Travel Insurance - Direct vs 3rd Party

[twodaend]

I was wondering what if any are the benefits or disadvantages of buying travel insurance from a 3rd party such as InsureMyTrip.com or SquareMouth.com vs buying the travel insurance directly from the company.  The travel insurance I was looking at is the same price whether buying it from one of the 3rd parties as it is from buying it directly from the travel insurance company itself.

[RockerDom31]

You would need to look at the terms of each policy and decide what is important to you. For example, medical transportation is a big factor that should be carefully looked at since a private jet or helicopter transfer can cost a significant amount. You should also check to see how your claim would be paid out - future cruise credit vs. cash. Another big consideration is how they handle pre-existing conditions.

Fwiw, my wife and I use Allianz. They checked all the boxes for us but that doesn’t necessarily mean it will for you.

[Traveling Mike]

I have always purchased from insurance companies (3rd party) and have never regretted it.  I have not researched them, but my instants tell me to stay away from companies like InsureMyTrip.com or SquareMouth.com and stick with companies that have been doing cruises for a long time.  Like @RockerDom31 uses Allianz and I have a Annual yearly insurance policy with Travel Guard.  I have used travel guard for years and have collected on different items multiple times and they payout without an issue and in a timely manner.  My fear with some of the others are they are big internet companies that you will have trouble if you have trouble.  

My last note:  They are all different, do your research and read what the policy covers.

[twodaend]

From what I've compared, the 3rd Party or maybe better stated, resellers have the same price and terms for this particular travel insurance company I'm looking at as listed when I look directly at the particular company.  With all things being equal buying from the 3rd party aka reseller vs directly from the travel insurance company, my guess is to go with the travel insurance company directly, but I don't have a real justification for that conclusion.

[RockerDom31]

I just re-read the original post and realize my reply was not answering the question! Sorry!

If given the option, I personally would purchase from the travel insurance company directly. While I have never done 3rd party booking for travel insurance, I have had nothing but bad experiences when using 3rd party services for other kinds of products (airfare, hotel, car-buying).

[PL8SWPR]

We use tripinsurancestore just out of convenience. I use them to compare rates and just hit the buy button.  I guess they can be considered travel agents for insurance and potentially help handle issues for you.  If I'm wrong in that assumption, then I'm sure someone will chime in.

Tripinsurancestore has always been very responsive when contacting them. 

[VeronicaS1970]

We too use Allianz and have the yearly policy. Just a better value for us due to the amount of travel we are doing now.

We have always used a third party, but thankfully have never had to actually use it.

[CruiseRoyalDad]

If you are finding 3rd party insurance priced the same as Royal's direct offering you must look further. MUCH FURTHER! A good TA can help you out. I usually bundle cruise and airfare into a package covering our family of six via 3rd party for a price significantly cheaper than what Royal offers, only for the cruise, with FAR superior coverage. The medivac is definitely a differentiator in the packages I look for. I use Allianz agent max exclusively. Matt turned me on to Allianz a long time ago and they've ALWAYS undercut vendor direct offerings by a significant percentage and provide much more coverage. You are throwing away money for an inferior product if you book insurance with Royal.