Hi Steve, My husband and I booked a Celebrity cruise for about $8,000. How much is a good Trip Cancellation plan?
This sounds like a simple request, right? It isn’t, but not for obvious reasons. In fact, because of the apparent simplicity, had they not called us, they probably would have lost $2,405 on a covered trip cancellation claim.
Me: What’s the per person cost for each of you?
Them: it’s $4,000 per person.
Me: Since it’s a Celebrity cruise, does Guest #2 have a 75% discount?
Them: I don’t know. My travel agent told me that’s our per person trip cost.
Me: Since November 2023, almost every Celebrity invoice we’ve seen shows Guest #2 with a 75% discount. In order to be sure, you’ll need to see your Celebrity invoice.
Them: I don’t know if it’s worth the hassle.
Me: I think it is, because you don’t want to discover at claim time that you’re not getting all your money back.
Them: What do you mean?
Me: If Guest #1 paid the full price and Guest #2 got 75% off, then insuring $4,000 per person means that a trip cancellation for a covered reason could result in Guest #1 losing at least $2,000 on their claim, while Guest #2 ends up being overinsured.
I told them this story:
In November 2023, a couple called me about insuring a $1,000 per person April 2024 Celebrity cruise. I asked if they were sure they had the same cost, because I’d seen Celebrity invoices where Guest #1 has a higher trip cost than Guest #2. They called their travel agent to clarify and called me back and saying their travel agent confirmed the trip cost was split equally at $1,000 per person which they insured.
In April they cancelled their cruise for a covered reason. We helped with their claim. They called in May unhappy with its outcome: Guest #1 received only $1,000 and Guest #2 received $520. I reminded them (I have a good memory) that in November their travel agent said their trip cost was $1,000 each. Unfortunately, Celebrity’s cancellation invoice showed Guest #1’s trip cost as $1,480 and Guest #2’s trip cost as $520. The total was still $2,000, but the split wasn’t equal because Guest #2 had a 75% discount on their trip cost. Sadly, their travel agent wouldn’t take responsibility for misleading them so they are out $480.
Those people called me back a few hours later after they got a copy of their invoice. Look at what it showed:
As you can see, Guest #1’s total charge is $6,496.98 and Guest #2’s total charge is $1,767.98. They were very happy they got the invoice and didn’t take their travel agent’s advice. They also told me that the other websites they visited advised them to do exactly what their travel agent said.
This is why I said “they probably would have lost $2,405 on a trip cancellation claim” if they insured a $4,000 per person trip cost.
PS – They said they have been insuring their cruises incorrectly for years, but they won’t be making this mistake again.
I hope this makes sense. If you want the right travel insurance advice, call us at 1-888-407-3854 and we'll help you figure it all out.
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