Travel insurance for pre-existing waiver

[BlondieinFL]

I am confused about purchasing travel insurance for the pre-existing waiver. Everything I read seems to say that to get a pre-existing waiver you need to purchase the insurance within 2-3 weeks of the initial trip deposit and insure the full amount of the non-refundable costs. Well. I don't have any non-refundable costs when I make my initial cruise deposit. I don't really want to insure the full cost of the cruise before I've even paid it, because that becomes kind of expensive, especially for something I may not need (if I decide to cancel the cruise before the pif date). I have emailed a couple of insurers and received the same response, that I need to insure the full cost of the cruise. This just doesn't make sense to me. Has anyone dealt with this, and maybe knows of a company that doesn't require the whole cost insured before it even becomes non-refundable?

 

[Girl of the South]

What do you need the insurance for? I mean, mostly medical or also Trip Interruption and lost baggage??? You may have some coverage though a credit card? Are you talking about "Cancel for Any Reason"? Do you have a pre-existing condition that would preclude you taking the cruise? I don't insure anything that I can cancel and get my money back - like a hotel room, or airfare (like on Southwest). At this point in my life I just get an Annual Plan. It covers any trips for a year and is almost the same as a single trip plan. Do compare the limits. Insurance preys on your fears. I agree it doesn't make a lot of sense. What are the odds?? Only you know how much you can afford to 'lose'. Google "Trip Insurance Annual Plan".

 

[Mommb]

Yes, insurance for a single trip will only cover the amount of coverage you ask for when you purchase the insurance. You can add coverage later (if, for example, you book airfare after making your initial payment) but any situations due to conditions that existed before your first trip payment may not be covered.

You need to decide whether you are concerned enough about cancelling or needing medical treatment during the trip due to a pre-existing condition to pay the cost of insurance even if you cancel the cruise. I think of it this way: I usually pay for insurance I don’t use, because nothing bad happens during the cruise, and that is a good thing. Some insurers will allow you to move the coverage to a different cruise if you change plans before the original cruise begins — you can ask about that.

If you and your travel companions don’t have conditions that are likely to flare up and lead to cancellation or expensive treatment, then you can wait until after you reach the point of cancellation fees to get insurance,

 

[fla4fun]

I am confused about purchasing travel insurance for the pre-existing waiver. Everything I read seems to say that to get a pre-existing waiver you need to purchase the insurance within 2-3 weeks of the initial trip deposit and insure the full amount of the non-refundable costs. Well. I don't have any non-refundable costs when I make my initial cruise deposit. I don't really want to insure the full cost of the cruise before I've even paid it, because that becomes kind of expensive, especially for something I may not need (if I decide to cancel the cruise before the pif date). I have emailed a couple of insurers and received the same response, that I need to insure the full cost of the cruise. This just doesn't make sense to me. Has anyone dealt with this, and maybe knows of a company that doesn't require the whole cost insured before it even becomes non-refundable?

Try the website insuremytrip.com which compares policies from multiple companies. If there is a company out there who would allow this, you may find it there.

I have never encountered a travel insurance policy that didn’t require buying the insurance within a few weeks of booking/paying your deposit and I have never seen one that did require insuring for the full amount of the trip up front. Once you buy a policy, that is the amount you are covered for. So let’s say you put down a deposit of 25% and buy the insurance for that amount. If you have to cancel when it is paid in full, you would only be covered for 25%. Also consider any auxiliary costs such as airfare, that may have different cancellation policies than the cruise. You are insuring to cover a worst case scenario, a complete cancellation or a medical evacuation after departure. You are buying insurance to minimize your out of pocket loss if you cancel at the last minute or during the trip.

The requirement to buy within a specific time period is to protect the insurance company against people waiting to buy until they know for sure they will be using it. For example, a traveler has terminal cancer and wants to go on one last cruise. If they could buy insurance any time between booking and sailing, if they discovered they were too sick to travel they could buy it and turn right around and file a claim. By purchasing at the time of booking, both the customer and the insurance company assume part of the risk instead of the insurance company assuming all the risk. It’s like the restrictions on homeowner’s insurance or flood insurance that stipulate you have to have a policy in force for a specific period of time before the storm in order to be covered.

Insurance is always a gamble. There will always be a certain percentage of people who need to use it, and when they do they are glad they purchased it. If you will know by PIF date that you need to cancel, and can do so comfortably, then the insurance may not be right for you. If there is a better than average chance you won’t know until very close to your trip, then it is worth considering. I encourage you to do a little research to see what policies are out there to meet your needs. I have only purchased trip insurance for international trips, where both the trip cost and cost of medical care came into play. Fortunately I haven’t had to file any claims so far.