Travel insurance questions

[RCIfan1912]

We have never gotten travel insurance and I guess have just gotten lucky. Never had an issue of any kind but we also don't take exotic or super long cruises to extreme parts of the world or even Europe for that matter. 

My justification on our next cruise for not getting travel insurance is we are leaving from NJ where we live 30-40 minutes from Cape Liberty. Its a 9 day cruise to Canada/New England which 3 ports are in the US, Boston/Portland, ME/Bart Harbor, ME. Then 2 ports in Canada. 

Question is do you think this is bad thinking or rational thinking? What are your opinions? My mind can be changed, thanks. 

[Xaa]

I never get travel insurance for land vacations, but I always do for cruises.  The cost of a medical evac from a cruise ship via helicopter can be a life changing economical hit.  I think of the cancellation, lost luggage and other normal insurance benefits as just a plus.

[RCIfan1912]

24 minutes ago, Xaa said:

I never get travel insurance for land vacations, but I always do for cruises.  The cost of a medical evac from a cruise ship via helicopter can be a life changing economical hit.  I think of the cancellation, lost luggage and other normal insurance benefits as just a plus.

That is the one thing that is scary, medivac off a ship is a frightening idea in general. 

[ChessE4]

And don't overlook luggage loss by ship or your own pre-cruise health issue that would force cancellation.

[Matt]

All insurance is a waste of money until you need it, and then it's the best money you ever spent.

When I started cruising I never bought travel insurance because I was cheap and thought being young we had low risk factors.

Then one cruise my wife felt ill and I had to weigh getting her care vs the big bill waiting for me since we didn't have travel insurance.  I didn't want to go through that kind of gut check again.

Now, we always sail with travel insurance.

[RCIfan1912]

1 minute ago, Matt said:

All insurance is a waste of money until you need it, and then it's the best money you ever spent.

When I started cruising I never bought travel insurance because I was cheap and thought being young we had low risk factors.

Then one cruise my wife felt ill and I had to weigh getting her care vs the big bill waiting for me since we didn't have travel insurance.  I didn't want to go through that kind of gut check again.

Now, we always sail with travel insurance.

True and I was on Allianz website and in case I read things wrong it was only 190 bucks for the 4 of us. That seems a bit of a low price no? I put everyone name, age, date of birth and that's the price I saw. It was the middle plan, not the most expensive one and not the lowest, the middle plan. Does that sound right? 190 bucks for 2 adults and 2 kids? 

[Matt]

Just now, RCIfan1912 said:

Does that sound right? 190 bucks for 2 adults and 2 kids? 

Yup, travel insurance is a lot cheaper than most people think

[jabberwk]

After having to cancel 2 cruises over the course of 18 months, I learned my lesson. I *always* get travel insurance and I *always* do refundable deposits.

[RCIfan1912]

2 minutes ago, jabberwk said:

After having to cancel 2 cruises over the course of 18 months, I learned my lesson. I *always* get travel insurance and I *always* do refundable deposits.

How does the cancelled cruise work on the cruise lines doing which is rare I would say and on my end? What if we had to cancel for some odd reason? We can cancel for any reason? 

[jabberwk]

2 minutes ago, RCIfan1912 said:

How does the cancelled cruise work on the cruise lines doing which is rare I would say and on my end? What if we had to cancel for some odd reason? We can cancel for any reason? 

If the cruise line cancels, insurance doesn't play into it. They will offer choices of refund, future cruise credit, different itinerary, etc. If I have to cancel for any reason, it applies. Keep in mind - at least for RC - if you haven't paid your full fare yet AND you have a non-refundable deposit, you will still lose your deposit. If you've paid your full fare, you get everything back, including the deposit. This is why I always get refundable deposit as well. The last cruise I had to cancel wasn't paid in full so we lost our $500 deposit. That's a huge chunk of change. Having the refundable deposit would've only increased our total cruise cost by less than $300 so we wouldn't have been out quite so much in the end.

[RCIfan1912]

4 minutes ago, jabberwk said:

If the cruise line cancels, insurance doesn't play into it. They will offer choices of refund, future cruise credit, different itinerary, etc. If I have to cancel for any reason, it applies. Keep in mind - at least for RC - if you haven't paid your full fare yet AND you have a non-refundable deposit, you will still lose your deposit. If you've paid your full fare, you get everything back, including the deposit. This is why I always get refundable deposit as well. The last cruise I had to cancel wasn't paid in full so we lost our $500 deposit. That's a huge chunk of change. Having the refundable deposit would've only increased our total cruise cost by less than $300 so we wouldn't have been out quite so much in the end.

Oh right, duh if Royal Caribbean cancels they will take care of that. Again that's pretty rare. Only 2 we had cancelled was stupid covid. 

[smokeybandit]

I've had 2 cruises canceled post-covid. Oddly, both were Rhapsody.

[Geezer Of The Seas]

"Cancel for any reason" is generally an additional cost rider that is offered by SOME companies. I just purchased a travel policy for my wife & I for a November '24 cruise. Buying a policy outside of the cruise line offering available at booking a reservation is a series of compromises in the end to keep the cost reasonable. For us it came down to the best medical/evacuation coverage we could afford since we're retired and on Medicare which with rare exception, DOES NOT COVER anything outside the US or shipboard medical care.

