when I buy mine from Steve. The main reason being I only need to cover the medical. I risk the comprehensive part but still maintain a small portion of it by having a trip cost of $500pp.

[GeezerCouple]

3 hours ago, klfrodo said:

Just sharing my info with you GeezerCouple.

My policy only cost $35pp when I buy mine from Steve. The main reason being I only need to cover the medical. I risk the comprehensive part but still maintain a small portion of it by having a trip cost of $500pp.

 

Hi klfrodo! 

 

I wasn't questioning whether you understood the coverage, not at all! 😉 

(I hope I didn't screw up my post somehow...??)

I suspect you understand travel insurance much better than we do.

 

GC

[klfrodo]

26 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

Hi klfrodo! 

 

I wasn't questioning whether you understood the coverage, not at all! 😉 

(I hope I didn't screw up my post somehow...??)

I suspect you understand travel insurance much better than we do.

 

GC

Oh no. I understand you weren’t directing your comment to me.

I was just sharing that a policy that’s only $38 can be a good policy if it fits your needs. I understood that the OP wasn’t concerned about covering the whole trip but was more concerned about medical which is how I also cover my trips.

[crystalspin]

6 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

We use www.TripInsuranceStore.com

but CALL them; do not rely upon the brief policy summaries online.  There's almost no way that limited information can provide enough detail for someone to know if it really works for their specific situation.

When you call, they can not only answer your questions, but they can ASK you questions to help find the best policy for your specific needs.

Dear GC -- I follow you all around CC and love most of your level-headed comments BUT

 

I ignored this one. Not all people do well over the phone. If I had called, I surely would have forgotten to mention something about our conditions/situation (sadly, even if I made a list!) -- and I would never have been able to note all that Deanna (or Steve or Kim) had to say. 

 

So I wrote it all up, with a suggestion of what I was tending toward, and Deanna wrote me back ON A SUNDAY EVENING, and opined that my proposal sounded good, and attached a link that will give TripInsuranceStore whatever little credit they get.

[GeezerCouple]

1 hour ago, crystalspin said:

Dear GC -- I follow you all around CC and love most of your level-headed comments BUT

 

I ignored this one. Not all people do well over the phone. If I had called, I surely would have forgotten to mention something about our conditions/situation (sadly, even if I made a list!) -- and I would never have been able to note all that Deanna (or Steve or Kim) had to say. 

 

So I wrote it all up, with a suggestion of what I was tending toward, and Deanna wrote me back ON A SUNDAY EVENING, and opined that my proposal sounded good, and attached a link that will give TripInsuranceStore whatever little credit they get.

 

You made a *very* good point, and I'll try to adjust my suggestions in the future.

Thanks.

 

I have NO problem with emailing!  They'll do the same things by email as by phone; it may take a bit longer.  OTOH, one will have a record of the Q&A, etc.

 

My concern is that people generally will *not* get the information they need from the online summaries of the policies... and then go on by themselves to purchase a policy without any interaction with the agent/broker.

That *might* work out okay.  But it's more likely to result in the most appropriate policy if there IS some interaction with an expert, especially for newbies.  We were those newbies back in 2013, and I was totally clueless.

And it was a VERY good thing we had spoken with TIS, because we had a rather expensive trip... and with less than 2 weeks to go before our planned departure date, DH had a medical emergency, and everything got cancelled!

I know we would *not* have gotten the "right* policy for what ended up happening, had we just looked online and selected.. "something that looked good".  We had no idea back then what the glitches might be.

 

That was the first time we ever got travel insurance!

"Whew!" 😉 

 

GC

[crystalspin]

15 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

...My concern is that people generally will *not* get the information they need from the online summaries of the policies... and then go on by themselves to purchase a policy without any interaction with the agent/broker.

That *might* work out okay.  But it's more likely to result in the most appropriate policy if there IS some interaction with an expert, especially for newbies.  

Oh yes, THAT part of your recommendation is spot on! Glad we agree!

 

Near the end of 2019 😞 I signed us up for GeoBlue Trekker on my own, but let it lapse with the pandemic. I wanted to be reassured that it was still a good fit for us. Deanna took into consideration that we have monetary protection from our Sapphire Reserve credit card, and for at least the first cruise, Holland America's CFAR in case of family members' pre-existing conditions worsening. And deemed that the higher Choice Plan was good for our medical needs.

 

The first time (with a number of travels behind us) that we got cancellation insurance for a land tour -- three days before leaving, I had a kidney stone move into the tube and cause pylonephritis until it finally passed! That made believers of us!

 

The first time we