Trip insurance - necessary?

[UsualNoise]

OK, so last time I went to DW I bought trip insurance. This time around I'm debating whether to do it. Here's my reasoning:

If I have to cancel within the 45 day window, I have to pay $200. Buying trip insurance would probably be about the same ($225 on my last trip). So why don't I just risk having to cancel and paying the $200? Only other cost would be airline, and through Southwest I can just use the ticket funds toward a future trip.

Is there any other reason to go with trip insurance?

 

[firstwdw]

OK, so last time I went to DW I bought trip insurance. This time around I'm debating whether to do it. Here's my reasoning:

If I have to cancel within the 45 day window, I have to pay $200. Buying trip insurance would probably be about the same ($225 on my last trip). So why don't I just risk having to cancel and paying the $200? Only other cost would be airline, and through Southwest I can just use the ticket funds toward a future trip.

Is there any other reason to go with trip insurance?

I am in the same boat with the same reasoning.

 

[pepe of ohio]

47 trips to WDW and one Disney Cruise and never purchased insurance... Never saw not felt the need..

 

[deltadisney]

There are other companies out there who offer trip insurance for a fraction of what you pay through disney. For example, we used Allianz and paid $72 for all of our insurance, and I believe it is a lot broader than the coverage offered through disney and covers things such as flight, medical, and lost property. I didn't review the policy in absolute detail, but the agent explained a scenrio such as having a lost/stolen ipad etc., and the trip insurance was broad enough to cover something such as that. We have been with it and without it.

 

[Dis703]

I've been wondering about this as well. We aren't flying so there is no airfare to worry about just the hotel package with tickets and maybe dining if we add it. So is the cancellation policy is just the loss of the $200 within the 45 day window, period? Even if it's 12-24 hours before?

Last time I went was in 2010 and they had some sort of 5 day cancellation policy. I think if you cancelled within 5 days of your trip basically you were out of luck. We actually got screwed out of over $200 because we made a last minute reservation at the end of our trip because we wanted to stay an extra day. I called the airlines first, got the rates and times to change and then called Disney to book a room for that night. Called the airline back to book the flight and found out they gave me completely wrong information and were giving me rates for that day not the next and it was going to cost more than $1500 just for the flight to stay one day more. So I called Disney within 5 minutes of making the reservation to cancel and they didn't say a word, but a month later the full room charge was on my credit card.

I should have freaked out about it, but didn't. I misunderstood when she said to me "this reservation has the 5 day cancellation policy rule" when I booked it I was thinking I had 5 days to cancel and that sounded so silly.

So we are thinking about insurance this time around as we have a party of 6 going and I worry about illness or something happening on the road, etc.

 

[DebbieB]

One thing to consider is what if someone gets sick or there's an issue at home and you have to leave early. Insurance would pay for your lost days and also the extra expense to go home early.

 

[germ539]

We always have gotten our trip insurance through AAA for years when we have flown and only once have had to use it, last year. Unexpected medical issues with my DS and we only lost the cost of the insurance for our party of 5 (around $200) but we got all the cost back including the tickets cost through SW (wanna get a way fares) which we would have had to use within 6 months, not book again within the time frame but use. Since you said you had SW tickets, I wasn't sure what type you had, the wanna get aways have changed from purchasing within the time frame to have to use.

We always see it as a good investment, especially when you are shelling out between 5-8 thousand dollars for a week trip.

 

[elaine amj]

One thing to consider is what if someone gets sick or there's an issue at home and you have to leave early. Insurance would pay for your lost days and also the extra expense to go home early.

That's a big reason I buy it. Also, my DH always worries about medical emergencies right before the trip that wuld prevent us from going. Plus we fly Delta, and change fees for tickets are $150 pp.

Ours was $81 for $3600 of coverage through Travel Guard.

I'm even more insistent on insurance when we cruise - that's pretty much non-refundable and its a big chunk of change.

 

[aboveH20]

Food for thought . . . .

I found out the hard way that trip insurance is non-refundable. I had a Magic Your Way package booked and then changed it to do a split stay when my son decided to join me. I'm not sure the CM handled it correctly, but she refunded my deposit from my first booking MINUS the cost of the insurance.
Like I said, I'm not sure that she handled the change correctly, but I do know that I'm out the insurance money.

