Cancellation Insurance

[BLBCB]

I know this has been touched on in other threads, but I thought it maybe deserved it's own. What are the main things you want to look for in the fine print? What coverages are "must haves"? We are flying down, staying on land, and also cruising the Disney Magic for the first time! The cruise puts us into other countries, so is there anything different we should look for in insurance? I looked at some insurance, and it says that coverage has to be purchased within 15 days of booking, or something like that. I booked a month ago, so does that mean I can't get insurance anywhere? We don't travel until last few days of Dec. What company do you recommend?

This subject comes up quite a bit on other threads, so I guess I'm not the only one not sure of what to do.

 

[Amberle3]

Everything I Know About Insurance In A Nutshell
by Amberle3

Things to look for/fine print:
- Some companies have limited insurance for cruises. Some will only pay for cancellations before the cruise has departed, and not for iterruptions after departure.

Here are the things to ask about:
- job loss
- missed connections
- supplier bankruptcy
- schedule change
- terrorist attacks/violent acts
- Subsistence Allowance
- exclusions to their supplier default coverage
- medical exclusions and pre-coverage exclusion period [added by edit]

When to buy insurance:
- Some companies require the insurance be purchased within a certain time period of making the initial deposit (anywhere from 48hours to 15 days). Some are fine with leaving the insurance until the monies paid are nonrefundable. Almost all the companies will give a late authorization for issuing the policy past their deadline.

Little known facts:
- Even if you don't have anything prepaid, or if the amount prepaid is so small that you think it's not worth getting the insurance, you can still purchase the insurance for the Interruption coverage. All the insurance companies will issue the insurance with a "zero prior" - this means that you won't be covered if you have to cancel prior to departure, but you will be covered for interruptions, missed connections, emergency return home etc.

There are several companies that sell cancellation insurance. I'm in the process of putting together a chart comparing the coverages of them, hope to have it finished in the next few weeks (it's one of those "when I get time" things)

Two of the main companies are TravelGuard and RBC (formerly Voyageur Insurance). RBC has terrorism coverage, although it might be somewhat limited - they've capped the amount that they'll pay out for terrorism over all the policy holders, which means that if there's a terrorist act and you make a claim, they'll wait until they get all the claims in before deciding how much they'll pay you. You might get the entire amount of your claim, or if the total claims are over the cap then you'll just get a portion.

TravelGuard is, as far as I know, the only company that has a Change of Mind policy and will reimburse you up to $250 if you just simply decide not to go. However they're not providing bankruptcy (default) coverage for Air Canada (or several car rental companies).

I've found some of the policies online if anyone wants to read through them:
RBC - http://www.rbcinsurance.com/travel/images/policy-eng.pdf this is the full policy
TravelGuard - http://www.travelguard.ca/products/ca-trip-can0902/ca-trip-can0902.pdf just the cancellation portion

Some credit cards have limited cancellation and medical insurance, but much of the times there are quite severe limitations on the coverage. Often it only applies to the cardholder and not family members for instance. If you're relying on credit card insurance coverage, please be sure to call them and make sure that you're properly covered.

If I come up with more info that should go in here, I'll be sure to edit and include it.

 

[cdnmickeylover]

Here's another insurance question. Are any of the insurance cancellation policies limited in terms of medical conditions?

 

[Amberle3]

Absolutely. Cancellation insurance is for the unexpected. If you book a trip already knowing about a reason that you might have to cancel, then it probably isn't covered.

The clause from Travelguard is as such:
"Any sickness or injury incurred by you, your family member, your travel companion or his/her family member or your or your travel companion's key person before your Policy effective date unless the condition is controlled during the 90-day immediately preceding and including the Policy effective date. A sickness or injury is not controlled if there has been hospitalization, change(s) in mediation of medical treatment during the 90day period immediatel preceding and including your Policy effective date. A sickness or injury has manifested itself when symptoms exist that would cause a reasonably prudent person to seek medical treatment".

So basically, if you or your relations are in fine health, not taking any medications that have changed in the 90days before taking out the insurance, and aren't awaiting surgery or anything like that, then cancellation insurance would cover you if something came up (like a sudden heart attack or stroke).

If you, or a relation, has a history of medical problems, has had changes to medication made or had to be hospitalized in the 90 days prior to taking out the insurance, then the company sees that as reasonable cause for you to suspect that something might happen and will not pay for cancellation should a medical situation arise.

Some of the policies have the 90-day rule, some are up to 180 days depending on type of coverage.

Thanks for bringing this up, I'll edit my previous post to include it.

 

[cdnmickeylover]

Do you know of any insurance companies that will cover pre-existing medical conditions? The reason I ask is that I have diabetes which means that I have a problem getting insurance of any type. Luckily I had insurance prior to the diagnosis but I've looked at cancellation insurance and all the ones I have looked at seem to exclude me. Not a huge deal because I do have coverage at work but was just wondering. Thanks.

 

[mbb]

Excellent!!

Thanks Amberle3!

 

[Amberle3]

If your condition is stable - meaning there's been no change in to the condition or to the medications you're taking - then you shouldn't have a problem with cancellation insurance. Only the insurance company knows for sure though, as they're the ones with the final say.

All the companies have toll free numbers, I'd suggest giving them a call and asking them personally. Normally I'd suggest having your travel agent do it, but when it comes to medical conditions the fact is that it's easier for you to discuss with them what kinds of medications you're taking and how often.

With medical insurance, and in some cases cancellation, a bigger problem than diabetes is asthma actually. Most people don't even give it a second thought, but it's treated as a lung condition. Since most people with asthma use inhalers only when necessary (ie not consistently every day at the same time) it means that the medical dosing isn't stable. As such some companies won't pay for asthma attacks require medical attention if they happen while on vacation.

If you have a medical condition it really is best to ask the insurance company directly. It doesn't take that long, and shouldn't cost anything by using the toll free numbers. And it can make the difference in deciding which insurance is right for you.