Find Out What is covered in Travel Insurance for Cruises

You might be wondering whether you should prepare travel insurance for cruises or not on your next vacation. Or you are looking for cruise insurance but do not know how to start.

If so, you are in the right place.

Travel insurance for cruises, or cruise insurance, is different from general travel insurance. Travel insurance for cruises is a specific travel insurance policy that covers the certain activities and unexpected events associated with a cruise vacation.

For example, you could not embark on the ship due to a flight delay or injury, your cruise line will never reimburse you, but travel insurance for cruises does if you prepare in advance.

In this article, you will learn what cruise travel insurance for cruises does cover and doesn’t. You can take a look at what your cruise insurance policies and compare what does and doesn’t cover with this article.

It’s always advisable to carefully check your policy’s description of coverage and how the events and incidents are actually covered.

What does Cover

Medical Expenses

When you are relaxing at the ship’s pool deck or riding on an elephant in Thailand, you never think of or even imagine that you are actually far away from the ashore hospitals. An unexpected incident may happen for anyone in both onboard and at shore excursions.

The medical doctors and staffs are ready for medical treatment at the ship’s equipped medical centre. However, their treatment does have a limit. The ship also does not have enough medical facilities for serious health emergencies. A patient may need to be airlifted to an ashore medical institution.

The total amount of money the patient should pay is somehow shocking. This is the main reason why the cruisers need to prepare travel insurance for cruises. You can be free from the life-threatening financial situation just by paying a little amount of money per day. Make sure that your cruise insurance covers at least $100,000 for emergency medical expenses.

Note: Medical emergencies do not cover all the shore excursions or certain onboard activities. There are particular activities which are not covered. Please find further details at Cruise Insurance: Things You May Not Know Yet.

Emergency Evacuation and Repatriation

Many cruise-line insurance policies do not include emergency medical or evacuation benefits. Make sure whether evacuation emergency policy is included as same as medical expenses. That is the one you really need and that is the reason why you need to purchase cruise insurance. Many cruise lines do not cover the policies although the amount of money you pay for insurance is not different between cruise lines and travel insurance companies.

We have recently watched TV footage of the helicopter evacuation. When Viking Sky was sailing in Norway, she had an engine problem. More than 1,300 passengers and crews had to evacuate immediately. They were all airlifted. This may happen in cases of health threates including heart attacks or strokes.

Emergency evacuation from a cruise ship can cost thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars. In addition, the patient needs a lift to return to their home. However, the cost is covered in many cruise insurance policies. Make sure that your cruise insurance covers at least $250,000 for emergency evacuation and repatriation.

You may ask whether you should prepare travel insurance for cruises or not. It is highly recommended to purchase it before you leave home. You can find further details at 11 Questions for Travel Insurance for Cruises.

Trip Interruption

If your flight to Miami is cancelled due to a hurricane, you would lose embarkation. Trip delay benefits can reimburse you for hotel stays, meals and lost prepaid expenses as far as such weather happened unexpectedly. The cruise lines will never reimburse any cost happened before the embarkation.

In another case, if the ship had engine trouble, all the passengers would need to disembark at a port. The cruise lines generally well assist the passengers but do not cover sudden extra payment for hotels and transfers. Make sure the policies of trip interruption for such a cas in your travel insurance for cruises.

Trip Delay and Missed Connection

When you missed your cruise due to the flight delay or the taxi’s mechanical problem, travel insurance covers such travel delays and missed connections.

Trip Cancellation

Suddenly you may need to cancel a cruise for some reason, cruise lines will never reimburse you. However, if you prepare travel insurance for cruises in advance, the insurance will reimburse you for the costs you cannot get back from the cruise lines.

Consider travel insurance that covers your emergency trip cancellation of illness or work reasons. Cruise lines’ insurance does not cover cruise cancellation.

Unexpected Job Loss

Your friend who travel together experienced suddenly job loss and unfortunately need to cancel a cruise you planned. You either terminate your cruise or pay extra money for a single cabin. Find out your travel insurance includes cover job loss coverage. Check out the terms of your policy. If it is not included, as the insurer whether it is possible to add for service.

Baggage Delay or Loss

Your baggage is lost, damaged or stolen on your trip. Travel insurance can reimburse you for the actual price, actual cash value, repair or replacement. Of course, before that happens you need to keep eye on your luggage to be safe.

Or, you arrived in Miami, but the airline sent your luggage to somewhere. In that case, travel insurance will cover the expenses for your new outfit or necessary cosmetics until your luggage arrives. If you lost your luggage, you can claim for the lost luggage and inside.

War or Terrorism

Travel insurance can cover trip cancellation because of a terrorist incident, war or serious attacks. What you need to pay attention here is the timing of your trip and when it happened.

For instance, you plan to travel for a week. There is a news saying that a bomb or terrorist attack happened in your potential visiting place two weeks before your actual visit. You feel uncomfortable and not safe, deciding not to visit the place and cancel the trip. In that case, the insurance company will reimburse you for prepaid travel costs because you purchased the travel insurance before the incident.

And yet, if you feel nervous about terrorism which did not actually happen, decided to cancel. Your claim will be denied unless you purchase a policy which includes ‘cancel for any reason’ coverage (source).

What doesn’t cover

Weather

You embarked the ship and set sail from Miami for Caribbean Cruises. Unfortunately, it rained every single day. The travel insurance will not reimburse your cruise ticket due to the rain. Inclement weather is not covered.

Itinerary Changes

It is inevitable that cruise ship changes itinerary for mainly unwelcomed weather. The insurance company does not cover the itinerary change.

Drinking Alcohol and Injury

You got an injury. Travel insurance does cover and your medical emergencies are fully covered. And yet, travel insurance may not cover if you are intoxicated with alcohol. Intoxication is never be covered by a drug. Although bringing any drug to the ship is prohibited.

Reference for this article:
Allianz Travel Insurance
Allianz on baggage delay/loss

Travel Insurance Resources

Trip Insurance Companies

• Allianz Global Assistance: www.allianztravelinsurance.com; (866) 884-3556
• CSA Travel Protection: www.csatravelprotection.com; (800) 348-9505
• HTH Travel Insurance: www.hthtravelinsurance.com; (888) 243-2358
• Travelex Insurance Services: www.travelexinsurance.com; (800) 228-9792
• AIG Travel Guard: www.travelguard.com; (800) 826-4919
• TravelSafe Insurance: www.travelsafe.com; (888) 885-7233

Travel Insurance Comparison Sites

• Insure My Trip: www.insuremytrip.com; (800) 487-4722
• QuoteWright: www.quotewright.com; (800) 821-4940
• SquareMonth: www.squaremouth.com; (800) 240-0369

You may be interested in reading more on Travel Insurance for Cruses:

Next reading >> 11 Questions for Travel Insurance for Cruises

>> Cruise Insurance: Things You May Not Know Yet

>> Best Way to Book a Cruise

What Travel Insurance for Cruises Does and Doesn’t Cover