[ 2005 ] Travel Insurance Advice

[Passepartout]

Does anyone know of a plan that provides Cancel For Any Reason coverage on a cruise where the deposit was placed several months ago? We never get trip insurance, but we are planning a trip to Alaska. It is expensive (times 5), so I'd like to insure this one. Unfortunately, I booked the cruise back in Feb., and I didn't bother getting insurance quotes at the time because the deposit is refundable through Feb 2026. Any suggestions for handling this? Do I get insurance for everything except the cruise?

Go to squaremouth. You can compare policies side-by-side. any reason cancellation is expensive - possibly more than the deposit. As to the add-ons like what? Excursions are cancellable until the day before use, and air-fare is always cancellable- at least for future credit.

Because we are seniors on Medicare with conditions, we insure pronto on int'l cruises. Alaska- not so much because you're mostly in USA for care.

Jim

 

[2rebecca]

Go to squaremouth. You can compare policies side-by-side. any reason cancellation is expensive - possibly more than the deposit. As to the add-ons like what? Excursions are cancellable until the day before use, and air-fare is always cancellable- at least for future credit.

Because we are seniors on Medicare with conditions, we insure pronto on int'l cruises. Alaska- not so much because you're mostly in USA for care.

Jim

I looked at Squaremouth based on recommendations upthread. I like how it compares policies, but it doesn't offer CFAR policies since I paid the deposit months ago. (Probably not specific to Squre Mouth.) We have always self-insured our vacations, but we are in our 50s now, and life has changed--older parents, teenagers in sports--so the odds of needing to cancel/interrupt the trip are higher. This is a much more expensive trip than anything we've done in the past.

As for the add-ons, in addition to the shore excursions, we are planning to stay a few extra nights to see more of Alaska. We will have a rental car, rooms, & more excursions. The quote for the 4 days on land came in at $10k. That is outside my budget, and I'm looking to trim costs, but you can see why I'm interested in trip insurance! lol. Plus, airfare is coming in between $3,800-$5,000. I don't want that much tied up in a future credit.

 

[Passepartout]

I looked at Squaremouth based on recommendations upthread. I like how it compares policies, but it doesn't offer CFAR policies since I paid the deposit months ago. (Probably not specific to Squre Mouth.) We have always self-insured our vacations, but we are in our 50s now, and life has changed--older parents, teenagers in sports--so the odds of needing to cancel/interrupt the trip are higher. This is a much more expensive trip than anything we've done in the past.

As for the add-ons, in addition to the shore excursions, we are planning to stay a few extra nights to see more of Alaska. We will have a rental car, rooms, & more excursions. The quote for the 4 days on land came in at $10k. That is outside my budget, and I'm looking to trim costs, but you can see why I'm interested in trip insurance! lol. Plus, airfare is coming in between $3,800-$5,000. I don't want that much tied up in a future credit.

Oh, I understand your frustration, but know of no carrier offering CFAR insurance late in the reservation. It's expensive to buy even at the time of your initial deposit.

Sorry. Maybe someone else has a suggestion.

 

[Passepartout]

One thing that may or maybe not make a difference is that some cruise lines offer deeply reduced deposits for Black Friday. If that happens, you might consider cancelling and re-booking your reservation. Celebrity allows you to change a reservation for $100 per person from the earlier reservation then you may be able to get CFAR insurance on the 'new' ressie. It might not work because transferring the 'old' deposit to the new reservation won't update the date by which you could buy travel insurance. We have not done this, but are holding out because we are looking at a Trans-Pacific in '27 that they want a $900pp deposit on. They have, in the past had deposits as low as $100 on Black Friday sales.

Bottom line is that like buying a timeshare, once the rescission period has passed, it's REALLY hard to get out of- or buy travel insurance past a couple weeks beyond paying the deposit.

Sorry.

 

[2rebecca]

One thing that may or maybe not make a difference is that some cruise lines offer deeply reduced deposits for Black Friday. If that happens, you might consider cancelling and re-booking your reservation. Celebrity allows you to change a reservation for $100 per person from the earlier reservation then you may be able to get CFAR insurance on the 'new' ressie. It might not work because transferring the 'old' deposit to the new reservation won't update the date by which you could buy travel insurance. We have not done this, but are holding out because we are looking at a Trans-Pacific in '27 that they want a $900pp deposit on. They have, in the past had deposits as low as $100 on Black Friday sales.

Bottom line is that like buying a timeshare, once the rescission period has passed, it's REALLY hard to get out of- or buy travel insurance past a couple weeks beyond paying the deposit.

Sorry.

