Should you buy travel insurance for a cruise through the cruise line or your travel agent?

Purchasing Travel Medical Insurance

Actually, anyone you purchase insurance from is going to make money on it. Neither the cruise line nor the travel agent charge extra commission on top of the cost of insurance. The insurance company writes the insurance for a set amount. They pay commission from that amount back to the retailer or cruise line. Additionally, one insurance company may have many different prices for the exact same policy, depending upon who they are writing the insurance for. The cruise line and the agent are, in most cases, selling a product like TravelGuard, TripMate, Travelex or Access America, among others. Check out all three options (cruise line, agent and insurer) and go with the most coverage for the least expensive price. Prices fluctuate all the time. This time your agent may have the best price. Next time it might be the cruise line or the insurer. Just be sure to check reimbursement method. Some travel providers (cruise lines, tour companies) only reimburse through future travel credit.

Bon Voyage!

More advice on Travel medical Insurance:

• Neither. They both charge a commission.
  

Commission is a built in part of all travel insurance premium. If you go directly to the company, they save the portion of the premium that would have been paid in commission, not you! The best place to buy insurance is from an online travel insurance comparison site. Most consumer advocates will tell you not to buy directly from the cruise line due to the fact that certain restrictions apply if you do.

Compare Policy Coverage

Not every company has the same coverage. Check carefully. A competent travel agency generally works with multiple travel insurance companies and can provide a comparison for you.

In most cases third party coverage is cheaper than the cruise lines and provides better coverage. If you are concerned that the cruise line might go out of business, be sure to get insurance from a 3rd party. If the cruise line goes out of business, so does their insurance, and then you are stuck.

First answer by Robynlyn15. Last edit by Thevacationstop. Contributor trust: 19 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 50 [recommend question]