Cruise insurance is like any travel insurance. It can financially protect you from hardships. Cruise insurance will reimburse you in some way if your trip is affected by unexpected events, such as a death in the family, plane delays or medical emergencies. And now some travel insurance companies and cruise lines are including job loss in their insurance policies. So if you are thinking about hopping aboard a cruise ship, purchasing cruise insurance may give you some peace of mind.
Cruise insurance policies can be purchased at the time you book your trip directly from your cruise line. You also can purchase a policy through a travel agency or from third-party, or independent, travel insurance companies, such as Travel Guard and Travelex. It's important to keep in mind that third-party travel insurance policies typically offer financial protection if the cruise line goes bankrupt and no longer operates. Cruise line coverage won't include this in their policies.
Policies do vary in cost and coverage. Typically, the cost of cruise insurance is based on the cost of the trip and the age of the traveler. According to Travel Guard, the cost of a policy will be about six to eight percent of total cost of the trip, but it can be less. So it's in your best interest to shop around with travel agencies and travel insurance brokers to compare costs and coverages.
Most cruise insurance policies cover cancellation of trips, trip interruptions, trip delays, emergency medical needs, which includes evacuation of the ship, and lost or stolen luggage. Most people are drawn to the protection of trip cancellation. According to the U.S. Trip Insurance Association, 80 percent of claims are made before travelers board the ship. Many cruise insurance policies also include assistance in replacing lost passports, re-booking reservations and other travel-related mistakes.
Cruise line insurance policies use "cruise credit" when processing claims. If a traveler needs to cancel a trip or cut a trip short because of a pre-existing medical condition, or for any reason that's covered in the policy, many cruise lines offer travelers credit towards another cruise to be taken in the future. If you want or need cash back, your best bet is to purchase your insurance policy through a third-party travel insurance company.
Typically, third-party insurance policies provide the traveler with primary medical coverage. This means the traveler is directly paid by the insurance company for medical claims. Most cruise line insurance policies are secondary providers. This means travelers must file medical claims through their own health insurance carrier. The cruise line's insurance company will then reimburse the traveler after the primary insurance company has settled the claims. It is important to note that not all health insurance plans cover travel abroad, so be sure to check your policy for coverage and out-of-pocket deductibles when traveling abroad.
