Cancellations and trip insurance?

[wishing upon a star]

I'm not sure if I'm posting this in the right section or not, but if I didn't, feel free to remove it.

I have a few questions regarding cancellations and trip insurance.

Around January/February, after being told by doctors repeatedly that everything was fine, we found out that my Uncle has bladder cancer. Fast forward to yesterday, my Mom told me that my Aunt said that she may not be able to go to Disney World with us in September like planned. Supposedly, my Uncle will have some kind of in-home treatment [when? I don't know..] for 6 weeks to try to help fix things. My Mom decided that if my Uncle gets sick during treatment that she will have to help my Aunt take care of him [taking him to the doctors, lifting him out of bed, etc..] so we may not be able to go either. I really want to book the trip since I've been doing all this planning since September 2008. We really don't know what will happen 5 months from now and I want to at least try to see if we can go instead of waiting around with no trip booked wondering what's going to happen. My Mom is a little leery about the thought of booking though, she doesn't want to lose any money.

My questions are;

1. If we go with the trip insurance offered, if we find out that we can't go and that we have to cancel, are there any penalties? Will we lose our deposit or any money we put down?

2. If my Mom and I can still go, but my Aunt can't, is it possible to change the reservation from 3 adults to 2? Would we have to rebook?

If it helps knowing, I want to book so we can get free dining. That would be very, very useful.

I know I may sound ungrateful and unsympathetic [least I feel like I do..] but I was really looking forward to this trip, it would be our first trip to Disney World and maybe our only trip together.

Thanks for any help,
-Tiffany

 

[crazyfordisney2000]

I do know if you book a package there is no penalty 46 days prior to arrival, 45-6 days prior to arrival there is a $100 penalty and 5-0 days prior is $200 penalty. I do know a room only reservation you have more time before a penalty is applied, you could call to find out. As for flights I think airlines vary. Most will usually offer a credit (minus a penalty).

 

[mjones73]

1) As the PP noted, you can get a full refund for any money put down (minus the cost of trip insurance) up to 46 days from check in date. Being that the insurance is non refundable, you can wait til day 45 to add it and pay for it then. I'm not sure what the total benefits are of the insurance if you use it, hopefully someone else can add in on that.

2) You can change your reservation, there may be a fee to remove things once you get within a certain date of your check in date though, I believe it's around $50 bucks.

 

[wishing upon a star]

I do know if you book a package there is no penalty 46 days prior to arrival, 45-6 days prior to arrival there is a $100 penalty and 5-0 days prior is $200 penalty. I do know a room only reservation you have more time before a penalty is applied, you could call to find out. As for flights I think airlines vary. Most will usually offer a credit (minus a penalty).

1) As the PP noted, you can get a full refund for any money put down (minus the cost of trip insurance) up to 46 days from check in date. Being that the insurance is non refundable, you can wait til day 45 to add it and pay for it then. I'm not sure what the total benefits are of the insurance if you use it, hopefully someone else can add in on that.

2) You can change your reservation, there may be a fee to remove things once you get within a certain date of your check in date though, I believe it's around $50 bucks.

Thanks! For some reason I thought there would be a penalty fee no matter what. I like the idea of waiting to add the trip insurance, never thought of that! Guess we could do that that the last minute if we know we're going for sure.

I was actually thinking of taking Amtrak down. It seems way cheaper than some of the airlines I've looked at. It's a long ride, but I'm not sure of flying down. Never been on a plane before, and I'm sort of scared of the idea of flying. I'm second guessing myself though because if I do Amtrak I can't do ME and I really want to!!

Anyway, thanks for the help! I'll talk to my Mom about everything later.

 

[msmayor]

Thanks! For some reason I thought there would be a penalty fee no matter what. I like the idea of waiting to add the trip insurance, never thought of that! Guess we could do that that the last minute if we know we're going for sure.

I was actually thinking of taking Amtrak down. It seems way cheaper than some of the airlines I've looked at. It's a long ride, but I'm not sure of flying down. Never been on a plane before, and I'm sort of scared of the idea of flying. I'm second guessing myself though because if I do Amtrak I can't do ME and I really want to!!

Anyway, thanks for the help! I'll talk to my Mom about everything later.

If you wait to add the trip insurance, then your situation most likely would NOT be covered.

