Why Purchase Travel Insurance?

When you book your cruise or land-based vacation with us it is our responsibility to explain the importance of protecting your vacation investment. A vacation is an investment of both time and dollars. Do not gamble with your investment. Some form of trip insurance is vitally important to your emotional, physical & financial well-being. You protect your home and car with insurance, surely you have medical insurance, why would you even consider not insuring your vacation?

Is your reaction to the suggestion of travel insurance, “I'm young, healthy and don't need it," or "I don't want to spend any more money" or "I already have insurance. I'm covered." If those are your responses please be sure that you know what you are talking about. Does your current medical insurance policy cover you when you travel within the U.S. or abroad? Many health care policies will not cover you when you travel outside of the U.S. Medicare is one of them. Check your coverage with your own medical insurance provider before you make the decision to decline travel insurance. You may be young and healthy, but what if you have an accident before your cruise departs or while you are on the cruise? Are you willing to forfeit your investment & not go on your scheduled vacation? If you were injured or became seriously ill while you were on your vacation could you afford thousands of dollars for treatment and emergency medical evacuation? Will you be leaving elderly parents at home while you travel? Will you be leaving young children at home? Is there the possibility that if a family member became seriously ill you would need to cancel your trip or interrupt your trip to come home early?

Although it is certainly not mandatory, we highly recommend that travelers purchase some form of trip insurance. We are not speaking as insurance salesmen, we are speaking to you as consumers. We believe in protecting our own travel investment. Since we been in the travel industry we have never left home without some sort of coverage. We actually found it necessary to use our travel insurance once ourselves so we know first-hand how important it is.

One problem, however, is differentiating between travel-related coverage and travel insurance. Travel-related coverage, the kind usually available through credit cards, health care plans and homeowners insurance, often falls short of the kind of coverage provided by a comprehensive travel insurance policy offered by companies like CSA and  Travel Guard.  And it matters from whom the coverage is purchased. Tour operators and cruise lines do offer their clients the opportunity to buy travel insurance, but the Independent Insurance Agents of America (IIAA) advises consumers that buying insurance from a supplier (tour operator or cruise line) may not be wise since they often offer policies with self-serving restrictions - and will not sell policies that hold them liable in the event they go out of business. Some of these policies for land based vacations in particular are not insurance, they offer you the option of canceling or making changes to your vacation arrangements after they have been booked. These policies not provide any “insurance” coverage while you are on vacation. Other policies, such as those offered by major cruise lines, often will not cover “pre-existing conditions” or airline tickets which you purchase on your own.

Cruises and Beyond offers you the choice of two excellent travel insurance carriers, CSA and Travel Guard. Each policy has its own rules and benefits. As with other insurance policies, the cost of these policies is based on the price of your vacation and your age. Other factors which may be used to calculate the cost of your coverage are the length of your vacation, where you are traveling, and how far in advance of your vacation you will be covered. These policies offer more comprehensive coverage than the flat rate insurance policies offered by the cruise lines. It is important to note that these insurance policies do not cover you if you decide to cancel because you no longer want to go on vacation or because your job prevents you from traveling.

We are here to help you learn about the value of insurance and the various options you have. The travel insurance we offer provides you with insurance for trip cancellation, trip interruption, trip delay, baggage delay and loss or damage, medical expenses, air flight accidents, damage to your rental car, and emergency medical transportation. These policies are specifically designed to protect your travel investment from problems arising from unexpected sickness or injury, terrorism, inclement weather, lost or delayed baggage, renter’s collision insurance, flight accident, and emergency medical expenses. There is 24-hour emergency assistance for medical and legal referrals, emergency cash transfer or cash advance for emergencies, email or phone message relay, lost ticket & passport assistance, help with last minute travel changes, and emergency prescription refill assistance.

You may also insure pre-existing conditions and protect yourself from the financial default of your travel supplier if you follow specific guidelines and purchase specific policies. With CSA you must purchase the Freestyle Luxe policy within 24 hours of your final payment. With Travel Guard you have a choice of adding this feature to several different policies, but you must purchase the policy within 15 days of your initial deposit. In both cases you must also be deemed medically able to travel at the time you purchase the policy. Please note that a pre-existing condition is any condition for which you have sought medical attention or treatment (including a change in prescription drugs or medication) within the 180 days immediately preceeding the coverage effective date. This clause refers to pre-existing conditions of the insured traveler and traveling companions as well as the non-traveling immediate family members. In other words, if you, a traveling companion, or an immediate family member who will not be traveling with you, have a pre-existing medical condition which may cause you to cancel or interrupt your vacation or seek medical attention, you need the pre-existing medical condition waiver to be included with your travel insurance.

The information provided in this document is an overview of travel insurance and is not intended to be a full “description of coverage” or insurance certificate. For additional information, specific questions, and pricing please use the links on our website to access details from Travel Guard and CSA. The agents at both CSA and Travel Guard are extremely knowledgeable and helpful if you require additional assistance and 800 numbers are included with the policy and premium information. You may purchase a plan yourself online directly through our website or we will be happy to guide you and make the purchase for you.

In most cases nothing is going to happen while you are on your vacation. For that matter, you will hope that you do not need to use your insurance policy. However, planning and preparing for the unexpected can put your mind at ease and allow you to travel with confidence.