It’s not always smooth sailing on cruise ships. Even the best prepared plans go awry. Your baggage could get lost. You could need to cancel your cruise unexpectedly due to illness, or you may get sick during your cruise and need medical attention. Your flight to the cruise ship could be delayed or canceled, causing you to miss departure. Your cruise ship could even be delayed getting into port, causing you to miss your flight home.
These situations can happen to cruisers, and having cruise travel insurance can help.
Who is Cruise Insurance Best For?
Every traveler can benefit from cruise insurance when they are embarking on a trip. Being in a foreign country and falling ill, or injuring yourself is a terrible situation for any traveler. Not to mention, tourists are often seen as easy targets for theft, and your insurance provider can reimburse you for items that may be lost or stolen.
Travelers at higher risk of illness, injury, and theft should purchase cruise insurance to protect themselves from these situations. Seniors are one population of travelers that are at higher risk, and would benefit the most from cruise insurance.
However, younger travelers embarking on adventure trips would benefit from cruise insurance as well. Travelers who participate in adventure activities while on vacation should read the fine print carefully, because basic insurance may not cover adventure activities while on a cruise.
Why Should I Purchase Cruise Insurance?
Basic travel insurance varies widely. Not every policy will cover the same things, and you need to know what you might need covered to purchase the best kind for you. For example, standard travel insurance usually won’t reimburse you if you cancel a cruise due to fear of an illness outbreak, like coronavirus.
Most policy providers offer travel insurance, with cruise add ons. Travel insurance covers your basics, like trip cancellation and trip interruption due to a crisis, and medical coverage.
While the addition of cruise insurance covers everything travel insurance does, plus things specific to cruises like missing the ship's departure, missing your flight home due to ship delay, and medical evacuation.
Allianz Global Assistance reports 53% of travel insurance claims are due to illness, and 14% due to injury. Travelers are more likely to take risks while on vacation, often leading to injury. With cruise insurance, you’re covered if you get sick or injured on the cruise.
The biggest reason to purchase any travel insurance, is most US private medical insurance plans won’t cover you internationally. Without travel insurance you risk absorbing the cost of a cancelled cruise, paying out of pocket for medical expenses, and paying out of pocket for missed flights or ship departures.
What Does Cruise Insurance Cover?
Every policy is different, but these are the most common events covered by cruise insurance:
- Last minute cancellations due to crisis
- Trip interruption
- Medical emergency and evacuation
- Theft
- Lost luggage
- Financial default if the company goes bankrupt or out of business
- Out of pocket costs of missing your cruise departure
Where to Purchase Cruise Insurance
When many people book cruises, they go through a travel agent. Travel agents can also purchase cruise travel insurance for you. The best reason to use your travel agent when purchasing insurance is because they can help you find a policy specific to cruises as well as your unique needs.
Third party insurance companies are another great option for purchasing cruise travel insurance. You have the option of browsing different plans to find one that fits best for you, and you can choose to pay more for flexible cancellation policies if that is a big concern.
You can also book cruise insurance directly from the cruise line, however you should be cautious. Cruise line insurance policies are usually more restrictive in what they cover, and often only offer vouchers instead of refunds in event of cancellation. They also often don’t cover pre-existing conditions, and emergency medical coverage tends to be much less.
Why you may want more flexible cancellation
You may be considering paying more for flexible cancellation policies, especially in the wake of coronavirus. Flexible cancellation policies can include cancellation because of natural disasters at your destination and illness. There are even cancellation options available if a family member falls ill, if you need to work, or if you are active military and are called to emergency duty.
You never know what could happen from the time you book your cruise, to the time you embark, and protecting yourself with travel insurance can make all the difference in emergency situations.
The Best Travel Insurance for Cruises
It’s important to keep in mind your specific needs when purchasing travel insurance because this will affect what policy you purchase, and the provider you purchase from.
That being said, these insurance providers are the best at what they do. They resolve claims quickly, have high customer satisfaction, and have the best range of coverage.
1. Travel Guard
They have a pristine reputation for delivering insurance coverage to travelers. They process claims quickly and follow up with customers to ensure satisfaction. They also offer specific cruise travel policies, not just add ons, so you don’t have to worry about purchasing cruise insurance on top of basic travel insurance.
2. SafeCruise
Their travel protection plan is for cruisers looking to protect themselves from some of the more common cruising issues. They provide policy options that cover cancellation for any reason. They cover most pre-existing conditions, medical expenses and medical evacuation.
3. Travel Insured International
They are a leading travel insurance provider, and offer policies to protect travelers nationally and internationally. They provide policy options that cover cancellation for any reason. They also cover trip interruption and delay, medical expenses, medical evacuation, and lost baggage.
While these are the best cruise travel insurance providers, they're not perfect. The biggest limitations for all travel insurance are pre-existing conditions. Make sure you read the fine print very carefully when purchasing.
For more information on travel insurance check out Travel Insurance & Coronavirus: What’s Covered?
