It’s certainly tempting not to. How many times have you returned from a trip safe and sound and kicked yourself for spending a couple of hundred bucks to insure against some calamity that never transpired? (Plenty, God willing.) But it only takes once, and it doesn’t have to be much of a calamity to deep-six your sizable cruise investment. A jury summons can do it, or an attack of appendicitis, or a missed connection on the way to the ship.
In my opinion, all cruise vacationers should buy travel insurance. But where to start?
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The basics
Most cruise lines offer a travel insurance package that can be purchased when you book your cruise. There are also many third-party (independent) insurance companies like Access America, Travel Guard and Travelex (to name a few) that offer coverage which can be purchased either directly from the company or through a travel agent.
*Coverage. Most travel insurance policies include coverage for five kinds of problems: trip cancellation (or interruption), trip delay, emergency medical expenses, emergency medical evacuation, and lost or stolen baggage. Many policies also offer round-the-clock travel assistance to help you replace a lost passport, rebook a reservation, or cope with other travel mishaps. The big draw is the trip cancellation coverage. In fact, according to Dan McGinnity, a spokesman for Travel Guard, 80 percent of Travel Guard’s claims are for events that happen before the ship leaves the dock: illness, injury, jury duty, a sick family member — you name it.
*Cost. The cost of travel insurance is usually based on the traveler’s age and the trip cost. Typically, the insurance cost will run about 6 to 8 percent of the trip cost, but it can be less. For example, a 59-year-old traveler on a $3,000 cruise can purchase a Travel Guard “Protect Assist” policy for $145. A similar policy for the same 59-year-old traveler would cost $129 from Travelex and $131 from Access America.
*Comparison. Costs and coverage do vary, and it’s in your best interest to do some comparison shopping before handing over the insurance premium. A nifty little website, insuremytrip.com, allows consumers to compare plans among 16 travel insurance providers.
Cruise line vs. third-party insurance
There are several key differences between insurance policies offered by cruise lines and those offered by independent insurance companies. Cruise insurance offerings generally cost less than third-party insurance, and they sometimes give more protection. But what you won’t get, as a rule, is protection if the cruise line goes into financial default and ceases operations; third-party insurers generally do cover such events.
While all cruise insurance lines offer the five basic components of coverage, most cover only those parts of the trip that you purchase directly from them. For example, if you book your airfare separately from your cruise fare, or if you drive to the port of embarkation, you won’t be covered for that travel segment under most cruise line policies. With third-party insurance, you can purchase a protection plan that covers the entire trip
source:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12465045#storyContinued
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