Photo by Fernando Jorge on Unsplash
Whether it’s your first time boarding a ship or you’re a platinum cruiser, cruise insurance is worth purchasing to help give you peace of mind while at sea. Is it required? Not all cruise lines require you to have cruise insurance, but most will require you to purchase it before your final, non-refundable payment is due. There are a few reasons why you should buy it, even if your carrier doesn’t expect it.
Why Buy Cruise Insurance?
Incidents that are out of your control can happen suddenly, and they can totally tank your vacation. With most cruise insurance policies, trip interruption insurance is included. This insurance covers you if something like your ship breaks down mid-trip or if you have a sudden medical emergency unrelated to a pre-existing condition that happens just before departure. If you book your cruise using certain credit cards, trip cancellation or interruption insurance is an included feature and could cover you for more than $10,000 in losses or medical expenses. Note, however, that credit card-offered trip interruption insurance is not the same as a cruise insurance policy.
Cruise insurance is also useful in the event you miss your ship’s departure due to a flight delay or other travel cancellations. These are things entirely out of your control that some policies will cover, allowing you to recoup money lost on a cruise you were unable to enjoy.
Finally, if you get sick due to the cruise or have a medical emergency while on a cruise ship, many cruise insurance policies will cover medical expenses related to your illness or medical emergency. Some will even cover the cost of evacuating you from a foreign stop if you experience a major medical crisis that requires hospital care. It’s important to note that not all medical issues will be covered, as pre-existing health issues could preclude you from filing a claim against your policy.
That said, research indicates that, of those who purchase cruise insurance for their trips, the majority of claims filed by cruisers are related to illness or injury sustained while on a cruise. These claims are related to when cruisers sustain breaks, sprains, or worse, doing more adventurous or strenuous activities than they normally do, like zip-lining, riding wave runners, or hiking.
In a nutshell, the majority of cruise insurance plans will cover medical emergencies, trip cancellation, trip interruption, medical evacuation, and lost, damaged, or stolen luggage when you’re on a cruise. These provisions often lead cruisers, especially those who’ve experienced a past incident while cruising, to always purchase the coverage.
How Much Is Cruise Insurance?
Cruise insurance is often more expensive than standard travel insurance because medical expenses related to cruising are typically costlier. That said, cruise insurance policies will run about 5% to 10% of your total trip price, but they vary depending on a few variables related to how much of a risk you and your trip might pose. These variables include your age, the price of your cruise, your destination, how many ports of call are planned, the length of your trip, and the number of travelers you wish to cover. To put pricing in perspective, rates tend to be higher if you are older, you are gone longer, or if your trip is more expensive.
Where Do I Buy Cruise Insurance?
As mentioned above, some credit card companies provide their members with trip cancellation or interruption insurance. But it is important to purchase a cruise insurance package to experience the full set of provisions the policies offer. Here are five cruise insurance providers to consider for your next cruise vacation:
Nationwide is a leading provider because, according to Forbes, Nationwide’s Cruise Luxury plan provides an array of generous benefits at a reasonable price. These benefits include excellent medical evacuation coverage and excellent flight and travel delay coverage.
SquareMouth offers more than 100 different plans to suit your travel needs and comes highly rated for their COVID-19 coverage providing quarantine and trip cancellation coverage, which has become very important for cruising.
Generali Global Assistance offers affordable, highly rated travel insurance at three levels, including a Premium plan, which is an enhanced travel insurance plan designed for more expensive travel, including cruises and tours.
TravelSafe Insurance comes highly rated for its “Cancel for Any Reason” policy and its affordable pricing. A privately-owned, US-based company, TravelSafe takes pride in the personalized service it offers its travelers.
InsureMyTrip comes in handy if you just can’t decide which provider has the best insurance policy for you. Head over to Insuremytrip.com, where they break down hundreds of plans from top travel insurance companies in the industry, making it a little easier to pick a policy.
Don’t get stuck at sea or left high and dry without the coverage you need. With wishes for the best vacation ever, we all know the unexpected can happen, and those incidents can be costly. So pay the extra money for a cruise insurance policy that will give you peace of mind as you enjoy what is, hopefully, a trip full of sunshine and smooth sailing.
Bio: M. Kelani is a wife, mom, nature lover, online shopper, and professional writer who is passionate about the power of the written word to help make the world a more beautiful place. Her published works focus on travel, consumer interests, women’s empowerment, and international development.