Because there is now a pre-existing condition...you KNOW about the illness and possibility of cancellation, there are strict time limits to purchase a policy and have that pre-existing condition waived. Most policies will require you to purchase the insurance within 7-14 days of the FIRST deposit on the trip. There are policies out there that will cover you if you purchase within 24 hours of final payment, but those policies may be more expensive depending on what you want to cover.

Remember also that the insurance will only cover any non-refundable costs that you have already paid, not any part of the trip you didn't pay for out of pocket or get a refund from the supplier for.

 

[wishing upon a star]

If you wait to add the trip insurance, then your situation most likely would NOT be covered.

Because there is now a pre-existing condition...you KNOW about the illness and possibility of cancellation, there are strict time limits to purchase a policy and have that pre-existing condition waived. Most policies will require you to purchase the insurance within 7-14 days of the FIRST deposit on the trip. There are policies out there that will cover you if you purchase within 24 hours of final payment, but those policies may be more expensive depending on what you want to cover.

Remember also that the insurance will only cover any non-refundable costs that you have already paid, not any part of the trip you didn't pay for out of pocket or get a refund from the supplier for.

I think [if we definitely do decide to do Disney] we will need the trip insurance, not really because of my Uncle, but because my Mom doesn't have any health insurance, just me and my Aunt do. The insurance will cover my Mom if she gets sick during the trip or if we need to cut our trip short if something happens to her [or me or my Aunt], won't it? We definitely woudn't have the money if she needed to go to the hospital during the trip. My Mom doesn't have any health problems, so we're okay there.

Do you know the link to the fine print/terms&conditions of Disney's trip insurance? I'd like to read over it and save it.

I feel stupid even asking all this.

 

[msmayor]

I think [if we definitely do decide to do Disney] we will need the trip insurance, not really because of my Uncle, but because my Mom doesn't have any health insurance, just me and my Aunt do. The insurance will cover my Mom if she gets sick during the trip or if we need to cut our trip short if something happens to her [or me or my Aunt], won't it? We definitely woudn't have the money if she needed to go to the hospital during the trip. My Mom doesn't have any health problems, so we're okay there.

Do you know the link to the fine print/terms&conditions of Disney's trip insurance? I'd like to read over it and save it.

I feel stupid even asking all this.

I don't have any information on Disney's insurance because I've never used it. We had a policy through TravelGuard for our cruise last November which we purchased after research on insuremytrip.com.

 

[maccagerl]

Definitely research your trip insurance options- from what I've read here you are better off buying trip insurance from an outside vendor, not Disney- as Disney's insurance is more expensive and doesn't cover as much. Be sure to read all the fine print.
Maybe someone on the budget board would have more info?

 

[Blessedx3]

I can chime in a little on the insurance thing. I had to use trip insurance last year. All I had to do was call the company and explain the problem why we couldn't go. (We couldn't go becuase my dad who was to watch my 3 young kids got called into UAW meetings. This was about 4 days before we were supposed to leave.) They sent out paperwork that we filled out and within a week my whole trip minus the cost of insurance was refunded. Including airfare. It was very easy and went very smoothly. I had the insurance from day one on the trip though. I don't know how it works if you add it later. I am very glad we had the insurance otherwise we would have been out $$$$. I recommend it. Even if you don't have to use it. Also as someone else said Disney will let you change your ressie.

 

[Sydrox]

Last year we had a trip planned for feb (my ds 1st bday) we had to cancel due to an unexpected illness and was told by drs that they did not want me to leave town, This all happened 2 days before trip.. I had a very very helpful cm and she advised me to reschedule my trip to any date and there would be absolutely no penalties ( we rescheduled for april). Then if you cancel(the new resie) at the right amount of time there would be no penalty. We did that but ended up rescheduling that trip for May, absolutely no problems.. Other familiy members followed suit (as they were coming for ds bday celebration) and all worked out for all of us.. I would say no to the insurance as they always try to find a reason to not have to pay it, except for a trip out of the country ect..

 

[francie57]

We never travel without having trip insurance. We had a death in the family a few years ago while on vacation so it came in handy. As one other poster said, because it is a pre-existing condition you have to be careful of the coverage. Make sure you do your research and don't just settle for Disney's insurance. If you are flying the airlines offer travel insurance or just google and do on-line research to see what each policy doesn and doesn not cover.

