Need trip cancellation insurance advice

[DandyDon]

I will have to give a big NEGATIVE for Allianz Global Assist. I bought the insurance for a trip a month ahead of time and 3 days before a doctors appt. The doctors appt said that I needed surgery a.s.a.p. and that I shouldn't dive. Allianz said because of the impending Doctors appt, I should have know what the Doctor was going to tell me and would NOT reimburse me for anything. So I give them a thumbs down.

I don't know the company, but I think many call that pre-existing - symptoms evident...

Most insurance companies use one of two definitions to identify such conditions. Under the "objective standard" definition, a pre-existing condition is any condition for which the patient has already received medical advice or treatment prior to enrollment in a new medical insurance plan. Under the broader, "prudent person" definition, a pre-existing condition is anything for which symptoms were present and a prudent person would have sought treatment

It does pay to read terms. I buy as soon as I book and avoid the problem.

 

[jodylynn007]

Just an FYI, the DAN trip cancellation coverage only covers the 'DIVING RELATED' portion of your trip. For example, if you booked a flight/room/diving with Buddy Dive in Bonaire, only your dive trips on the boat would be covered by DAN if you had a cold... because even according to DAN, you can still sit on the beach with a cold. Better look into that policy, I was surprised myself when it was explained to me.

 

[DandyDon]

Just an FYI, the DAN trip cancellation coverage only covers the 'DIVING RELATED' portion of your trip. For example, if you booked a flight/room/diving with Buddy Dive in Bonaire, only your dive trips on the boat would be covered by DAN if you had a cold... because even according to DAN, you can still sit on the beach with a cold. Better look into that policy, I was surprised myself when it was explained to me.

I think that may be true of DAN Dive insurance, but not DAN Trip insurance...?

 

[AggieDiver]

Another thing to consider for those who travel to hurricane prone areas and buy trip insurance, is that the insurance may not cover your loss if you decide not to fly into the potential path of a hurricane. Many of the policies specify that they only cover weather related cancellations if the airlines are not flying or the resort/hotel is closed due to the weather. So if you look at the weather and see that a hurricane is expected to hit a location 3-4 days after you are supposed to arrive, and decide not to fly in as a result, you may not have coverage for your loss, as the resort and airlines were operating at the time you decided to cancel the trip. Read carefully before buying any policy to see if it will actually cover specific situations you are buying the insurance for.

 

[Moray]

Anybody have experience filing a trip cancellation claim,due to injury,with DAN or DiveAssure?i have the upper levels of insurance with both.would like to know the "hassle factor" between them. Thanks for any experienced response .

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

I will have to give a big NEGATIVE for Allianz Global Assist. I bought the insurance for a trip a month ahead of time and 3 days before a doctors appt. The doctors appt said that I needed surgery a.s.a.p. and that I shouldn't dive. Allianz said because of the impending Doctors appt, I should have know what the Doctor was going to tell me and would NOT reimburse me for anything. So I give them a thumbs down.

I had a cancellation with Allianz. Their policy is the cover for pre-existing conditions if you buy the insurance within 14 days of your initial deposit. If you purchase after 14 days they have a whole lot of excuses.

I started to have some problems with them (my wife did have a pre-existing condition) and their automated claim system. I called them twice and was ready to pound my head against the wall (or their heads against a hard object). Then I posted on Scuba Board and believe it or not, one of the "customer assurance agents" found the post a day later, joined SB and sent a PM to me. A week later I had checks for the full refund.

 

[DandyDon]

Anybody have experience filing a trip cancellation claim,due to injury,with DAN or DiveAssure?i have the upper levels of insurance with both.would like to know the "hassle factor" between them. Thanks for any experienced response .

No, but why both? You have Dive insurance with both? BTW, Dive Assure is fine I guess, and it's good for DAN to have some honest competition (the 501c3 organization contracts the insurance out with best bids) - but one thing that Dive Assure claims really irritates me: "It's primary coverage!"

(a) Even if true, so what?! It's just a matter of how they will split expenses with your regular medical insurance, not really important - if it were true...?!

(b) Read the full info on coverages, exceptions, etc. and see that it will really pay only what your other doesn't - actually secondary. It bothers me that they lie. DAN is no deity, but I've never caught them lying.
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[h20_kat]

Just an FYI, the DAN trip cancellation coverage only covers the 'DIVING RELATED' portion of your trip. For example, if you booked a flight/room/diving with Buddy Dive in Bonaire, only your dive trips on the boat would be covered by DAN if you had a cold... because even according to DAN, you can still sit on the beach with a cold. Better look into that policy, I was surprised myself when it was explained to me.

This is true although it is not at all clear in their policy wording. They really should clarify what is covered and what is excluded. I argued about denying payment for cancellation fees I had to pay for flights and they ended up paying them. There was no problems with them reimbursing the full cost of the liveaboard.

 

[DandyDon]

Just an FYI, the DAN trip cancellation coverage only covers the 'DIVING RELATED' portion of your trip. For example, if you booked a flight/room/diving with Buddy Dive in Bonaire, only your dive trips on the boat would be covered by DAN if you had a cold... because even according to DAN, you can still sit on the beach with a cold. Better look into that policy, I was surprised myself when it was explained to me.

This is true although it is not at all clear in their policy wording. They really should clarify what is covered and what is excluded. I argued about denying payment for cancellation fees I had to pay for flights and they ended up paying them. There was no problems with them reimbursing the full cost of the liveaboard.

That's just not trip insurance, but only charter insurance. DAN is a fine organization, imperfect as it is, and I wouldn't get dive insurance anywhere else - but their attempts in other insurance requests have been questionable.