P, E, O, P, L, E - LET'S BEGIN WITH PLANNING -
CHOOSING TRAVEL INSURANCE
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Time To Think About Travel Insurance
Whether you should get Travel/Medical Insurance, and whom to obtain the policy from, is a personal decision. Our only recommendation is that you do the up-front research so you know the choices available to you and that you consider the consequences and risk should you not purchase insurance.
There are different insurance policies and places to purchase insurance.
No matter what type of insurance you secure, the key is to read the details of the policy so there are no surprises about what is and is not covered by the insurance. This applies to insurance obtained through the cruise line or insurance purchased on your own. As we say, the devil is in the details.
The cruise lines each offer insurance from an insurance underwriter and the cost will vary depending on the number of people being insured along with the length and the cost of the cruise and the age(s) of each person.
Should you wish to take this insurance your Travel Specialist can have it added to your booking and you will pay for it at the time you make your final payment.
Typically, the insurance company will reimburse you for the cost of the trip for the portion that is inside the cancellation window that you otherwise would not have received if you were not insured due to the reasons covered by the policy such as a medical conditions. The insurance normally covers medical expenses that occur during the cruise up to a pre-determined threshold and it will reimburse other costs such as if you needed to be transported to a hospital and/or flown home and will cover other items such as a pre-determined amount for lost luggage. Again the amount of reimbursable coverage varies by cruise line. Many people go with cruise line insurance when they first start to cruise rather than obtaining a policy on their own and some continue to go with the insurance from the cruise line no matter how long they have been cruising.
Another option is to purchase travel insurance on your own and there are several companies selling one or more policies. The advantage of securing insurance on your own is that to some extent you can customize some portions of the policy such as the amount of medical coverage you obtain. In addition, some believe it is better to purchase insurance on your own should there be a concern that the cruise line might go bankrupt. While at the moment the cruise lines are fairly stable, this is not always the case such as the impact that 9/11 had on travel, and the impact that the economic downturn of 2008 had on travel.
There are different ways to search for companies offering policies. To make it easier there are companies that take a lot of the leg work out of the research. Examples include Insure My Trip and Square Mouth. These are their web sites:
https://www.insuremytrip.com
https://www.squaremouth.com
You can go to their site and key in some information about your trip and you will get several companies and policies that might be a good fit for you and they offer the capabilities to easily compare both the cost and the attributes of each policy. You can then either book the insurance via their web site, or by gong to the insurance companies web site, or by doing this via telephone.
Keep in mind should you have a pre-existing medical condition most insurance companies require that you purchase the insurance within fourteen to twenty one days of making the deposit so this is a decision you need to make after your initial deposit is in-place. Some companies allow you to just insure the amount on your deposit and then add to it at the time you make your final payment. Again, it is important that you check with the carrier directly and if possible get the answers to your questions in writing.
In addition, some people opt to purchase medical evacuation insurance which gives them more choices should they wish to designate where they should be evacuated to in terms of a location of a medical facility. There are several policies on the market. One of them we use is Medjet Assist but this is not meant to be a recommendation because we always feel that it is important for each person to figure out what type of policy and then associated company will work best for them.
Other options available include:
Next up is the second the second P which is Preparation.
Whether you should get Travel/Medical Insurance, and whom to obtain the policy from, is a personal decision. Our only recommendation is that you do the up-front research so you know the choices available to you and that you consider the consequences and risk should you not purchase insurance.
There are different insurance policies and places to purchase insurance.
No matter what type of insurance you secure, the key is to read the details of the policy so there are no surprises about what is and is not covered by the insurance. This applies to insurance obtained through the cruise line or insurance purchased on your own. As we say, the devil is in the details.
The cruise lines each offer insurance from an insurance underwriter and the cost will vary depending on the number of people being insured along with the length and the cost of the cruise and the age(s) of each person.
Should you wish to take this insurance your Travel Specialist can have it added to your booking and you will pay for it at the time you make your final payment.
Typically, the insurance company will reimburse you for the cost of the trip for the portion that is inside the cancellation window that you otherwise would not have received if you were not insured due to the reasons covered by the policy such as a medical conditions. The insurance normally covers medical expenses that occur during the cruise up to a pre-determined threshold and it will reimburse other costs such as if you needed to be transported to a hospital and/or flown home and will cover other items such as a pre-determined amount for lost luggage. Again the amount of reimbursable coverage varies by cruise line. Many people go with cruise line insurance when they first start to cruise rather than obtaining a policy on their own and some continue to go with the insurance from the cruise line no matter how long they have been cruising.
Another option is to purchase travel insurance on your own and there are several companies selling one or more policies. The advantage of securing insurance on your own is that to some extent you can customize some portions of the policy such as the amount of medical coverage you obtain. In addition, some believe it is better to purchase insurance on your own should there be a concern that the cruise line might go bankrupt. While at the moment the cruise lines are fairly stable, this is not always the case such as the impact that 9/11 had on travel, and the impact that the economic downturn of 2008 had on travel.
There are different ways to search for companies offering policies. To make it easier there are companies that take a lot of the leg work out of the research. Examples include Insure My Trip and Square Mouth. These are their web sites:
https://www.insuremytrip.com
https://www.squaremouth.com
You can go to their site and key in some information about your trip and you will get several companies and policies that might be a good fit for you and they offer the capabilities to easily compare both the cost and the attributes of each policy. You can then either book the insurance via their web site, or by gong to the insurance companies web site, or by doing this via telephone.
Keep in mind should you have a pre-existing medical condition most insurance companies require that you purchase the insurance within fourteen to twenty one days of making the deposit so this is a decision you need to make after your initial deposit is in-place. Some companies allow you to just insure the amount on your deposit and then add to it at the time you make your final payment. Again, it is important that you check with the carrier directly and if possible get the answers to your questions in writing.
In addition, some people opt to purchase medical evacuation insurance which gives them more choices should they wish to designate where they should be evacuated to in terms of a location of a medical facility. There are several policies on the market. One of them we use is Medjet Assist but this is not meant to be a recommendation because we always feel that it is important for each person to figure out what type of policy and then associated company will work best for them.
Other options available include:
- Purchasing insurance from your Travel Agent many of whom can sell certain policies that are not available to individuals on the market place.
- Utilizing insurance benefits included with a credit card. Please note that what is provided varies by credit card company and might or not be sufficient so again the devil is in the details.
- Purchasing an annual medical plan that is offered by certain medical insurance companies. Normally, this is for medical expenses only.
Next up is the second the second P which is Preparation.
