Need help with DCL cancellation!

[crw]

I feel I have been a strong advocate for cruise insurance--for situations just like this one. However, I know that people can make mistakes, and unexpected things can happen. While I am not one to trust to luck (largely because the majority of mine is bad ), I don't wish ill on my neighbors. I truly hope (although I doubt) that this family can reschedule their cruise.

Be grateful this sort of misfortune can't happen to you, if you had the foresight to purchase insurance. Wishing this family no quarter from Disney is schadenfreude, and unworthy of the fine people of this board. Particularly as they are unlikely to receive any quarter, wishes or no.

And for those who are reading this thread who have not yet purchased insurance, please, PLEASE buy it now!

This is beautifully put. I hope that I never face this situation (with or without insurance), feel horribly for the friend of the OP. I hope that whatever the solution winds up being, whether assisted by DCL or not, that they get to enjoy something that they have worked hard for and looked forward to and are able to properly pay respects and grieve.

Please do not look at this as a flame, but I have always been confused when people think that when someone gets something that they didn't, this is unfair. If DCL tried to weasel out of honoring the terms of insurance, that would be unfair. While DCL would be fully within their rights to enforce the policy, I just do see how I would be harmed if they bent from time to time. I have traveled with and without insurance, depending on how much $$$ is on the line. I would probably seek an exception if I were in this position, but would understand if it were not granted. I certainly wouldn't be worried about some anonymous forum-poster's sense of "fairness" in doing so.
Insurance covers a number of possibilities. Surely, everyone would agree that the death of an immediate family member is probably among the most horrific and unforeseen of these possibilities. DCL could say yes, or could say no, but do we REALLY have to wish for a bad outcome for these poor people?

 

[sayhello]

What is a PEC? And would the trip insurance cover anything (re: OP question) since it was the woman's father and not her that passed (or gotten ill)? It seems like trip insurance is good but a lot of restrictions, fine print.

PEC is a Pre-Existing Condition. Basically, on a high level, if a medical condition exists within a particular "look-back" period prior to your buying the insurance (and there are various requirements attached to this) then any treatment or cancellation due to or related to that condition would not be covered by the insurance. If you get treated for a bum knee a month before you buy the insurance, then throw the knee out the week before you go, you won't be covered.

And yes, normally most trip insurance will cover you in the case of cancellation due to the death or illness of a close family member. You need to check the particular policy you have to be sure. However, the pre-existing condition policies apply to that family member just as much as to the people actually traveling.

Honestly, while I really truly believe in trip insurance, and highly recommend that everyone get it, there is no guarantee that trip insurance would have covered the OP's friend's situation. If the father's death was from something that qualified as a pre-existing condition, and they did not have a pre-existing condition waiver, then it would not have been covered. Some forms of cancer are not covered on some policies. Etc, etc. So even if they'd done it right and gotten the insurance, they might still be in the same situation.

I think that if Disney is willing to give them a break, then they deserve it, and should be welcome to it. Don't be too quick to judge these folks; you could easily be in their position yourself some day.

Sayhello

 

[SoCaOC-Mom]

What is a PEC? And would the trip insurance cover anything (re: OP question) since it was the woman's father and not her that passed (or gotten ill)? It seems like trip insurance is good but a lot of restrictions, fine print.

PEC = Pre-existing conditions

Some insurance companies will not cover the inability to travel if it is in relation to it.

Many insurance companies will cover cancellations in the event of the death of a immediate family member, even if they are not part of the travel party.

 

[mellers]

What is a PEC? And would the trip insurance cover anything (re: OP question) since it was the woman's father and not her that passed (or gotten ill)? It seems like trip insurance is good but a lot of restrictions, fine print.

A PEC is a pre-existing condition, and, in my humble opinion, the bane of the United States, and an evil on a par with . Unless your insurance policy has a pre-existing conditions waiver, I do not recommend that you buy it. DCL insurance does not have such a waiver, which is why it's on my "do not purchase" list. There are many trip insurers with pre-existing condtions waivers, but relatively few who will provide them after 14-30 days. (CSA being a notable exception).

If the OP had trip insurance with a PEC waiver, she would have been refunded the entire cost of her cruise, airfare, etc. (provided they were all insured) after whatever refunds due her had been paid. It might have meant that they missed this cruise, but got to go on another cruise later.

Here is Mellers General Insurance Rules:

1. Before you book your trip, think about how many days before and after you would like to stay. Round up.

2. Before you book your trip, decide which travel insurance best fits your needs, and make sure it has a PEC waiver if you purchase within a short window after you make your first payment.

3. Make your first payment

4. Buy your insurance--preferably that same day, making sure that the insurance has a PEC waiver, and covers those issues with which you are most likely to deal (redeployment, job loss, death of a famiy member, serious illness of a cruiser, etc.)

5. Make sure it also covers emergency medical evacuation.

6. Enjoy your trip, and the peace of mind. And, if somebody dies, or you miss the plane, or your child gets appendicitis, etc, file that claim and book another trip for another day.