Whether you are taking a cruise to the Caribbean, the Mediterranean or the Ffjords you may wish to protect yourself and your holiday with cruise insurance. There are many benefits to having a policy to fall back on and a policy may bring peace of mind that if the worst were to happen, you have financial security.
Insurance for cruises is unlike the traditional insurance you might take out for a typical holiday. When looking for cover you may benefit from the help and advice of a travel insurance specialist who offers cruise insurance, such as BengoTravel.
Why insurance is so important
Cruise insurance is important – without it you may end up being out of pocket by a significant amount of money if something were to go wrong. A policy may include:
- protection against cancellation of the cruise. For instance there may be an illness in the family that means you have to cancel the cruise;
- cover for delays by the airline;
- protection for loss of baggage. If your bags get lost you are going to only have the clothes you are wearing and this may disrupt your plans on the cruise ship significantly;
- illness or accident while on-board the cruise ship;
- protection for having to be airlifted to hospital by ambulance;
- repatriation costs if you have to be taken off the ship by air ambulance and flown to a hospital;
- interruption of your cruise due to cancellation due to mechanical issues.
In any of the above cases you may stand to lose a significant sum of money, and/or be caused a great deal of stress and worry. Bear in mind that it typically costs many thousands of pounds if you need to be flown from the cruise ship to a hospital if you suffer illness that requires hospital treatment. Treatment itself may also add up to a large sum of money. With insurance to rely on you are at least covered for any financial losses.
Factors not covered by insurance
When choosing cruise insurance it is important to bear in mind that while a policy typically covers many factors, there are some that are not included in the policy.
Factors that may not usually be included in an insurance policy for cruises may be:
- inclement weather. You may be able to claim for weather issues such as a hurricane that forces the cancellation or delay of your cruise, but you cannot claim for such as it raining every day during the cruise. An insurance policy doesn’t guarantee sunny weather even in the Caribbean;
- you are not able to claim for things such as a change to the itinerary of the cruise ship. You may have been looking forward to visiting a certain port, but insurance doesn’t cover the ship being unable to dock at a specific port for whatever reason.
Optional insurance you may wish to add-on
While a standard insurance policy for a cruise typically covers a wide range of things, there is also additional insurance available that you may wish to add on.
For instance you may be able to take out cover to protect against cancellation for any reason. This may be beneficial if you are planning a world cruise on the biggest cruise ship, the Harmony of the Seas and it has cost a great deal of money.
You may also wish to add on airline accident cover, upgraded medical insurance or additional emergency evacuation. Any of these policies may be added on as extra to the standard cruise insurance policy.