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If you’re planning on booking a cruise, one way to gain peace of mind is with a good travel insurance policy. A comprehensive plan can provide financial protection for unexpected trip cancellation, medical expenses, travel delays and more.
To find the best cruise insurance we evaluated only plans with at least $150,000 in medical coverage (including Covid coverage), coverage for pre-existing conditions and the ability to add a “cancel for any reason” upgrade.
Platinum
Yes
$250,000/$1 million
per person
AXA’s Platinum plan hits all the high points for coverage that you’ll want for a cruise.
Read more: AXA Assistance Travel Insurance Review
RoundTrip Choice
Yes
$500,000/$1 million
per person
Seven Corners’ RoundTrip Choice plan has superior benefits across the board.
Read more: Seven Corners Travel Insurance Review
Safe Travels First Class
Yes
$250,000/$1 million
per person
The Safe Travels Voyager plan can give cruisers superior coverage across a wide variety of benefits.
Read more: Trawick Travel Insurance Review
TripProtector Preferred
Yes
$500,000/$1 million
per person
HTH’s TripProtector Preferred Plan has luxury-level benefits at a good price.
Read more: HTH Worldwide Travel Insurance Review
Gold
Yes
$250,000/$1 million
per person
John Hancock’s Gold plan has superior coverage but it also comes with a high average price.
Read more: John Hancock Travel Insurance Review
Prime
Yes
$150,000 accident, $150,000 sickness/$1 million
per person
This plan offers an array of very good benefits for cruise-takers for a competitive price.
Read more: Nationwide Travel Insurance Review
Diamond
Yes
$500,000/$1 million
per person
While pricing is higher than some other top plans, USI’s Diamond plan provides a variety of top-level benefits.
Read more: USI Affinity Travel Insurance Review
Travel Plan
Yes
$500,000/$500,000
per person
Cat 70’s Travel Plan has great medical and evacuation coverage that makes it worth a look, especially if the lower limits on certain other benefits don’t bother you.
Read more: Cat 70 Travel Insurance Review
Gold
Yes
$500,000/$500,000
per person
Tin Leg’s Gold plan has a very competitive average price for the generous level of benefits it provides. Check out the Tin Leg Adventure plan if you plan to do adventure activities.
Read more: Tin Leg Travel Insurance Review
Company | Company - Logo | Forbes Advisor Rating | Starting price | Best pandemic plan | Covers Covid? | Medical & evacuation limits per person | Learn More CTA text | Learn more CTA below text | LEARN MORE |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AXA Assistance USA | 5.0 | Platinum | Yes | $250,000/$1 million | Learn More | ||||
Seven Corners | 5.0 | RoundTrip Choice | Yes | $500,000/$1 million | Learn More | ||||
Trawick International | 5.0 | Safe Travels First Class | Yes | $250,000/$1 million | Learn More | ||||
HTH Worldwide | 4.5 | TripProtector Preferred | Yes | $500,000/$1 million | Learn More | ||||
John Hancock Insurance Agency | 4.5 | Gold | Yes | $250,000/$1 million | Learn More | ||||
Nationwide | 4.5 | Prime | Yes | $150,000 accident, $150,000 sickness/$1 million | Learn More | ||||
USI Affinity Travel Insurance | 4.5 | Diamond | Yes | $500,000/$1 million | Learn More | ||||
Cat 70 | 4.0 | Travel Plan | Yes | $500,000/$500,000 | Learn More | ||||
Tin Leg | 4.0 | Gold plan | Yes | $500,000/$500,000 | Learn More |
Whether it’s your first voyage or you’re a cruise veteran, having the right travel insurance is important. This is especially true if you’re a senior traveler who wants a high level of medical coverage while traveling.
Here are good starting points for coverage you’ll likely want in a cruise insurance plan:
Trip cancellation insurance: This reimburses you 100% for the pre-paid and non-refundable deposits you lose if you have to cancel for a reason covered by the policy.