 

[mjones73]

I was actually thinking of taking Amtrak down. It seems way cheaper than some of the airlines I've looked at. It's a long ride, but I'm not sure of flying down. Never been on a plane before, and I'm sort of scared of the idea of flying. I'm second guessing myself though because if I do Amtrak I can't do ME and I really want to!!

We looked into Amtrak as an alternative to flying, didn't think it was all that much cheaper considering the amount of time it takes. We decided to just drive down again, it's about a 14-16 hour trip from North East, MD via car vs 18-20 hours on the train from Baltimore.

Check Southwest and Airtran, they tend to be pretty reasonable with flights to Orlando from BWI (assuming that was the airport you were gonna fly out of.)

 

[Trekker]

I would like to caution that anyone considering trip insurance should not rely on information provided by Travel Agents, Disney CMs, or people on open forums.

This is insurance just like your car, home, life or health insurance and the only one who can answer these questions is the company that underwrites the insurance.

For Disney this is

Travel Guard International at 1.800.826.3899.

Here is a link to the coverage information from the Disney site

http://adisneyworld.disney.go.com/media/wdw/media/reservations/insurancecertificate.pdf

 

[traylorc]

I would like to caution that anyone considering trip insurance should not rely on information provided by Travel Agents, Disney CMs, or people on open forums.

This is insurance just like your car, home, life or health insurance and the only one who can answer these questions is the company that underwrites the insurance.

Good advice

 

[MasterChief]

The trip insurance is kind of a waste. Reasoning:

1) If you cancel 46+ days out you get a full refund of any fees paid. However the trip insurance is non-refundable so your out $140.

2) If you cancel your trip between 45 and 6 days out you get a refund of all but $100. If you didn't purchase trip insurance you saved $40; however if you did purchase it your still out all $140.

3) In the unlikely event that you have to cancel in 5 days or less before check-in your get a refund of all but $200. If you purchased trip insurance you'd save $60, but then again if you didn't have to cancel you would have lost $140.

 

[smiths02]

The trip insurance is kind of a waste. Reasoning:

1) If you cancel 46+ days out you get a full refund of any fees paid. However the trip insurance is non-refundable so your out $140.

2) If you cancel your trip between 45 and 6 days out you get a refund of all but $100. If you didn't purchase trip insurance you saved $40; however if you did purchase it your still out all $140.

3) In the unlikely event that you have to cancel in 5 days or less before check-in your get a refund of all but $200. If you purchased trip insurance you'd save $60, but then again if you didn't have to cancel you would have lost $140.

4) There are some things that some insurers don't cover like pre-existing conditions and acts of war (my husband got activated before we took a cruise).

5) Companies will sometimes actually do the right thing and work with you see #4 Airtran totally refunded our money outright and NCL gave us a credit (smart to do in their case b/c we spent WAY more money the next year )

We are not flying and we all have health insurance...so we are risking it...insurance was more than $140 for our party of 4 adults and a child...it was nearly $200!


HOWEVER...
If you are flying...and you can get the pre-existing stuff covered...and your mom needs health insurance on the trip...then probably worth it...

check out insuremytrip.com (Clark Howard, a local consumer advocate recommends it)

 

[wishing upon a star]

I would like to caution that anyone considering trip insurance should not rely on information provided by Travel Agents, Disney CMs, or people on open forums.

This is insurance just like your car, home, life or health insurance and the only one who can answer these questions is the company that underwrites the insurance.

For Disney this is

Travel Guard International at 1.800.826.3899.

Here is a link to the coverage information from the Disney site

http://adisneyworld.disney.go.com/media/wdw/media/reservations/insurancecertificate.pdf

Thank you for the number.

The link wouldn't work. When it tries to open I get a popup saying "This file is damaged and could not be repaired." Thank you for trying though.

 

[wishing upon a star]

Thanks everyone.

 

[PolyTigger]

Can you add insurance after you booked a 4/3 package and what is the cost for 2 guests?

 

[akenneson]

I've never used trip insurance before, but am considering for Disney trip because our vacation will be costing a lot more than we've ever paid before. Does the insurance cover your airline tickets even if the tickets aren't bought through Disney? Or do you have the option to buy insurance through the airline? Not really sure how it works. Thanks!