Signed in as:
filler@godaddy.com
Signed in as:
filler@godaddy.com
The last thing most of us think about when we plan a cruise is the list of elements that can go wrong before and during our vacation. But, as Robert Gallagher, Senior Vice President and CEO of AIG Travel reminds us, "…there are many risk factors unique to cruising." Flight delays caused by weather or a mechanical problem can keep us from arriving to our embarkation port in time. The airline can lose our checked bags. We can get sick before we board or, even worse, mid-cruise. We might even make a boneheaded move in a port of call that makes us miss the ship and need to catch up to the in the next port of call. Plus, a host of other general issues can scuttle a vacation, such as the illness or death of a family member, cancellation of plans by a travel companion, job loss, airline delays and lost baggage.
Those reasons and so many others are why travelers seek insurance coverage. It provides that extra bit of calm and control we all crave. More importantly, it prevents you from losing money due to unforeseen circumstances and travel emergencies, and insurance fees are typically just a small percentage of your vacation expenditure.
One misconception about travel insurance is that it's only necessary for travelers in ill health, those who pack valuable items in their suitcases or those who plan wildly expensive trips. It's important to recognize that travel insurance policies can bail us out of a multitude of quagmires. For example:
Say your ship develops a serious mechanical problem, which necessitates the cancelling of the entire voyage and you're forced to disembark at the next port of call. While the cruise line will generally assist passengers in such predicaments, a travel insurance policy will give you ultimate coverage and reimburse you for any unexpected out-of-pocket expenses (such as a hotel stay while you wait for an available flight back home) that the cruise line won't cover. Additionally, your insurer's hotline may actually be able to get you home faster than the ship's guest services department, which is busy trying to re book 2,000-plus passengers.
You're unexpectedly stricken with appendicitis a week before your cruise embarks. If you don't have trip insurance and cancel your cruise now, you'll be hit with an excessive cancellation penalty and may even lose out on the value of the trip altogether. Insurance will reimburse you for those out-of-pocket costs you can't get back.
You're on the way to the airport when your taxi breaks down, and you end up missing your flight. Or you're on the first leg of flights to the cruise port, and a mechanical delay means you'll miss your connecting flight -- and your ship. Travel insurance covers these sorts of trip delays and missed connections.
A La Carte Policy Additions
In addition to comprehensive packages, insurers also offer a cadre of a la carte add-ons. They may include:
As the phrase suggests, you can cancel your trip for any reason (perhaps you changed your mind and are no longer interested in the cruise itinerary) and are still covered -- a luxury normal insurance policies won't allow. Read the description of coverage to find out what percentage of your trip deposits are reimbursed under this type of "cancel for any reason" terminology. (Sometimes a policy includes 100 percent reimbursement, and sometimes it's as little as 50 percent.) These policies are very expensive and may only make sense in certain circumstances -- say, a very costly itinerary or world cruise.
This supplemental, add-on insurance provides extra coverage in the case of an aircraft accident. The insured can select coverage in a variety of dollar amounts; half a million dollars in coverage can cost less than $50 per traveler.
If your plans include the rental of a vehicle, car-rental collision coverage can be useful. This type of coverage can cost $10 or less per day.
Some companies offer an add-on that upgrades the amount of medical coverage and/or lowers your deductible.
While evacuation/repatriation is generally included in top-of-the-line policies, you may also purchase more comprehensive, standalone evacuation policies from companies like MedJetAssist. The company will send a plane and medical personnel to you no matter where you are and no matter what your health crisis is. You get to choose where you'll be evacuated to ... no questions asked. A standalone emergency evacuation policy is a good choice if you don't plan on getting other insurance but still want coverage for a medical emergency.
Some insurance companies provide additional coverage for those participating in extreme sports or other high-risk activities on their vacation. Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection's AdrenalineCare, for example, offers an upgraded medical expense limit and emergency evacuation limit, as well as an adventure sports exclusion waiver covering more extreme sports.
Not all travel insurance policies are the same, and you need to know which type you're buying, in addition to specific coverages. Just about every cruise line on the planet offers its own travel protection program, but it might not be the comprehensive policy you desire. Cruise-line insurance usually offers secondary coverage (see below) and is more limited than similarly priced coverage you can buy on your own. (For example, cruise-line coverage generally doesn't cover its own financial default.) Third-party travel insurance companies offer more inclusive policies that provide more protection, and these are often the best bet.
