How important is travel insurance?

[allonte]

We've been traveling for YEARS. We average 1 big trip a year and 1 smaller one a year. We've never had anything happen to warrant having trip insurance. Is it really a big deal? Has anyone actually used it?

 

[dursin]

We've been traveling for YEARS. We average 1 big trip a year and 1 smaller one a year. We've never had anything happen to warrant having trip insurance. Is it really a big deal? Has anyone actually used it?

Very important imho

If you'd been driving for YEARS without an accident, would you forgo auto insurance?

If your house has never caught fire or been robbed would you go without homeowner insurance?

Would you opt-out of your companies health insurance plan just because you haven't gotten sick in years?

Travel insurance is no different.

 

[Rogillio]

We've been traveling for YEARS. We average 1 big trip a year and 1 smaller one a year. We've never had anything happen to warrant having trip insurance. Is it really a big deal? Has anyone actually used it?

Never bought it, never need it.

~Mike

 

[kcashner]

I guess it depends. I buy it because my health insurance will not cover anything outside of the US. One trip to the health center will cost more than the insurance for the family.

My logic is that I could afford to lose the cost of the cruise; I wouldn't be happy, but I wouldn't be in serious financial trouble either. What would be more difficult could be a large medical bill. I've seen a teen on the ship fall and sustain a compound fracture, medical evacuations for various issues, etc. None of these involved my family, but they could have.

In addition to the medical coverage, travel insurance will give me an amount to spend on clothing if my luggage is lost or significantly delayed, cover my out of pocket expenses when the ship can't leave due to a hurricane, or cover the cost of the trip if one of my elderly parents becomes suddenly ill, etc.

If I go to WDW, I don't buy insurance. My logic is "worst case, I'm out part of the cost of the trip." Parts of it can be deferred/canceled at no charge, etc. I'm in the US, so have medical coverage. If I go out of the country, I buy it..mostly for the medical coverage.

 

[drparoo]

Depends on your risk comfort. We had a friend who's son got appendicitis and needed surgery while on vacation. They had vacation insurance....all extra travel expenses and stays in hotels for family, etc, were covered.

I've never gotten insurance before, but next year we're traveling to the NYE MR cruise by flying the evening of Christmas. After the snow and cancellations in our area this past Christmas, you bet I'm getting insurance in case we can't fly out and we miss our cruise due to weather.

Risk comfort is always and individual, personal decision.

 

[Rogillio]

Very important imho

If you'd been driving for YEARS without an accident, would you forgo auto insurance?

If your house has never caught fire or been robbed would you go without homeowner insurance?

Would you opt-out of your companies health insurance plan just because you haven't gotten sick in years?

Travel insurance is no different.

Travel insurance is VERY different! Your pay $1500 a year to insure your $500,000 house.....about 0.3%. Travel insurance is easily 10x that ratio!

Travel insurance does NOT gaurentee you trip, it merely insures your investment....sort of....it doesn't always cover things like "something came up at work and I'm gonna have to postpone the trip". Plan your trip with enough buffers in travel times so that if you do miss your flight, you can still make the boat.

I guess it really comes down to how fearful you are that something is going to go terribly wrong. It's a value call and your everyone's mileage will vary....


~Mike

 

[MistressMerryweather]

Just like any other insurance...it's never important until you need it. We never buy travel insurance. We make sure to get plane tickets that can be canceled or changed(southwest for free) and hope for the best trip wise.

 

[drparoo]

Travel insurance is VERY different! Your pay $1500 a year to insure your $500,000 house.....about 0.3%. Travel insurance is easily 10x that ratio!

Travel insurance does NOT gaurentee you trip, it merely insures your investment....sort of....it doesn't always cover things like "something came up at work and I'm gonna have to postpone the trip". Plan your trip with enough buffers in travel times so that if you do miss your flight, you can still make the boat.

I guess it really comes down to how fearful you are that something is going to go terribly wrong. It's a value call and your everyone's mileage will vary....


~Mike

Exactly. And until my friends were in Switzerland and their son was getting emergency surgery, I never really thought about it. Know what your own insurance already covers. They were saved tens of thousands of dollars, but yes, that's rare.

 

[kcashner]

It is also possible that your credit card provides some travel insurance if it is used to purchase the trip--just something to check on.

 

[blessedmomofboys]

We don't buy travel insurance as our credit card we book everything with already includes it if we use that credit card for the full amount.

 

[dursin]

Travel insurance is VERY different! Your pay $1500 a year to insure your $500,000 house.....about 0.3%. Travel insurance is easily 10x that ratio!

It's not different at all. Insurers assess the risk that they may have to pay a claim when determining rates. The chances for them having to replace an entire house is far less than the risk of someone getting sick before or during a cruise or something else unexpected happening. Also, don't think most homeowners insurance works out to .3% of the value of the home...at least in my case it's more like 1%.

