travel insurance

[cruiseclassic]

We are about to book a Uniworld Castles on the River cruise for June of 2009. We are debating whether to buy insurance from Uniworld or some private company. Can anyone recommend an agency that has a good cancellation policy since we have elderly parents and need one that includes immediate family. Thanx :)

Also, any comments on Uniworld's River Ambassador:confused:

[H2Otstr]

I would suggest that you look at Insuremytrip.com. You can get much better coverage than what is offered through a cruise line.

[WIT]

I suggest reading Clarence Thomas' thread on this subject. Here's the link:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=485342

 

WIT

[pacmom]

I agree with H2Os sentiment---don't take the cruise lines' insurance. If they go under, literally or figuratively, you do too. Maybe the hiccup in posting just really placed emphasis on an important feature. Pat

[Donyb]

We have used tripinsurancestore.com for our last several cruises. They have an 800 number, a live person always answers and they are very informative and will make the best suggestions for your needs. The first time I called them I was on the phone for about a half hour having my questions answered and learning some valuable info. They are great people.

[Host Caroline]

Members are unable to delete a post; however you can edit.. if you accidentally do a multiple post you can always use the "triangle" and "report" it and we will be happy to fix it! The boards sometimes slow down or get a gremlin and even if you don't mean to you end with with a triple or quadruple:eek:

[pjtraveler]

We did the Castles on the Rhine tour with Uniworld on the River Ambassador in June 2007. We found the boat comfortable and comparable to other river boats on the Rhine. The crew was great and our cruise director was very good!:)

[Betty/Avie]

The travel insurance sites listed in the prior posts are very good. The important thing to do is obtain the insurance package that best suits your individual needs. We have found that that best way to investigate the various benefits, etc. is to read the actual policies rather than just relying on the marketing blurbs that allegedly describe the benefits! (this is very tedious and time consuming, but the effort is well worth it.) For example, the pre-existing medical condition waiver (if present) is dependent on the definition provided by the insurerer. Indeed, the actual definition may differ significantly from one's own definition! Moreover, with many of the ship's policies, your coverage begins when your passage begins -- thus, if you book your own air transportation or if you add a few days on either end when are not included in yhour ship's contract, you may not have coverage from the time you leave your home until you return. Yes, there are alot of pitfalls. Choose carefully.

[webfoot]

We used insuremytrip.com for our cruise. After getting all of the paperwork, we decided to add an additional 7 days to our trip. I called up the company and figured that they would charge me extra for the extension, but they didn't. They just sent me a revised copy of the document with the new dates on it.

 

Thank goodness we didn't have to use our travel insurance, but from now on I will use insuremytrip.com for our travel insurance needs. They were wonderful to work with.

[H2Otstr]

Cruiseclassic: I have the Welcome Package from Uniworld from the trip that we did last May. If you would like to have it, send you mailing information to me and I will mail it to you. It has the day-by-day itinerary for the trip from Amsterdam to Basel.

 

Sharon

[GrannyLala]

We have always used Travel Safe, and have had to make a claim as well. We had to cancel in 2005 due to DH illness, we got 100% of our money back. Had to have document signed by Dr., all receipts, copies of visa statements and/or copies of bank statements (canceled checks) to submit for reimbursement. It seemed an ordeal, but was well worth it with the checks came.

Since the first claim, knowing what you have to have, we have kept all receipts, etc. together, just in case.:)

[bassmomma]

We are booked on Avalon Artistry for April, 2009 and are using AAA insurance. We have never taken out travel insurance before, but definitely are this time.

[Benita]

We always go to http://www.insuremytrip.com and get the quotes. We usually wind up with Travel Insured - for the price,you get lots of evacuation insurance, which is the most important one to have.

I would stay away from buying insurance from Uniworld, or from any cruise line or tour company. You won't be covered if that line goes bankrupt, an important lesson learned by those who used to sail with Renaissance crusies or any other defunct line. Also, if you are flying on a non-American based airline, companies, such as Access America will not cover you if that airline declares bankruptc. Travel Guard will not cover you in case of Alitalia strikes (which happen pretty regularly). Make sure you read the fine print.