As you look at plans, you'll notice two main flavors of insurance policies: primary and secondary. Primary insurance kicks in the moment something goes wrong -- before or during your trip. Secondary insurance means that you must attempt to collect on any private insurance policies before the trip insurance coverage activates. For example, if you have secondary insurance and someone steals your camera from your bag in St. Mark's Square, you'll need to try to collect on your homeowner's or renter's policy first. Therefore, secondary insurance can be problematic if the insured can't easily cover out-of-pocket expenses while waiting for insurance reimbursement -- first from your primary plan and then, if not covered, from your travel insurance.
It might not be clear from the outset which type of plan you're looking at, so you need to read the terms carefully. Hint: Primary coverage is usually more expensive, but it generally combines better coverage with the ease that immediate claim service brings. Also, in a package policy, some coverage such as trip cancellation and travel delay might be primary, while others including lost baggage and medical coverage can be secondary.
If you're considering secondary insurance, be sure to review your primary medical coverage before deciding. Will you be out-of-pocket for any medical expenses overseas? (Note: The Social Security Medicare program will not cover hospital or medical expenses that you incur outside of the United States.)
You can purchase travel insurance through your cruise line, travel agent, a specific insurance provider or even a travel-insurance aggregator site like InsureMyTrip.com. (See below for a list of trip-insurance companies and insurance comparison sites.) Ask your travel agent for guidance; he or she will have knowledge of a variety of insurance company policies and can help match the best policy to your needs. Always comparison shop, looking at what amounts of coverage you get for what price.
No matter which policy you select, you want to be sure that it is underwritten by a reputable and licensed insurer; companies are regulated by state insurance departments. The U.S. Travel Insurance Association is a good place to start to research licensed insurers in your state. It's also easy to search your local Better Business Bureau for feedback on particular insurance providers.
You can purchase insurance plans up to 24 hours before your trip departure date, but we don't recommend waiting that long. If you do wait, you may not be eligible for many important benefits, such as the waiver of the pre-existing conditions clause. If you want to be covered for pre-existing medical conditions, you should buy insurance at the time you make your final cruise payment. (Each insurer dictates its own coverage window, but the deadline is usually 10 to 15 days after making that final payment -- or after booking your airfare, if you do that first.) If you aren't eligible for this waiver, your insurer will look back into your medical history (each policy differs as to the exact time period, but it often ranges from 60 to 180 days) and will not cover any condition for which you've suffered during that time. (We're talking everything from eczema and asthma to heart angina and strokes.)
When it comes to buying travel insurance, don't worry if you've paid for your cruise but haven't yet purchased your airline tickets. You can estimate the airfare cost when buying your travel insurance and then give your provider your exact travel itinerary once those tickets are booked. Likewise, if you're arranging your plane tickets first, buy your travel insurance within two weeks of that purchase, and estimate the cruise fare. You just need to be sure to pay for travel insurance within the booking window of whichever travel purchase comes first.
Remember, too, that you can't purchase travel insurance and expect it to cover events that are already in motion. For example, you book a Caribbean cruise that departs during hurricane season but procrastinate on purchasing travel insurance. Once your local weatherman announces that a hurricane is howling along the path of your cruise itinerary, it's too late for you to buy travel insurance and be covered for any travel cancellations or delays caused by the storm. You'd only be covered if you had purchased the insurance prior to the formation of the hurricane.
The per-person price paid for a trip insurance policy will vary depending on many factors, including the insurer, where the traveler lives, the traveler's age, cost of the trip, when the policy is purchased (ie, at the time of the trip deposit or later), pre-existing health conditions and what the policy covers.
Here are some examples of what you might expect to pay.
For example, Travel Guard's Gold plan offers extensive primary coverage including, but not limited to, the following:
If you're between 35 and 59 years old and plan to insure a cruise fare of $1,599 per person, the cost of Travel Guard's Gold plan would be $106 plus $7 in fees. The per-person cost bumps up to $145 for travelers ages 60 to 69, and $196 for travelers between 70 and 74 years of age. Prices go up from there. This plan covers minors at no additional cost when they travel with the primary insured person named in the plan. When you buy this plan within 15 days of the initial trip deposit, increased benefits for missed flight connections and primary medical coverage are included.
