Best trip insurance for cancellation due to inclement weather/hurricane?

Hi, we are looking at booking the Juliet. I did get confirmation that they do not provide refunds or credits relating to cancellation due to weather. So...has anyone gotten trip insurance and then had to put in a claim for weather cancellation and received refund without issues/promptly?

I am looking at DAN's travel insurance, as well as IMG Travel Lite which I found on AARP website.

I think either of these covers a cancellation due to inclement weather/hurricane and cancellation by the "carrier" but curious if anyone has had to use it, and who has the best response.

I've bought trip insurance in the past, but to be honest have never had to use as we've been lucky, and also the liveaboards we've been on provide credit and land-based dive ops refund in this situation. I was always happy to receive credit for another week, and while I don't have an issue with Juliet not providing credit (and certainly in these times it must be a nightmare rescheduling guests for cancelled trips), I want to be even more sure I get trip insurance from a co. that is responsive and definitely covers this situation.

Thanks!

 

Read each policy's terms carefully. Any Carrier credit = No payout. I don't know of any that will payout unless you purchase cancel for any reason(CFAR) clause and those come with strict purchase requirements prior to booking. Timing is critical and tons of payout denials if you miss a critical date. If you already booked the Juliet, you probably can't buy CFAR. Even with CFAR and 48hrs advance notice some policies won't payout because you didn't lose the Juliet's payment, you only lost time, and have to reschedule. All the policies are online, but reading the terms (CFAR) even has alot of gotcha's . So many terms, both the boat and the insurance constantly change that it takes hours of research to understand them.So many of us say But, but, but 'Time is money'.....The insurance companies disagree.

 

Is that true? Is that common with all liveaboards? Land-based charters, which is all that I have experience with, issue full refunds if they have to cancel for weather or any other issues (mechanical, crew, etc.). If this is how all liveaboards work I'll chalk that up as yet another reason I don't do them!!

 

I don't know about all liveaboards. I know on Aggressor they have worked hard to reschedule guests this past year. They are also a bigger outfit than Juliet so possibly they are able to do this, where it's more burdensome for Juliet. Aggressor canceled our trip one year due to a hurricane, but did provide credit for another week. I specifically asked about this situation with Juliet and got confirmation they do not issue a credit for something out of their control like hurricane/inclement weather but they do for something which is their issue like a mechanical failure etc. on the boat.

I would rather get credit, yes. But if I can find a policy that will provide reimbursement that is okay too.

 

I have not booked anything yet. Most of the policies tell you how long you have to purchase after making your initial deposit. I would purchase the insurance at the same time I book the trip.

I'm not understanding what you mean by "you didn't lose the Juliet's payment" ? Yes I WOULD lose that money b/c the Juliet does not offer credit for scheduling a different week.

Reading the terms of the policies is very difficult and time consuming and I am doing that, but it is also why I posted here asking for any suggestions.

 

Carrier credit = no payout. That is what I would prefer.

I am talking about a situation where there is NO credit or refund offered by the "carrier."

 

So after a lot of research and review, I've narrowed it down to two options: DAN travel insurance (although how do you know if it's primary or secondary? doesn't seem to say) and IMG Travel SE.

Both are about the same cost, and both cover for inclement weather/hurricane, and have pretty decent medical too. I have BCBS for my med insurance through work.

 

It obviously depends on the laws of the country in question, but there’s also a decent chance you could get your money back from your credit card company. You paid for services, those services were not delivered as described. There’s all kinds of unusual behavior, legal and not, going on with travel providers, so that could change.

In general, if it doesn’t say it’s primary, it’s secondary.

 

I did not know that about the possibilities of credit card company getting a refund. Interesting. I was thinking the same thing about the DAN travel insurance and not specifically stating "primary." I'll probably go with IMG Travel SE, they have very good rating and are not outrageously expensive.

 

You mention having medical insurance but consider insurance for evacuation which regular medical insurance would likely not cover. The policies you are considering might have that but maybe not if they are specific to travel cancellation. Just a thought as it can be thousands depending on the situation and you have few alternatives if you need it.

I'll also speculate that the Juliet may not cover weather related travel interruption because of the frequency of hurricanes in their part of the world.