Do I really need trip insurance?

[Blessed_wth_Triplets]

I've purchased it for 5 years now and thankfully never needed it. But with both Disney and Southwest, their cancellation policies are good that I'm wondering if I should save the couple hundred bucks, at least?

 

[North of Mouse]

I've purchased it for 5 years now and thankfully never needed it. But with both Disney and Southwest, their cancellation policies are good that I'm wondering if I should save the couple hundred bucks, at least?

August and September are 'big' hurricane months - that would be reasons for getting it then, but it's a personal decision. We've never gotten the insurance and never (thankfully) needed it - usually don't visit WDW those months.

 

[Wild4Walt]

We always get it in case something comes up and we need to cancel completely.

Southwest is good and will let you use the airfare funds towards another trip within 365 days of the original purchase date of your ticket ( meaning if you buy your ticket July 1st 2014 to use it for a travel date of October 1st 2014 and you don't go on the trip you have to use the funds by June 30th 2014 ). It does not guarantee the fare you had.

If you have a package with Disney I know it can be cancelled with no penalty, but I think ( and maybe someone else here can verify ) that after the 45 day prior mark you start paying penalties and loosing money on the package price.

 

[isaboo]

We always buy it. It's a small price to pay for the peace of mind! We did actually use it once....I miscarried a very early pregnancy right before we were to leave on a cruise. Travelguard reimbursed every dime. I just consider it part of the trip cost.

 

[rwdavis2]

We always buy it. It's a small price to pay for the peace of mind! We did actually use it once....I miscarried a very early pregnancy right before we were to leave on a cruise. Travelguard reimbursed every dime. I just consider it part of the trip cost.

We used Travelguard too. My wife was in the hospital for 3 days on a WDW trip. They paid all additional expenses PLUS the hospital co-pay. No problems at all.

 

[DebbieB]

We used Travelguard too. My wife was in the hospital for 3 days on a WDW trip. They paid all additional expenses PLUS the hospital co-pay. No problems at all.

Most people think of insurance in terms of cancelling before you go. But your example of one that people don't think of - what if something happens while you are there. Or what if something happens to someone at home and you have to leave early. At that point you could be losing more than the deposit.

 

[pepe of ohio]

51 trips and one Disney cruise... Never even thought about insurance... Not our bag..!

 

[Minniekins]

We've been renting dvc pts for awhile now and never have travel insurance. When we used to do cash ressies thru Disney, I stopped getting the insurance to save the couple hundred(don't remember the exact amt).

How much does something like Travelguard insurance cost, can anyone share what they paid compared to the cost of the trip? TIA!

 

[Suelala]

I usually buy it, and didnt this time around. I wonder if Disney will let me add it although I have booked and paid for the upcoming trip? Yeah, I'm a worrier!

 

[kathy884]

We never buy it, and think overall through the years we've come out ahead. Both our companies are very reluctant to have an employee cancel a vacation (They do what they can to let you go when you've scheduled something in advance / are very big on that.) Also, our relatives are all in pretty good health, and we aren't anticipating any medical issues, etc. / deaths in the family that would interrupt anything. Anything like that would be quite sudden and unexpected for us.

I'm with you, though. We love Southwest's change policies (a breath of fresh air compared to other airlines). Unfortunately there are lots of places that Southwest doesn't fly. For Orlando, though, seems like I'm always using Southwest point to go there.

It's very much a question of how much risk you are willing to take and how you would feel about losses due to cancellation if you didn't have insurance. We tend to self insure low risks that we could easily with vacation or emergency funds financially absorb.

A typical vacation for us costs maybe $5000 - $7000. About half of that is perhaps non refundable airline tickets and a non refundable condo. This is not for us an amount high enough that we'd take out an insurance policy for. If we couldn't travel the week we planned, it's not like we could just do another week that year either. We usually do our biggest vacation each year, for example, over spring break, and another week would mean kids missing school, something we don't do or going in the summer (usually places we go in the spring are places we wouldn't even be interested in going in the summer). lol DH and I aren't keen on heat and humidity and like places like Orlando Nov. - April only. // And then, the following year we have a whole new vacation budget for travel, so it's not like a canceled vacation would be missing any sort of once in a lifetime opportunity.

For something like having to leave while on vacation for an emergency at home, that's one of many reasons that I have emergency reserves that we fund. I'd use those for something like that.

 

[BudgieMama]

We never travel anywhere- even when we holiday within the UK- without it. Too much money to risk it!

Fortunately we now get cover with the bank account for free, so we don't have to worry about it, but it would be the first thing we paid after booking our flights/paying for wherever we were staying if we didn't.

