Flying in February (New Jersey)...

[ErinsMommy]

Is anyone going or has gone during this time period and NOT taken trip insurance? My Mom said by not taking trip insurance and for some reason a snow storm hits and we're stuck at the airport (or home) and can't get out, we will lose all the money we paid ($8K). Is this true? The idea of being snowed in and losing all that money is freaking me out a bit.

 

[ocean134]

Hello! I am a Marylander and when we travel in February we do take out the trip insurance on our vacation package.

I am aware that if snow will affect your air travel, an airline will change your flight without a change fee. This policy may have changed but I know a friend who travels frequently for work has had to change flights due to snow.

Also, if you booked a vacation package through Disney, you should note that as the trip gets closer and you decide to cancel, the percentage of money you get back decreases.

I say, get the trip insurance and cover all your bases.

 

[Couchy]

Get the trip insurance. That is what it is for

 

[ErinsMommy]

can i have my TA add it now, or since i already booked its too late??

 

[mom2princesses2]

If you are going to take it, do your research because I believe you can get better coverage cheaper than what Disney will sell you.

 

[buzznina]

This is from mousesavers:

Trip Insurance
It is especially important to buy trip insurance for a vacation package, because you have to pay the entire cost in advance and you won't get a refund if you have to cancel right before your scheduled departure. With hundreds or even thousands of dollars at stake, it's worth it to protect the investment.

It's super-important to buy insurance if you will be visiting Walt Disney World on a package vacation during peak hurricane season (roughly the months of August and September). Don't underestimate the potential of hurricanes to create major problems even in an inland location like Orlando. Walt Disney World was directly affected by two hurricanes in 2004 (Frances and Jeanne) and one in 2005 (Wilma). Two hotels located on Disney property (but not operated by Disney) were virtually destroyed by the 2004 storms; one didn't reopen until 2010!

While Disney's own resorts weathered the hurricanes very well, guests were stuck in their rooms for up to 36 hours and many had major travel problems because airports were closed. Disney did waive "no-show" fees for a few dates, but those whose trips began before the specified dates (but whose travel plans overlapped with the hurricane) or just afterward were out of luck. Many people had similar problems with their airfares. The airlines allowed highly restrictive changes for certain dates without extra fees, but many of those who had to reschedule could not work within the airlines' narrow rules and just had to suck up the extra cost.

Perhaps the most important coverage included in a trip insurance policy is trip cancellation and interruption insurance, which can protect your investment if you have to cancel your vacation at the last minute (or come home early) due to illness or injury. Depending on the policy, you may be covered if you cancel for other reasons, such as jury duty, terrorism at your destination, or even unemployment.

Emergency medical coverage and medical evacuation insurance are very important if you become ill or injured during the trip. Otherwise you're on your own as far as booking very expensive last-minute airfare to get home. And if you're too ill to travel by commercial jet, you may have to pay for treatment in Florida (which your personal insurance may or may not cover) or for evacuation on a medically-equipped jet, which is incredibly expensive.

Delayed baggage insurance will help you pay for replacement clothing if the airline sends your suitcase to Timbuktu and you need something to wear in the meantime. Supplemental baggage insurance will pay a predetermined amount if an airline loses your luggage completely. (Some higher-end credit cards provide extra baggage insurance, so check with your card issuer before paying extra for this coverage.)

Disney sells trip insurance, but it's expensive and it has major exclusions: it doesn't cover pre-existing conditions or delays (even weather delays) on air travel you arrange yourself. (Air travel arranged through Disney is covered.) You can almost always get better insurance than Disney provides, and at better rates, by buying it elsewhere.

Be aware that in most cases, trip insurance will provide slightly less coverage (usually by adding exclusions on pre-existing conditions) unless you buy it within about 14 days of paying your DEPOSIT on the vacation package. So be sure to purchase it right away, once you've committed to the trip.



Where to Buy Trip Insurance

If you have kids under 18, consider using Allianz (formerly Access America) for your trip insurance. Kids are included FREE in the Classic Plan, which is a rare and valuable benefit. If you buy that policy within 14 days of making your first payment/deposit on the package, it will also cover pre-existing conditions, unlike Disney's coverage.

If the Access America policy isn't a good fit for you, a great place to comparison-shop for trip insurance is InsureMyTrip.com, where you can see side-by-side policy information and rates for major, reputable insurance companies. I have used InsureMyTrip.com myself to buy trip insurance for several trips. I saved a substantial amount and got much more comprehensive coverage than Disney's policy would have provided.

 

[Mousemommy1]

Is anyone going or has gone during this time period and NOT taken trip insurance? My Mom said by not taking trip insurance and for some reason a snow storm hits and we're stuck at the airport (or home) and can't get out, we will lose all the money we paid ($8K). Is this true? The idea of being snowed in and losing all that money is freaking me out a bit.

We have never purchased the trip insurance. And yes, we've traveled to WDW in February, from New England.

