Insurance? Need help ASAP please.

[kent4489]

We've just decided on short notice to book a cruise for my upcoming 50th birthday. Departing July2. We have a cabin on hold, but only until the end of today... supposedly last cabin in the Cat. and flash fare expiring today. We have some "issues" that might cause us to have to cancel. I'm terribly confused about th various insurance coverages and I am hoping someone here who is more familiar can help me quickly...thanks in advance!

 

Here's our situation... we both have elderly Mothers in their late 80s. While they are in fairly good health and still live in their own homes, you just never know when something could happen. Also, I have a sister in Hospice and while she is stable at the moment, that could change. Our other issue is our cat (she is like our child). We have sitters that have stayed with her for years and we really have no one else we would leave her with. A kennel is out of the question. The problem is the sitters are also elderly (early 80s). They are willing to babysit, but again, a health issue could come up at any time.

 

So, what type of coverage would be our best option, cancelling for any of these reasons, either before the cruise or getting home during the cruise? While we are both in excellent health, what if one of us had an emergency? We plan to fly the day before the cruise (booking our own air) and our return flight is the same day the cruise gets back (New Eng./Canada, so not extensive travel).

 

Thank you so much for helping me sort this out quickly.

 

Jayne

[blindrid]

Check http://www.tripinsurancestore.com/

 

and if I were you, I'd call Steve at the above website (phone # is listed there) to talk with someone who knows the in's and out's of insurance and not take our word for this one.

[eandj]

You will have about 14-21 days to purchase your insurance after the FIRST DOWN PAYMENT in order to cover any pre existing conditions of your parents. Use the site mentioned already or insuremytrip.com to get lots of info. If you really have no idea what you need, DO talk to someone at either site and they will guide you to the best policy for your needs. Does your private medical insurance cover you out of the country? You will need that info for sure.

The cost of the policy will be based on your ages, cost of trip (include your non cancellable flights and hotels if any) and length of trip. It sounds like you have valid fears, and SHOULD purchase for your peace of mind. :)

[Andee]

I certainly hope that everyone stays well enough for you to go and enjoy your cruise. My concern is that I think it would be difficult to find a policy that covers in case of the cat sitters having a health problem.

[kitty9]

Your immediate family members will be covered if you purchase the insurance withing 10 to 14 days of placing the initial deposit on your cruise. I highly doubt that cat sitters would be covered under any plan, since they are not a part of your family. For that, you'd have to bite the bullet as cat sitters won't be considered a real emergency.

[eandj]

You might have to purchase a policy with the "for any reason" cancellation coverage. Not sure if it would cover a trip interuption tho. I believe if you get Travel Guard's policy that you can build yourself, you can purchase that "any reason" coverage. But it will be expensive for obvious reasons. Start hunting for an alternate cat sitter.

[iamtrustworthy]

We've just decided on short notice to book a cruise for my upcoming 50th birthday. Departing July2. We have a cabin on hold, but only until the end of today... supposedly last cabin in the Cat. and flash fare expiring today. We have some "issues" that might cause us to have to cancel. I'm terribly confused about th various insurance coverages and I am hoping someone here who is more familiar can help me quickly...thanks in advance!

 

Here's our situation... we both have elderly Mothers in their late 80s. While they are in fairly good health and still live in their own homes, you just never know when something could happen. Also, I have a sister in Hospice and while she is stable at the moment, that could change. Our other issue is our cat (she is like our child). We have sitters that have stayed with her for years and we really have no one else we would leave her with. A kennel is out of the question. The problem is the sitters are also elderly (early 80s). They are willing to babysit, but again, a health issue could come up at any time.

 

So, what type of coverage would be our best option, cancelling for any of these reasons, either before the cruise or getting home during the cruise? While we are both in excellent health, what if one of us had an emergency? We plan to fly the day before the cruise (booking our own air) and our return flight is the same day the cruise gets back (New Eng./Canada, so not extensive travel).

 

Thank you so much for helping me sort this out quickly.

 

Jayne

 

Hi Jayne,

 

I'm sorry to hear about your sister.

 

The only plans you can get that would cover you at all for your sister & your cat are one of the "Cancel For Any Reason" plans. And the "Cancel For Any Reason" is just that - cancelling a trip. It's not "Interrupt For Any Reason", so you'd have no coverage if you had to return home early due to a change in your sister or if something happened to your cat.

 

In addition, I suggest you don't even waste your time looking for travel insurance plans that cover pre-existing conditions on your sister. As far as I know, there aren't any plans that will cover anything related to the reason she's in a hospice because she won't meet the definition of being medically stable. And contrary to popular opinion, covering pre-existing conditions isn't just buying within the deadline and covering your entire trip cost. Being medically stable is key when the person you're trying to cover has a pre-existing condition. Basically, what medically stable means is that the person with a medical condition can't have already or reasonably be expected to take a turn for the worse. And, when a person is in a hospice they've already taken a turn for the worse.

 

I hope all I worded the medically stable make sense. I know you're in a hurry to get the answer so I wrote this in a hurry.

[kent4489]

Thanks for all the input. I called insuremytrip.com and got a little more information. The cancel for any reason would take care of my issue, but only up to 2 days before departure. Useless if something happened to our cat or the sitters a day before or during our trip. Oh well, would hate to lose the money, but our cat is a huge priority in our life and we would just cancel and take our losses if necessary.

I'm still confused with the other insurance and what I might need. From what I understand, the trip cxl and trip interuption will cover us and our parents and even my sister (in the event she passes). I have not made a payment on the cruise and it will be full payment when I do... I'm thinking I understand I still can buy the insurance as if it were a deposit. Not sure why this is causing me such concern this trip.

Thanks again.

[blindrid]

I missed the cat part :rolleyes: .

 

Do whatever is right by you guys. Good luck and happy travels.