Expensive Liveaboard Trip - Travel Insurance, what can it do?

[RFurey]

A number of things could ruin a liveaboard dive trip. What exactly does trip insurance cover?

1. Your flight got screwed up and the boat left without you.
2. Your luggage (and dive gear) end up elsewhere.
3. The day before your trip, you come down with a serious case of the sniffles and there is no way your ears will clear.
4. You get sick on the boat and you can't dive.
5. The boat breaks down.
6. Severe weather either causes a cancelation, or the boat goes out and the seas are too rough to dive.
7. Customs finds a 10 year old 22 caliber round jammed in the corner of your suitcase, covered in lint.

In each of these instances, the entire trip is most likely shot. Would any trip insurance 100% cover the cost of a ruined vacation?
With less expensive dive trips, I tend to roll the dice and let the chips fall where they may. (So far, so good ... knock on wood)
But, I'm contemplating a rather pricey dive trip this year, and I'm wondering what steps I can take to minimize the risk of things going completely tits up.

Thx!

 

[also_anon_dc]

You should buy trip insurance because it would likely cover your rental gear in scenario 2 and the trip cost in scenario 3 (if you find a doctor willing to put in writing that you shouldn't travel and can't dive).

I suspect all of the other scenarios wouldn't be covered (maybe 1 would be if it was 100% the airlines fault but I always arrive a day or two in advance).

For scenarios 4 and 5 I'm confident a trip insurance company wouldn't view number of dives as factoring into the cost of the trip. From their perspective you're on the boat you paid for so the trip happened.

You'll never be 100% covered for all scenarios, you need to do what you can on your end to minimize risk. I arrive to the area a day or two early which leaves a buffer for lost luggage and delayed flights. Before a big trip I mostly stay home for the 2 weeks before and avoid crowds so I minimize risk of not getting sick.

 

[living4experiences]

There's a lot of discussion on this topic here, and I've commented at various times about it. In my experience, having had a diver death on a liveaboard last year, I can tell you there is no travel insurance policy that will cover your losses when it comes to scuba diving. Even though I had what I thought was adequate coverage for my losses, all my claims were denied and I lost a lot of money. The only thing you can do is to prepare for your trip as if you're going to have a loss. It's a sad way to think, but travel these days is anything but easy and predictable. Spread out your packing amongst different bags so not all your clothing or scuba gear is in one bag in case of delay or loss.

Arrive at the destination a couple of days early to allow for any mishaps with the airlines and to recover from jet lag.

As the trip date gets closer, keep in contact with the liveaboard company for updates about the trip going forward. Any mechanical problems? Any adverse weather coming in? Any staffing problems? Verify your transfer details if they're picking you up from the airport or hotel. In a foreign country, communication between the liveaboard main office and the actual driver picking you up is often poor.

If you do have an incident, document everything from the moment it happens. Get receipts and use your credit card for everything related to the incident for reimbursement purposes. If you have to take taxis or other transportation that only takes cash, take a picture of the vehicle and the meter. If the incident happens on the liveaboard, get something in writing from the cruise director about the cause, the dates of being out of service or lost dives. You can't get too much information when it comes to an insurance claim.

Plan to spend about 10% of your nonrefundable trip cost for an insurance policy.

 

[Trilobite]

A number of things could ruin a liveaboard dive trip. What exactly does trip insurance cover?

1. Your flight got screwed up and the boat left without you.
2. Your luggage (and dive gear) end up elsewhere.
3. The day before your trip, you come down with a serious case of the sniffles and there is no way your ears will clear.
4. You get sick on the boat and you can't dive.
5. The boat breaks down.
6. Severe weather either causes a cancelation, or the boat goes out and the seas are too rough to dive.
7. Customs finds a 10 year old 22 caliber round jammed in the corner of your suitcase, covered in lint.

In each of these instances, the entire trip is most likely shot. Would any trip insurance 100% cover the cost of a ruined vacation?
With less expensive dive trips, I tend to roll the dice and let the chips fall where they may. (So far, so good ... knock on wood)
But, I'm contemplating a rather pricey dive trip this year, and I'm wondering what steps I can take to minimize the risk of things going completely tits up.

Thx!

I'm not a fan of travel insurance, but I will note that some companies offer a "cancel for any reason" benefit at additional cost. One company describes the benefit as follows:

Optional Cancel for Any Reason coverage allows you to cancel your trip for any reason you wish, not just those listed in your plan document. This includes fear of travel or simply changing your mind. CFAR can reimburse you up to 75% of your prepaid, nonrefundable trip cost if you cancel two or more days before your scheduled departure date. You must purchase this add-on benefit within 20 days of your initial trip payment and insure the cost of subsequent travel arrangements within 15 days of the date you pay for them.​

This Cancel for Any Reason Benefit does not cover the failure of the Travel Supplier to provide the bargained-for Travel Arrangements due to cessation of operations for any reason.​

​

(Bold emphasis added).

There is also an "interruption for any reason" benefit at additional cost, which the same company describes as:

Optional Interruption for Any Reason coverage reimburses you up to 75% of your unused prepaid, nonrefundable trip cost and additional transportation expenses if you interrupt your trip 48 hours or more after your scheduled departure date. You must purchase this add-on benefit within 20 days of your initial trip payment and insure the cost of subsequent travel arrangements within 15 days of the date you pay for them. Trip interruption allows you to join your trip if you started it late, rejoin your trip after an interruption, or end your trip early for any reason you wish, not just those listed in your plan document.​

This benefit does not cover penalties associated with Travel Arrangements not provided by the Travel Supplier for this Trip and failure of the Travel Supplier to provide the agreed upon arrangements for Your Trip for any reason.​