Travel Insurance?

[kshattuck]

Does anyone know if I can book travel insurance to cover both airfare and my WDW vacation? We are traveling to WDW September 22-30, and I'm a little anxious about flights being canceled/delayed on the front end of our trip, as it's hurricane season.

Does anyone have experience with this? I guess I am curious about how it works and if anyone's experienced a delay or cancellation on your way to Disney and how it affected your travel plans.

Thanks!

 

[jlewisinsyr]

For domestic travel, I am adhamantly against buying insurance. The risk outlay for actual expenditures in the event of a cancellation as you are describing is so small its not worth it.

 

[semo233]

If you book your package through Disney, thier insurance will only cover you in case of natural disaster....just read it carefully. You can also buy travel insurance from other companies over the web. Just read coverage carefully.

 

[LoveTheEars]

Does anyone know if I can book travel insurance to cover both airfare and my WDW vacation?

I purchased my travel insurance thru insuremytrip and covered both my land package at WDW and my flights from SW. I have a family of 4 trip cost of $4000 and the policy i purchased from insuremytrip was only $90.00 total for the 4 of us.

I always buy my insurance thru them. Since they are a 3rd party, they help me choose a policy that will cover the things I am concerned about.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

I purchased my travel insurance thru insuremytrip and covered both my land package at WDW and my flights from SW. I have a family of 4 trip cost of $4000 and the policy i purchased from insuremytrip was only $90.00 total for the 4 of us.

I always buy my insurance thru them. Since they are a 3rd party, they help me choose a policy that will cover the things I am concerned about.

But what is your actual risk? If your flights are cancelled because of a Hurricane, you still can be rebooked or rebook yourself on another flight, no cost. During severe weather airlines will also waive change fees/cancellation fees. Hotel wise, Disney has a very adjustable policy when it comes to cancellations from weather, etc.

Now, buying insurance because of medical reason (ie. someone in your family is ill), that is another story, but even so, the possibility to risk just isn't there IMO. But based on the OPs concern about weather, I wouldn't purchase insurance for that reason.

 

[TheWog]

Yes, you can purchase insurance to cover both your trip cost and airfare costs. www.insuremytrip.com is a great tool to compare the many different policies available. Make sure you look at what is actually covered vs. what you expect it to cover and not just price.

I buy insurance for cruise vacations for various reasons, but have not for a land based vacation.

 

[NancyIL]

Yes, you can purchase insurance to cover both your trip cost and airfare costs. www.insuremytrip.com is a great tool to compare the many different policies available. Make sure you look at what is actually covered vs. what you expect it to cover and not just price.

I buy insurance for cruise vacations for various reasons, but have not for a land based vacation.

I do the same. I had to make an insurance claim recently when my cruise companion (my sister) had to cancel a few weeks before we sailed because her husband had surgery. I was charged a single supplement, and the insurance company reimbursed me.

 

[DMRick]

Does anyone know if I can book travel insurance to cover both airfare and my WDW vacation? We are traveling to WDW September 22-30, and I'm a little anxious about flights being canceled/delayed on the front end of our trip, as it's hurricane season.

Does anyone have experience with this? I guess I am curious about how it works and if anyone's experienced a delay or cancellation on your way to Disney and how it affected your travel plans.

Thanks!

We too use insuremytrip.com when we cruise and are afraid of illness, bad weather, etc,, although if a hurricane is coming when we go to Disney, we generally get down there a day sooner if the airline will let us and pay for our room. It works really nice when you can't get home from Disney because of weather or no room on the plane, and need to get a room for a couple of days, and eat, although I usually pay for that out of pocket and take my chances on no insurance for Disney trips.
Disney has been very nice about changing our reservation at no extra cost, but they don't have too, so if you are worried, insurance is a good peace of mind.

