Trip Insurance - DCL or other?

[asamklove]

We are doing a 7-night On the Fantasy this fall & final payment is due very soon.

My extended family is going (2 other staterooms) and they both purchased the Disney insurance thru our Disney travel agent.

We were quoted a little over $300 for 3 of us for Disney coverage.

Do you more experienced DCL cruisers recommend trip insurance thru Disney or someone else? Any recommendations?

We will be doing trip insurance bc if something happens and ALL of our extended family can't go, we will all reschedule together.

Thank you in advance.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Go to the open market and not DCL.

DCL is very limited to what DCL produces and U.S. Expensive,

Search for trip insurance with added cruise cover and go with what's best on cover vs cost.

 

[KristiMc]

Outside party.

 

[lanejudy]

Third party insurance will offer coverage for your entire trip; DCL coverage only covers the cruise and portions purchased through DCL. If you make your own flight arrangements, or are driving, have pre-cruise and/or post-cruise hotel plans, etc. you might want those covered. You'll also have the option of "cancel for any reason" and covering pre-existing conditions if you purchase insurance through a third party, though that is usually limited to purchasing the insurance within a week or two of making initial deposit.

DCL coverage has a secondary option if the insurance denies a claim. DCL will issue a credit equal to 75% of the fare for use on another cruise (I think it must be taken within a year).

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[asamklove]

Thanks, all! Is TravelGuard thru AIG reputable?

 

[turtle27]

either google, or start at insuremytrip to find places to compare insurance rates and policies. I would never use DCL's travel insurance, it is much pricier and covers less. My insurance for a b2b Europe cruise next year is just over $400 (no airfare included yet). That is a 14 day international trip, and I can add airfare and hotel costs to it as those are booked. It is also not the cheapest policy available and covers preexisting conditions. Just stating this for a cost comparison to Disney's.

I think with DCL you cannot add airfare or hotel unless booked through DCL as well, which is not always cost effective. Another reason, I go elsewhere to buy. I have used TravelGuard and TravelEx. Happy with both, but please do some independent research and find out which policy works best for you.

Also, be sure to read the whole policy and ask questions if you are confused about what is and what is not covered.

 

[asamklove]

Thanks!! I ended up getting a ton of coverage for over $100 less via TravelGuard.

 

[ladyofthetramp]

We always did DCL, but their coverage changed awhile ago. Outside is how we went this past trip and we got all of our trip- airfare, pre-cruise hotel etc. covered for much less. We also used Travel Guard. Can't comment as if they were good because thankfully we did not need to use it!

 

[SuzanneSLO]

Thanks!! I ended up getting a ton of coverage for over $100 less via TravelGuard.

Because you are still in your window that would allow you to cancel the policy you just purchased from TravelGuard, I will suggest 2 reasons why the usual advice -- don't buy insurance from DCL -- MIGHT not apply to you:

1. You are traveling with others who have insurance through DCL. If someone in your group cancels, the others may get reimbursed while you will not.

2. You paid your deposit on the cruise months ago and the only "cancel for any reason" available to you is through DCL.

These 2 reasons may not be enough to justify paying more money -- and there may be other equally important reasons to not buy the DCL coverage -- but I wanted to make sure that you knew that the generic advice might not apply to you. -- Suzanne

 

[Sunshine2U]

Suzanne makes a good point. We purchased TravelGuard for 3 cabins, 3 couples, 3 policies. If one of us needs to cancel for an approved reason, the policies cover the rest of us cancelling. It does not seem like that would cross insurance companies. You would want to ask.

Otherwise we use outside insurance because it covers us from the time we leave our house to drive down.

 

[asamklove]

These 2 reasons may not be enough to justify paying more money -- and there may be other equally important reasons to not buy the DCL coverage -- but I wanted to make sure that you knew that the generic advice might not apply to you. -- Suzanne

Thanks for thinking of those things - I actually specifically asked about the #1 concern you mentioned - and all I need to do is prove common itinerary for the cancelled party to redeem the coverage...but I think I may be in trouble with #2...Oh boy...I guess cross my fingers that I don't need the "cancel for any reason" option. Thanks again...

 

[GatorMomInNC]

Just wanted to say we used DCL insurance through Allianz for our WBTA last year. I bought the coverage before they changed the policy where DCL offered 100% ( now 75%) future cruise credit if you had to cancel for a reason not covered by the insurance, so I was grandfathered into the old policy. A big reason I bought insurance through DCL was for the "backup" policy.

Unfortunately, as it turned out, my mom had to make a claim on the policy. She became ill on board and she was actually almost put off the ship in the Canary Islands. She had about $2500-$3000 in medical bills from the ships infirmary which she submitted to Allianz. They did require her to submit to both Medicare and her secondary insurance to be sure they didn't cover her before they would pay the claim. It did take quite a few months to submit everything and get the rejection letters from both medicare and Blue Cross Blue Shield, but that is really more on them (not Allianz) and the fact my mom underwent open heart surgery during that time and wasn't able to get everything done quickly.

But as soon as she completed the process, Allianz paid her almost immediately. And they were very good with getting her more time to meet their filing deadlines as she waited to get responses from the other insurance companies.

We did not purchase insurance at the same time as I booked the cruise. Therefore pre-existing conditions were not covered. Now, my mom is 82 years old so pretty much she has everything pre-existing that you can imagine LOL! I was concerned they would try and deny her claim but as I said, once she completed submission to other carriers, they paid right away.

So I would say that overall we were pleased with Allianz and would use them again, but maybe get a quote directly (hopefully cheaper) and not go through DCL... On the other hand, that "backup" insurance of 75% cruise credit may be worth the extra hundred or so dollars (which, let's face it, is so little compared to the overall cost of the cruise), and purchase through DCL just for peace of mind.

 

[tup1830]

You can also book with Allianz directly and save money and get better coverage limits.

This is where a TA is a good resource...they can issue better policies than those on the open market for a better rate.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

You can also book with Allianz directly and save money and get better coverage limits.

This is where a TA is a good resource...they can issue better policies than those on the open market for a better rate.

If you have a TA that really understands travel insurance and can book through many different providers, then you have a very good TA indeed! -- Suzanne

 

[Patsydust]

We use allianz and two trips ago my Aunt's mother tripped and broke her leg in a parking lot during the drive down (2 days before cruise) and they covered the cruise. Haven't had any issues!