For the last few cruises I took, I paid under $100 to insure a trip worth about $5K. More than worth it for the peace of mind.

Travel insurance does NOT gaurentee you trip, it merely insures your investment....sort of....it doesn't always cover things like "something came up at work and I'm gonna have to postpone the trip". Plan your trip with enough buffers in travel times so that if you do miss your flight, you can still make the boat.

Right...most insurance is there to insure your investment. Travel insurance is no different. It's not meant to cover everything either...just like auto insurance won't cover engine problems or a broken air conditioner. Travel insurance also isn't just about missing the boat. What happens if you come down with the flu 2 days before boarding? What happens if you lose your job? What if someone gets sick or hurt while on the cruise?

I guess it really comes down to how fearful you are that something is going to go terribly wrong. It's a value call and your everyone's mileage will vary....

Right...exactly as it is with all other form of insurance. They are there to protect you from a big financial loss should the unexpected occur. If you can comfortably afford to lose the entire cost of the cruise and pay any medical bills that your normal insurance wouldn't cover then you may not need it.

I think most need it. Those who don't get it will likely be the first ones here crying when they miss the boat or DCL isn't willing to give them a refund when their child shows up at the port sick with a stomach flu and they are refused boarding.

 

[ernierich]

I don't know how your insurance in the USA differs to ours in the UK but I was certainly glad I had insurance when I had my pocket picked in Greece.

I was even more glad I had it when I had to cancel a trip to Cuba, a week before we were due to go, due to ill health.

Are you covered medically if you fall ill aboard the cruise without insurance? If not, I certainly wouldn't risk it.

 

[Rogillio]

It's not different at all. Insurers assess the risk that they may have to pay a claim when determining rates. The chances for them having to replace an entire house is far less than the risk of someone getting sick before or during a cruise or something else unexpected happening. Also, don't think most homeowners insurance works out to .3% of the value of the home...at least in my case it's more like 1%.

For the last few cruises I took, I paid under $100 to insure a trip worth about $5K. More than worth it for the peace of mind.


Right...most insurance is there to insure your investment. Travel insurance is no different. It's not meant to cover everything either...just like auto insurance won't cover engine problems or a broken air conditioner. Travel insurance also isn't just about missing the boat. What happens if you come down with the flu 2 days before boarding? What happens if you lose your job? What if someone gets sick or hurt while on the cruise?


Right...exactly as it is with all other form of insurance. They are there to protect you from a big financial loss should the unexpected occur. If you can comfortably afford to lose the entire cost of the cruise and pay any medical bills that your normal insurance wouldn't cover then you may not need it.

I think most need it. Those who don't get it will likely be the first ones here crying when they miss the boat or DCL isn't willing to give them a refund when their child shows up at the port sick with a stomach flu and they are refused boarding.

Most don't NEED it! Statistically extremely few people will ever benefit from it other than 'peace of mind' for the worrisome type. If your $100 covers your $5,000 investment, that means 500 people paid $100 and got NOTHING! And that is just for the insurance company to break even. So if you think you are going to be the 1 out 500 that has a catostrophic vacation, then buy the insurance.

Oh and BTW, my wife got sick on a DCL cruise from food poisoning and spend like 30 hrs in bed. We did NOT have travel insurance. DCL refunded 100% the value of her 7-day cruise fare in the form of a travel voucher on DCL. The voucher was enought for all 4 of us to take a 4-day cruise (in a lesser stateroom).

~Mike

ETA. One need to look at the refund policy on hotels, rental cars, airline and DCL. Many things are 100% refundable. From what I've see/read, most people use it for things that happen during the cruise....not for getting the flu the day before you sail. Point is, you are buying insurance for disaster during a 4 - 7 day window.

 

[dursin]

Most don't NEED it! Statistically extremely few people will ever benefit from it other than 'peace of mind' for the worrisome type. If your $100 covers your $5,000 investment, that means 500 people paid $100 and got NOTHING! And that is just for the insurance company to break even. So if you think you are going to be the 1 out 500 that has a catostrophic vacation, then buy the insurance.

Statistically very few people benefit from most forms of insurance. I don't think I'm going to have a 'catastrophic' drive home this evening, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't have full coverage auto insurance.

Oh and BTW, my wife got sick on a DCL cruise from food poisoning and spend like 30 hrs in bed. We did NOT have travel insurance. DCL refunded 100% the value of her 7-day cruise fare in the form of a travel voucher on DCL. The voucher was enought for all 4 of us to take a 4-day cruise (in a lesser stateroom).

If DCL poisoned your wife, that's the least they could do.

 

[bats]

I don't know how your insurance in the USA differs to ours in the UK but I was certainly glad I had insurance when I had my pocket picked in Greece.

I was even more glad I had it when I had to cancel a trip to Cuba, a week before we were due to go, due to ill health.