 

[Lewisc]

This doesn't apply to posters in this thread----- Travel insurance provides little or no benefit if you're booking carriers like Direct Air, Jet America etc. Many polices exclude carrier default, some only insure carrier default for a specific list of carriers. A policy provides for specific coverage if your airline flight is delayed or cancelled due to weather. They'll pay, up to a dollar limit, for your extra travel expenses (hotel rooms). They won't pay for a walk up fare with a different carrier. Some carriers like Allegiant only offer flights a couple days a week. If your flight is canceled due to weather you'll have to wait a couple of days for next flight. You're out of luck if that flight is full.

Some posters think insurance will pay whatever it takes to fly them to Orlando. NO It's up to your carrier to get you to your destination or provide a refund. Insurance will pay your cancellation fees if you have to cancel your trip and will pay some of your expenses if you suffer a trip delay or interruption.

 

[DMRick]

I'm not sure why you posted this, if it doesn't apply to posters in this thread.

That said, CSA is very good about getting you to your destination. I always assumed they had special deals with some of the airlines, because they work hard to get you where you are supposed to be as quickly as possible. If you have to cancel your trip, yes, they will give you back what you paid, or in the case of Southwest, where you get a credit, they don't, unless your credit expires within so many days of your trip..then they will give you the value. There are several types of policies even within each brand..you can choose to pick one of them that includes carrier default, although I try to stay away from the carriers that may default, or go out of business.

CSA is excellent at paying for your hotel room (they paid up to $150 a night for us), when returning from Disney, if there is a wait for a plane, because of weather (or if there is no room) as well as other costs.

CSA also pays the difference between what your insurance company pays (if you have insurance) and what the medical bill cost you, if you have a medical problem. One gal on cruisecritic told about missing her ship at a port, and she was flown at no cost to her (she paid and was reimbursed) to the next port.

There are a lot of good reasons for insurance, including an ill parent.

People have to do what makes them comfortable. You do get between 10-15 days to look over your policy after you pay. You also usually have to purchase it before final payment.

This doesn't apply to posters in this thread----- Travel insurance provides little or no benefit if you're booking carriers like Direct Air, Jet America etc. Many polices exclude carrier default, some only insure carrier default for a specific list of carriers. A policy provides for specific coverage if your airline flight is delayed or cancelled due to weather. They'll pay, up to a dollar limit, for your extra travel expenses (hotel rooms). They won't pay for a walk up fare with a different carrier. Some carriers like Allegiant only offer flights a couple days a week. If your flight is canceled due to weather you'll have to wait a couple of days for next flight. You're out of luck if that flight is full.

Some posters think insurance will pay whatever it takes to fly them to Orlando. NO It's up to your carrier to get you to your destination or provide a refund. Insurance will pay your cancellation fees if you have to cancel your trip and will pay some of your expenses if you suffer a trip delay or interruption.

 

[Lewisc]

This is a public forum. People who don't post in this thread read it. There are posters who think travel insurance will remove the risk inherent in booking an airline like Allegiant or Direct Air. I didn't want to imply any of the posters in this thread are under this impression. You said you avoid those carriers.

I agree trip insurance makes sense for a cruise or foreign trip. Those trips have high cancellation penalties and emergency medical evacuation is expensive.

I'm not sure what benefit you get from insuring a Disney trip. SW provides a full credit. Disney will waive cancellation penalties if you cancel your trip for weather issues. You have to weigh the few hundred of dollars you received for your trip delay/interruption against the premiums you paid for insuring this trip, and previous such trips.

I agree trip insurnace make a lot of sense for cruises and foreign vacations. It might make sense if you're renting DVC points. You've pre-paid your accomodations and getting a refund for a weather related cancellation may be promlematic.

I'm not sure why you posted this, if it doesn't apply to posters in this thread.

That said, CSA is very good about getting you to your destination. I always assumed they had special deals with some of the airlines, because they work hard to get you where you are supposed to be as quickly as possible. If you have to cancel your trip, yes, they will give you back what you paid, or in the case of Southwest, where you get a credit, they don't, unless your credit expires within so many days of your trip..then they will give you the value. There are several types of policies even within each brand..you can choose to pick one of them that includes carrier default, although I try to stay away from the carriers that may default, or go out of business.