You can also elect "add-on" coverage. For example, an extra $18 gets you upgraded medical expense and emergency evacuation coverage. Spend another $42.40 and you can add Cancel for Any Reason coverage. Car rental collision coverage is also available for as little as a few dollars a day.
MedJetAssist offers annual policies for individuals and families. Residents of the United States, Canada and Mexico are eligible for these plans, which cover medical evacuation and repatriation, both domestically and when traveling outside of the country of residence. The company ensures that a jet will be available whenever the insured needs it; policy members who are hospitalized out of the country can choose to be transported to any hospital of their choice around the world. Annual family memberships are $395 (policies for individuals cost $270/year), while short-term memberships start at $99.
In the end, only you can determine if trip insurance -- and which type -- is right for you. Can you afford to lose the money you've spent on this cruise vacation? Can you roll with the punches when the airline loses your luggage? Do you have an elderly or ill relative who may suddenly require your assistance, causing you to cancel your cruise? What if you lose your job? What if you get promoted and can no longer take time off to go on vacation? The answers to these questions will guide you to the conclusion of whether trip insurance is needed or not. Determine your tolerance level for loss, and go from there.
Never Miss a Deal! Subscribe and Save
You make it to the Port of Miami on time, but the airline misdirected your luggage to Cleveland. Your formal attire -- and all your other clothes and accessories -- will literally miss the boat. If your bag is delayed a certain number of hours (policies vary), your policy will reimburse you for "necessary personal effects" such as a new outfit and toiletries to tide you over until your bag is delivered. If your bag is lost and never returned, you can claim for the lost piece of luggage as well as what was inside it. The amount you'll recoup is capped by the terms in your policy. Some policies also include coverage to make sure your bag gets to the next port of call.
One minute you're focusing your camera lens on the Parthenon and jockeying into the best position for the shot; the next minute you've stepped on a rock, slipped, fallen and broken your ankle. You require immediate medical treatment. AIG Travel's Gallagher says that, "Regular health insurance plans typically don't pay -- or pay in full -- for medical care outside of the United States." The appropriate trip insurance coverage will get you patched up right away without exorbitant out-of-pocket expenses. (Note: In many countries, you must pay a doctor or hospital up front, but a travel insurance policy will reimburse you for those expenses in a timely manner.)
No one wants to think about this but in times of global financial upheaval, we all need to be cognizant of the financial health of our travel suppliers. Some insurance policies cover financial default of airlines, hotels, cruise lines and tour operators. (Note: Many policies offered directly through cruise lines do not include financial default coverage. Check each policy carefully before purchasing.)
If you watch the news, you've probably seen video clips of helicopter evacuations from cruise ships in the middle of nowhere. This may be necessary in cases of health threats -- such as heart
attacks or strokes -- in which you require immediate care that goes beyond what's available in your ship's sick bay. If the next port of call is too far away, a medevac may be the only option to save your life or the life of a loved one. Gallagher says that an emergency evacuation from a cruise ship can cost thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars; it's a big bill to pay out of pocket but it's covered in many trip insurance policies, such as AIG's Travel Guard products and Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection's WaveCare. (Many cruise-line insurance policies do not include emergency medical or evacuation benefits.) Trip insurance may also cover the repatriation of remains if a death occurs during an insured vacation.
Two months before embarkation, your friend loses his job and can no longer afford to go on vacation. Without insurance, you may be left holding the bag to either pay an additional single supplement to continue with your plans, or to cancel and get hit with the full force of the cruise line's cancellation policy. (Note: Not all policies offer job-loss coverage, and not all policies cover both you and your travel companions; check the terms of your policy, and ask the insurer if it's available as part of a package or add-on service.)
Incidents related to terrorism and labor strikes may be included in insurance policies. However, like so many other aspects of insurance, there are caveats. It's always advisable to carefully check your policy's description of coverage to determine how these events are covered. For example, sometimes a policy will cover a traveler if an act of terrorism occurs in his/her hometown or trip destination within a certain number of days of embarkation -- as few as seven or as far out as 30 days. However, if you're just nervous about terrorism and want to cancel a trip to a destination that has not experienced a recent attack, travel insurance will not cover you -- unless you purchase more expensive "Cancel for Any Reason" coverage.