 

[cedricandsophie]

We have only purchased travel ins if traveling to third world country, like Vietnam, Cambodia, India, et . Mainly for the medivac coverage. Never gotten it for Disney or other trips. My husband had to cancel a Disney cruise once because he was in a bad bike accident and ended up needing neck surgery. The doctor told him not to go. But we had to eat his fare... Not the end of the world. The rest of the family went...felt bad for the first day!

 

[MillauFr]

I prefer to self insure. I had a trip a few years ago where I had to leave early and yes the airlines nail you on change fees and extra cost for a last second ticket but I just consider this a cost of traveling. I have few worries so the piece of mind aspect doesn't appeal to me.

 

[amomma23]

We do not buy insurance for Disney trips. Like you we fly SW, and we find they and Disney are flexible enough that it isn't necessary, for us.

We did buy insurance (from a 3rd party) for our Disney cruise, but that is an entirely different animal.

 

[Gracie09]

Most people think of insurance in terms of cancelling before you go. But your example of one that people don't think of - what if something happens while you are there. Or what if something happens to someone at home and you have to leave early. At that point you could be losing more than the deposit.

This is why we always get it. We can absorb the cost of changing flights etc but if something happened to someone (sick, injured etc) the cost of hotels, rental cars etc adds up

 

[Daly]

We purchased insurance for our one and only trip back in 2008. It was the best $148 we ever spent and we wouldn't think of not purchasing it for our upcoming trip this November.

We had 5 magical days before the need for insurance kicked in. First our 8 month old started with GI issues and then our DD(4) went down with a fever and vomiting a few hours later. During the night, my DH got hit with all 3 issues. There was no chance of making our carefully planned CRT breakfast the next morning. It was the dining agent I spoke with while making a tearful cancellation who asked if we had the insurance and prompted me to call. (I had really only purchased it because I was worried about hurricanes) Travel guard was amazing. They had a pediatrician in our room within a few hours and for the following two days to check on them all, DH included. She brought antibiotics and fluids. Once they were cleared to travel and we thought we were on our way home.... I actually fainted while boarding the plane. I had been nursing DS constantly because I was worried about dehydration. Guess who ended up dehydrated? I also ended up being taken by ambulance to the hospital for the night. My poor DH who was still feeling terrible was left following by taxi with two sick kids and the carry on bags. Our suitcases went home because the plane was already loaded for departure. Long story short, Travelguard covered EVERYTHING. Taxi, ambulance, hospital, extra hotel night, rebooking the flights, pediatrician 'house' calls, and we were pleasantly surprised to find out that we were also refunded for the last 3 days of our trip (room, unused park days and dining credits). I will never forget how helpful they were. We had our own number to call and kept speaking to the same agent. He was my lifeline.

So, it's taken six years to work up the courage to go again. I don't think I could ever get myself into an ASMo room again without breaking out in a cold sweat, so we are CBR bound this time. But there is NO WAY I would not buy the insurance. If we buy it every trip for the rest of our lives and don't use it, we're still out ahead. (The final 'bill' of expenses they covered was >10k)

 

[Mikie]

We buy it. We travel in sept or oct ( lower hurricane risk in oct, but still possible). It's not a question of not being bald to afford the loss - it is a vacation after all and we wouldn't plan one if we didn't have the money- BUT if we had to cancel due to illness, emergency, etc we would lose all the money we paid and not be able to afford a replacement vacation that year. It's worth it to us to have our money back vs risk losing it all. Our disney insurance ran $150 and I think when I did a lot of looking 4 years ago I found similar coverage for around $135 (***************** I think?) but I just used disney this year because it was easy!

 

[Iowajes]

We only buy travel insurance for trips where the non-refundable/reschedulable costs are higher than we can afford to lose.

My medical insurance covers me domestically and internationally. And my AD&D policy through work has medical evacuation insurance.

So there is very little reason for me to carry trip insurance.

Your mileage may vary.

 

[isaboo]

How much does something like Travelguard insurance cost, can anyone share what they paid compared to the cost of the trip? TIA!

Our upcoming trip (5 days at Disney followed by 3 night cruise) was right around $7000 and I paid $200 for the Travelguard insurance. Last year we did Disney for 5 nights (around $2800) and I think I paid around $125. You can get a quote on their site.

Travel insurance is one of those things that you don't think you need until something bad happens. Cruise lines are especially unforgiving when it comes to emergencies. I often see people post horror stories on message boards talking about how "horrible" one of the cruise lines was when they had an emergency and needed to cancel at the last minute. The cruise line does not care what your reason for cancelling is. That's what insurance is for, and I don't feel like taking chances with $7-$10,000.

 

[fabulousfive]

We've never used insurance, but I think our next trip we'll check out Travelguard! The company sounds like they really take care of you during what I'm sure is a stressful time. Thanks PPs for sharing your stories and examples of when you might need insurance.