Is TRAVEL INSURANCE worth it?

[happyatdisneyworld]

Disney package people recommend Travel Guard

It's $66 per adult

THanks for any insight!

 

[lovetoscrap]

First check out insuremytrip.com and see what comes up there. You may find something much cheaper.

Then you need to consider your current life situation. I don't get insurance for our Disney trips. We drive so there are are no flights to worry about, and while we usually get a package Disney is good about allowing you to reschedule if there is a major emergency. I think there may be a $200 penalty for some things but that is still financially worth it it us over buying insurance. And since our Health Insurance covers us anywhere in the US we don't worry about those kinds of costs. Financially we can absorb the extras that could happen while still in the US.

However, my mother is flying down to Disney next month for a few days and my grandmother and my stepfather have both had some major health issues in the last few years. There is a high percentage chance one of them could have an emergency before or after they leave. Trip insurance is a good idea and she did buy it. It will take care of airline changes on her non refundable tickets, and her non refundable resort package. And since she is a worrywart it gives her piece of mind.

That said, I ALWAYS buy trip insurance for a cruise or overseas trip (okay, I really haven't traveled overseas unless you count the Caribbean cruises). My medical insurance won't help me if I break my leg in Italy. Nor will it pay for me to be airlifted off of a cruise ship because I had a terrible asthma attack and they think it could be a pulmonary embolism (has happened in the ER). And if any of those things happen I would be paying out of pocket to get myself and my family back home from a foreign country and/or paying for the days in a hotel until we are able to fly home.


So consider what it would do to you if you were injured in WDW and needed to be in the hospital for a week. Could you afford for the family to stay in a hotel down there for an extra week or two? Can you afford to buy different airline tickets or pay the change fee if there is an emergency and you need to leave early, or stay longer? Are there any circumstances in the family that could cause you to not go or have to leave early?

 

[scrapbookworm]

The night before we boarded the Disney Wonder, I had to take my DH to the ER in Cape Canaveral. He had his first ever kidney stone. The night before we leave on our dream trip. He still went, but he was in pain, and it definitely cast a pall over the trip. I was so worried that something bad would happen on board.

After that, I wish I would have purchased trip insurance. If we ever take another cruise, we will purchase it. When we go to WDW we drive, and that is different, being in a hotel room vs being on a cruise ship, so I won't buy it for a regular WDW trip.

 

[Justsyd2]

I never purchased it until I was literally at the gate boarding a plane heading to the Bahamas when I received a phone call that my Mother was in the Emergency Room. I now will not travel without it!

 

[luvdisney00]

I always get it when we fly, but this year we are driving so I didn't get it. It was $69 per adult per day, and our hotel was $149/night so it didn't seem worth it. I think Disney will work with you for emergencies. I agree with pp though get it for trips out of the country or a cruise, or flights if they are costly. We are a family of 5, so all flights are costly!

 

[budcollector]

i'm another one that always get the insurance, i usually book my trips 5-6 mounths out and you never know what can change in that time. i'd rather eat the cost of the insurance then the cost of the trip, so for me its piece of mind.

 

[Swimalie]

For something like a cruise, yes I would but for a trip where I'm staying on US land, I would consider if I could afford to lose the money if I had to cancel. We went to Disney in March and if we had to cancel, we would have lost the $200 Disney fee and possibly the $535 for the flights. We could afford to lose that (wouldn't have enjoyed it but could have taken the hit in an emergency) so we didn't get it for our trip. We did price Costco and AAA and Costco was cheaper and had better coverage so make sure you shop around before you decide.

 

[SarahKate]

Definitely a proponent of trip insurance here! Back in '07 I had somewhat of a nasty fall at EPCOT and had to go to the ER. Sprained ankle on one side, sprained forefoot on the other side. Needless to say I was in a w/c or an ECV the rest of the time (luckily we just had a few more park days left).

The insurance covered anything that my regular medical insurance didn't so I really had no out of pocket expenses for everything other than the $100 co-pay at the ER.

Also, if you book your trips through AAA you can get their trip insurance which is actually a little better - AND a cool thing is that if you drive, it will cover things that happen en route......we just had to give them our specific travel days (since everyone travels a little different, getting there in 1 day or 2).

 

[drinkme]

Check with your cc. My AE covers travel emergencies.

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

I agree with lovetoscrap it really does depend on your life / travel situation.

For Disney trips (tickets, room etc)you can cancel up to 45 days in advance with no penalty - full money back. Then they have some kind of cancelation fee but it's not much as I recall right up until 7 days in advance.

We drive and never purchase insurance for the above reasons.

We've only had to cancel one trip - about 50 days in advance (so got a full refund) because dh had to have surgery (it was going to take place the week before our trip).