As an aside, this is the first time we didn't opt for cruise line coverage. A recent ER visit for my wife due to a significant asthma episode and a diagnosis of Influenza B (In July??!!!) persuaded us the cruise line coverage for medical is not sufficient.  We used one of the consolidator websites to view policies, picked a few for comparison & skimmed the actual policy documents before deciding on coverage. Our primary considerations were adequate emergency medical/evacuation-repatriation, and coverage of pre-existing conditions that didn't require a bunch of hoop jumping to qualify. And as @Xaa advised me, there is a narrow purchase window of (we found 14-20 days) from initial payment for your travel to qualify for cancel for any reason or pre-existing condition waiver coverage. Took us an entire afternoon to noodle out, but wound up with a policy that should meet our needs and wasn't prohibitively expensive.

[smokeybandit]

Also be wary of what's included by default for annual plans.  Trip cancellation/interruption caps often are at the policy level, not the individual level. Just make sure you have that dollar amount high enough. And with that, sometimes multiple single trip plans can be more cost effective.

[Traveling Mike]

• My son got an ear infection on a cruise.  Travel Insurance picked up my deductible from my insurance.
• I lost a lot of my hearing on a cruise.  The travel insurance picked up my deductible from my insurance.
• My cruise was shortened by 3 days 9 days before my cruise.  My travel insurance paid for three days hotel in London at the end of the cruise.
• Covid canceled my cruise, and I had a non-refundable hotel in Barcelona.  My travel insurance paid for it.
• I missed a connecting flight home from a cruise.  My travel insurance put me up in a hotel.

Yes, I am happy I had travel insurance.  I currently have an Annual Travel Policy that covers all my travels.

[teddy]

We’ve used travel insurance for flight delays/cancellations/extra hotel nights and luggage damage, but never for medical/evacuation….but we have those coverages just in case.  

Once we started doing more than two cruises a year, we went with an annual plan.  It covers us when we’re 100 miles or more from home, so even a trip to see the grandkids is covered for over half of it. 
 

 

[teddy]

6 minutes ago, teddy said:

so even a trip to see the grandkids

It just hit me how old saying this makes me feel.  

[Dad2Cue]

2 hours ago, Matt said:

Yup, travel insurance is a lot cheaper than most people think

We are one month away from our Canada cruise.  My wife just had a problem which would have been terrible if it would have happened on the cruise.  The problem has resolved but she is still having some tests done.  Is it too late to get travel insurance for our Canada cruise?

I was going to wait until next year to get travel insurance for our TransAtlantic cruise.  We have several cruises in 2024 so maybe an annual travel policy would be wise.  I suspect a policy that would cover costs in Europe and returning from Europe back to the US would be expensive.

 

[RCIfan1912]

10 minutes ago, Dad2Cue said:

We are one month away from our Canada cruise.  My wife just had a problem which would have been terrible if it would have happened on the cruise.  The problem has resolved but she is still having some tests done.  Is it too late to get travel insurance for our Canada cruise?

I was going to wait until next year to get travel insurance for our TransAtlantic cruise.  We have several cruises in 2024 so maybe an annual travel policy would be wise.  I suspect a policy that would cover costs in Europe and returning from Europe back to the US would be expensive.

 

I wouldn't think it would be too late. Go to the Allianz website and see though. 

[AshleyDillo]

29 minutes ago, Dad2Cue said:

We are one month away from our Canada cruise.  My wife just had a problem which would have been terrible if it would have happened on the cruise.  The problem has resolved but she is still having some tests done.  Is it too late to get travel insurance for our Canada cruise?

You can get travel insurance still but most have a pre-existing condition clause. Anything related to your wife's issue would likely not be covered.

[Matt]

This week's podcast episode coming out on Wednesday is all about how to pick a travel insurance plan.

[Xaa]

2 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

You can get travel insurance still but most have a pre-existing condition clause. Anything related to your wife's issue would likely not be covered.

Just to add to what @AshleyDillosaid, you normally need to book your travel insurance within 14 days of booking the cruise for it to cover pre-existing conditions. 

That keeps the insurer's risk a reflection of the entire population and not more weighted toward individuals who expect they might be more likely to have a claim.

[Allen2]

6 hours ago, Matt said:

All insurance is a waste of money until you need it, and then it's the best money you ever spent.

When I started cruising I never bought travel insurance because I was cheap and thought being young we had low risk factors.

Then one cruise my wife felt ill and I had to weigh getting her care vs the big bill waiting for me since we didn't have travel insurance.  I didn't want to go through that kind of gut check again.

Now, we always sail with travel insurance.

 

[Allen2]

We are like Matt, having gone on literally hundreds of cruises without insurance and never needed insurance.  Then we purchased insurance for an Alaska cruise/tour and caught Covid with resulting quarantine and travel expenses.  Several trips in the interim without insurance, but next trip is four B2Bs, coupled with land and train tours - with insurance.  Our experience, after quoting and comparing coverage: prepare to pay in the 10 to 12% range of the cost of the trip for good coverage, although age is a factor in premium costs. Cheaper product is available.

[FloatyBoaty]

1 hour ago, Xaa said:

Just to add to what @AshleyDillosaid, you normally need to book your travel insurance within 14 days of booking the cruise for it to cover pre-existing conditions. 

That keeps the insurer's risk a reflection of the entire population and not more weighted toward individuals who expect they might be more likely to have a claim.

 

And if you purchase an annual plan you cannot let it lapse if you need the pre-existing condition coverage. I have multiple reminders set for myself because it does not renew, you must purchase a new annual policy and I keep this screenshot on my desktop...

(Note that a pre-existing condition can even be anything you saw a doctor for within 120 days!) 

 

 

[Paid4c4]

We always cruise with Travel Insurance.  In years we are going to cruise twice or more we take the policy good for one year.  Insurance can be a total waste of money right up until you need and use it.

Bill