Travel insurance: getting the right policy before you go brings peace of mind to your cruise vacation - Cruise Guide

Cruise Travel, Jan-Feb, 2004 by Don G. Campbell

You've worked hard and saved your money so you can finally take that cruise of a lifetime. Deposits were paid long ago, the remaining balance was taken care of last month. You've stopped delivery of the mail and newspaper, asked the neighbors to keep an eye on your house, and left your itinerary with your mother-in-law so you can be reached, just in case. All details are tended to. Or are they?

It could be you skipped a very important step in your plans, and now it's too late to do anything about it. Decisions about travel insurance must be made when you purchase your cruise. You can't buy a cruise, then decide days or weeks later that you need travel insurance. Be sure you make the right decisions at the right time.

Most vacationers are understandably excited when they book that long-awaited cruise. Nonetheless, they should remember they're making a purchase decision involving thousands of dollars. The fine print of the cruise contract spells out details on non-refundable payments and cruise companies' waivers of responsibility. A study of these details will convince most people they need some kind of insurance. The only exception is the a buyer who is prepared to forfeit thousands of dollars should the unfortunate happen.

Cruise travelers should be prepared to deal with situations like these:

* You're forced to cancel a cruise or interrupt your trip because of death or illness within your immediate family.

* A flight or travel delay prevents you from reaching the ship before the cruise departure.

* You become sick or injured during your trip and need medical assistance outside the U.S., or perhaps even need emergency ambulance service to get back home.

Comprehensive policies that cover a variety of situations are widely available, as are more specialized policies that may cover your unique needs. Start by getting details on what your cruise company offers, then compare that to some independently available policies. Your travel agent will have details on both. You can also get quotes for your needs from your regular insurance agent or from several insurance companies through their web sites.

It is critical to buy the coverage when you purchase your cruise. Some companies will require you to buy a policy immediately as you make your cruise purchase, while some may allow the purchase to be made within seven days. The time to evaluate your needs is when you are shopping for your cruise. Consider these scenarios as you decide what kind of coverage you need.

Scenario 1: A few days before your trip, an emergency forces you to cancel. This could involve your own illness or injury, the illness or death of a family member, or a similar situation. Without insurance, most if not all of your cruise payment is non-refundable within the last few days before your trip.

These days, if the travel provider says your payment is non-refundable, believe it! Be sure you know the cancellation dead lines when you buy your cruise. Upon learning the details, you'll probably elect to buy some kind of protection against the last-minute cancellation.

Scenario 2: You have to interrupt your trip. Your first concern is the non-refundable airline ticket you bought weeks or months ago. Airlines used to be more compassionate in helping their customers with changes, even when dealing with non-refundable tickets. All a passenger had to do was buy a new ticket, then later provide documentation of the legitimate emergency to receive a refund. This is no longer the case.

When you buy a discounted ticket, you will fly when the ticket says you'll fly, unless the airline itself reschedules your flights for its own purpose. If you don't fly, you get no refund. Imagine needing to return home suddenly from a distant island or port city. A single airfare claim will more than pay for your travel insurance.

You've probably heard that airlines will make changes to a non-refundable ticket for a charge between $150 to $200, a cost you may think is a reasonable risk. Such options are often possible if you need to change the date of your return, as long as you are returning from the airport stated on your ticket. If your cruise is interrupted and you are several days from being at that airport, this option most likely won't help you. Also, this change option only applies if there are seats on the plane in the same fare category that was used to purchase your original ticket. An emergency return home will cost you at least a few hundred dollars per person.

Travel insurance rarely covers trip interruption for any reason. The cause usually must be related to the sickness or a death involving the traveler or an immediate family member. A business emergency, for example, probably won't be covered.

Scenario 3: A flight or other travel delay prevents you from arriving at the dock before the ship sails. You need to either fly to the ship's next port-of-call while missing a portion or your cruise, or perhaps miss the cruise entirely and return home. Either way, you are probably holding a non-refundable airline ticket for a return flight home that was scheduled for the end of your cruise. Without insurance, you're about to spend quite a bit of money.