Cancellation - Family Emergency

[Danthesand]

I would assume member services would require documentation, just like the airlines do to get emergency airfare.

Per the experience described in my prior post, I was never asked by DVC to provide any documentation whatsoever that there had been a death in the family. The return of the unused points was given immediately when I first called with that information, and confirmed in a second call I made to member services five days later after the funeral.

 

[Daitcher]

That's somewhat of a generalization, if you are talking about travel insurance in general and not specifically to that solicitation we get with every confirmation. I would agree that the travel insurance being solicited by DVC's provider (who is likely paying the costs of mailing out the confirmation) has never looked like a good deal to me.

However, "trip" insurance, like for a cruise, is another story, IMHO. While you may be able to cut a deal with the DVC resort to refund your points should your stay be cut short, I doubt that DCL is going to hold the ship for you if your flight is cancelled.

The $90 per person I payed for insuring that cruise (not through Disney) was well worth it, given that my SIL had broken her neck before the cruise and there was a good chance that we would be out a few thousand dollars had we had to cancel.

It may be a generalization but it is only an opinion. For every one person that gives and example of how travel insurance helped them out hundreds of others don't use it or find out there reason for canceling wasn't covered. There are so many things that aren't covered. Trip insurance is a huge cash cow for companies. All travel insurance isn't created equal,however and some are better than others. The DVC insurance just isn't worth it IMO. Research others if you must buy travel insurance.


DAVE

 

[JimMIA]

It may be a generalization but it is only an opinion. For every one person that gives and example of how travel insurance helped them out hundreds of others don't use it or find out there reason for canceling wasn't covered. There are so many things that aren't covered. Trip insurance is a huge cash cow for companies. All travel insurance isn't created equal,however and some are better than others. The DVC insurance just isn't worth it IMO. Research others if you must buy travel insurance.


DAVE

Well...one of the things that's interesting about the trip insurance sidebar here is that people who have actually used it like it, and people who have never used it have strong opinions about it. A prudent consumer has to do their homework and see whether the insurance will cover what they want covered.

As mentioned above, I've used trip insurance a number of times and twice had to collect on the insurance. In both of those situations, my FIL and MIL had pre-existing chronic issues which contributed to the incident, but the events were acute events, not just more of the same...and therefore, the insurance paid.

In my FIL's case, he had lung issues from his youth and chronic congestive heart failure in his 60s. However, he'd been living with those issues for years. Just before our trip, he had a heart attack and required bypass surgery. Covered, paid, end of story.

In my MIL's case, she had serious mobility issues similar to the symptoms of MS. She fell and broke her leg. Covered, paid, end of story.

Rather than believe boogy-man stories, the prudent consumer who might have a pre-existing condition should simply call the insurance company and ask them whether they'll be covered or not.

 

[KandiB47]

When I became a DVC member, I asked about emergencies and was told that family emergencies are handled on a case-by-case basis. Anybody who would take advantage of that, lie, and say a family member died isn't very Disney-like anyway.

 

[poohbear1029]

I asked about this about 6 months ago because DH is active duty AF and I wanted to know what would happen if his leave got revoked or he got unexpectedly deployed within the 30 day window.

They told me that they do handle situations on a case by case basis and that they have someone on staff (forget her title) that reviews these instances to see what DVC should do.

Its worth asking. Worst they could say is no.

 

[gblaue]

I had a family emergency last year 5 days prior to arrival. MS did a "one time" goodwill act and returned all of my points to a holding account.

 

[DebbieB]

I had a family emergency last year 5 days prior to arrival. MS did a "one time" goodwill act and returned all of my points to a holding account.

That's what they should have done, any cancellation between 30 days and arrival date should go into holding. Any cancellation on the arrival date should be lost points.

 

[JimMIA]

I had a family emergency last year 5 days prior to arrival. MS did a "one time" goodwill act and returned all of my points to a holding account.

Debbie's right. They didn't do you any favors unless they returned the points to your account with no restrictions. What you describe is precisely the definition of late cancellation and "holding account," not special treatment or goodwill.

 

[MiaSRN62]

I tried to get trip insurance to cover our 2004 Disney cruise. I wanted to be totally straight with the companies I contacted and explained to them that if we had to cancel it would be because my mil had terminal cancer and she had just gone into hospice. Noone would cover me for that particular instance because they said my mil had a terminal preexisting condition. We ended up not getting any and just hoped all would be ok.
To the OP, Ed. I hope all is well with your family and wish you good luck getting your points into holding if that's possible.

 

[gblaue]

That's what they should have done, any cancellation between 30 days and arrival date should go into holding. Any cancellation on the arrival date should be lost points.

The issue was that I was 3 days from the end of my use year. They let me push my points into the next year.

 

[JimMIA]

The issue was that I was 3 days from the end of my use year. They let me push my points into the next year.

In that case, they did you a HUGE favor!

 

[pouncingpluto]

Having said that, I don't think I would buy the DVC trip insurance. If I was going to insure a DVC trip, I would contact TravelGuard or one of the other big trip insurance companies and see whether they would cover the DVC stay at a reasonable compensation factor (like $10 per point, rather than the $5 DVC pays).

I've already asked TravelGuard this, and they told me no, that they don't typically cover timeshares at all, just through the deal they have worked out with DVC.

It's not as easy as you would think to find travel insurance for timeshares apart from the one DVC offers. I found one that specializes in timeshares but decided it was a worse deal.

 

[JimMIA]

I've already asked TravelGuard this, and they told me no, that they don't typically cover timeshares at all, just through the deal they have worked out with DVC.

It's not as easy as you would think to find travel insurance for timeshares apart from the one DVC offers. I found one that specializes in timeshares but decided it was a worse deal.

However, TravelGuard WILL cover renters, provided there is a non-refundable agreement. They'll cover the full amount of any non-refundable expenses, including what the renter paid for the reservation, air, car rental, etc. Like most travel insurance, you have to buy the insurance within a couple of weeks of making your arrangements (which can present problems for people waiting for Southwest Airlines dings, special fares, etc.). You really need to make all of your arrangements around the same time to be sure they are all covered.

I agree that travel insurance covering our points is not cost-effective, so I don't use it for DVC.