Here’s Why Cruise Passengers Buy Insurance

Two out of five travelers who have researched or purchased travel insurance say getting sick or injured during a cruise is their number one concern as they plan their next vacation at sea, according to an annual survey from InsureMyTrip.com.

Approximately 1,440 travelers in the U.S. responded to the survey, which found that 42.2 percent were concerned about getting sick or injured before or during a cruise; 37.3 percent worried about bad weather; and 20.5 percent said missing a cruise departure was a concern.

In the company’s 2018 survey, 52 percent of people were concerned with illness, and bad weather was the concern of 29 percent.

Thirty-one percent polled also said they have experienced a stomach illness or seasickness during a cruise, versus 24 percent in the previous year’s survey.

All of the respondents who participated in this year’s survey had researched or purchased travel insurance within the past 24 months. Out of those polled, 24 percent had filed a travel insurance claim for a cruise-related issue, with the most common reasons being: 1) medical care required during a cruise; 2) medical issue forced a trip cancellation; 3) bad weather forced a delay or cancellation of a cruise; 4) missed flight led to a delay or cancellation of a cruise; and 5) items were stolen or lost during a trip.                            

Interestingly, the same percentage of respondents to InsureMyTrip’s 2018 survey said they had filed a travel insurance claim.

According to purchasing data by InsureMyTrip, 70 percent of cruise customers choose a comprehensive travel insurance policy for trips at sea. Comprehensive travel insurance provides a variety of benefits including trip cancellation, trip interruption, emergency medical coverage, emergency medical evacuation, 24/7 emergency assistance, travel delays, and baggage protection.

Cruisers can also choose a comprehensive travel insurance policy that includes cruise-specific inconvenience benefits, for common inconveniences like shipboard service disruptions (e.g. a fire, mechanical breakdown, or virus disrupts a cruise), or port of call change (when a cruise line changes an itinerary prior to departure due to weather or other circumstances and the traveler elects not to embark on the voyage).

While InsureMyTrip.com focused on cruise insurance issues that might disrupt a traveler’s plans, they also asked cruisers where they like to sail. One in four polled chose the Caribbean (25 percent) as a favorite cruise destination, followed by Alaska (18 percent). Seven percent chose Italy as a top place to visit.

In 2018, 35.4 percent of respondents said Europe was their top place to visit, followed by the Caribbean at 33.9 percent, and Alaska at 12.4 percent.