How about trip insurance refund for a canceled cruise?

DEAR TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER >> Last October, I purchased a travel insurance policy through Travel Guard for a Regent Seven Seas cruise from Bangkok to Abu Dhabi. The cruise line canceled the trip on Feb.

19.

I asked if the travel insurance policy was refundable. A Travel Guard representative told me all cancellations must be made within 15 days of the effective date.

Travel Guard offered me a credit voucher, good for 90 days. But that was useless because cruise lines have suspended operations and the government is advising people to avoid travel.

I’ve heard nothing from Travel Guard. Can you help me get my money back? — Gerald Phelan, Napa

ANSWER >> We’re in uncharted waters when it comes to the coronavirus. Regent’s ticket contract, the legal agreement between you and the cruise line, says it will refund the fare if it cancels your cruise. Fortunately, it refunded your cruise immediately after the cancellation.

But your insurance is another matter. You have a 15-day “free look” period after you buy a travel insurance policy, after which the policy is nonrefundable. If your trip gets canceled, some travel insurance companies will allow you to cover a future trip. But what if there are no future trips — at least not in the foreseeable future?

Like I said, uncharted waters. By the way, the next time you book a cruise, you’ll want to read your policy carefully. In reviewing the policies that Regent sells, I noticed at least one that doesn’t cover the cessation of the cruise line. In other words, if the cruise line goes under, you’ll lose your policy and your vacation.

Your question is one of thousands that are pouring in during the coronavirus cancellation crisis. Although it’s become impossible for my advocacy team and me to mediate every case, we can still help. I publish the names, numbers and emails of the executive contacts at Regent Seven Seas and Travel Guard on my consumer advocacy website, elliott.org. We also host forum.elliott.org, a helpful forum where travelers can post their questions and get immediate help.

You reached out to Travel Guard using our executive contacts. The company offered a full refund for your policy.

DEAR TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER >> In January, my husband had a stroke, and we had to cancel our cruise to Vietnam and Cambodia, which we booked through

Vantage Deluxe World Travel. I filed an insurance claim with Trip Mate, my travel insurance company.

We sent in all the required paperwork and letters from the neurologist and primary care doctor saying he could not fly for three months and only then after being reevaluated. This was long before the coronavirus appeared.

Trip Mate has been no help. They advertise a refund in 30 days or less. They told us the claim had been approved and they were waiting for Vantage to write the check. I have called Vantage several times. A representative told me that Vantage had to cancel two ships in

October and November because of technical problems, which is why they hadn’t written my check.

Eventually, I spoke with someone in accounts payable who promised to follow up and call me back. She never did. My husband can’t read or write and lost sight on his right side. Can you help me get our $9,278 refunded? — Valerie Smith, Shepherdstown, West Virginia

ANSWER >> I’m so sorry to hear about your husband’s condition. Your Trip Mate policy should cover your cancellation, and your claim should have been processed by now. So what’s going on?

Trip Mate normally processes its claims quickly. Could this have been a coronavirus-related delay? Maybe. The cancellations for some Asian vacations started in January and picked up speed as the virus spread. By mid-february, all of the travel insurance companies were slammed with claims.

That brings up an interesting question for anyone else filing a claim during the coronavirus pandemic: How long should you give your travel insurance company to cut you a check? Given the scale of the outbreak, at least two months. Travel insurance insiders tell me that there are too many claims and not enough people to process them.

I publish the names, numbers and email addresses of the Trip Mate executives on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org. If your claim drags on for longer than two months, you should reach out to one of them.

I admire the way you documented everything for your claim. You even have a detailed call log. Remember that while a phone call can answer a quick question, only a paper trail provides the evidence of your correspondence. Try to keep everything in writing when you’re working on a claim.

I contacted Trip Mate and it investigated your claim. The company sent you a check for $9,278, as promised.