 

[Green Tea]

It covers other things as well as having to cancel. I don't buy it all the time, but times I have, I have used it. Never for a cancellation, but a camera got stolen-paid in full. Had to see the doctor on a ship-paid in full. Luggage delayed getting to Hawaii-paid for 'stuff' for the first night. It paid for hotels and food when a cruise was delayed due to weather.

 

[sritter78]

We bought it last year for our Disney trip. My DS was only going to be 6 weeks and I wanted to be covered just in case anything went wrong with the birth.

 

[bettymae1121]

I'm a travel agent, so here are my thoughts.

I do recommend it for airline tickets if nothing else (canceling or changing airline tickets is big $$$). If you need it for the rest of your trip depends on a lot of factors, like the overall health of the people traveling and their extended family, how much the trip costs, how much of the trip is refundable and when the penalties kick in (45 days prior? 7 days prior? Once you're there?). It also depends on if the trip is domestic or international (international I always recommend it as you get health coverage in addition to trip insurance).

For Disneyland or WDW, because their cancelation polices are so reasonable, I do not recommend insurance for that, just the airline tickets if you're flying. Disney Cruise I do, just like any other cruise. You're leaving the country and medical care and/or evac can be devistatingly expensive. For all cruises, just like the old American Express ads used to say "don't leave home without it!".

If you do decide you want trip insurance, do make sure to buy it within the deadline to cover pre-existing conditions, this will give you the most coverage for any possible situation. Usually to qualify for pre-existing condition coverage, you must buy it within 14 days of making the first deposit/payment.

 

[jessica52877]

I have always bought it for cruises but never for regular travel to WDW. We don't usually do packages and drive. Different situations I might purchase it.

We were stuck in Castaway this past February for an extra day, so our 7 day became 8 day cruise and for those that had insurance it was a whole let less stressful! We were pretty good either way since there was no flights to change and DH was off the next day anyways, just got home alot later then usual the next day. But the hours of wonder was not good for those who didn't have it! After seeing that I would NEVER cruise without it, but we always bought it anyways! You just never know.

 

[JCMHutch]

I am definitely for travel insurance. The first time I had purchased it I ended up cancelling on the morning we were supposed to leave. We had insurance on the trip (I had been sick and my friend's father was really sick so we bought it) and got all our money back (hotel, park tickets etc). Since we purchased our airfare separately, we just changed the flights and went 6 months later.

I now purchase travel insurance for every trip since I have grandparents in their 90's and one of them is unwell. For me, it is definitely worth the $ per person.

 

[eliza61]

Disney package people recommend Travel Guard

It's $66 per adult

THanks for any insight!

I had a trip planned for Paris france this past May (22-31). My dad died two days before so of course I had to cancel. Very glad I had the travel insurance. I got back all of my money except 350 bucks ($125.00 for the cost of the insurance and 225 for cancelling the hotel under 2 days)

 

[librarygal]

My Chase Sapphire card has free travel insurance included for airline tickets purchased on the card. It does not include medical but if you have health insurance that would cover medical emergencies in the U.S. If you charged your airfare check and see what is included with your card. If you decide to go with traditional travel insurance remember to price it out for non-refundable, pre-paid expenses only.

 

[gate_pourri]

You may want to look into different trip insurances, especially different types. I have never purchased trip insurance and have traveled abroad many times a year since childhood.

This year, a few friends and I are planning a late summer trip to Europe. This includes more than 1 none-refundable hotel (it was too good of a deal on hotels to not do it), but with the volcano issues still going on in Europe, we got a bit worried we may get stuck and be out all the money on these hotels.

So, we decided to purchase the minimum available trip insurance. It only covers trip cancellation and trip interruption. IE - If the volcano starts erupting again and we are stuck somewhere we don't loose all the money on none-refundable hotels. It doesn't cover if we someone in our party need medical attention, or if our bags get lost, etc.

It was only $44 for all 3 of us.

 

[Bete]

but now that 2 of 3 in my family have health issues I do it. I haven't had to use it yet, but I feel better about getting it.

 

[mickeys friend]

I too have been wondering if we should purchase trip insurance for our Aug. trip to WDW.We never had it before until last year when it was added to our package before we knew it and we couldn't cancel so we kept it because one never knows when you're going to need it.We've had to stay at WDW for several days longer than planned because of a hurricane and the airports closeing and also the parks were closed,and we had no trip inusurance and staying in Contomporary Towers.The resort was very good with working with us,and I spent alot of time on the phone getting flights out and also Disney gave everyone a park pass for the day the parks were closed (if you already had a ticket you got one to replace it),but since we were a family of 5 it was alot of time worrying over everything,money,flights,weather,etc.So since my first granddaughter is going to be born in Oct and our trip is Aug.,and also that my mom's health isn't good, I am really thinking that this is the time to get trip insurance.If we do get it,it will have to be done in a couple of days because of our 45 day arrival time.Since each of us are paying our own part on our WDW package,then it really would be worth it,rather than worry the whole trip.Looks like I am talking myself into it.