Are you covered medically if you fall ill aboard the cruise without insurance? If not, I certainly wouldn't risk it.

Another from the UK here and another who would never travel without good insurance ... especially to the States where a 2 day stay in hospital with small operation has just cost a friend of mine upwards of $10,000!!!

Her insurance has covered the whole lot thankfully, but imagine if she didn't have any .. doesn't bear thinking about it for us Brits abroad. For overseas visitors coming to us here in the UK, you'd get that op and hospital stay for free with our wonderful NHS! You may not get 5 star service or gourmet meals, but it's free!

We travel at least 6-7 times every year, abroad and at home and our annual policy covers every trip. This year it cost us £82 .. about $130 .. a whole year with no worries now. It also has to cover cruises for us which is why it's slightly more expensive than standard policies.

I think it's very different if you only holiday in your own country .. as Americans, you probably already have medical insurance, you have home insurance to cover stuff while away and your airlines allow for cancellations .. ours don't!

Forgot to say ... had my IPone pickpocketed while in Gibraltar last July on the DCL Med cruise ... got home, insurance paid for a new one (£500) within 3 days .. great service. Presume you would just have to pay up again if you had no insurance?

 

[Gilland18]

If you don't need it, unnecessary expense. If you end up needing it, priceless.

 

[tvguy]

I guess it depends. I buy it because my health insurance will not cover anything outside of the US. One trip to the health center will cost more than the insurance for the family.

My logic is that I could afford to lose the cost of the cruise; I wouldn't be happy, but I wouldn't be in serious financial trouble either. What would be more difficult could be a large medical bill. I've seen a teen on the ship fall and sustain a compound fracture, medical evacuations for various issues, etc. None of these involved my family, but they could have.

In addition to the medical coverage, travel insurance will give me an amount to spend on clothing if my luggage is lost or significantly delayed, cover my out of pocket expenses when the ship can't leave due to a hurricane, or cover the cost of the trip if one of my elderly parents becomes suddenly ill, etc.

If I go to WDW, I don't buy insurance. My logic is "worst case, I'm out part of the cost of the trip." Parts of it can be deferred/canceled at no charge, etc. I'm in the US, so have medical coverage. If I go out of the country, I buy it..mostly for the medical coverage.

Great points. You really need to examine what YOUR needs are. My health insurance is good anywhere in the world, so that isn't an issue for me. I purchased Travel Insurance for my Disney Cruise because it was the most expensive cruise I have ever taken, far more than I would be comfortable losing, because we were traveling during winter, and because we were traveling during a peak travel season, flying on December 26 and January 3.
I did not buy travel insurance for my 7 other cruises.

And remember, Travel Insurance will reimburse you for losses. If you have an expense, in most cases, you will have to have the cash over available credit to pay the bill, and then have to submit it when you get home for reimbursement. Having that much cash with you is unrealistic, so I always tell folks to have enough credit available on a credit card, or cash linked to a debit card to pay for last minute , full fare, one way air fare for everyone in your party. That can easily add up to thousands of dollars for a family of 4.

 

[jaurban]

I have gotten it in the event that we had to cancel last minute, to not lose the whole value of the cruise (airline and hotels usually don't bother me on that). Having elderly parents, you are never certain, and once my DH tore his achilles days before a Las Vegas trip (luckily that was not a tour and I could cancel everything without penalty, except the air - which I used for $100 charge per ticket later). Had it been a package, we would have been SOL. Also, for the medavac issues, in the case anything were to happen, that expense could easily take our equity out of our house.

 

[Susie22]

I've never bought it before, but for a cruise I wouldn't be without it for two reasons.

First and foremost is medical evacuation. If perhaps one of my five children or my husband or I needed to be life-flighted off the ship that with all the associated travel expenses for a family of seven could easily run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and I don't know anyone's health insurance that covers that.

Secondly, no one in your travel party can have any signs of illness for 48 hours before boarding. With five children, the chances of SOMEONE being ill within 48 hours of boarding are very large, I'd say at least 5-10 percent.

The cost of our travel insurance that protects all seven of us from all of this was $79. Pretty good deal if you ask me.

 

[KarlaG4Kids]

OMG, I'm glad you asked. DH, myself, son and DIL were booked for a cruise in early Dec. The beginning of Nov DH wasn't feeling well. He is 51, no issues, extremely healthy. After test after test he was admitted to the hospital mid Nov And spent the next 2 weeks in BAD shape. No food for 10 days. Drs called it the perfect storm. Finally dismissed the 30 th of Nov after loosing 45 lbs. He is JUST NOW almost back to normal. After thousands of dollars of tests drs still don't know the cause, but luckily no permanent damage. Absolutely no way to go on our trip. Had to cancel 4 days before departure. After a $180 investment in travel insurance we received nearly $4000 back 5 days after the paperwork was submitted. THANK GOODNESS for that $180 investment!!!!