Now that I have booked... Please help with advice about trip insurance !

[DisneyWishes14]

To get the waiver of pre-existing conditions, the clock starts ticking as soon as you make the first payment of any kind for the trip (refundable or nonrefundable) - which is usually the cruise deposit. Look carefully at the policies, because some also take into account the pre-existing conditions of your family members. I get mine from the Trip Insurance Store (www.tripinsurancestore.com), and I usually go with Travel Insured or Travel Safe.

If more than 2 people are traveling, make sure that you fully cover each person, rather than the total trip cost. Since the first 2 people in the cabin pay more than 3rd and 4th passengers - you may not fully cover the first 2 people if the amount of coverage equals the total trip cost.

EXAMPLE: Passengers 1 and 2 pay $2,000 pp and passengers 3 and 4 pay $1,000 pp. The total trip cost is $6,000. If you buy $6,000 in total coverage, each person gets $1,500 in coverage - which under insures the first 2 people by $500 pp and over insures the 3rd and 4th passengers by $500 pp. It's best if you can choose different amounts of insurance coverage for each traveler.

Insurance is usually priced in $500 increments, so I round up to the next $500 increment. If my cruise costs $1,750 pp, I round up to $2,000 pp in coverage - usually for the same price.

No one I travel with has pre-existing conditions, so I, personally, do not need to purchase travel insurance until I have non-refundable costs, but this is excellent information for anyone who has a pre-existing condition (and for myself should I need it in the future). Great suggestion for the cruise fare coverage - I never even thought of that! I will definitely do that for future cruise - thank you!

 

[kid-at-heart]

We just joined Costco. Where do they hide their trip insurance? I can't find it.

I found it on their travel site. You may have to be signed in. https://www.costcotravel.com/Info/Travel-Guard

Kate

 

[Mommb]

No one I travel with has pre-existing conditions, so I, personally, do not need to purchase travel insurance until I have non-refundable costs, but this is excellent information for anyone who has a pre-existing condition (and for myself should I need it in the future).

Waiting until you have non-refundable expenses makes sense if you are fairly confident you and your family/traveling companions will remain healthy.

Something to think about, though, particularly for trips far in the future, is the possibility of developing a condition between initial payment and the time you intend to buy the insurance (e.g., when you purchase airfare or make your final cruise payment). If you need to cancel the trip entirely, you wouldn't need insurance if you haven't had expenses yet. If you do go on the trip, though, and have a relapse of the condition that developed before you bought insurance, medical treatment and evacuation may not be covered.

There are policies that cover pre-existing conditions with a higher cost, but I don't know how much higher.

As with any insurance purchase, you need to weight the cost of the trip insurance against the likelihood of needing to use it.

Chances of healthy people suddenly becoming unhealthy are rare, but do happen. A few years ago I had an unexpected medical crisis 3 weeks after the final payment date for a Med cruise. Because I had purchased insurance with my final payment and did not have any medical issues at that time, this did not count as a pre-existing condition. If this crisis had occurred a week before the final payment date instead of 3 weeks after, though, I would have had to choose between simply canceling the cruise, looking for insurance that would cover a pre-existing condition, and taking the chance that I would be fully recovered and not need treatment during my trip. As it turned out in my case, my doctor advised me a month later that I was not ready for travel, but knowing I'd get a refund from the insurance if necessary allowed me to wait that month to see if I could keep the cruise.)

 

[Shanti]

We just joined Costco. Where do they hide their trip insurance? I can't find it.

Be sure to transfer your new cruise ressies to them to get the cash card back.

 

[cargo13]

1. Trip cancellation coverages
You need to buy travel insurance quickly after your DIS booking to cover potential trip cancellation of NON REFUNDABLE pre paid expenses only. You can add other trip non refundable expenses (like air) to the travel insurance as you go/purchase. Do not insure any trip expenses that are refundable or not pre paid (like hotels).

2. Pre existing conditions
Found GENERALI Travel Insurance (used to be CSA) on comparison site Insure My Trip to have the most liberal pre existing conditions policy--you can get coverages right up to final payment of your trip https://www.generalitravelinsurance.com/faqs.html#pre-ex
GENERALI's medical coverages + evac coverages are the highest we have found.

The comments re: buying directly with the travel insurance provider ---less expensive, better coverages, and not just for the DIS portion of your trip are valid.

 

[BrerNashville]

If a flight delay causes me to miss my cruise departure, is there a difference between what a Disney policy would cover and what a policy I bought on my own would cover? I understand that a policy purchased through disney would not reimburse me for airfare if, for instance, I got sick and had to cancel. Just wondering about flight issues, though.

 

[Bearybear]

Ps. The time limit to get preexisting coverage varies a lot. Our policy says to purchase within 30 days. I've seen as low as 14 days.

We need pre-existing coverage, but we booked a placeholder. Does the time limit start when we booked the placeholder or when we finally decide on our dates and put the full deposit down?

