Cruise/travel insurance

Suzycoll

Hi all
I am on the hunt for annual travel insurance.

As I am going on a cruise this year and visiting Europe I need one that covers a cruise and holidays (not USA) .
Does anyone know if there are any specialist cruise insurance or if I can just buy general travel insurance and add on cruise cover 
is their a difference ? 

Thanks in advance 

NoodleDoodleMan

If you want renewing annual cover then a packaged bank account might be your best option.

Ours includes cruises, valid until age 80 - £15 monthly fee, which is competitive compared to similar one off deals I've looked at.

HHUK

NoodleDoodleMan said:

Ours includes cruises, valid until age 80 - £15 monthly fee, which is competitive compared to similar one off deals I've looked at.

May I ask which bank that's with, and if pre-existing medical conditions can be covered (for an additional premium)?

NoodleDoodleMan

HHUK said:

NoodleDoodleMan said:

Ours includes cruises, valid until age 80 - £15 monthly fee, which is competitive compared to similar one off deals I've looked at.

May I ask which bank that's with, and if pre-existing medical conditions can be covered (for an additional premium)?

Co-op Bank.

https://www.co-operativebank.co.uk/assets/pdf/bank/currentaccounts/everyday-extra/travel-insurance-policy-summary-and-policy-document.pdf

I have the insurance company's 'phone number where you can talk through medical issues before considering applying for the account.

We were pleasantly surprised to learn that our few pre-existing medical issues were not considered as requiring any additional premiums.

Apologies for slow response, I have spent the last few days researching air fryers for Santa to bring !!!

PS - ask about cruise cover if you call, some resident contributors hereabouts suggest that they may not be included - that contradicts what I was told, however best to confirm one way or the other. 

DullGreyGuy

Suzycoll said:

Hi all
I am on the hunt for annual travel insurance.

As I am going on a cruise this year and visiting Europe I need one that covers a cruise and holidays (not USA) .
Does anyone know if there are any specialist cruise insurance or if I can just buy general travel insurance and add on cruise cover 
is their a difference ? 

Thanks in advance 

No difference fundamentally other than its an option on one and compulsory on the other... obviously every insurance is different so some may be better than others but that won't be tied to which of the two types it is. 

eskbanker

NoodleDoodleMan said:

PS - ask about cruise cover if you call, some resident contributors hereabouts suggest that they may not be included - that contradicts what I was told, however best to confirm one way or the other. 

I recall the previous discussions about this - the publicly-available policy terms linked above make no mention of cruise cover (in the sense of the extra add-ons relevant specifically to cruises, such as those listed at https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/insurance/cheap-travel-insurance/#accordion-content-0517185084-9, rather than generic cover applicable to any trip) but you'd been verbally assured that such cover was included, which seems a very odd way for an insurance product to work!

NoodleDoodleMan

I sought clarity - that was the advice given.

eskbanker

There's still a credibility issue with all the secret squirrel stuff if you're suggesting that a company operating in a highly regulated environment is claiming to offer undocumented features (that would normally be a chargeable extra with other companies) beyond what's in their binding published material, so if they've followed through on your request for confirmation of the additional cover in writing then please share the details of exactly what cruise-specific cover they provide.

silvercar

My bank ( NatWest) provided travel insurance includes cover for cruising at no extra cost. If you want to see the evidence, link to policy T & Cs from here and do a search for the word “cruise”, it specifically lists it as an included activity. 

NoodleDoodleMan

eskbanker said:

There's still a credibility issue with all the secret squirrel stuff if you're suggesting that a company operating in a highly regulated environment is claiming to offer undocumented features (that would normally be a chargeable extra with other companies) beyond what's in their binding published material, so if they've followed through on your request for confirmation of the additional cover in writing then please share the details of exactly what cruise-specific cover they provide.

They haven't followed through in writing - they weren't asked to.

Next business please.

eskbanker

silvercar said:

My bank ( NatWest) provided travel insurance includes cover for cruising at no extra cost. If you want to see the evidence, link to policy T & Cs from here and do a search for the word “cruise”, it specifically lists it as an included activity. 

There are three different policies linked from there (silver, platinum and black) and each of them simply includes the single word 'cruises' once within a section referring to included land-based activities (go figure!).

OP is looking for specialist cruise cover, which generally means cover for those aspects of cruising that differentiate it from the more generic risks, as summarised in the MSE piece linked above:

Most regular travel policies will only cover you for loss or theft of goods and medical costs while you're on a cruise. You may NOT be covered for other eventualities unless you upgrade your policy. These include:

• Missed departure
• Unused cruise excursions, for instance, a day trip to a city port
• Cruise itinerary change
• Cabin confinement, for example, onboard virus

To get cover for these, you can usually select an add-on to get the right protection

NoodleDoodleMan said:

eskbanker said:

There's still a credibility issue with all the secret squirrel stuff if you're suggesting that a company operating in a highly regulated environment is claiming to offer undocumented features (that would normally be a chargeable extra with other companies) beyond what's in their binding published material, so if they've followed through on your request for confirmation of the additional cover in writing then please share the details of exactly what cruise-specific cover they provide.

They haven't followed through in writing - they weren't asked to.

Next business please.

NoodleDoodleMan said:

I checked with AXA on our Co-op Bank Rewards Extra account travel insurance - cruise cover is included.

The helpful lady advised that an up to date policy document to that effect would be emailed.

I'd assume that readers can make their own minds up when faced with continued evasiveness, but it's clear in the published product documentation (at your link) that cruise cover, in the sense meant by OP, isn't included - you may be happy to believe a contradictory steer given only verbally by someone in a call centre but I'd suggest that puts you in the minority.