DCL insurance

weswife

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Hi, we are planning a surprise birthday cruise for our DD. She has been battling an illness and we are praying she will be able to travel in April! Has anyone had to cancel/postpone their cruise? I am wondering how it worked out for your situation.
 
I suggest getting insurance that covers pre-existing conditions. If you have to cancel because of her illness, the DCL policy does not cover "pre-existing" conditions (meaning an illness/diagnosis that existed at the time of booking). It does offer "cancel for any reason" which is a 75% credit from DCL, but no refund and no coverage for flights, hotels, etc.

Often you can get pre-existing waivers for free if you purchase a policy within 7-14 days of making the deposit. Good luck to your DD.
 
If there is any chance your DD may need medical attention during the cruise, you also would need a pre-existing waiver. While DCL's policy has it's positives -- mainly the CFAR option -- for those with specific needs or medical concerns, a traditional policy is probably best. I suggest you google for trip insurance comparison websites and the most popular will float to the top. You can put in your parameters to narrow some options, then be sure to call and ask specific questions to be sure you are purchasing the coverage you may need.
 
Like Lanejudy said DCL insurance does not cover pre-existing conditions but you really need to read the policy carefully and call AON the insurance Company that underwrites DCL insurance and ask specific questions related to your situation. You can find the actual policy terms on the DCL website under the Help section.

We had to use the DCL insurance for trip cancellation due to a medical issue when we cancelled our trip from last May. Because we were already in a 50% refund penalty we only received a 50% refund from DCL and had to get the remaining 50% through the DCL trip insurance. I initially called the insurance company who directed me to their web site and explained what was needed to file the claim and how much time I had to file the claim. Because they give you leeway in filing the claim I was able take my time in getting the necessary documentation including signed documentation from the physician. Once I had everything completed I uploaded the documents online and received the remaining refund in two weeks. Because AON works directly with the cruise line they were able to see my DCL reservation on their system and they work with DCL to verify the cost of the trip and how much DCL refunded before issuing their refund. I can only assume this helped with getting the refund back so quickly.

From my understanding of the pre-existing policy excerpts below the pre-existing condition does not seem to apply to a condition that is treated or controlled by medication without any adjustments also the pre-existing exclusion does not apply to emergency evacuation as you can see below. But definitely search for the best policy that fits your situation. The medical emergency coverage of the DCL insurance seemed on the low side. Again call AON before making any decisions.

Pre-Existing Condition” means an illness, disease, or other condition during the 60 day period immediately prior to the Effective Date of Your coverage for which You or Your Traveling Companion, or Family Member scheduled or booked to travel with You: 1) received or received a recommendation for a test, examination, or medical treatment; or 2) took or received a prescription for drugs or medicine. Item (2) of this definition does not apply to a condition which is treated or controlled solely through the taking of prescription drugs or medicine and remains treated or controlled without any adjustment or change in the required prescription throughout the 60 day period before Your coverage is effective under this policy.

Benefits are not payable for any loss due to, arising or resulting from:
  1. due to a Pre-Existing Condition, as defined in the policy. This Pre-Existing Condition exclusion does not apply to the Emergency Medical Evacuation or Repatriation of Remains coverage or from Trip Cancellation or Trip Interruption claims resulting from death;

One thing I found in my recent search for trip insurance is as lanejudy said some policies will wave pre-existing conditions if you pay within a very short time of making a payment on the cruise. I also found that some policies would cover cancelling due to contracting COVID and some would not.

I love the information that you get from reading these boards but do not rely on the information alone. I think as I previously mentioned it is very important to review the terms of the policies that you are considering and call each insurance company to discuss your questions on coverage before making a decision. You don't want to find out that when you need to use the insurance what you thought was a covered situation is actually not covered.
 

Thank you for all the replies! I have started searching online. We pray she is stable and we can make the trip!!!! As far as on the trip we are very efficient in her care so medical treatment would not be required unless she took a drastic turn.
 
The travel insurance offered by DCL is administered by Aon Affinity. In other words, all the claims are processed through them. Do some research first. Go to the BBB website and pull up Aon Affinity of NY and read the hundreds upon hundreds of recent complaints on this company. Seach them on facebook and see all the complaints. I highly recommend travel insurance, but I would stay far away from Aon Affinity.
 
The travel insurance offered by DCL is administered by Aon Affinity. In other words, all the claims are processed through them. Do some research first. Go to the BBB website and pull up Aon Affinity of NY and read the hundreds upon hundreds of recent complaints on this company. Seach them on facebook and see all the complaints. I highly recommend travel insurance, but I would stay far away from Aon Affinity.
Based on your comments I have looked up some other travel insurance companies on BBB it is not just AON that has a terrible rating but they still get high BBB ratings. I think most of the travel insurance companies have terrible reviews if you research them across the web. I am not talking about reviews of the travel insurance companies based on what they claim to cover and the coverage limits. I can only speak for my experience which after following the directions for making a claim exactly and verifying our situation is covered before making the claim we had no issue with the DCL insurance.

I am not saying that AON or any other travel insurance is good or bad and I have not had to file a claim yet with any other travel insurance companies but I have to wonder how many of the bad reviews were the result of not reading all terms of the policy or not filing claims with all of the required information than complaining when the claim is rejected. I am sure that the person reviewing the claims are initially looking at the claim for completeness and meeting all terms of the travel policy before reviewing the claims as something that should be paid. Travel insurance companies are in the business of making money and based on the number of travel insurance companies I assume they do very well.

I would bet that many people buy travel insurance based on price rather than reviewing to determine if the insurance fits their situation. The best protection is to do as much research as you can prior to buying travel insurance and confirm your situation and any other situation that you feel is important is covered and if you do find you need to file a claim insure that you follow the instructions and include all required documents with enough detail to hopefully avoid any issues with filing a successful claim.
 
We get it for cruises and other $$$$ trips, because we are not comfortable with losing several thousand dollars if we can't go. Case in point, my husband had an unexpected injury requiring surgery less than a week before one cruise, so we were definitely into the penalty for cancelation window. We were able to recover the nonrefundable cost of the cruise (about $2500 for the 2 of us). Our insurance was through a third party, not DCL.
 
We get it for cruises and other $$$$ trips, because we are not comfortable with losing several thousand dollars if we can't go. Case in point, my husband had an unexpected injury requiring surgery less than a week before one cruise, so we were definitely into the penalty for cancelation window. We were able to recover the nonrefundable cost of the cruise (about $2500 for the 2 of us). Our insurance was through a third party, not DCL.
Are you able to name the 3rd party? I am lost trying to find a reputable 3rd party,
Thank you I hope your husband is doing ok!
 
Are you able to name the 3rd party? I am lost trying to find a reputable 3rd party,
Thank you I hope your husband is doing ok!
We got that policy via insuremytrip website. I believe the underwriter was John Hancock. The travel insurance aggregator sites let you compare features across policies. We have also purchases travel insurance via Allianz, but (knock on wood) have not had to file a claim with them. No matter what-- save ALL of your cruise/travel/insurance emails. If you have to file a claim, you need all the documentation.
 
Does anyone have any advice on a third party that insures the cruise and also renting points from a David's? I think AIG does but I would love to hear from anyone who had done this. Next year is my 50th and I'm finally doing a land and sea!
 

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