DVC Renting - What is happening?

[max1995]

Hey everyone. I rented DVC points for a trip in May and am worried about the parks being closed still. What are everyone's experiences with working with DVC members that you have rented from? Are you refunded back your money? Were you able to reschedule your trips for a later date? I am feeling anxious about this whole situation and was hoping someone would have some experience. Thank you in advance!

 

[Elle :)]

I rented DVC points through the renter section here on Disboards. Our trip was from 5/05/20-5/16/20. Although my contract states the trip is non refundable, I reached out to the owner to see if they would be willing to reschedule the trip for me. They were happy to help and we rescheduled to late Aug / early Sept. I used the same amount of points but got an extra two days out of the deal. I did not ask for my money back, since it seemed unfair to the renter.

I want to add that I had already paid in full and wasn’t quite ready to lose almost $5k. Also, I did buy trip insurance to cover renting these points but, after reading through all the fine print, it does not cover pandemics (So, yeah, kinda worthless right now).

Edited to add: A portion of my trip was used with points that will expire at the end of August. Should I need to cancel/ reschedule, I will lose those funds.

 

[Meglen]

Did you rent through a company or personal? If it's a company you would have to ask them. If you did it with a person you could always ask about a refund if there points will go back. If they are out the points if you cancel due to banking and such I would assume no refund.

 

[Lynne M]

There’s no simple answer to this, and what happened with someone else may not apply in your situation. It‘ll depend on the use year of the points the owner used to book the reservation, and availability for the period you want to book. Also, the terms of your rental agreement.

The best thing for you to do is contact the owner or agency you worked with.

 

[wilbret]

Maybe for another topic, but how the heck is a pandemic not allowed as a reason for cancellation on Disney trips? I get they claim it is a "foreseen" event, but it really isn't seen with enough advance notice to change anything for those here losing $$. You book Disney trips months and months in advance, laying out $$ in advance. I booked trips 7 and 11 months out, for Christ sake... we didn't hear about Wuhan until December/January. If this was just your average trip, where you book it weeks or a couple months out, I get it. But this isn't an average trip.

My basic Google University knowledge believes that if you purchased insurance before the end of January 2020, you have a right to dispute this claim. If you are out $5000, that is highly worth engaging legal advice, in my Google University opinion.

 

[Minniesgal]

Maybe for another topic, but how the heck is a pandemic not allowed as a reason for cancellation on Disney trips? I get they claim it is a "foreseen" event, but it really isn't seen with enough advance notice to change anything for those here losing $$. You book Disney trips months and months in advance, laying out $$ in advance. I booked trips 7 and 11 months out, for Christ sake... we didn't hear about Wuhan until December/January. If this was just your average trip, where you book it weeks or a couple months out, I get it. But this isn't an average trip.

My basic Google University knowledge believes that if you purchased insurance before the end of January 2020, you have a right to dispute this claim. If you are out $5000, that is highly worth engaging legal advice, in my Google University opinion.

Because pandemics are a specific listed exclusion in most travel insurance policies.

 

[wilbret]

Because pandemics are a specific listed exclusion in most travel insurance policies.

I am aware of that, but insurance companies have to have "foreseen date" to apply to claims. If you purchased insurance before the pandemic was considered "foreseen," then there is a right to a claim. Again, I've just done some basic reading, but if I had 4-5 figures in a loss, I'd invest $300 in a lawyer to consult on the topic.

 

[Grnl706]

I'm in the same boat. Rented points, bought travel insurance (I did not see the word pandemic in the agreement but their website just says they don't cover it) and wondering how this is playing out for people. My trip is in June but it's still a worry.

I know everyone's situation may be totally different but it would be nice to hear some of the outcomes!

Edit: Just checked the travel insurance again, their little loop hole is that "fear of travel" is not covered?

 

[Amymouse13]

We have/had split stay mid April, one owner has cancelled and will rebook. No word from other via David's for weeks. I'm sure they are waiting to see if closed.... So yeah I'm not amused Disney lol

 

[CmdrThor]

I am aware of that, but insurance companies have to have "foreseen date" to apply to claims. If you purchased insurance before the pandemic was considered "foreseen," then there is a right to a claim. Again, I've just done some basic reading, but if I had 4-5 figures in a loss, I'd invest $300 in a lawyer to consult on the topic.

If the policy specifically excludes pandemics, it doesn't matter whether it is foreseen. Insurance companies exclude reasons like that because it would bankrupt the insurance company if everyone qualified for a claim at the same time. That isn't how insurance works.

 

[nkereina]

Maybe for another topic, but how the heck is a pandemic not allowed as a reason for cancellation on Disney trips? I get they claim it is a "foreseen" event, but it really isn't seen with enough advance notice to change anything for those here losing $$. You book Disney trips months and months in advance, laying out $$ in advance. I booked trips 7 and 11 months out, for Christ sake... we didn't hear about Wuhan until December/January. If this was just your average trip, where you book it weeks or a couple months out, I get it. But this isn't an average trip.

My basic Google University knowledge believes that if you purchased insurance before the end of January 2020, you have a right to dispute this claim. If you are out $5000, that is highly worth engaging legal advice, in my Google University opinion.

I'm just spitballing and know nothing about travel insurance, but is a pandemic considered "an act of God" perhaps? Maybe not the right term for this, but I know that in homeowner policies (for example), if there is a weather event causing damage, many insurance policies will not pay due to it being an "act of God" - something out of human control that can't be predicted or prevented.