Trip interruption coverage: This will reimburse you for unused trip costs if your trip is cut short because of illness, injury, death, a family emergency back home or other reasons. It can also pay for the extra expenses of a trip interruption, such as a one-way plane ticket home on short notice. The reason for the interruption has to be listed in the policy.
Emergency medical expenses: This pays for medical expenses associated with injuries and illness you get while on the trip. The top travel insurance plans have $500,000 in travel medical insurance, but you might find $150,000 to be sufficient for a cruise. If you’re a senior, good travel medical coverage is crucial.
U.S. health plans may have very limited or no coverage when you’re outside the U.S. And Medicare doesn’t cover medical care outside the U.S., with only very narrow exceptions.
Emergency medical evacuation coverage: This covers the costs to get you to the nearest adequate medical facility or even back home if it’s medically required. Your travel insurer’s emergency assistance team can also help arrange for the medevac.
Coverage for pre-existing conditions: Many travel insurance plans give you a pre-existing medical condition exclusion waiver if you buy the plan within two to three weeks after your first trip deposit. This is one of the advantages to buying travel insurance shortly after you book your trip. Without the waiver, medical expenses related to pre-existing conditions that flare up during your trip won’t be covered.
“Cancel for any reason” coverage: Canceling for reasons that aren’t listed in the policy aren’t covered, unless you have already purchased ”cancel for any reason” coverage. This typically reimburses you 75% of trip costs. Adding it increases a policy cost by an average of 50%. For example, you could make a “cancel for any reason” claim if you’re worried about being seasick—a reason not covered by standard trip cancellation insurance. Buy this coverage shortly after you buy your travel insurance plan or the purchase window for it will close.
Additional coverage: A comprehensive travel insurance plan will package additional benefits such as coverage for travel delay, baggage delay and baggage loss. The best travel insurance plans offer high levels of reimbursement when things go wrong. A travel insurance agent can help you match your concerns to the right travel insurance package.
Syed Rizvi, VP and Chief Specialty Insurance Officer at Nationwide Insurance, recommends that you “purchase your plan when you book your trip. One of the top benefits of this approach is the simple fact that coverage is locked in, and the traveler does not risk going without coverage altogether because they were planning on ‘doing it later.’”
Cruise insurance costs will generally depend on your age, state and length of trip. Here are average costs for the best cruise insurance plans above.
Travel insurance plan | Average travel insurance price | |
---|---|---|
Nationwide Prime plan | $409 | |
AXA Assistance USA Platinum plan | $417 | |
Cat 70 Travel Plan | $432 | |
Tin Leg Gold plan | $432 | |
HTH Worldwide TripProtector Preferred plan | $473 | |
Seven Corners RoundTrip Choice plan | $478 | |
USI Affinity Diamond plan | $498 | |
Trawick International Safe Travels Voyager plan | $524 | |
John Hancock Insurance Agency Gold plan | $548 | |
To find the best cruise insurance we evaluated only travel insurance plans with at least $150,000 in travel medical coverage, Covid-related coverage, the availability of pre-existing medical condition exclusion waivers, and the ability to add “cancel for any reason” coverage. Factors scored were:
You don’t need a travel insurance plan that’s specifically for cruises. Any good travel insurance plan with generous medical benefits and the other benefits you want can work well for a cruise.
You can buy cruise insurance after booking your trip, right up until just before departure. The downside to waiting is that you likely won’t be able to cover pre-existing medical conditions, and you’ll lose the option to add cancel for any reason coverage.
Buying right after you book also lets you lock in trip cancellation coverage right away.
You can cancel a cruise, but may have to pay a cancellation penalty for the cruise and/or flights. You could also lose the cost of pre-paid shore excursions. If you don’t have travel insurance for these losses, check the credit card you used for booking. Some credit cards include trip cancellation coverage.
I’m the Insurance Analyst for Forbes Advisor. I’ve been writing about insurance for consumers for more than 20 years. Insurance intersects with many parts of our lives, yet it’s tough to untangle, and wrong choices can make a financial mess. I’m here to help you make sense of it. I’m especially interested in how data is affecting the price you pay for all insurance types.