Cruises sailing through ` the sliding crisis
Unlike other segments where travel insurance companies themselves increase the insurance premium, experts feel that the cancellation protection policy (which is a major part of the travel insurance) priced in dollars, isn’t much affected by the sliding ru
Travellers
going abroad might have to dole out more money as travel insurance premium may rise due to the slipping rupee. The AprilJune quarter is usually the best for the travel insurance segment but the presumption by some analysts that the rupee may fall to a 60-mark low in coming days has raised the concerns of the insurers.
Insurance companies pay claims for outbound travel insurance in foreign currencies but collect premiums in Indian rupee. Thus, the rupee fall has affected the general insurance firms. But, this is not true in case of cruises where the cancellation protection policy is priced in dollars.
Commenting on how no additional cost would be borne by the Princess Cruises passengers, Nishith Saxena, Director, Cruise Professionals says, “Most insurance products offered to Indian outbound travellers are priced in Rupee and the insurance companies have to shell out a specific amount to their corresponding partners overseas in US$. Given the current high US$ to rupee exchange rate, the settlement with the overseas insurance company would be at a higher rate. If the same logic is applied to any/ all travel products, it should affect the travel cost positively but premium segment cruiselines such as Princess Cruises always maintains the cost of their Cancellation Fee Waiver programme in US$. Therefore there is no
This programme also covers damage or loss to baggage during the voyage, in case of passenger sails
additional cost which has to be borne by the Princess Cruises passengers.”
According to Saxena, the Cancellation Fee Waiver programme is pegged at 10 per cent of the cruise fare ( Cruise Cost + Port Charges). This cover needs to be purchased along with the deposit payments at least 75 days prior to the sail date and this covers up to 100 per cent cancellation penalties till five working days prior to the sail dates. “There is no such programme in the industry which protects passengers against cancel- lation penalties without any paper work/ medical certificate. In addition, this programme covers damage or loss to baggage during the voyage, in case of passenger sails,” he claims.
Reiterating the impact of this cancellation protection programme, Gautam Chadha, Chief Executive, TIRUN Travel Marketing, India Representative, Royal Caribbean Cruises feels, “Our cancellation protection programme is a combination of insurance and assurance. And this is priced in dollar. So unlike an insurance company which would directly hike the cost of the premium, in our case, we do not hike the prices. However, it might still impact our Indian customers due to the exchange rates between dollar and rupee.”