You've chosen the destination. You've found the perfect cruise or vacation. The deposit is paid and now you can start looking forward to your trip.
But there's one more important part of travel planning that shouldn't be left until the last minute: protecting both yourself and the money you're investing in your vacation.
Travel insurance is something we all hope we never have to use. But when something unexpected happens, the right coverage can make an enormous difference.
And there is something many travelers don't realize: depending on the insurance plan you choose, waiting until final payment to purchase travel insurance may be too late. That is particularly important with Manulife's Premium Protection Plan (PPP).
When Canadians think about travel insurance, Emergency Medical Insurance is often the first thing that comes to mind. And it is extremely important.
An unexpected illness or injury outside your home province or outside Canada can result in substantial medical expenses. Your provincial health plan should not be assumed to provide the same protection while travelling that you have at home.
But medical expenses are only one of therisks involved in travelling. There's another important question I ask myclients:
What happens to all the money you've paidfor your vacation if something unexpected happens and you can't go?
That is where Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption Insurance become so important.
A major vacation can include a cruise or tour, airfare, hotels, transfers, rail tickets, excursions, resort stays and other prepaid arrangements. For a major cruise or international vacation, that investment can easily reach thousands - or even tens of thousands - of dollars.
As departure gets closer, more of those expenses may become non-refundable. If an unexpected covered event prevents you from travelling, Trip Cancellation Insurance can help protect eligible prepaid, non-refundable travel expenses, subject to the policy's terms, conditions and coverage limits.
Your cruise line, airline, hotel or tour company still has its own cancellation rules. Once supplier penalties begin, you could lose some - or eventually all - of what you've paid. Trip Cancellation Insurance is designed to help protect that financial investment when you have to cancel for a covered reason.
Trip Cancellation protects against covered events before your trip begins. Trip Interruption applies to certain covered events after your trip has started.
Imagine being halfway through a two- or three-week cruise when an unexpected covered event means you need to return home. You may have prepaid vacation arrangements you can no longer use, plus the unexpected cost of getting home.
Depending on the circumstances and policy provisions, Trip Interruption coverage can help with eligible unused prepaid travel arrangements and certain additional transportation and other expenses resulting from a covered interruption. This can be especially important on longer cruises, international vacations and trips involving several prepaid components.
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One of the options I discuss with eligible clients is Manulife's Premium Protection Plan, commonly called PPP.
PPP combines several types of travel protection in one plan, including Trip Cancellation & Trip Interruption, Emergency Medical, Travel Disruption, Baggage Loss, Damage and Delay, Flight Accident and Travel Accident coverage, Default Supplier Protection, and Cancel For Any Reason coverage.
There are eligibility requirements, limits, exclusions and conditions, so PPP isn't automatically the right plan for every traveler. But there is one particularly important requirement you need to know when you first book your trip.
Manulife's Premium Protection Plan must be purchased within 72 hours of making the initial payment toward your trip's travel arrangements.
That initial payment could simply be the deposit you make when we book your cruise. And yes - that initial payment matters even when the deposit is refundable.
It is easy to think, "My cruise deposit is refundable, so I don't need to worry about insurance yet," or, "I'll buy my insurance when I make final payment."
If PPP is the coverage you want, waiting can mean missing the opportunity to purchase it. The time to talk about PPP is when you make that first trip payment - not when the trip becomes non-refundable.
Many larger vacations are built and paid for over time. We may book your cruise first, purchase airfare months later, add a pre-cruise hotel, and eventually make the cruise final payment.
You don't necessarily have to insure the entire future cost of a vacation on day one. We can build your Trip Cancellation coverage as additional prepaid travel arrangements are booked and paid.
1. Cruise deposit: We book your cruise and make the initial payment. If PPP is the appropriate choice, we establish it within the required 72 hours and insure the appropriate amount at that time.
2. Airfare: When flights are purchased later, we review the insured amount and add the additional prepaid travel arrangements, with the additional premium paid within 72 hours of booking those arrangements.
3. Hotel or other prepaid components: Asmore prepaid arrangements are added, we review the coverage again within the required timeframe.
4. Cruise final payment: When the remaining cruise fare is paid, we increase the insured amount accordingly within the required timeframe.
5. Continue as the trip is completed: We keep reviewing the coverage as additional prepaid components are added.
In other words, your travel insurance can grow along with your vacation. By the time your trip is fully an d paid, we've also been building the appropriate Trip Cancellation protection alongside it.
A refundable deposit and the eligibility window for purchasing an insurance product are two different things.
Your cruise line may allow you to cancel and receive your deposit back for many months. That's great. But that doesn't change PPP's requirement that the plan be purchased within 72 hours of the initial trip payment.
So even if you're booking a cruise 12, 18 or 24 months ahead and the initial deposit is refundable, talk to me about insurance when we make that first payment. We can then continue reviewing and increasing your Trip Cancellation coverage as additional components are booked and paid.
