Travel Insurance Can Offer Relief to Passengers Rocked by Freak Wave During Cruise

Passengers on the Norwegian Dawn last week, who endured a freak 70-foot wave that smashed two upper-story windows and flooded more than 62 cabins, could get some solace and reimbursement for financial loss if they had travel insurance, according to a spokesperson with Travel Guard International.

According to Travel Guard spokesperson Dan McGinnity, passengers who purchased comprehensive travel insurance coverage could be covered for damaged baggage and emergency medical expenses.

In addition, due to the complications from the wave itself, the ship was forced to divert to Charleston for repairs, which delayed its arrival in New York by one day. Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) was able to make arrangements or reimburse arrangements for some, but not all
passengers. Passengers who missed flights could have been reimbursed for the additional expense associated with rebooking tickets.

“We consider this a weather related incident, which is one of the many situations covered in Travel Guard’s per trip travel insurance plans,” McGinnity said.

He added the company estimates that about 100 of the ship’s passengers had purchased one of Travel Guard’s plans, and expects that most claims filed will be for lost, delayed or damaged baggage.