river cruise insurance

Do you like a room with a view? Scenic vistas and twilight dinners as you glide along lazy rivers and watch the world go by. Sounds dreamy right!?

Now, we hate to spoil your buzz, but have you considered what might happen if you’re cruising merrily merrily down the stream in a remote area and an emergency strikes? How would you get yourself to a hospital?

Our handy guide explains how river cruise insurance can help, should you find yourself up sh*t creek!

Does travel insurance cover river cruises?

The short answer is yes. But you may have to do a little bit of research to ensure you’re properly protected.

Some travel insurance companies require an additional purchase of a cruise pack in order to be covered on a river cruise whereas others don't.

Since river cruises aren't on the ocean, most insurers automatically cover river cruising whether you're overseas or within Australia.  Getting you to dry land for medical treatment is not nearly as complicated from a riverboat as a cruise ship, so insurers often don't need to charge you extra.

This isn't always the case though and it's not always obvious where to look. But it’s your lucky day. We’ve created a table that explains who-covers-what in terms of river cruising:

Which companies cover river cruising automatically?

It's not always clear if an insurer will consider a river cruise boat the same as a cruise ship. We've done our best to research the differences shown in the table below. But we always advise giving your chosen insurer a call to double-check. 
 

Insurer	Underwriter	Is river cruising automatically covered?	Conditions	Buy Now
1Cover	Certain underwriters at Lloyd's		You need to purchase the cruise pack if you want cruise benefits like missed port or formal attire cover.	Go To Insurer
Amex	Chubb Insurance Australia Limited		Providing you select the appropriate geographical region.	Go To Insurer
Budget Direct	Auto and General Insurance Company Limited		Providing you select the appropriate geographical region. Domestic cruise must be under Pacific	Go To Insurer
Columbus Direct	Lloyd's of London		Providing you select the appropriate geographical region.	Go To Insurer
Downunder	Certain underwriters at Lloyd's		Providing you select the appropriate geographical region.	Go To Insurer
Fast Cover	Hollard Insurance Company Pty Ltd		You must purchase a cruise pack in order to be covered.	Go To Insurer
InsureandGo	Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company Limited		You must purchase a cruise pack in order to be covered.	Go to Insurer
iTrek	Certain underwriters at Lloyd's		Providing you select the appropriate geographical region.	Go To Insurer
Online Travel Insurance	Allianz Australia Insurance Limited		Automatically included as part of list of Automatically Included Activities	Go To Insurer
Simply Travel Insurance	Certain underwriters at Lloyd's		Providing you select the appropriate geographical region.	Go To Insurer
Travel Insurance Saver	Pacific International Insurance		Cruising is covered as standard on all international policies. Consider the PDS and TMD from TIS and if the policy is right for you.	Go To Insurer
Travel Insuranz	Chase Underwriting		No mention of cruise or river cruise in their PDS	Go To Insurer
Virgin Money	Allianz Australia Insurance Limited		Automatically included as part of list of Automatically Included Activities	Go To Insurer
Worldcare	Allianz Australia Insurance Limited		Automatically included as part of list of Automatically Included Activities	Go To Insurer
Zoom Travel Insurance	Certain underwriters at Lloyd's		Providing you select the appropriate geographical region.	Go To Insurer

What’s typically covered in river cruise insurance?

Helicopter evacuation: If you’re down the river and need to get to a hospital your comprehensive policy would cover your medical evacuation to get you to the nearest hospital. Note: this benefit may not be available on domestic river cruises.

Your luggage: Stay snap happy! Should your camera go overboard, you can relax knowing that it would be covered for accidental loss (however your insurer can’t do anything about the lost memories, unfortunately.)

Unforeseen cancellations: If the river water was too low and the cruise could no longer depart and you were unable to get compensation from the cruise company you may have provision to claim on your travel insurance for your lost deposits.

Natural disasters: A cyclone would put a dampener on your dream holiday. At least in the event of unforeseen natural disasters, you're covered for any delays or unexpected expenses you incur as a result.

...And way more 

What’s not?

Not enough people: If your cruise cannot depart because of a lack of people booked on, it's unlikely that your insurer would reimburse you.

Mechanical breakdown: Just like with bust planes, a broken boat is not a covered reason to cancel your trip. It is down to the cruise company to reimburse you in this instance. 

Insolvency: Travel insurance rarely covers claims in relation to the financial collapse of a transport, tour or accommodation provider. So make sure you’re booking with a legitimate company before you hand over any money. 

Change of mind: If you don’t like the look of the weather on your intended dates, you would not be covered to cancel your cruise due to lack of enjoyment.

What's sometimes covered?

Pre-existing medical conditions: Some serious medical conditions like cancer, heart or lung disease are often trickier to get covered, but it's not impossible.  You’ll need to declare them and have them assessed by your chosen insurer to see if you can pay extra to have them insured. 

Missed cruise: The reason you were unable to make the scheduled departure will determine whether or not your travel insurance will cover you. If sickness or a natural disaster affects your trip then you would likely be able to claim. However, if a delayed flight caused you to miss the ship departure, maybe not.  Delays caused by airlines are rarely covered, so try to book flights a couple of days prior to your cruise to avoid difficulties. 

What does a cruise pack include?

Often, insurers give the option to add a 'cruise' back addition to your standard policy, these can cover a range of groovy things including:

Cabin confinement: No one wants to think about getting sick on holiday. But if you do and are stuck in your cabin, some insurers will pay an amount for your loss of enjoyment.​

Missed ports: Should your cruise be unable to dock due to a weather event or natural disaster you can get reimbursed per scheduled port up to an applicable amount.

Formal wear: Wearing your best evening attire onboard? Should your formal wear get damaged or lo st, some insurers will cover you to repl ace the items, depreciation may apply.