Trip insurance when putting deposit far in advance?

[GaryDis]

We’re considering the major 2 week cruise from Sydney to Honolulu in 2025 (only a year and a half away). We’ve never done a cruise before, but some friends (who love Disney cruises but have never been to the parks) have invited us to join them.

We want to put a deposit down on a verandah stateroom now, to lock in the room and price. But a lot can happen between now and then, and we’ll both be around 70 for the cruise. So trip insurance is a given, preferably with “cancel for any reason”. I realize the deposit is refundable up until a few months before the cruise, so that’s not the problem. The problem is that insurance for the rest of trip is necessary, and we’re nowhere close to buying plane tickets. They‘ll likely cost as much as the cruise, since for a trans-pacific flight, we’ll at a minimum take business class.

But third party trip insurance requires signing up within two weeks of making the first deposit. It feels wrong to pay what would be over $1K for trip insurance now, when we’re not even close to needing it.

Does anyone know how this would work? Could we get trip insurance for the rest of the trip later on, and just buy Disney’s insurance for the cruise? (I haven’t looked into that beyond seeing that it exists.). Any other info or suggestions?

Many thanks

 

[Wells Larsen]

I am by no means an expert here, but I have purchased trip insurance at least 3 or 4 times. My understanding (at least with the companies that I have worked with) is that the trip insurance is refundable until the time listed in the policy.

I also have found that (generally) trip insurance is less expensive further out then closer to the trip.

So, the bottom line is that there should not be an issue purchasing the trip insurance early (read the policy though)
However, I would ONLY buy trip insurance for the money that you have already spent. Meaning, the cruise's deposit. Call back when you make final payment. Call back when you book airline tickets, etc.

 

[lanejudy]

I’m not familiar with refundable trip insurance but it may be available if PP has purchased it.

With a 3rd party insurance, often buying insurance within 2 weeks gets cancel for any reason and pre-existing condition waiver. You can add the airfare and any other insurance expenses as you book them.

 

[Wells Larsen]

I’m not familiar with refundable trip insurance but it may be available if PP has purchased it.

You know, now that you mention it... The refund policy is typically 2 weeks.
The last time I got a refund to a travel policy, it must have been an exception..
I actually don't know why they gave me a refund.. I had to cancel during COVID, so maybe that had something to do with it...

I never filed a claim though, so maybe that had something to do with it too.

 

[jtkboston]

I’m not familiar with refundable trip insurance but it may be available if PP has purchased it.

With a 3rd party insurance, often buying insurance within 2 weeks gets cancel for any reason and pre-existing condition waiver. You can add the airfare and any other insurance expenses as you book them.

Yup, what I've done recently for an Alaska cruise next summer is: buy 3rd party insurance when paying deposit to DCL, based on the cruise voyage costs. Then when we bought flights (a couple of months later), revise the policy to add more coverage for the cost of the flights, paying the premium difference. This preserves the original insurance date (within N days of the first trip purchase) for the cancel-for-any-reason and pre-existing condition waivers.

 

[GaryDis]

if PP has purchased it.

PP being the prior poster?

 

[lanejudy]

PP being the prior poster?

Yes

 

[Girl of the South]

I was able to get a future credit with TravelGuard when I had to cancel one Disney cruise for January 2022. I ended up booking another cruise for December 2022 and applied that credit with no problem. I believe the 2 week “rule” is to cover “pre existing” conditions. So if you’ve had a previous heart attack or are under treatment for cancer, it would be good to buy it within the 2 weeks. Since I have some trip coverage with my credit card, I am going to buy medical coverage with GeoBlue. You can get airline credit if you book your flights with United and have to cancel. But it’s only good for a year from the date you bought the flight.

 

[Marthasor]

We only buy third-party insurance and I only insure non-refundable trip components as they are purchased. You can purchase a policy to cover the deposit when you make it in order to purchase the cancel-for-any-reason option or purchase a pre-existing condition waiver if needed. There is no need to insure the entire trip when initially purchasing the policy - just add on to the coverage as needed - you can always modify your dates and the amount of coverage you need as you purchase other trip components.

For example, I put a deposit down on a DCL cruise we just finished almost 18 months prior to cruising. At that point, I purchased a policy that only covered my deposit and added on cancel-for-any-reason and interrupt-for-any-reason options. As I made other plans (flights, hotel, paid the balance on the cruise, etc.), I simply contacted the company I purchased the policy through and added to my policy. I hope that makes sense.

 

[MonaMN]

Some carriers also have an annual travel insurance plan, which I am looking into because of multiple trips in the next 12 months. Cost is a little more but for coverage of multiple trips, I think it could be worth it. Just Google "annual travel insurance" and some options pop up.

 

[Mommb]

Pre-existing condition coverage is important not only if you already have conditions, but if you develop a condition between your initial payment and when you take the trip. When I used trip insurance purchased through Disney because I had to cancel a trip due to a medical issue, my doctor needed to sign a statement indicated when she first treated me for the issue. Because the date was after my final payment date when the insurance was purchased, the insurance accepted my claim. If I had been diagnosed between my initial and final cruise payments, the claim might not have been covered. On future trips, I have been purchasing private insurance that will cover pre-existing conditions, just in case anything else happens to my husband or me before the cruise.