Last Minute Insurance

[sjmbruce]

I booked a cruise pretty last minute and now I need very last minute travel insurance.

 

Any suggestions?

 

 

[GeezerCouple]

5 hours ago, sjmbruce said:

I booked a cruise pretty last minute and now I need very last minute travel insurance.

 

Any suggestions?

 

 

Help us to help you.

How much time do you have?

 

When did you book the cruise, meaning when did you make the *first* payment?

When does the ship sail, and when do you plan to leave home?

GC

[SoloAlaska]

I am not sure how this is an issue most travel insurance companies you can set it to start next day. I can literally walk into my bank today and have a travel insurance policy start at midnight or I can call another company and do the same thing without leaving home.

[leaveitallbehind]

41 minutes ago, SoloAlaska said:

I am not sure how this is an issue most travel insurance companies you can set it to start next day. I can literally walk into my bank today and have a travel insurance policy start at midnight or I can call another company and do the same thing without leaving home.

Specific to coverage tied to a given cruise, some carriers have coverage guidelines that are specified by when, relative to making a booking and the final payment date, you can purchase it for a given coverage, and may not be available at all post final payment.  General travel insurance may not have these guidelines.

Edited February 12 by leaveitallbehind

[sjmbruce]

3 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

Help us to help you.

How much time do you have?

 

When did you book the cruise, meaning when did you make the *first* payment?

When does the ship sail, and when do you plan to leave home?

GC

I booked January 2nd, after final payment. I had to pay in full at booking.  

I leave February 22nd, arrive at the embarkation port on the 24th,  and the ship sails on the 25th. 

[GeezerCouple]

1 minute ago, sjmbruce said:

I booked January 2nd, after final payment. I had to pay in full at booking.  

I leave February 22nd, arrive at the embarkation port on the 24th,  and the ship sails on the 25th. 

 

I'd suggest that you contace www.TripInsuranceStore.com. 

But CALL them. Don't rely only on the online summaries of policies (there or anywhere).  It's impossible to list all of "the fine print", and there may be issues that apply to you.

If you speak with them, you can ask questions, and importantly, they can ask questions of you to try to figure out which types of coverage would be appropriate.

(There is no extra charge to use a broker, and TIS does not try to 'upsell'.)

 

Time may make a difference, so I'd suggest you call asap,

There are several types of coverage (NOT all coverages!) that it's probably now too late for you to get, but there's still basic good coverage available.

 

So you know in the future, to get the most choices, it's usually (I'm sure there are exceptions somewhere!) important to start the insurance within 10-20 days of making the FIRST payment (it varies by state of residence) and/or when you make the final payment.

 

One good thing about getting coverage from a 3rd party (not the travel vendor such as the cruise line) is that you can get coverage that starts as soon as you walk out the door until you walk back into your house at the end of the trip, not "only" on the cruise/etc.

 

GC

[Nebr.cruiser]

You can purchase it at any time.  The caveat is that many times pre-existing conditions will not be covered, or if they are, the prices may be very high.  I agree, check with Insure my Trip, or similar sites.  They have been very helpful.

[sparks1093]

I had a little extra time this morning so I did some checking on insuremytrip.com. I'm not sure how OP is defining "last minute", so I input the details of a cruise leaving in one month, cost of the cruise $2500, no airfare, one week duration, initial deposit today. A plan from Generali was lowest at $115.50 which offered $50k medial coverage and $250k evacuation coverage. It has a lookback period of 180 days for pre-existing conditions. The first plan that offered a pre-existing condition waiver (when purchased within a certain period of time from first payment) was from John Hancock. That plan was $175, had $100k medical coverage and $500k evacuation. 

 

By way of comparison we purchased a plan in December for our upcoming April cruise. Picked a Nationwide plan that cost $150.77. Coverage is for both the cruise and flights totaling $3500. No pre-existing condition waiver, lookback 60 days. $75k for medical, $250k evacuation. To buy the same plan today (64 days before trip) would cost $18 more. (All of the above quotes are for two travelers.)

Edited February 15 by sparks1093

[sparks1093]

26 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

I had a little extra time this morning so I did some checking on insuremytrip.com. I'm not sure how OP is defining "last minute", so I input the details of a cruise leaving in one month, cost of the cruise $2500, no airfare, one week duration, initial deposit today. A plan from Generali was lowest at $115.50 which offered $50k medial coverage and $250k evacuation coverage. It has a lookback period of 180 days for pre-existing conditions. The first plan that offered a pre-existing condition waiver (when purchased within a certain period of time from first payment) was from John Hancock. That plan was $175, had $100k medical coverage and $500k evacuation. 

 

By way of comparison we purchased a plan in December for our upcoming April cruise. Picked a Nationwide plan that cost $150.77. Coverage is for both the cruise and flights totaling $3500. No pre-existing condition waiver, lookback 60 days. $75k for medical, $250k evacuation. To buy the same plan today (64 days before trip) would cost $18 more. (All of the above quotes are for two travelers.)

I had to check something in my booking and for our upcoming trip Carnival's insurance costs $218. When I tried to add it in order to get details of coverage it wouldn't let me since we are inside the final payment window.

[leaveitallbehind]

12 hours ago, Nebr.cruiser said:

You can purchase it at any time.  The caveat is that many times pre-existing conditions will not be covered, or if they are, the prices may be very high.  I agree, check with Insure my Trip, or similar sites.  They have been very helpful.

Not necessarily so with many cruise line's sponsored insurance where it cannot be purchased post final payment.  See the last comments made by sparks1093.

 

Some of the various levels of coverage as you refer also may have time restrictions relative to booking dates, as I previously mentioned, for purchase. 

[Nebr.cruiser]

We've only purchased cruise line insurance once, and not late, so I don't know the rules with that.   And I realize there can be significant restrictions purchasing insurance late, sometimes.  Purchasing last minute is not a good option, but in most cases can be done.  It probably will not be as good as insurance purchased earlier and more expensive.