As part of our discussions with customers when they are booking a cruise, we always ask that they have suitable travel insurance cover and if appropriate give them a competitive quote.
However here is a cautionary tale.
‘I booked a couple onto a Caribbean cruise for next year, and asked the usual Insurance question and was told ' I have a policy and my insurers are aware of my conditions so I don't think it will be a problem.' Once a booking is confirmed it is subject to the terms and conditions of the cruise line on cancellations and if you need to cancel you will lose the deposit.
The passengers existing insurers wants a premium for this cruise, at £2000 - more than the cruise and he considered cancelling, but the deposit would be lost irrespective of the circumstances! I have to say the customer was less than happy.
So, what did he do? As you can guess he tried the usual places of alternative insurance companies without success but then found British Insurance Brokers' Association, a quick phone call and they gave him the name of a specialist broker who arranged him cover for the cruise at a cost which he was prepared to pay.’
Now I have also used this website a couple of other times for people who have an existing health problem or issues, or want to stay away longer than the usual 90 day limit for insurance and they have been able to find a suitable quote for their holiday.
So the moral of the story is check out first and get your travel insurance in place straight away, because with the majority cruise lines their terms and conditions are if you cancel before you pay the balance the deposit will be lost.
So its better to be safe than sorry and have your insurance in place as soon as you book to limit your risk, and if you have a problem ask because I might be able to point you in the right direction to get insurance sorted.
Yes we all need insurance, its foolhardy not to, but increasingly as a cruise community we are being ripped off by many insurance companies, and I am sure that the insurance companies look upon the cruise holiday as a cash cow.
ReplyDeleteI did a thread called "Statins put up the price of your cruise" and we had some very interesting answers which opened my eyes, and sort of confirmed how expensive cruise insurance is, opposed to a land holiday.
We always take out holiday insurance and were never more glad than last year when my daughter fractured her wrist on a cruise. The medical bill on the ship was £500, plus hospital bill, which was paid directly by insurance company. New flights had to be arrange again insurance co. dealt with this directly yet we still had a bill of £1,800 to submit to the insurance co. on her return to the U.K she was unable to fly home immediately & was put in a hotel + transport to airport among other things.
ReplyDeleteAnyone who risks travelling with no holday insurance must be aware of the thousands of pounds they may need to spend out without it.
Don't risk it