Insurance or no insurance when booking a disney package?

[Ela]

We'll be driving and our package will be around $2100 or so total with tx and dinign plan. My take is that we should get insurance since you never know with two little ones (or with us!) and $2K is not a small change.

Have you taken out travel insurance through DIsney when booking package or did you go independent?
Thanks,
Ela

 

[drewswife]

I usually take the insurance with Disney - It is very easy and not that expensive.

 

[themcgoos]

We have booked with AAA and directly with WDW and we always get the insurance too. It is not that expensive and worth it to us, because you just never know....

 

[JAG]

I always take trip insurance.

 

[mom2rose&john]

I also take insurance. I also used it in Sept 2003 when my daughter was born at 28 weeks and the day before we were suppose to go on vacation.

Ann Marie

 

[Laren]

We bought it for our last trip but I'm still unsure what it covers really. The fine print is so tiny I have to get my mega magnifier out!

I'm just wondering if anyone who may understand the jargon better might know- if I get it for the trip my husband and I are supposed to take alone- but our child gets sick at the last minute (heaven forbid) not just with a cold or anything, but like- some childhood illness etc-and we had to cancel, would we be covered?

I worry because her little step brother started preschool this year and those places are veritable petrie dishes

I should probably just get it anyway with my health being what it is (lousy) but I just wondered if anybody around here knew.

Thanks!
Laren

 

[Blessedx3]

We bought it for our last trip but I'm still unsure what it covers really. The fine print is so tiny I have to get my mega magnifier out!

I'm just wondering if anyone who may understand the jargon better might know- if I get it for the trip my husband and I are supposed to take alone- but our child gets sick at the last minute (heaven forbid) not just with a cold or anything, but like- some childhood illness etc-and we had to cancel, would we be covered?

I worry because her little step brother started preschool this year and those places are veritable petrie dishes

I should probably just get it anyway with my health being what it is (lousy) but I just wondered if anybody around here knew.

Thanks!
Laren

Yup it covers those nasty little preschool bugs. Aren't they terrible. I always pull my little guy out or preschool 3-4 days before we go to try and avoid the whole sickness thing prior to leaving. I know that is terrible isn't it. But even if they come down with the bug down there it covers if you want to leave. We have nevered had to use it for an illness knock on wood. We did have to use it last Sept when GM was in talks with the UAW and my husband was called into them. We got every penny back including the airfare. We had a form to fill out but that was it got the money back on a credit card in a few weeks. I think for the price it is worth it.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

They sell insurance to make money off of it, period.

I've never thought the insurance was a good deal. Especially through Disney. Remember, you can add it later if you must. Some policies give you an advantage if you order it within 14 days though. If you decide that you really want it, there are better deals to be had than Disney. Check out mousesavers for a web listing of insurance companies.


For me though, I really didn't see what I would get out of it. Disney's policy is that if you cancel before 44 days, full refund. 44-6 days you lose $100. Within 6days $200. If you buy insurance you'll spend at least $100. So with insurance you'll be out a certain $100 - with Disney that MAY be out $200 if you cancel before your trip.

Now for me, I use SWA for airfare. They won't refund money, but they will let you cancel your airfare and use the credit towards a future trip. I know I will travel SAW within a year, so getting credits is not a problem. Maybe if you have completely non-refundable airfare with SOME airlines you may be out your airfare. You should NEVER book airfare through Disney.

The same is true for WDW. They won't refund you that cancelation fee, but if you book another trip at the tie of your cancellation - they will also let you use that fee towards payment of a future trip. I'm pretty certain that If I had to cancel a trip, I'd be able to book another one within a year in most cases.

So I don't see how the insurance is a good deal. The only way it MIGHT be a good deal is if you had to use it if you got stuck in Orlando - maybe if they covered you for injury whilere there (but your cc or health insurance would give you some coverage there). I also think in some cases you could run into a hassle getting the insurance to reimburse you.

One time we DID get snowed in at Orlando and had to spend an extra 2 days in Orlando, but we were able to get an inexpensive room, eat on the cheap, and we already had enough ticket days to cover our stay (old park hopper tickets). We probably ended up paying more for our food than we would have at hom, but we really weren't out much more than $300 total. With all the trips I've made where it would have been a loss to have paid for insurance, I've come out FAR ahead overall by NOT getting it.

 

[steven_&_daniel]

I always get insurance when booking a vacation such as a cruise where you can loose a huge chunk of money if you cancel at the last minute. But I agree with mickeyluv'r. We did not purchase insurance for our upcoming Disney trip and it's costing about twice the price you mentioned. When the price of insurance is similar to the cancellation fee, what is the point?

Since your original question was actually whether to get insurance through Disney or independently, I'll pass this along... I have always read that you should book insurance through a separate company than the vacation. The point being that if the business providing your vacation goes bankrupt, they're obviously not going to pay off insurance policies for those losing their vacation. (Most people don't think of insurance as a protection against the vacation provider canceling your vacation, but it usually works both ways, and you never know.) I don't think Disney is at any risk of this happening, but it's something to keep in mind for vacations elsewhere.

 

[noahdove]

I always take out the insurance. I'd rather be safe then sorry For the small cost, it outways my worry

 

[Colinsmom]

We do not purchase it for the reasons that mickeyluv'r already explained, plus I've heard that Disney is pretty forgiving even if you have to cancel (and rebook) less than 45 days before the trip. I would, however, purchase it for a cruise where we could lose a LOT of money if we had to cancel less than a couple of months out, or where we could be in a situation where we have to be transported mid-trip via air ambulance back to the U.S.

Another thing is that if you buy insurance through Disney but get your airfare on your own, I don't believe that airfare is covered by the insurance. If you purchase insurance on your own (through insuremytrip or somewhere else), then all of your travel expenses - including airfare - is typically covered.

Be sure to read the terms of any plan before you purchase trip insurance. We considered purchasing once in case I developed pregnancy complications (would have been 18w at the time of the trip) but there were a lot of exclusions around pregnancy that changed our minds. Pre-existing health conditions may be excluded, too.

 

[Atchley]

I never have purchased the insurance before, but did this year. Both of my grandparents are not in the best of health and my dad has brain cancer. We aren't really sure yet if all the medicines worked. It covers if someone would happen to get sick and pass on them too. I called and checked.
You just never know.