We got a pretty good deal on this cruise with $99pp refundable deposits. Prices are currently $1.2k more expensive (per cabin) with non-refundable deposits. I doubt they'll get any cheaper than I paid, but I'll keep an eye out. I appreciate the suggestions.

 

[TheHolleys87]

Tonight after booking a third major trip, second international trip, for 2026, DH and I are going to look at an annual trip insurance policy. Does an annual policy cover a calendar year, or one year from purchase, or what? If we buy an annual policy, we’d probably want it to begin with the December 2026 cruise we just booked tonight and continue into 2027.

 

[ljmiii]

Tonight after booking a third major trip, second international trip, for 2026, DH and I are going to look at an annual trip insurance policy. Does an annual policy cover a calendar year, or one year from purchase, or what? If we buy an annual policy, we’d probably want it to begin with the December 2026 cruise we just booked tonight and continue into 2027.

Allianz (which we have) has a yearly policy that starts the day you buy it.

 

[elaine]

If we buy an annual policy, we’d probably want it to begin with the December 2026 cruise we just booked tonight and continue into 2027.

I think Geo Blue annual can only be booked a few months in advance of travel and then would be for 365 days.

 

[ljmiii]

I think Geo Blue annual can only be booked a few months in advance of travel and then would be for 365 days.

Yeah...I have a vague memory of this being true for Allianz as well. But if you renew it doesn't apply.

 

[RX8]

We used to take our chances without insurance but we started to buy trip insurance due to traveling to other countries mainly for medical peace of mind. We have used Zurich through Costco Travel and it has been a simple and easy process to obtain. We have not had to file a claim. Because of a couple of trips this coming year, I started to look at an annual plan. Got a quote from Allianz and was surprised at how low the cost was - cheaper than a single trip plan with Costco Travel. In looking closely though, I see that Allianz has a maximum plan coverage for trip cancellation and trip interruption of just $2,000 per policy per year. You can increase that up to a maximum of $15,000 per policy per year but the cost of the plan triples.

The Costco single plan covers up to 100% of the trip cost for cancellation, 150% of the cost for trip interruption, $200K for emergency medical, and $1M for emergency evacuation. The Allianz covers the $2000 max cancellation and interruption but also only $50K for medical and $500K for evacuation. Those don't change even if you opt to up the trip cancellation/interruption to $15,000. For a couple of trips, it looks to be a better deal to stick with individual trip coverages.

For those doing the annual coverage over single trip what do you prioritize?

 

[Ken555]

For those doing the annual coverage over single trip what do you prioritize?

Medical. That's why I buy GeoBlue. I want the higher medical and transport coverage if needed. I'll self-insure trip costs, combined with credit card coverage for certain items such as flights.

 

[ljmiii]

For those doing the annual coverage over single trip what do you prioritize?

All I really care about for travel insurance is the medical coverage and I view the ancillary trip cancellation/interruption insurance as a pleasant bonus if things go south.

When I looked at annual policies a couple of years ago, Allianz's cost/benefit ratio was best and they had reasonable reviews for processing claims (not as good as Berkshire Hathaway but better than Zurich).

 

[dioxide45]

For those doing the annual coverage over single trip what do you prioritize?

For us, we opt for annual coverage for medical only. Travel delay or interruption can be costly but money spent on a trip is sunk to us. If we get something back via cancellation and refund policies of travel suppliers, then great. If not, then oh well. As for medical and evacuation, we want to make sure we don't have any unexpected expenses. Thus, we insure medical only.

 

[RX8]

Appreciate the responses and sharing your logic behind choosing the annual coverage.

 

[TheHolleys87]

I appreciate this discussion - lots of ideas we hadn’t considered. We too are mostly concerned about medical and evacuation coverage when traveling internationally (or even evacuation from Alaska or Hawaii!) but also have been taking into account trip cancellation, lost luggage, etc. because we have had or know someone who had personal experience with those events. In the past the credit card we used for big trips has provided good coverage for those things, so we’ve just bought medical-only from AmEx when leaving the US. And for a number of years, our travel has been limited. But now we have more liberty to travel and are trying to get some trips in before age and health issues force us to stop! Unfortunately we didn’t consider an annual policy when we booked the first of several trips we’re taking this year, so we’re trying to figure out the most effective way to protect what we need to protect. Thanks to all of you for your input!

 

[Ken555]

I appreciate this discussion - lots of ideas we hadn’t considered. We too are mostly concerned about medical and evacuation coverage when traveling internationally (or even evacuation from Alaska or Hawaii!)

Note that many annual policies only cover when you are outside the USA.