3 Reasons You Probably Need To Buy Cruise Insurance

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For many vacations, Americans are comfortable, perhaps rightly so, in not seeking out insurance to cover the risks of trip cancellation or interruption, or of suffering a health emergency during the itinerary. They’re satisfied living with the risk or turning as needed to the limited coverage provided by their credit cards (which we discuss here).  

Not so cruises. According to the U.S. Travel Insurance Association (UStiA), some 70% of U.S. travelers who book cruises purchase some form of travel or cruise insurance. And here, too, those travelers are probably wise. Insuring your cruise probably does makes sense, even if you don’t routinely take a travel policy for your vacations.

Here’s why cruise insurance often makes sense.

Costs Are High, Refunds Are Challenging

The most commonly purchased travel insurance benefit is trip cancellation – which reimburses policyholders for nonrefundable costs if and when you don’t make the trip, or if you’re forced to end it early–you can learn more here.

That coverage could indeed prove very beneficial to cruise-goers. For one, the dollar amounts involved are high–starting with the cruise itself, which is likely to cost upwards of $800-1000 per person for room and board on the boat. Then, unless you live in the departure port, you’ll need to add a return flight to and from that location, which can easily approach or even exceed the cost of the cruise itself.

And where most hotel bookings can be canceled without penalty as little as a day ahead of check-in, cruise reservations are less generous should your plans change. As a rule, you can expect to lose at least your deposit, which is typically several hundred dollars, even for canceling two or three months in advance. Closer to the trip, the penalties increase, until you typically receive no refund at all if you cancel two weeks or less before departure.

The no-refund period can kick in earlier still for certain discounted cruise bookings. For example, the deposits for Early Saver and Early Saver Last Call tickets for Carnival Cruise Lines are non-refundable at any time after booking them. (Carnival only issues non-refundable and non-transferable future cruise credits in the event someone has to cancel.)

As we discuss more here,most cruise lines offer a comprehensive travel insurance policy tailored to cruises that is underwritten by an insurance company. Many also have another form of cruise insurance – one that is technically a waiver – that covers trip cancellation alone. In the event a cruise-goer needs to cancel their trip, the waiver ensures they get a higher percentage or all of their money back (with some stipulations, of course). Some waivers guarantee a 100% reimbursement for the cost of the cruise for only a set list of reasons, including an illness. Others might allow a traveler to cancel for any reason or as soon as up to two days before their scheduled departure.

You May Be Delayed In Getting To The Boat

If you miss a flight, or a flight connection, you can probably get onto another plane, perhaps within hours or even minutes or your original flight. Cruise ships, of course, leave far less frequently. If you miss your boat, because of flight delays or other mishaps, you’ve little choice but to catch up with it at its first port of call–which will likely require buying a costly last-minute flight.

You May Get (Really) Sick

Most health insurance policies will not cover medical expenses incurred on a cruise or during any port of call stops. And even if your health insurance does covers those bills, the insurer will most likely consider them to be out-of-network costs, which are typically cost more or are reimbursed to a smaller percentage than those involving in-network practitioners.

Cruise ships do, by law, have to have a doctor and hospital facility on board in the event anyone is injured or becomes ill. However, these infirmaries are typically designed to stabilize patients and make them as comfortable as possible until the ship reaches its final destination or the nearest port of call.

For emergencies that are too serious to treat at the port of call–which may be small, or in a country that lacks high-quality specialty care, a vacationer might also need a medical evacuation – when either a helicopter or another boat transports them immediately from the cruise to the necessary facility, which could be hundreds or even thousands of miles away. Medical evacuations are very costly and without insurance that covers them, a cruise-goer would have to pay for those bills out of pocket.

Where To Buy Cruise Insurance

Both cruise lines and independent travel insurance companies sell cruise insurance, for one or all of the perils described above. The comprehensive cruise insurance policies, then, typically include travel health insurance (coverage for medical emergencies such as a norovirus outbreak or prescription drugs for seasickness, read more here), an accidental death and dismemberment benefit, a waiver for preexisting conditions and, if needed, a medical evacuation.

This content originally appeared on ValuePenguin.