Opinions on Trip Insurance

[liltoot]

We just checked with Chase Disney Visa and they cover zip, nada, zilch, nothing.
Thanks everyone for all your thoughts and suggestions.

 

[AngiTN]

We just checked with Chase Disney Visa and they cover zip, nada, zilch, nothing.
Thanks everyone for all your thoughts and suggestions.

Yeah, Chase is one that is pretty crappy with the extras their cards give. I was pretty disappointed when I started to look in to it. I like the Disney money but that's about all I get from it.

 

[CarolynFH]

As others have posted, we insure major trips like cruises and package tours. Last year we were scheduled for a European package. When we booked we made sure the coverage included major illness/hospitalization of close family members, thinking of my 91 year old dad. We had to cancel just inside 90 days before departure because our son needed open heart surgery that ended up being scheduled for what would have been the middle of the tour. The tour company refunded half the cost due to the date we cancelled, and trip insurance covered the rest. So look carefully at exclusions!

 

[yaya74]

We just checked with Chase Disney Visa and they cover zip, nada, zilch, nothing.
Thanks everyone for all your thoughts and suggestions.

I too used a Disney Visa to pay for my recent trip to WDW. I like the 6 months interest free offer from the credit card.
I bought insurance coverage from Allianz, as recommended on Mousesavers.
Allianz offers "cancel for any reason" coverage if you buy within 2 weeks after you pay for your deposit.
I didn't need to file any claim so I don't know how Allianz is when processing claims.
I feel all insurance companies are similar.
I chose Allianz because it is a primary coverage whereas others offer secondary coverage.

Also Disney's package cancellation policy is pretty good. $200 if cancelled between 30 days and 48 hours prior to departure.
I never travel without a form of insurance.
Hope it helps!!

 

[gharter]

We always get the insurance for the airline ticket as that is alway nonrefundable. Our credit card gives us free luggage, but doesn't reimburse having to cancel a flight.

 

[amiskell28]

We buy AIG Travelguard. Having had to use it the first time we bought made it worth the cost. MY wife got hospitalized in Celebration for 3 days. The insurance covered the hospital co-pay, differences in flight cost, and my additional hotel expenses.

They also cover pre-existing conditions if you buy the insurance within 2 weeks of booking travel. The conditions are pretty clear on their web site and you can get an estimate of coverage. They cover all aspects of the trip even evacuation due to illness.

IMHO, I would not buy insurance sold by the company form which you are buying travel/hotel.

This 1000%. As we add elements to our vacation, we call them and pay the additional premium. Example: we bought tickets and booked a room, and we paid the premium. When we booked the flight, we called and paid the (small) additional premium.

Never felt like it was too expensive that way, and we always did it within the 2 week window, so all was covered.

We just couldn't spend this much on a trip and NOT have the peace of mind.

 

[starry_solo]

I haven't obtained it for Disney, but when I used to travel overseas, I did.

 

[Nancyg56]

I've never gotten trip insurance for a normal booked Disney trip... But again, what is not refundable on your trip you might be concerned about (flight ?). . If nothing, then don't worry about it. Insurance is bettng that you won't need it.

I have not purchased travel insurance in years. So far we have been fortunate.

 

[luvthemouse71]

I would like to know what people think about trip insurance. i would like one that covers the air travel as well as the rest of the package. We have elderly parents and we aren't young either. You never know when you may have to cancel and I just don't want to lose all that money. Thanks in advance.

I have never gotten it for land vacations, especially trips in the US. I do get it for my cruises.

 

[Jen1995]

Never bought travel insurance to Disney because we never fly and Disney's reimbursement policy is very good.

 

[danikoski]

Not to hijack this thread, but I'm curious what travel insurance people use if renting DVC points?

 

[Sue M]

I’m Canadian so I always buy travel medical insurance from Blue Cross. And because I go to Florida during hurricane season (leaving next week) I also buy Trip Interruption Insurance from CAA.

 

[kiford]

What you might want to look into is ensuring that you have trip interruption insurance in addition to coverage of non-refundable costs. You might be able to get a refund from Disney if you had an emergency, or coverage by credit card for flights, but what credit cards might not (you have to check) cover are the costs of having to book last minute flights, staying for longer than expected perhaps at high cost due to last minute booking (if you had emergency medical needs) and additional food if you got sick while on vacation or if you had to go home due to family illnesses. Whether such trip insurance is worth it will depend on the cost of the insurance versus what you might be out-of-pocket when considering both the potential loss of what you've spent and which is not recoverable as well as additional unanticipated costs. We're usually less concerned with loss of the non-refundable costs of our trips and more concerned with medical (we're from Canada) and trip interruption costs.

My father ended up in hospital in Spain for 9 days in the middle of his trip with a lung infection. He had to be escorted home (3 days after his original flight) with an EMT and oxygen and they had to go business class because of the greater space (or something). Yes, this was overseas but even if it had been domestically, flying with an EMT, oxygen and business class would have been pricey. Insurance covered it all.

 

[rwdavis2]

Not to hijack this thread, but I'm curious what travel insurance people use if renting DVC points?

I treated it just like a hotel stay. Bought Travelguard as I mentioned in an earlier post in this thead.

 

[Luvs Mickey]

In the past I’ve purchased trip insurance, especially for winter vacations, as not all credit cards cover trip disruption due to weather events (we live in snowy Minnesota). Gives me piece of mind if flight and hotel changes can’t be accommodated.

 

[disny_luvr]

We don’t buy insurance for our Disney trips, but do for our Disney cruises. I don’t buy Disney insurance. I purchase insurance through insure my trip dot com. You can book through the website but I usually call because I have lots of questions and I like to speak to an actual person. Everyone I always speak with is very knowledgeable and helpful.

 

[toodycat]

Totally worth buying trip insurance.Here are some things Travelguard has covered over the years:

clothing purchased when our suitcase was not delivered to the Disney Magic and didn’t arrive until the first port

Stay for one night, four rooms at the Hyatt in MCO when our flight was delayed until 6 a.m.

Medical care when an insect bite caused my foot to swell up to the size of a football

Medical care when 11 year old son got crushed in a convertible bed on the Disney Wonder

Repair of suitcase damaged in transit

As with all insurance, you need to read the fine print. Try to get a policy that covers medical emergency and trip delay as well as trip cancellations.

 

[disneyseniors]

I would like to know what people think about trip insurance. i would like one that covers the air travel as well as the rest of the package. We have elderly parents and we aren't young either. You never know when you may have to cancel and I just don't want to lose all that money. Thanks in advance.

OP, we used to never get trip insurance when we were younger. Now we always buy it. Why? Because we live in the extreme North with volatile winters. You never know if a blizzard will show up. We travel in the winter months, so we don't want to take the chance of losing all that money, either.
Also, I have an elderly mother, and that changes things. We never know if and when we will need to stay home.

It varies for everyone. For some, not worth it as AngieTn says. But for others, it is very much worth it. Depends on your individual life situation.