Booked with Costco. Where to buy trip insurance?

[cruisehopeful]

I booked with Costco and transferred another to Costco. I haven't cruised since before covid, but I think I always bought travel insurance from the insurance company itself. Does Costco have trip insurance? Since I'm booked with Costco, does that mean I can't buy insurance through DCL? What do you all do in this situation? When do you buy - right before last payment? I can't remember what I did other than I always had insurance.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I booked with Costco and transferred another to Costco. I haven't cruised since before covid, but I think I always bought travel insurance from the insurance company itself. Does Costco have trip insurance? Since I'm booked with Costco, does that mean I can't buy insurance through DCL? What do you all do in this situation? When do you buy - right before last payment? I can't remember what I did other than I always had insurance.

Typically, insurance through the cruiseline is not a good buy. 3rd party insurance is often better, at a lower cost. Your TA (COSTCO) can help with that, or you can purchase yourself.

Many of us use travel insurance comparison sites to get quotes from several companies for comparison., It's important that you read, and understand what you're actually getting when you select one. Just do a Google search for "travel insurance comparison sites" and you'll get several hits. One of the bigger ones we can't link here.

 

[ljhayes]

You can add DCL's insurance up until final payment, even if you booked through Costco. I usually prefer outside insurance as I typically have other expenses I would want covered. I have booked DCL's insurance when I was driving to the port and had no pre or post cruise expenses.

 

[LeiaOfAlderaan]

Costco does offer insurance but the benefits are not as good and it is more expensive than it used to be. I use a third party site that lets you compare plans and try to book within 21 days of cruise deposit to get the pre-existing condition waiver. It may depend on the plan but I think some companies let you buy insurance up to the start of your trip? (Don’t quote me on that lol)

 

[Mommb]

You do not need insurance until you'd use it -- that is, until you have non-refundable expenses. That's why insurance booked through Disney Cruise isn't purchased and charged until your final payment date.

If you have medical conditions for which you are being treated and those conditions flare up right before or during a cruise, the insurance may not cover associated costs (cancellation before a cruise and treatment during a cruise) unless you have pre-existing condition coverage. The time period after initial payment that you can purchase this coverage varies, but it's generally a few weeks or less.

If you don't have pre-existing conditions, you can wait until right before you have cancellation penalties to buy insurance. Insurance through Disney will cover only costs booked through Disney, but outside companies can cover transportation to and from the port, pre- and post-cruise hotel stays, private excursions, and so on -- anything you would incur penalties for cancelling. Just be sure to list the total cost of all trip components you want covered when you purchase the insurance.

 

[Flcruising]

If you are doing several vacations or just renting a car for a weekend or going camping, over a 12 month period you might consider an annual policy.
Another reason to consider an outside insurance company might be free coverage for kids. Some policies include children on parents or grandparents policies with no additional cost. You don't necessarily have to travel together for them to be covered.

 

[Hegemon]

Before you buy a new policy, check to see if your credit card includes free travel protection. Chase Sapphire Reserve includes a better policy than Disney's and it's free if you use your card to pay for even a portion of the trip.

 

[mpetersen]

I’ve used travelguard and they are great. Years ago I had to cancel due to pregnancy complications and while Disney handled the cruise portion it was nice to have the insurance to cover flights. This time I went through AAA, so it pays to shop around.

 

[cruisehopeful]

Before you buy a new policy, check to see if your credit card includes free travel protection. Chase Sapphire Reserve includes a better policy than Disney's and it's free if you use your card to pay for even a portion of the trip.

I have the other Chase Sapphire (lower tier). I paid my deposits with a different card, but I'll have to look at the coverage. It might be good enough to pay the balance and associated travel costs with the Chase card.

 

[Hegemon]

I have the other Chase Sapphire (lower tier). I paid my deposits with a different card, but I'll have to look at the coverage. It might be good enough to pay the balance and associated travel costs with the Chase card.

That should work well! I'm not sure if there's a difference between the Preferred and the Reserve, but all you have to do is pay a portion of the trip with the card to get the coverage. I just used points from a non-Chase card to pay for one of my cruises, and then put $100 on the Sapphire Reserve to get the travel protections.