To insure or NOT to insure???

[TinkerBrie]

I see some people not adding insurance to their trip. I never thought about NOT adding it?? What is everyone's opinion on this?? The insurance was $133.00 through Disney. Should I keep it??

 

[wmharley]

i never get it on a vacation....

I will go there sick and busted legs.. but no way I'm NOT going on vacation..

 

[happymommy]

I only insure if it's nonrefuldable, like a cruise, or a trip overseas.

I get it from Travelguard, not Disney. It may not be cheaper, but I'd get the best coverage. Paid off when my DS got bronchitis on top of his asthma on our cruise - they even covered our copay.

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

I would base your decision on how possible is it for something to come up and you can't go.

My parents got it for their recent trip b/c mom has fibromyalgia and a couple other problems. You can never rely on her being even at 80% on any given day. They got it just in case she had a flare up and couldn't make the trip.

If you don't have anyone with a chronic illness and you're not worried about job loss between now and your trip, I would personally skip it.

 

[msmayor]

I insure what I cannot afford to lose.

Generally, with a land-based trip, there is not a lot in "non-refundable" costs if you have to cancel. I think with Disney, if you cancel a package, the most you can lose is $200. For my family we usually drive, so there's no airfare to be concerned with. I'm not going to spend $120-150 to insure $200. That doesn't make sense, since the most I'd get back is really about $80 (the $200 non-refundable costs less the insurance premium, which is never refundable).

Medical costs are generally not a concern on a land-based trip because my personal health insurance is good anywhere in the country for emergent care provided out-of-network...but my in-network coverage is pretty broad so I can always find a doctor/hospital where only my co-pay would be required.

But we also cruise as a family...and those costs are more "sunk", meaning non-refundable. Final payments are due up to 100 days prior, and significant cancellation penalties exist. At a week or two out, if something happens and we have to cancel, we could suffer a loss in the thousands of dollars. If a medical emergency occurs at sea, my own health insurance will only cover life-threatening emergencies, and won't pay for a medical evacuation. Those are some big-ticket expenses that can cripple a person's budget. In those cases, I'll ALWAYS spend the extra $$ for insurance. Its peace-of-mind, and well-worth it.

 

[Macduffy]

If you cancel your Disney package with 8 days + notice you have to pay $100. Less then 7 days notice and it's $200. Airfare (either booked with Disney or independently is a separate issue).

My mother had to cancel 2 days before we left (she had actually even checked in online) and paid the $200. She did not have trip insurance for her flight but the airfare was only $150 (and the insurance would have cost $63 so she didn't bother getting it). She wasn't upset about losing that but if you think you would you might want to insure the airfare ;o)

 

[tinkmom2]

I personally have never traveled without travel insurance. You never know when you may need it. Especially when I cruise. It would be my luck to be out of the country and really need it.

 

[MommyBryn]

We've never purchased insurance for any of our Disney vacations (but we've never taken a cruise or anything). I see it like the other poster- if it's only going to cost me $200 to cancel, it's not saving me that much.

Also, it seems like the insurance doesn't cover much, either. My parents couldn't utilize it once something happened to my brother and he couldn't go. I've seen a lot of situations here where the insurance "didn't apply". I even remember one woman here who's husband passed away shortly before their trip and the insurance didn't help her case either. She still had to pay the $200 to cancel.

 

[kristasmom]

I have never purchased travel insurance before and I never had a problem. In March of this year we went to Washington DC with DD's school and travel insurance was included with the trip. DD ended up in the hospital and we could not complete the trip. With-in 2 weeks of returning home we received a check from the travel insurance company to reimburse us for the portion of the trip that we missed. I don't think I will travel without insurance again.