GALVESTON, Texas – For years, Helen Reddy dreamed of taking a cruise. Now 89 years old, wheelchair-bound and reliant on oxygen, the trip she longed for became a symbol of hope and friendship, a girls weekend getaway with close friends from their country club in Galveston, Texas.
But what should have been a joyful celebration turned into a frustrating ordeal that has dragged on for more than a year, leaving Helen and her friend out thousands of dollars and caught in a confusing web of travel insurance claims and denials.
Denise Roller, a close friend of Helen’s, shared the story of their plans.
“Helen has been talking for years, years and years, about taking a cruise,” Roller said. “One of the last things on her bucket list was to go on a cruise.”
When the ladies at their country club decided to make Helen’s dream come true, they purchased tickets on a Princess Cruises voyage aboard the Regal Princess, scheduled to depart Galveston on Oct. 27, 2024.
Denise paid a total of $8,633.32 for the cruise and a vacation protection insurance plan, including Helen’s ticket.
“We were ready to go and do a girls weekend,” Roller said. “Helen is wheelchair-bound and on an oxygen concentrator. We knew that, but we had the doctor’s okay.”
But as fate would have it, Helen’s health took a turn for the worse.
Diagnosed with cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), her condition deteriorated. Her doctor ultimately advised against traveling.
“The doctor said, ‘I’m just not comfortable with this. We really need to go ahead and not do it. Let’s just back out,’” Roller recalled.
The group canceled the trip, confident their travel insurance would cover the cost.
“We didn’t really worry about it because we had the insurance to cover it,” Roller said.
A Fight For Her Money
However, what followed was a year and four months of frustration, delays, and denials.
“The insurance company has pushed us around,” Roller said. “They kept asking for different medical records and information. We gave them everything they asked for, but then they asked for more. It’s been a constant back and forth.”
Roller described the difficulty of providing the insurer with the requested documentation.
Helen is now under hospice care, where traditional doctor visits and medical records are limited.
“Once you’re on hospice, you no longer see doctors outside of hospice care,” Roller explained. “There are no medical records from doctor’s offices, hospitals, labs, or x-rays. There’s only one doctor, and she’s very busy.”
The insurer also requested direct communication with Helen’s doctor, which proved challenging.
“They tried to call her, she tried to call them back, but they never connected,” Roller said. “The doctor said she had too many other things to do, like taking care of sick people.”
Despite their efforts, the insurance company has yet to approve the claim.
“They’re still saying, ‘We’re sorry, we can’t do anything for you,’” Roller said.
The cancellation notice from Princess Cruises confirms the group was charged $8,366.84 in cancellation fees after onboard credits, nearly the full amount paid for the cruise and insurance combined.
Roller said the insurance company refunded the few hundred dollars paid for the insurance itself nothing toward the cruise cost.
“We never even saw the boat,” Roller said. “And here’s the ironic part: Princess Cruises ended up canceling that cruise.”
The travel insurance policy, provided by United States Fire Insurance Company and administered through Aon Affinity, includes a “Cancellation Fee Waiver Program” offered by Princess Cruises.
This program is not insurance but a waiver of cancellation fees under specific conditions such as sickness, injury, or death of the traveler or immediate family members.
However, the policy contains a 60-day pre-existing condition exclusion that disqualifies coverage if a medical condition worsens or presents symptoms within 60 days before purchasing the waiver.
Roller admitted she did not read the full 48-page insurance document before buying, relying on advice from a travel agent that it was a standard policy.
“If I were to do this again, I would read it from start to finish,” she said.
So how can you travel with peace of mind? Here’s the top five tips:
Do make sure you are buying actual travel insurance, not a cancellation waiver or add on.
Don’t assume a “travel protection plan” automatically means insurance. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners says travel protection is often bundled with non insurance products, including cancellation fee waivers and travel assistance services, and only the insurance portion is overseen by state insurance departments.
Do read the exclusions first, before you compare prices or plan levels.
Don’t buy a policy without checking what it will not cover, because exclusions can be the difference between a payout and a denial. NAIC lists common exclusions that can include pre existing health conditions, pandemics, civil or political unrest, pregnancy and childbirth, and certain risky activities.
Do prioritize medical coverage and medical evacuation if you are cruising or traveling internationally.
Don’t get tunnel vision on baggage coverage and assume your regular health plan will protect you everywhere. NAIC lists travel medical and medical evacuation as key types of travel insurance coverage, along with trip cancellation and baggage loss or delay.
Do get crystal clear on what qualifies for trip cancellation or interruption coverage and what proof you will need to submit.
Don’t assume “the trip got canceled” automatically equals a full refund, because reimbursement is typically tied to covered events, documentation requirements and deadlines. NAIC describes trip cancellation, interruption and delay insurance as coverage that reimburses prepaid and non refundable travel expenses when a traveler is prevented from taking all or part of a trip.
Do consider Cancel for Any Reason only if you need maximum flexibility, and read the fine print on timing and reimbursement.
Don’t expect 100 percent back, because NAIC says Cancel for Any Reason coverage typically provides a partial refund, about 50 percent to 75 percent, and often requires you to meet criteria such as buying within a specified time frame, insuring the full trip cost and canceling at least 48 hours before departure. Some insurers also spell out similar deadlines, such as buying within 15 days of initial trip payment and canceling no later than 48 hours before departure.
A Lesson Learned
Princess Cruises and Aon Affinity were asked for comment but said they could not meet the deadline for the story’s airing.
Roller said a Princess Cruises representative was unaware of the ongoing dispute when she contacted them.
“This is not the way to do business, especially not with an 89-year-old woman who is wheelchair-bound and on oxygen,” Roller said.
For Helen and her friends, the ordeal has been about more than money.
“It’s less about the money now and more about the principle,” Roller said. “Don’t treat people like this if you want them to do business with you.”