We don't get it because 1) the cancelation policy for WDW states that if you cancel inside of your 45 day window (for packages), you simply lose the non-refundable deposit ($200). If you purchase the insurance and have to cancel, you are out possibly more than that (the cost of the trip insurance is typically more than $200 for us)

Ok, so yes, it would cover airfare....well, we travel Southwest and if you cancel, you can use the airfare for a different flight...for us, we travel enough that we'd use that airfare no matter what, so again no loss for us.

Some people like the extra medical coverage provided...our health insurance covers us nationwide so we don't need that either.

All things to consider when thinking about trip insurance...and make sure you review the policy and ensure it covers whatever scenario you are hoping to cover...I've been in the insurance industry for almost 15 years and not all polices are the same, read the fine print.

 

[MKAnthony]

This is from mousesavers:



Disney sells trip insurance, but it's expensive and it has major exclusions: it doesn't cover pre-existing conditions or delays (even weather delays) on air travel you arrange yourself. (Air travel arranged through Disney is covered.) You can almost always get better insurance than Disney provides, and at better rates, by buying it elsewhere.

The insurance Disney uses, Travel Guard, that specific policy was created for Disney trips itself.. and at now $75.95 per adult on res (kids 17 and younger covered at not cost) I would say its a good deal considering change fees on flights nowadays are at least $75 to start and as high as $150 per passenger. Flights booked outside of a WDTC package are actually covered as long as the insurance is purchased prior to buying the flights. With alot of people who book early, you never know what can happen in life and I'd rather have a security blanket to protect me in these cases. From what I understand also pre-exisiting conditions are covered under Travel Guard too.

 

[ErinsMommy]

Disney sells trip insurance, but it's expensive and it has major exclusions: it doesn't cover pre-existing conditions or delays (even weather delays) on air travel you arrange yourself.

Firstly, thank you for this information!! =) Second, if I'm reading this correctly, if there's a snowstorm (really my only concern) -- the insurance won't cover the cost of the flight, but will reimburse me for the cost of the "package" itself (excluding air)?

 

[ErinsMommy]

We have never purchased the trip insurance. And yes, we've traveled to WDW in February, from New England.

We don't get it because 1) the cancelation policy for WDW states that if you cancel inside of your 45 day window (for packages), you simply lose the non-refundable deposit ($200). If you purchase the insurance and have to cancel, you are out possibly more than that (the cost of the trip insurance is typically more than $200 for us)

Ok, so yes, it would cover airfare....well, we travel Southwest and if you cancel, you can use the airfare for a different flight...for us, we travel enough that we'd use that airfare no matter what, so again no loss for us.

Some people like the extra medical coverage provided...our health insurance covers us nationwide so we don't need that either.

All things to consider when thinking about trip insurance...and make sure you review the policy and ensure it covers whatever scenario you are hoping to cover...I've been in the insurance industry for almost 15 years and not all polices are the same, read the fine print.

Thank you!! I've only flown out of NJ once (in January) and I heard shortly after our flight took off, all other flights were canceled for the day so I'm a bit nervous going into this trip in February to begin with.

Question though, when you say "inside the 45 day window", does that mean argumentatively if we see the forecast 2 days before our scheduled trip that a major snowstorm is on its way and chances are that the airports will be closed for a few days (unlikely, but with my luck, anything is possible...lol), we can still cancel and only lose the deposit and the airfare?? I called my TA yesterday and she still hasn't called me back so I'm still confused.

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

We have never purchased the trip insurance. And yes, we've traveled to WDW in February, from New England.

We don't get it because 1) the cancelation policy for WDW states that if you cancel inside of your 45 day window (for packages), you simply lose the non-refundable deposit ($200). If you purchase the insurance and have to cancel, you are out possibly more than that (the cost of the trip insurance is typically more than $200 for us)

Ok, so yes, it would cover airfare....well, we travel Southwest and if you cancel, you can use the airfare for a different flight...for us, we travel enough that we'd use that airfare no matter what, so again no loss for us.

Same for us, we never take out insurance because we fly Southwest and because we would only lose the hotel deposit. We can have pretty bad winters here in Indiana, one January trip we came back from WDW to 27 inches of fresh snow and no road to our house. But we've never had to cancel a trip.

 

[Mousemommy1]

Thank you!! I've only flown out of NJ once (in January) and I heard shortly after our flight took off, all other flights were canceled for the day so I'm a bit nervous going into this trip in February to begin with.

Question though, when you say "inside the 45 day window", does that mean argumentatively if we see the forecast 2 days before our scheduled trip that a major snowstorm is on its way and chances are that the airports will be closed for a few days (unlikely, but with my luck, anything is possible...lol), we can still cancel and only lose the deposit and the airfare?? I called my TA yesterday and she still hasn't called me back so I'm still confused.

Yes, this is correct!

 

[ErinsMommy]

Thank you so much!! I'm praying for another snow free year though!! Last year was a beautiful winter. =)