Trip Insurance

[quiescentlyfrozen]

Hopefully this is an allowed post (not sure since I'm soliciting specific reccomendations).

 

In a nutshell, I never really would've thought about trip insurance for my upcoming Northbound Alaska trip on Millie until I saw she's unexpectedly been cancelled for Aus/NZ. I had considered the trip insurance offered through Celebrity when I booked, but since it doesn't cover my separately purchased air fare we ruled that out. And I wasn't going to take Celebrity airfare since it was literally 4x the price of the tickets I got.

 

So my question is... can anyone here reccomend good trip insurance that would cover cruise, air, booked/prepaid/noncancellable tours if (knock on wood) my cruise were cancelled for some reason?

 

I'm especially interested for any reccomendations from those who have actually had to call in/use the insurance as well.

 

Thanks in advance for any and all ideas/recc's!

[Lsimon]

There is a site called insuremytrip.com that compares rates and features from some of the more popular companies. All have different features and costs and most companies have several options that vary quite a bit in cost. Don't presume "any" policy would even cover the issue of airfare due to a cruise line cancellation - it may or may not be a covered event.

 

In the past we've used both Travelguard or CSA as they've had the best rates for the basic cancellation packages we've needed. More recently we've bought the Celebrity insurance as as they have a feature that provides 70% of cost as a future cruise credit if your trip is cancelled for reasons not otherwise covered and we have a few concerns about events that we don't believe would be covered by most policies. Bottom line is some homework is required to understand your needs and coverages available at different price points.

[Ships R Great]

I think, for pre-existing conditions to be covered-if any, you have to book insurance within two weeks of booking your cruise. If I am not right I hope someone will clear it up. However, pre-conditions may not be a concern for you.

[Lsimon]

I think, for pre-existing conditions to be covered-if any, you have to book insurance within two weeks of booking your cruise. If I am not right I hope someone will clear it up. However, pre-conditions may not be a concern for you.

 

There is no blanket rule. I've heard of some policies where you can buy up to final payment date and others where it has to be done far quicker than within 2 weeks. And the "within" date may be the first deposit put on anything relating to your trip. These terms all vary by policy which reinforces the need to shop around and understand the terms.

[hylasgirl]

I think, for pre-existing conditions to be covered-if any, you have to book insurance within two weeks of booking your cruise. If I am not right I hope someone will clear it up. However, pre-conditions may not be a concern for you.

 

No, this is not true. It really depends on the company you book it through and what type of policy. We always use CSA and for good reason. They have always come through, and at times for things that other insurances do not cover. Not to say other insurance companies are not good. Just do your research. Because of our situation, we have to buy a pre-existing policy through CSA and you just have to make sure you purchase the plan before or up until 24 hours after making the final payment. I always make sure I purchase a few days before my final payment to make sure everything is good. You DO NOT have to purchase when booking your cruise. Also, if we are taking a big trip, like Europe, we always insure our airfare as well. This is an option you can select. YES, Delta would give us our credit, but then you have to use a significant amount within a year, and we don't want the hassle of that. PLUS, it doesn't cost a whole lot more to insure your airfare.

[ccletzgo]

Travel Guard is AIG..:eek:

[hcat]

But does anyone think any ins (even what you get from the airline) would cover the need to cancel because a cruise fell through? We have same fears about our Europe trip--we booked our own air--guess we'd spend the time in Italy somehow..

[hylasgirl]

But does anyone think any ins (even what you get from the airline) would cover the need to cancel because a cruise fell through? We have same fears about our Europe trip--we booked our own air--guess we'd spend the time in Italy somehow..

 

 

CSA would if you choose to insure your air portion. They cover for many reasons. They cover for strikes... carrier delays... and air if your cruise is cancelled.

[minz56]

The most important thing is to understand what the policy covers. Do NOT assume that it covers everything you think you might need. For example many insurance policies don't cover financial failure of the cruise line.

 

As a previous poster has said, do your homework.

 

Personally I would NEVER travel without insurance.

[Tricia28]

I always buy trip insurance for my cruises through insuremytrip.com and I usually choose CSA as the carrier. When it asks for my trip cost I include my cruise fare and my air and shore excursions as well as pre cruise hotel (especially if I booked a pre-cruise hotel or rental car through hotwire which means I have paid for in full with no refunds) (I book both of these seperately). I print out the policy after I buy it (it is about 20 pages long). I read through it and take it with me in a small 3 ring binder I carry with all my other info in my carry on backpack. I have purchased insurance for the last 10 cruises or so and I had to use it once when we were on the Carnival Conquest out of New Orleans and couldn't go back to the port because Hurricane Katrina was coming in along side us! CSA booked returning airfare for us when I called them from the ship since now I suddenly needed tickets from Galveston (we had to pay for the tickets initially and then they reimbursed us later, important to know because you will have to have sufficient credit on your card to do this).

 

To make a long story short, when I got back I submitted all my receipts for additional expenses incurred and CSA paid me every penny. I even included the Kinko's receipt for all the copies I had to submit to them to get my claim paid and they paid for the copies too. I was more than impressed. I tend to stick with CSA because of this.

 

The important things are: include all costs when you state how much you are insuring the trip for, have a copy of the policy with you for detailed info and KEEP RECEIPTS FOR EVERYTHING! Documenting and keeping records is absolutely necessary to get all your money back.

[Ships R Great]

See? You learn everyday on CC. I apologize for the mis-information I posted. And I am thankful that I was not flamed for it. I would not trade CC for any other cruise info site. CC folks are great!

[quiescentlyfrozen]

Awesome thanks for all the info so far. Sounds like CSA is a pretty good place to start comparing, but that it's worth reading through the various options. I'll certainly start doing that soon! Thanks again to all.

[lobster129]

We have had a need twice to be reimbursed by our travel insurance for a planned cruise after final payment was made. It did include coverage of pre-existing conditions although on both occasions our medical issues causing cancellation were not pre-existing conditions. We have used both CSA and AIG. We were not only reimbursed for the cruise, but also air and a hotel booked through priceline that would not be cancelable. The only expense we were out is what we paid for the insurance itself.

 

We always book insurance for cruises. We do not for land vacations in the USA. There are two OPTIONS for booking pre-existing conditions that are causing the confusion. If you book your travel insurance within the first 14 days of booking your cruise, many policies offer pre-existing conditions to be included at no additional fee. As long as you book your travel insurance prior to making final payment, you can ADD pre-existing conditions to your insurance.

 

When considering cruise insurance, consider those that cover things like bankruptcy of provider of service (cruise line or air carrier) and also cruise line canceling your cruise. It also needs to cover things like weather related delays of your flight and most certainly emergency medical needs and medical evacuation.

 

We were on the Summit cruise a couple weeks ago in which all passengers on a tour were injured due to breaks failing on their vehicle. Several were seriously injured and all requiring hospitalization were air lifted from the island of Dominica's hospital to Miami for more definitive care. You may be young and health...but there are accidents too.

 

You invest so much money and time in cruise planning. If you have to cancel your plans (for a covered reason) ...at least you get your $$ back.

 

Lobster129

[hylasgirl]

Thee very best thing about travel insurance, is that once paid, hopefully it's a big waste of money!:)