Travel insurance and payment Q's

[Aurora_Disney]

So I have a few questions. Planning our WDW trip and I'm interested to know if anyone buys the travel insurance through Disney? Do you think it's worth it? I'm leaning towards the better safe than sorry thinking, but doesn't hurt to ask for some thoughts.

Also, if you have booked directly through Disney, or a TA like Dreams Unlimited, can you make payments each month towards your vacation or do you just have to pay all at once?

Thanks!!

 

[Traver Freeman]

I have used a different travel agent and with them you had to pay $200 upfront to book your vacation and had until 45 days prior to your trip to fully pay it off.

Never booked straight through Disney and I don't think I've ever gotten the insurance. However, I will share a brief anecdote about air travel insurance. My mom booked a flight through an airline to get into Orlando at like 9 PM the night before our trip starts. She just got a cheap hotel in the airport area that night and then would take the shuttle back to MCO and get the Disney Magical Express to our resort in the morning. However, the airline changed their flights to morning only (only one flight per day non-stop to Orlando out of my mom's dinky little local airport using Spirit Airlines), so now she was flying out the morning of the next day and didn't need that extra hotel. She called to cancel and they said it was non-refundable and non-transferable. Apparently, though, because she got the travel insurance on the flight, Spirit Airlines paid her for the lost money from the hotel because they made the flight change.

 

[siskaren]

I don't know about Dreams Unlimited, but you can definitely make monthly payments when you book with Disney - I'm doing that for my December Disneyland trip.

 

[570traveler]

We purchased the insurance through Disney last year. We were driving down in late November from Pennsylvania so we were concerned about snow/ice. I wish we'd never spent the money. Since Disney allows changes to the reservation for a small fee, we would have been better off holding out to see the weather report. It also can be added anytime prior to the final payment.

 

[Aurora_Disney]

Thanks everyone!

 

[Aurora_Disney]

I don't know about Dreams Unlimited, but you can definitely make monthly payments when you book with Disney - I'm doing that for my December Disneyland trip.

That's great to know. I am not the best at saving so being able to make payments each month will be a lot easier. Do you have to set up a payment plan with Disney or do you just make a payment on the website?

 

[Aurora_Disney]

We purchased the insurance through Disney last year. We were driving down in late November from Pennsylvania so we were concerned about snow/ice. I wish we'd never spent the money. Since Disney allows changes to the reservation for a small fee, we would have been better off holding out to see the weather report. It also can be added anytime prior to the final payment.

Some good information to consider. I will wait and think about the insurance. At least I do not have to add it right away.

 

[rwdavis2]

We buy insurance with AIG Travelguard. You can buy the type of coverage you want and even the minimum has coverage for medical, medical evacuation, lost luggage, etc.

 

[siskaren]

That's great to know. I am not the best at saving so being able to make payments each month will be a lot easier. Do you have to set up a payment plan with Disney or do you just make a payment on the website?

Nope, I just do it on the website.

 

[bumbershoot]

That's great to know. I am not the best at saving so being able to make payments each month will be a lot easier. Do you have to set up a payment plan with Disney or do you just make a payment on the website?

The last I saw people talk about it, you have to call as the online payment button is now gone.

Some good information to consider. I will wait and think about the insurance. At least I do not have to add it right away.

Does anyone in your family have pre existing conditions? Like, if someone has asthma and before the trip is hospitalized with an illness made worse from the asthma, it would be considered a pre existing condition. To have that cancellation covered you have to have the "pre existing condition waiver", and you generally only get that if you buy insurance within a short time of making the deposit. And I'm not sure disney's insurance covers that at all.

In my family, we have to make sure we are covered if a trio is stopped or cut short because of my mother in laws health. She doesn't travel with us but we are her healthcare proxy. So we have to make sure insurance covers cancellation because of someone at home. And we have to get the PEC waiver because she has heart problems, diabetes, blood pressure problems, and a history of strokes. Almost anything that happens to her now would be a pre existing condition. So we don't buy insurance through Disney. We get it cheaper elsewhere.

Now please note that I'm talking about travel insurance in general. We don't book packages. And if we did I'm not sure we would get the insurance for them. Packages can almost always be changed to another date (don't say "cancel"!) and disney is very generous with weather delays. And the tickets are yours to be used in the future. I don't see a huge amount of point to having insurance on packages, but then I read here a LOT and have read of the ease in which they can be changed.

And really you have to read the info in the insurance policy you are buying. You need to know your needs and concerns. And you have to make sure that what you're worried about being covered would be covered by the insurance product you buy.

 

[siskaren]

The last I saw people talk about it, you have to call as the online payment button is now gone.

I made a payment online just last month.

 

[Marthasor]

The only time I would ever buy WDW's travel insurance is if I booked airfare with the package (which I don't recommend). If you are only booking a room-only or package and want insurance, I would shop around for the type and amount of coverage you want or need. I always use an insurance comparison website to compare policies and pricing. WDW's change and cancellation policies are pretty lenient. My bigger concern is being covered while on vacation.

 

[KrazeeK120]

I made a payment online just last month.

Me too.