 

[sbd78]

Maybe for another topic, but how the heck is a pandemic not allowed as a reason for cancellation on Disney trips? I get they claim it is a "foreseen" event, but it really isn't seen with enough advance notice to change anything for those here losing $$. You book Disney trips months and months in advance, laying out $$ in advance. I booked trips 7 and 11 months out, for Christ sake... we didn't hear about Wuhan until December/January. If this was just your average trip, where you book it weeks or a couple months out, I get it. But this isn't an average trip.

My basic Google University knowledge believes that if you purchased insurance before the end of January 2020, you have a right to dispute this claim. If you are out $5000, that is highly worth engaging legal advice, in my Google University opinion.

We are supposed to be in Florida right now in a (nonrefundable) beach condo we rented through a private agency. I live in IL and am under a state wide shelter-in-place order, so obviously this vacation didn't happen. I also had a cruise booked for this summer. Great vacation timing, right? People who purchased travel insurance are not being refunded in either case. (I skipped travel insurance in both cases.) Lucky for me after some arguing, the rental agency let me move my dates for the beach trip and my cruise was far enough out that I could cancel for a cash refund and only lose my $200 deposit. (I decided to go that route.) This whole situation has pretty much sealed the deal that I will not be purchasing travel insurance for future vacations. What is the point, when push comes to shove the loopholes benefit them and they aren't covering anyone's trips anyway? I'm glad I kept the money I would have spent on travel insurance in my own pocket, I'd be really angry if I had purchased it and was still out of luck!

They actually asked me if I wanted to purchase travel insurance for the new dates of my beach trip. I was like, "Ummm, since coronavirus isn't covered and that's my main concern, I will skip it!"

 

[Sandisw]

I'm in the same boat. Rented points, bought travel insurance (I did not see the word pandemic in the agreement but their website just says they don't cover it) and wondering how this is playing out for people. My trip is in June but it's still a worry.

I know everyone's situation may be totally different but it would be nice to hear some of the outcomes!

Edit: Just checked the travel insurance again, their little loop hole is that "fear of travel" is not covered?

There is a lot of discussion about rentals on the DVC forums, including Some outcomes,

Most are related to using a broker, but there have been some success for renters who had owners who did reschedule for them.

As mentioned, it all depends on your specific owner and what they can or can not do, as well as the terms of the contract.

 

[Amymouse13]

You might argue coronavirus is actually bioterrorism? Then it's not an act of God right?

 

[kaytieeldr]

I am aware of that, but insurance companies have to have "foreseen date" to apply to claims. If you purchased insurance before the pandemic was considered "foreseen," then there is a right to a claim. Again, I've just done some basic reading, but if I had 4-5 figures in a loss, I'd invest $300 in a lawyer to consult on the topic.

I'm not finding "foreseen date" anywhere. I've found foreseen event, and foreseeable. Pandemics overall aren't unique. There have been several just on this century - SARS, MERS, H1N1... Insurance companies know this, which is why it's good to read and understand the policy fully, and not just operate on the assumption that 'oh, no, that will never happen'.

According to this Forbes article https://www.forbes.com/advisor/travel-insurance/coronavirus-questions/ Allianz is making exceptions for insureds who contract or have, at travel time, COVID-19. They don't need to do this.

Personally, I think spending even $300 on a lawyer considering the insurance companies have probably spent millions is throwing away money.

 

[Lynne M]

You might argue coronavirus is actually bioterrorism? Then it's not an act of God right?

No insurer is going to accept that argument.

 

[Amymouse13]

No insurer is going to accept that argument.

I highly doubt too. Insurance industry exists to win majority of cases, otherwise they go out of business.

 

[giantwiant]

This whole situation has pretty much sealed the deal that I will not be purchasing travel insurance for future vacations. What is the point, when push comes to shove the loopholes benefit them and they aren't covering anyone's trips anyway? I'm glad I kept the money I would have spent on travel insurance in my own pocket, I'd be really angry if I had purchased it and was still out of luck!

They actually asked me if I wanted to purchase travel insurance for the new dates of my beach trip. I was like, "Ummm, since coronavirus isn't covered and that's my main concern, I will skip it!"

I did a deep dive on travel insurance last year when evaluating our travel credit cards, and I was shocked at how much it doesn’t cover. Hope you don’t have a pre-existing condition. Hope your family doesn’t have pre-existing conditions. our parents have had medical emergencies recently, andtravel insurance would have been useless if the emergencies occurred during or before our trips. Our parents are in their 70s. They all have pre-existing conditions.

Now with the exclusion of pandemics, I would only consider “cancel for any reason” insurance. If it’s an ABD trip to Asia, that’s expensive enough that it’s “cancel for any reason”. If it’s a 4 day trip to WDW at Pop Century, we’ll just use the travel insurance provided by our credit card.

 

[DisneyFirstTimer10]

I’d contact the agency or DVC owner ASAP if you haven’t already. The hard part with DVC points is that they must be used by a certain date or they are gone and unable to be used in the future so the renter would be out of money and the owner would be out of points.

 

[Divaofdisney]

I was looking into renting DVC points after our trip was cancelled for this March- as it is so much less expensive. BUT, due to what is occurring right now and all the uncertainty surrounding this, we felt it was worth the extra money to book direct cash reservation with Disney. I do NOT want to take any risks that all the thousands of dollars we would pay might be at risk if our trip was cancelled again. Plus my daughter is a FL resident so I am hoping we can get some additional discounts. We rescheduled our trip to mid November.