CSA is excellent at paying for your hotel room (they paid up to $150 a night for us), when returning from Disney, if there is a wait for a plane, because of weather (or if there is no room) as well as other costs.

CSA also pays the difference between what your insurance company pays (if you have insurance) and what the medical bill cost you, if you have a medical problem. One gal on cruisecritic told about missing her ship at a port, and she was flown at no cost to her (she paid and was reimbursed) to the next port.

There are a lot of good reasons for insurance, including an ill parent.

People have to do what makes them comfortable. You do get between 10-15 days to look over your policy after you pay. You also usually have to purchase it before final payment.

 

[DMRick]

I'm not sure what benefit you get from insuring a Disney trip. SW provides a full credit. Disney will waive cancellation penalties if you cancel your trip for weather issues. You have to weigh the few hundred of dollars you received for your trip delay/interruption against the premiums you paid for insuring this trip, and previous such trips.

I agree trip insurnace make a lot of sense for cruises and foreign vacations. It might make sense if you're renting DVC points. You've pre-paid your accomodations and getting a refund for a weather related cancellation may be promlematic.

Just to make it clear..Disney does not always waive the cancellation penalties. Or I should say, they don't have too, but often will. People have also posted on this board that they lost their first night or their fee. I've been lucky to just change my days and the one time I couldn't, I had insurance. That was also the time I got ill, and my insurance didn't cover much since I was out of NY and away from my plan..my insurance did pay for what wasn't covered (actually, I had to go to a doctor because I needed more medication than I had with me, since my trip ended up being a few days longer, and coudln't get the script without a dr visit).

SW does provide a full credit (but if your using a reward and it expires within a certain amount of time, they will five you what the airfare would have been), but if you are stuck in a layover, insurance will pay for the hotel rooms, while you wait to get on your way, as well for your hotel rooms if you can't leave when you planned to.

It's not very expensive, and if it gives you peace of mind it can be a good thing. So people really have to decide for themselves.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

It's not very expensive, and if it gives you peace of mind it can be a good thing. So people really have to decide for themselves.

But if you saved all the money that you paid in insurance, you'd easily have enough to cover the small expenses.

As a general rule of thumb, you insure things that would cause financial hardship, this coming from a person who has worked in insurance for going on 11 years.

I do agree that each person needs to make their own choice though.

 

[DebbieB]

Just be careful to read what it covers before you buy it. Some policies only cover airline delays over 24 hours.

 

[rwdavis2]

We always buy. in 2007 my wife was hospitalized while at WDW and the insurance covered the additional air fare, extra hotel days and the 10% hospital copay which was over $2000. I sent enough documentation to fill a book and was sent a check with no questions asked.
BD

 

[DMRick]

Yes, but how do you know which time you will/won't need it? I did say I only insured the one trip (for several reasons) to Disney (out of 38 trips) and was I glad I did. Just what I thought might happen, did..actually several things went wrong that trip. I almost always insure my cruises for different reasons..I just paid $147 for insurance for an upcoming 2 week cruise and it's worth every penny. (I sure hope I don't need to use it!).

I'd rather pay under $100 (for a Disney trip) and not have to use it, than pay the $1000 or more (maybe much more), a delay/cancellation could cost. That could very well be a financial hardship.

Chances are, you won't need insurance, but if it makes the OP more comfortable, it's her call.

There are a lot of things I could have saved money on..heck, for 35 years I never had a claim against my insurance company, and within the past 3 years, I've had over $20,000 in claims (darn trees came down in two separate storms..one took out a corner of my roof, another the roof of my RV). Sure glad I kept the insurance payments up!

But if you saved all the money that you paid in insurance, you'd easily have enough to cover the small expenses.

As a general rule of thumb, you insure things that would cause financial hardship, this coming from a person who has worked in insurance for going on 11 years.

I do agree that each person needs to make their own choice though.