 

[minnie mum]

We never travel without some form of travel insurance, but we NEVER buy it from Disney. It is too expensive and provides too little coverage. There are much better (less expensive, more comprehensive) sources of travel insurance out there.

It's not just trip cancellation insurance (before you leave home), but the emergency medical, trip interruption, baggage loss insurance that we are more concerned with. We've only had to make a claim once over the years. That one claim more than made up for all the other years.

 

[merina888]

We generally buy trip insurance and have had to use it more than once. It covers all kinds of things. One trip we got stuck in Newark on our way to Florida and it covered the cost of the hotel. We never buy it from Disney and got through AAA with an independent company.

 

[campbell95]

We do not buy the insurance through Disney, but we do buy trip insurance if we plan to travel through hurricane season. You just never know. There are plenty or travel insurance sites with better rates and coverage than what Disney provides.

 

[UsualNoise]

The best quote I can find right now is $150 for our upcoming trip in February. Basically, I would only need it for trip interruption, as I can cancel for $200 if needed. I've never had lost bags or missed flights with Southwest, so I'm pretty much on the fence as to whether it's worth it. I may wait until closer to when we travel to decide, assuming it can be added nearer our travel dates. Then I can gauge the likelihood of weather problems or flu-related sickness.

 

[Sue M]

We always buy medical insurance when traveling to anywhere in the US from Blue Cross. I also have trip insurance with my Visa Card. We get an annual policy, because we usually have more then one trip to the US.
And as mentioned, it's always a good idea to have trip insurance during hurricane season to cover extra expenses, hotel, etc

 

[toonaspie]

Can anyone recommend me some good places to buy trip insurance? Could I still get trip insurance and order the MYW package from Disney or will I have to go to a travel agent to arrange my entire vacation?

 

[dansdad]

Can anyone recommend me some good places to buy trip insurance?

We have used travel guard and it's very reasonable. Under $100. Haven't had to use it, but I liked the coverage.

Could I still get trip insurance and order the MYW package from Disney or will I have to go to a travel agent to arrange my entire vacation?

No need to go with a travel agent, you can go right through Disney.

 

[minerva78]

Can anyone recommend me some good places to buy trip insurance? Could I still get trip insurance and order the MYW package from Disney or will I have to go to a travel agent to arrange my entire vacation?

I go to insuremytrip.com because you can put in the details of your trip and it gives you information about a wide variety of insurance plans. Some are full plans, some are partial coverage plans like medical only. Then you can compare across the details and costs of these plans and pick the one that best suits your needs. I'd bet you'd be able to find a plan for cheaper than the price you were quoted.

 

[bigbabyblues]

Food for thought . . . .

I found out the hard way that trip insurance is non-refundable. I had a Magic Your Way package booked and then changed it to do a split stay when my son decided to join me. I'm not sure the CM handled it correctly, but she refunded my deposit from my first booking MINUS the cost of the insurance.
Like I said, I'm not sure that she handled the change correctly, but I do know that I'm out the insurance money.

I believe the CM was correct. I remember being told before that their trip insurance was non-refundablewhen I booked a package.

 

[Marla1106]

I am going to purchase it this trip. On our last trip we found out that my sister had a brain tumor. It was hard not leaving to be with her right away, but it was our last day anyway. She has been fighting brain cancer for almost 2 years now and since she is getting worse, we will buy the insurance just in case we need to go back home quickly and cut our trip short.

 

[aboveH20]

I believe the CM was correct. I remember being told before that their trip insurance was non-refundablewhen I booked a package.

I'm sure she was correct about insurance being non-refundable. I didn't give the details of our 45 minute conversation, but what I think she handled incorrectly is that I could have done a Magic Your Way package for the three days my son and I were at the first resort and kept the insurance and then I could have upgraded my park tickets for the second resort when I was alone. We're both coming from New York (think snow) so insurance would have been nice.

Bottom line, instead of modifying my original MYW reservation and keeping the insurance, I now have two room only reservations without insurance.