 

[NancyIL]

We need pre-existing coverage, but we booked a placeholder. Does the time limit start when we booked the placeholder or when we finally decide on our dates and put the full deposit down?

It depends on the policy. Here is an explanation from the Trip Insurance Store's web site about that (scroll down to the box at the bottom of the page): https://tripinsurancestore.com/initial-trip-deposit-date/

 

[lanejudy]

If a flight delay causes me to miss my cruise departure, is there a difference between what a Disney policy would cover and what a policy I bought on my own would cover? I understand that a policy purchased through disney would not reimburse me for airfare if, for instance, I got sick and had to cancel. Just wondering about flight issues, though.

As I understand it, unless you also purchase your airfare through DCL, no it would not cover missing the cruise due to flight delays. However, you would be eligible to request a credit towards a future cruise. It’s not full credit, maybe 70% of the fare and must be used within a specified period of time.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[wanderlust7]

If a flight delay causes me to miss my cruise departure, is there a difference between what a Disney policy would cover and what a policy I bought on my own would cover? I understand that a policy purchased through disney would not reimburse me for airfare if, for instance, I got sick and had to cancel. Just wondering about flight issues, though.

Here's info about the Disney insurance. Doesn't look like there's "missed connection" coverage. The "trip delay" coverage confused me at first, but I think that's if the ship is delayed.

https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/contracts-terms-safety/vacation-protection-plan/

I bought TravelSafe insurance our last cruise, which came with missed connection coverage up to $2500/person and the flight delay only needed to be 3 hours or more.

 

[NancyIL]

Here's info about the Disney insurance. Doesn't look like there's "missed connection" coverage. The "trip delay" coverage confused me at first, but I think that's if the ship is delayed.

https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/contracts-terms-safety/vacation-protection-plan/

I bought TravelSafe insurance our last cruise, which came with missed connection coverage up to $2500/person and the flight delay only needed to be 3 hours or more.

My last flight home from a land trip 2 weeks ago was cancelled, and I had to spend the night at an airport hotel. The trip delay portion of trip insurance covers additional meal and accommodation expenses if your departure or return is delayed due to a covered reason.

 

[LNMom]

I have a credit card that offers trip insurance. I simply pay for the cruise with card and get trip insurance and points! Many credit cards offer trip insurance coverage, particularly premium ones.

 

[MelSpees]

I have a credit card that offers trip insurance. I simply pay for the cruise with card and get trip insurance and points! Many credit cards offer trip insurance coverage, particularly premium ones.

This is true, but it might not cover everything you need. You need to check the coverage carefully.

 

[Intr3pid]

If this crisis had occurred a week before the final payment date instead of 3 weeks after, though, I would have had to choose between simply canceling the cruise, looking for insurance that would cover a pre-existing condition, and taking the chance that I would be fully recovered and not need treatment during my trip.

For our family, this decision would be simple. Cancel the cruise. Health comes first, and we wouldn't want to go on a cruise knowing that an existing health condition could develop into something more serious.

That being said, we do book and have to cancel cruises every now and then due to life changes and what. Paying for trip insurance so early in the game every time and then possibly forgoing it would add up.

 

[NancyIL]

I have a credit card that offers trip insurance. I simply pay for the cruise with card and get trip insurance and points! Many credit cards offer trip insurance coverage, particularly premium ones.

Several of my credit cards (Chase Sappphire Preferred Visa and Citibank AAdvantage Platinum Select MasterCard) offer insurance for trip cancellation, interruption, delay, and baggage loss and delay. What they don’t offer is medical coverage or a waiver of pre-existing conditions. It also helps to know what your credit card covers ahead of time. On the trip I mentioned a few posts above where my flight was cancelled and I spent the night at an airport hotel -I didn’t know whether my credit card’s insurance covered trip delay. Not wanting to spend over $200 for a Hotel, I used a lot of Hilton hotel points and a small amount of cash to pay for the room. Only later when I had a good internet connection could I find the fine print on what insurance coverage I had -and it did cover trip delay!

 

[scottb8888]

How about if you paid for 2 passengers with DVC points and the other two with cash. Does DCL insurance cover that or 3rd party Insurance carriers?

 

[Lilsia]

The main thing I worry about and the reason why I buy trip insurance for a cruise is for any kind of emergency medical. We have no pre-existing medical issues but if something where to happen and we needed to be medically flown back to the US, that would be a huge expense. We purchase insurance through Allianz Global, they are AAA preferred. They have a wide variety of options to choose from and are very reasonable and kids are free included with the adult purchase. That is the main reason why I buy the insurance, the cost of the trip is gone money anyway and not an extra hardship like a medical emergency is. Plus like NancyIL said, a lot of credit card companies have some type of travel insurance. I would definitely focus on what kind of medical coverage the insurance has. The insurance Disney offers is way too expensive for what you get. The $30,000 emergency medical evac is not going to cover it either. Go with at least a half a million coverage.