trip insurance confusion still

[CdnMom2]

We always purchase Medical Insurance (through CAA lately) when driving to U.S. with the kids.
Now we may be booking a Disney Cruise.
I have gone to www.totaltravelinsurance.com (learned from these boards of course) & compared some plans.
I am concerned about the possibility of losing the hefty deposit or even all of the Cruise cost if something comes up with the kids or us.
BUT I do need MEDICAL coverage for the rest of the time we're in the U.S. (drive there & back, stay at WDW before cruise).
Is that part of the trip also possible under 1 trip coverage: the number of days & cost of trip (include Park Hoppers? Hotels? Food? how figure this!). Or do I need to purchase coverage for the Cruise at the reservation price then buy through CAA as usual for the other days?
Thank you for any assistance clearing this up!

 

[Amberle3]

Here are you options:

You can purchase package insurance, which will include cancellation/interruption and health insurance. Your coverage will have to begin from when you leave home and finish when you return home. The "covered amount" should include anything you've prepaid, including hotel rooms, park passes etc, that you can't get a refund on with short notice.

Alternately you can purchase health insurance separate from the cancellation insurance. You can get the insurance just for the days you have prepaid arrangements for (cruise, hotel, passes etc), although most companies will still recommend that you stick with the exact departure/arrival dates. You can then purchase the medical separately for whatever dates you want, or get an annual insurance policy that will cover you for multiple trips out of province during the year.

Did that help any?

 

[CdnMom2]

Yes, that was very helpful thanks. I am having trouble finding info on cancellation insurance alone. Many of the ones I looked at mentioned certain coverages if purchased within 2 weeks of booking the cruise. Cruise is booked. YAY!!! So I'd better find something fast.

Any more advice on where to look for insurance, but not Medical which we'll book seperately for the whole trip?

 

[Amberle3]

Easiest reply - call any travel agent. Actually call a few, since the insurance companies like to convince agencies to sell their product exclusively over the products of other insurance companies.

The two big ones that do cancellation insurance in Canada are RBC Insurance and Travelguard. From my understand the RBC that you buy from travel agents is different from the stuff that you can buy directly from the bank. Both of these companies offer cancellation insurance by itself.

My agency currently just sells Travelguard, not because we're signed any exclusive with them, just because I've found them so far to be cheaper than RBC and offer a comparable product. 2 other perks to the Travelguard:
- Change of mind - if you cancel just because you've changed your mind, virtually every company says "too bad" and you lose your trip money. Travelguard will refund up to $250 if you change your mind about going on your trip.
- 24/7 customer support. And I mean FULL customer support. If there's a problem and you're in Timbuktu and can't get out of there, of course the first thing you do is call your travel agent to have THEM straighten it out. That's what you're paying them for. But if you can't get a hold of your travel agent for whatever reason, you can call the Travelguard customer service line and THEY will look after making your emergency travel arrangements for you.

Mighty nice benefits to have.