Vacation insurance - cost of trip?

[ThisIsTheYear]

I'm shopping around for a vacation protection plan and they ask how much the vacation is. We are driving 1 hour to the port (NYC) so do we include tolls, parking, etc. I include services like the BBB and the Spa, correct? I appreciate any info you have. Thx!

 

[NancyIL]

Trip insurance is intended to cover only prepaid and non-refundable trip costs. That means the cruise, non-refundable airfare (which you don't have), and any prepaid/nonrefundable hotels, tours, or similar trip expenses are included. You don't prepay the spa or BBB, so they aren't part of your trip cost. Even when you do prepay some things -if they can be cancelled and the fees refunded, you don't include them in your trip cost.

When buying trip insurance, base the amount of coverage on a per-person basis rather than on the total trip cost. The first two people in the cabin pay more than the 3rd and 4th passengers, so if you insure the total cost of the cruise, each person will get the same amount of coverage - possibly leaving the first two people underinsured. Example: if the first two passengers pay $1500 pp and the 3rd and 4th passengers pay $500 pp - that's a trip cost of $4000. If you insure the trip for $4000 - each person gets $1000 of insurance coverage, leaving the first two people underinsured. Make sure the first two people have at least $1500 pp in coverage.

I buy my trip insurance from the Trip Insurance Store: www.tripinsurancestore.com. Note that some policies cover children for free when the parents are covered, but still include the total per-person cost for the first two passengers.

 

[ThisIsTheYear]

This is extremely helpful! Thank you so much!

 

[MillauFr]

Some credit cards will give you the insurance for free if you charge the vacation on them.

 

[Cackyschmackers]

Cruise vacations have their own specific requirements (missing ports, excursions, etc) so whatever you choose, I would be sure to read the language included with cruise details carefully. I've also found you can increase the coverage of your trip without increasing the cost of the insurance up to a certain point. Once when we missed coming back into port due to fog, we had unexpected expenses such as extra meals and hotel stay, then changes to air for 5 people. It really helped a lot (especially when our transportation back to port declared us a "no show" and we had to rebook anyhow.)

 

[NancyIL]

Cruise vacations have their own specific requirements (missing ports, excursions, etc) so whatever you choose, I would be sure to read the language included with cruise details carefully. I've also found you can increase the coverage of your trip without increasing the cost of the insurance up to a certain point. Once when we missed coming back into port due to fog, we had unexpected expenses such as extra meals and hotel stay, then changes to air for 5 people. It really helped a lot (especially when our transportation back to port declared us a "no show" and we had to rebook anyhow.)

Trip insurance prices tend to increase in $500 increments, so I round up the amount of coverage I purchase to the next $500 level. If my trip costs $1,775 pp, I round up to $2,000 pp in coverage for (usually) the same price. The premium increases at $2,001 of coverage.

 

[oakleycat]

I just booked our and had to breakdown by person all of the costs that will non-refundable as of the time of the trip. As we're doing a few days at Universal prior ours was airfare, rental car, park tickets, and cruise. Most of these are different for kids vs. adults so each person has to be calculated and entered separately. I get ours through USAA since they are by far the cheapest if you're eligible, with Costco discount being 2nd cheapest.

 

[yellowfish78]

Don't forget that insurance isn't just to cover non-refundable items but also as health coverage. Having a PRIMARY medical/dental coverage is very helpful while out of the US. Based on the state I live in, both USAA and Allianz offer medical coverage as a primary insurance.

 

[RedSox68]

We buy it mostly for the health/evac coverage -- especially in foreign ports. I would never pay extra again, however, for work related reasons as they denied my claim for that reason! Waste of money.

 

[NancyIL]

I just booked our and had to breakdown by person all of the costs that will non-refundable as of the time of the trip. As we're doing a few days at Universal prior ours was airfare, rental car, park tickets, and cruise. Most of these are different for kids vs. adults so each person has to be calculated and entered separately. I get ours through USAA since they are by far the cheapest if you're eligible, with Costco discount being 2nd cheapest.

Unless your rental car is prepaid and non-refundable, it doesn't need to be included in the trip cost.

I wouldn't include the cost of theme park tickets unless they expire before you could use them for a different trip. I think Universal tickets (and for sure Disneyland tickets) have a shorter expiration than WDW tickets.

 

[oakleycat]

Yup if we don't use the Universal tickets they will expire before we would make it back to use them!

 

[bumbershoot]

I think Universal tickets (and for sure Disneyland tickets) have a shorter expiration than WDW tickets.

Wdw tickets now expire about the same as Disneyland.

Yup if we don't use the Universal tickets they will expire before we would make it back to use them!

But I'm 99% sure that you could still get the cash value for them to turn them into a new ticket, just like Disneyland has always done and like wdw does now that they have expiration dates on tickets.