Traditional Trip Cancellation Insurance does not mean you can simply decide not to travel for absolutely any reason and receive all your money back. Normally, the reason for cancelling needs to be one of the covered events specified in the policy.
PPP includes a Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR)benefit. Under the current policy wording, if your reason for cancellation is not otherwise covered, PPP may provide partial reimbursement of eligible prepaid, non-refundable insured travel arrangements, subject to timing requirements, maximums and conditions.
This does not mean a guaranteed 100% refund for any cancellation. It can, however, provide an additional layer of protection beyond traditional covered reasons for cancellation.
Sometimes the vacation isn't cancelled or interrupted completely - it simply doesn't go according to plan. Flights can be delayed or cancelled, connections can be missed, and weather or other unexpected events can interfere with carefully planned arrangements.
PPP includes Travel Disruption Insurance for certain eligible expenses resulting from covered events, subject to the policy's limits and conditions. This is another reason to look beyond the words "medical insurance" and understand the complete travel protection you're purchasing.
Great - you may already have some valuable coverage. But there's a big difference between saying, "I have travel insurance," and knowing, "I understand exactly what my travel insurance covers."
Before relying entirely on credit-card insurance, find out how much Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption coverage you have; whether Emergency Medical is included; how many travel days are covered; whether age restrictions apply; whether your spouse or travelling companion is covered; whether the trip had to be purchased with that particular card; what pre-existing medical condition requirements apply; what circumstances are covered; what exclusions apply; and whether the dollar limit is high enough for the vacation you're taking.
If you've invested $15,000 or $20,000 in a vacation, a small amount of cancellation coverage through a credit card may not be enough to protect your entire investment. Don't assume. Check the insurance certificate or contact the insurer.
Having a pre-existing medical condition does not automatically mean you can't obtain travel insurance. However, travel insurance policies can contain stability requirements, exclusions and other provisions concerning pre-existing medical conditions.
Changes in medication, treatment, symptoms, investigations or medical status may be important depending on the policy. If you're unsure about your circumstances, ask questions, read your policy and contact the insurer when appropriate so you understand how the coverage applies to you.
Although we've spent a lot of time talking about Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption, Emergency Medical Travel Insurance remains extremely important.
Canadians travelling outside their home province - particularly outside Canada - need to understand the limitations of provincial health coverage. Cruise travelers also shouldn't assume medical care is covered simply because they're onboard a ship.
An unexpected illness or injury could involve onboard medical treatment, care at a foreign hospital, an ambulance, emergency transportation or assistance getting home. The appropriate Emergency Medical coverage depends on your age, destination, length of trip, health circumstances and other insurance coverage you already have.
A four-night getaway and a $25,000 three-week international cruise don't carry the same financial risk. Neither do travelers with different ages, health histories and existing coverage.
That's why travel insurance shouldn't simply be another box to check. We should look at where you're travelling, how long you'll be away, how much you've paid, what other prepaid arrangements will be added, how much will eventually become non-refundable, what insurance you already have, whether you have adequate Emergency Medical coverage, whether you need Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption protection, and whether Manulife's PPP is an appropriate option.
The goal isn't automatically to purchase the most insurance possible. The goal is to understand what you're protecting, what you're covered for and what you're not covered for.
You may spend months - sometimes years -planning and paying for a special vacation. Travel insurance can't stop an illness, family emergency, cancelled flight or another unexpected event from happening. But the right coverage can help prevent an unexpected event from also becoming a major financial loss.
That's why when I help my clients plan a cruise or vacation, I don't only want to talk about the exciting parts - the ship, cabin, destination, flights, hotels and experiences. I also want to talk about protecting the trip we've worked so hard to plan.
And if you're interested in Manulife's Premium Protection Plan, please don't wait until final payment to ask me about it. Let's have that conversation when you make your first trip payment. If PPP is appropriate for you, we can establish coverage within the required timeframe and continue reviewing your insured amount as additional prepaid components are added to your vacation.
Planning a wonderful vacation is important. Protecting that vacation is part of good travel planning too.
If you're planning a cruise, river cruise, tour or international vacation with HappyCruisers66 Travel, talk to me about travel insurance when we start planning your trip.
I can discuss available options including Emergency Medical, Trip Cancellation & Trip Interruption Insurance and Manulife's Premium Protection Plan (PPP) so you can make an informed decision about the coverage that's right for you.
Sea • Explore • Discover - and protect the journey along the way.
This article is provided for general information only and does not constitute a guarantee of insurance coverage. Eligibility requirements, benefits, maximums, exclusions, limitations, pre-existing medical condition provisions and other policy terms apply and may change.
Always review the applicable policy wording and your Confirmation of Coverage carefully. If there is any difference between the information in this article and the insurance policy, the policy wording governs.
Manulife travel insurance products referenced in this article are underwritten by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company (Manulife).
