I've searched the previous strings on travel insurance, but none address my exact issue. I'm reserved on the Tokyo to Hong Kong cruise in Sept./Oct. 2005. I'm looking for a travel insurance that either waives or offers very liberal terms with respect to the pre-existing condition provisions for cancellation for medical/family reasons. Does anyone have some leads for me?

Hi Crys,

I know there is travel insurance that waives pre- existing conditions but it has to be paid within a number of days , can't recall how many , after the cruise was booked. I know my parents have purchased it since my dad has a heart condition . I'll ask them about it.

There are many insurances that cover pre-existing conditions but to my knowledge they must all be bought within one week to three weeks of deposit to cover pre-existing conditions. There could be an exception out there as there are many insurances. You could always be sure the type of cabin and pricing is still available, then cancel your booking get a refund and then rebook again and purchase insurance within the required time frame.

Most pre-existing condition policies that are paid within the necessary period are also non refundable - some may be transferable but many are not.

Travel insurance can be a nightmare. I'm here to tell you. Getting the doctors to comunicate with the insurance company is a hands on situation. Now I'm going to fall into the pre existing catagory with my hip. So if I take another cruise I wonder if I can be insured at all. Anyone with a chronic condition like cancer that is in remission I don't think can be insured. Everyone knows what it costs per day for a cruise, it's a lot of money. There has got to be a better way to do this.

Chip, most of the insurance companys I use allow you to have a pre existing condition as long as you take out the cruise insurance within a week or two.
You shouldn't have any problem at all getting insured. When you think about it, the majority of people most likely have a preexisting condition of some sort.

I wonder if you could go to your own local insurance company instead of depending on the cruise line's. That would make the whole process a lot easier if you had to file a claim. I'm going to find out.

My local insurance agency dooesn't handle travel insurance but yours might.

I also don't use the cruise lines insurance. I use Insure my trip to compare different policy prices and features.