Yes ... and no. It's not strictly necessary for everyone in your group to purchase a policy, but you'll receive more comprehensive protection if you do. The first thing to know is that your insurance policy only protects you; if you want the rest of your family or travel companions to have the same protection, then they must be added to your policy (or take out their own). The one exception is that some policies cover children under 17 traveling with an insured guardian at no additional charge. Check the policy's fine print.
However, one of the most appealing aspects of travel insurance is the fact that traveling companions and family members (spouses, domestic partners, children, grandparents, grandchildren, daughters- or sons-in-law, nieces and nephews, etc.) count when it comes to covered reasons for canceling your cruise. If your travel companion falls ill and can't make the cruise, or your aging mother is rushed to the hospital, your policy should reimburse you for canceling your trip.
Take this example: Sue and Jim are traveling together. Sue buys an insurance policy, but Jim does not. A week before the cruise, Jim gets appendicitis and must cancel his trip. Since he doesn't have trip insurance, he forfeits all of the money he's paid to the cruise line and airline. Since Sue has insurance, she can cancel her trip and make a claim on this "event" (her traveling companion getting sick and canceling). She can do this since her policy includes traveling companions in its cancellation coverage.
But it gets trickier. Say it's Jim's father, not Jim, who gets sick, forcing Jim to cancel his cruise. In this case, Sue is also out of luck, despite her insurance policy. That's because her policy protects her if something happens to her travel companion and he's forced to cancel -- but not if he cancels because something happened to a member of his family. However, if they both had travel insurance, Jim could be reimbursed for canceling his cruise because his father's illness is covered, and Sue would also be reimbursed because her travel companion canceled for a covered reason.
Insurance policies of all types are tricky, and it's not always clear what's covered and what isn't. When you're researching policies, carefully read the description of coverage and call the insurer to resolve any questions you may have. Here are a few things that aren't usually covered by travel insurance:
Don't bother filing a claim because it rained each day of your Caribbean cruise. Inclement weather is not covered. (Of course, if a hurricane impacts your trip, then trip delay, trip cancellation or trip interruption coverage will be available to you.)
Travel insurance covers your trip but not changes to the itinerary. The skipping or swapping of a port won't warrant a claim.
Airline tickets purchased with frequent-flyer miles aren't covered.
However, insurers will reimburse the redeposit fee if you cancel the award before embarking on the first leg of the flights, or cover the change fee if you must reschedule your return ticket due to a covered event.
In addition to comprehensive packages, insurers also offer a cadre of a la carte add-ons. They may include:
As the phrase suggests, you can cancel your trip for any reason (perhaps you changed your mind and are no longer interested in the cruise itinerary) and are still covered -- a luxury normal insurance policies won't allow. Read the description of coverage to find out what percentage of your trip deposits are reimbursed under this type of "cancel for any reason" terminology. (Sometimes a policy includes 100 percent reimbursement, and sometimes it's as little as 50 percent.) These policies are very expensive and may only make sense in certain circumstances -- say, a very costly itinerary or world cruise.
This supplemental, add-on insurance provides extra coverage in the case of an aircraft accident. The insured can select coverage in a variety of dollar amounts; half a million dollars in coverage can cost less than $50 per traveler.
If your plans include the rental of a vehicle, car-rental collision coverage can be useful. This type of coverage can cost $10 or less per day.
Some companies offer an add-on that upgrades the amount of medical coverage and/or lowers your deductible.
While evacuation/repatriation is generally included in top-of-the-line policies, you may also
purchase more comprehensive, standalone evacuation policies from companies like
MedJetAssist. The company will send a plane and medical personnel to you no matter where you are and no matter what your health crisis is. You get to choose where you'll be evacuated to ... no questions asked. A standalone emergency evacuation policy is a good choice if you don't plan on getting other insurance but still want coverage for a medical emergency.
Some insurance companies provide additional coverage for those participating in extreme sports or other high-risk activities on their vacation. Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection's
AdrenalineCare, for example, offers an upgraded medical expense limit and emergency evacuation limit, as well as an adventure sports exclusion waiver covering more extreme sports.
