Are you considering buying travel insurance for your next cruise? Travel insurance protects your family when traveling, as you may become ill or get injured and require medical attention. But how much is travel insurance for a cruise?
You can get travel insurance for around 5-7% of the total cruise price, depending on what you want to be included in the insurance and how many people you buy insurance for. It would be best if you got insurance for everyone traveling on the cruise, as you never know what will happen.
When planning your budget for a cruise, it’s crucial to add travel insurance to the budget; this will help you avoid paying hefty medical fees if someone in your family gets sick or injured while traveling.
So, How Much Is Travel Insurance For A Cruise?
Travel insurance usually costs between 5 and 7% of the total cost of your cruise. If you purchase a cruise ticket for $3000, you can expect the insurance to cost around $150. Of course, the insurance price depends on the type of insurance you bought and what it covers.
Calculating how much is travel insurance for a cruise also depends on how many people the insurance covers and the age of the people it covers. There are many excellent cruise insurance policies, but not all include the same coverage. You must ensure that the cover is sufficient for your family’s needs.
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Do You Need Travel Insurance For A Cruise?
While you aren’t required to take travel insurance when going on a cruise, it certainly is recommended that you do. As a general matter, we think that there are several reasons why almost everyone should purchase some type of cruise insurance. Not only will a good cruise insurance policy cover you if you have to cancel or interrupt your trip for unforeseen reasons, but it also provides coverage for medical emergencies. While these events don’t happen very often, they are incredibly expensive when they do. In addition to those two large buckets of expenses, cruise insurance can also cover various other items chis we’ll discuss below.
What Does Cruise Travel Insurance Cover?
Knowing what is covered by your cruise insurance is critical, as you then know what to claim if something goes wrong during your cruise. Here are some basic things covered by most cruise insurance policies:
- Sickness while on the cruise
- Injuries sustained while cruising
- Canceled and delayed flights
- Cruise cancellation or interruption (due to bad weather)
- Lost or damaged luggage and personal items
It’s essential to check the scope of the insurance you are interested in, as different insurance policies offer different coverage. The most important thing your cruise insurance should cover is illness and injuries, as the medical bills can be pretty expensive while traveling. And medical evacuations typically start at $25,000, which can be cost-prohibitive for most people.
Examples of Solid Cruise Insurance Coverage
AXA Insurance is widely recognized as one of the best travel insurance providers in the United States. For purposes of a cruise vacation, AXA offers three policy levels — silver, gold, and platinum. For purposes of this article, we priced insurance policies for a family of 4 (2 adults and 2 kids) taking a cruise to the Bahamas in the spring of 2023. For a vacation covering 9 days with an estimated cost of $5,000. The AXA Silver policy was $242; the AXA Gold Policy was $352; the AXA Platinum Policy was $417.
All three policy levels covered basic elements such as Trip Cancellation, Trip Interruption, Emergency Accident & Medical, and Emergency Evacuation. The policies differed as to the level of coverage for these items. All three covered 100% of Trip Cancellation costs, but for Trip Interruption, while the Silver policy covered 100%, the Gold and Platinum policies covered 150%. For the Accident & Medical coverage, the Silver, Gold, and Platinum policies covered up to $25,000, $100,000, and $250,000, respectively. And, for Evacuation/Repatriation, those same policies covered $100,000, $500,000, and $1 million, respectively.
In addition to those basic elements, each of the three AXA policies also provided varying ranges of coverage for missed cruise connections (ranging from $500 to $1,500); trip delay (ranging from $500 to $1,000); baggage delay (from $200 to $600); and lost baggage and personal effects (from $750 to $3,000), among other common benefits.
For cruisers purchasing the Gold or Platinum policies, you would also receive coverage for non-medical emergency evacuations and collision damage waiver for rental cars. The top Platinum coverage also included coverage for lost golf rounds, lost skier days, sports equipment rental, and pet boarding fees for trip delays. The Platinum policy also comes with an optional add-on for cancel-for-any-reason coverage (for up to 75% of non-refundable costs).
What Should You Consider When Buying Cruise Insurance?
Before selecting cruise insurance for your travels, you must consider your priorities and what you expect from the insurance. The examples above illustrate this quite well. Obviously, you want a policy that at least covers the basics – Trip Cancellation, Trip Interruption, Medical Emergencies, and Medical Evacuations. But, if the most expensive things you plan to pack in your luggage are cute swimsuits and flip-flops, you probably don’t need the enhanced coverage for lost baggage or baggage delay. On the other hand, if you are a family of avid golfers and you plan to take your own clubs, it’s probably worth it to have insurance against mishaps that prevent you from playing at that championship course or if the airline loses all of your high-quality clubs and you have to rent new ones.
Similarly, if you don’t plan to rent any cars, then the additional CDW coverage won’t be helpful for you.
You must also consider what you want to pay for the insurance. For example, when traveling with children, you don’t have to take the same coverage for everyone in your family.
Closing Thoughts
If you’re wondering just how much travel insurance is for a cruise, a good rule of thumb is about 5%-7% of your vacation cost. The extra expense is worth it for your peace of mind.
David Chapman
Contributor