Not all travel insurance policies are the same, and you need to know which type you're buying, in addition to specific coverage's. Just about every cruise line on the planet offers its own travel protection program, but it might not be the comprehensive policy you desire. Cruise-line insurance usually offers secondary coverage (see below) and is more limited than similarly priced coverage you can buy on your own. (For example, cruise-line coverage generally doesn't cover its own financial default.) Third-party travel insurance companies offer more inclusive policies that provide more protection, and these are often the best bet.
As you look at plans, you'll notice two main flavors of insurance policies: primary and secondary. Primary insurance kicks in the moment something goes wrong -- before or during your trip. Secondary insurance means that you must attempt to collect on any private insurance policies before the trip insurance coverage activates. For example, if you have secondary insurance and someone steals your camera from your bag in St. Mark's Square, you'll need to try to collect on your homeowner's or renter's policy first. Therefore, secondary insurance can be problematic if the insured can't easily cover out-of-pocket expenses while waiting for insurance reimbursement -- first from your primary plan and then, if not covered, from your travel insurance.
It might not be clear from the outset which type of plan you're looking at, so you need to read the terms carefully. Hint: Primary coverage is usually more expensive, but it generally combines better coverage with the ease that immediate claim service brings. Also, in a package policy, some coverage such as trip cancellation and travel delay might be primary, while others including lost baggage and medical coverage can be secondary.
If you're considering secondary insurance, be sure to review your primary medical coverage before deciding. Will you be out-of-pocket for any medical expenses overseas? (Note: The Social Security Medicare program will not cover hospital or medical expenses that you incur outside of the United States.)
You can purchase travel insurance through your cruise line, travel agent, a specific insurance provider or even a travel-insurance aggregator site like InsureMyTrip.com. (See below for a list of trip-insurance companies and insurance comparison sites.) Ask your travel agent for guidance; he or she will have knowledge of a variety of insurance company policies and can help match the best policy to your needs. Always comparison shop, looking at what amounts of coverage you get for what price.
No matter which policy you select, you want to be sure that it is underwritten by a reputable and licensed insurer; companies are regulated by state insurance departments. The U.S. Travel Insurance Association is a good place to start to research licensed insurers in your state. It's also easy to search your local Better Business Bureau for feedback on particular insurance providers.
You can purchase insurance plans up to 24 hours before your trip departure date, but we don't recommend waiting that long. If you do wait, you may not be eligible for many important benefits, such as the waiver of the pre-existing conditions clause. If you want to be covered for pre-existing medical conditions, you should buy insurance at the time you make your final cruise payment. (Each insurer dictates its own coverage window, but the deadline is usually 10 to 15 days after making that final payment -- or after booking your airfare, if you do that first.) If you aren't eligible for this waiver, your insurer will look back into your medical history (each policy differs as to the exact time period, but it often ranges from 60 to 180 days) and will not cover any condition for which you've suffered during that time. (We're talking everything from eczema and asthma to heart angina and strokes.)
When it comes to buying travel insurance, don't worry if you've paid for your cruise but haven't yet purchased your airline tickets. You can estimate the airfare cost when buying your travel insurance and then give your provider your exact travel itinerary once those tickets are booked. Likewise, if you're arranging your plane tickets first, buy your travel insurance within two weeks of that purchase, and estimate the cruise fare. You just need to be sure to pay for travel insurance within the booking window of whichever travel purchase comes first.
Remember, too, that you can't purchase travel insurance and expect it to cover events that are already in motion. For example, you book a Caribbean cruise that departs during hurricane season but procrastinate on purchasing travel insurance. Once your local weatherman announces that a hurricane is howling along the path of your cruise itinerary, it's too late for you to buy travel insurance and be covered for any travel cancellations or delays caused by the storm. You'd only be covered if you had purchased the insurance prior to the formation of the hurricane.
The per-person price paid for a trip insurance policy will vary depending on many factors, including the insurer, where the traveler lives, the traveler's age, cost of the trip, when the policy is purchased (ie, at the time of the trip deposit or later), pre-existing health conditions and what the policy covers.
Copyright © 2019 All Rights Reserved.