Trip insurance for dummies

[Aliceacc]

We're stongly considering booking next year's trip Room Only instead of a package. But that means we don't get the normal Disney Travel Insurance.

Someone, please walk me through what I need in travel insurance. Here are the pertinent facts as I see them:

- We're traveling in late July/ early August, and we're flying. So we need to account for the possibility of hurricane issues.

- Both our moms are in their 80's. So, God forbid, they could somehow cause a cancellation.

- We're both teachers, so work issues won't interfere with our trip.

- We have medical insurance; I'm not sure we would really need more than what we have, would we??

- We're not renting a car.

What else should I be considering???

- We would book the trip on our Disney Visa, so I would imagine that lost baggage would be settled either by the airline or through Visa, right??

- If we book Room Only, all we would put down would be one night's stay ($380 or so) and about $1000 in non-refundable park tickets, along with (hopefully) about $1000 in airfare. So roughly, $2400.

Can anyone point me to the right policy? I've looked (briefly) at insuremytrip.com but could still use some help.

Thanks for any guidance you can offer!!!!

 

[plutolovr]

Best advice is for you to go to www.insuremytrip.com and put in all the information. The site will bring up many insurance companies and their rates. You can then compare various ones and choose one that's right for you.

I can suggest a few that my agency uses often, they are Travel Guard and Travelex. Both companies have a pre-existing clause (insurance must be purchased soon after deposit made) and some also have kids-free policies.

 

[Jeff_G]

One thing I liked about Disney's trip insurance it covered upto 10k for medical issues during your trip. Your health insurance may cover you however you could be out of network and have higher deductibles, Disney's insurance would pay your deductibles.

As it turned out we did end up using the insurance, my perfectly normal 11 year old son suffered his first and only (to date) seizure on board the aircraft flying home. Upon landing in our airport we ended up taking an ambulance to the ER. MRI, EEG, Hospital stay was all covered by my health insurance however Travelguard paid out for the copays.

As with any insurance product you need to weight out the cost vs benefit, you most likely will never use it. If the cost was $5.00 and paid out $10,000 there would be no question right.

 

[Aliceacc]

Oh, I'm most definitely getting insurance.

I'm trying to find the best value on the parts we'll use. For example, some apparently include cancellation due to work issues. We're going during summer vacation, so that's something I don't want to pay for if there's a way NOT to. Also, some include being airlifted out for medical treatment. Should an emergency occur, I would imagine the Orlando hospitals would be as adequate as any they could airlift to-- we're not going to be on a cruise ship or some deserted island.

I wouldn't dream of booking this type of vacation without insurance!

Please, though, keep the feedback coming.

 

[pigletto]

The biggest point to note is that if you don't buy the insurance within X amount of days (around a week) from when you booked the trip it won't cover pre trip cancellation. So if you can, book them same day.

The best place I found for trip insurance here was my bank. My particular bank had an online tool to pick and choose what I needed, and because out of country medical was VERY important to us we made sure it was included.

I would suggest your bank, or local AAA branch. If I recall, Mousesavers also has a section that explains trip insurance.

Also if you have a major credit card check if they provide or include any kind of coverage.
When we had a hospital stay 2 years ago in Orlando we were covered by Dh's work policy... so sometimes, you will already have some coverage with work. I'd say a good place to start is to find out what you already have through work/credit cards etc. And then select a policy through your bank or AAA to cover the rest. The nice thing about those two options is if you get a good agent they will explain exactly what is covered.

 

[msmayor]

You need to get a good handle on what your NON-refundable costs would be...that is what the insurance is for.

For example, on a room-only reservation, what is the penalty for cancellation? Not the full cost of the room, so you wouldn't ask for insurance on the full cost of the room.

Airline tickets? MAY be non-refundable depending on the circumstance. In the even of a hurricane, different sets of rules kick in if an airline has to outright cancel flights and you might be able to get a full refund. Ill family members? Probably not...so insurance on the plane tickets might make sense.

Park tickets? Insurable only to a point. If you didn't buy the non-expire option, you MIGHT be able to insure for the cost to purchase that option if you have to leave your vacation early and have not yet used the tickets. If you cancel before the tickets are used, then they are still valid and you can use them on another trip. You wouldn't get reimbursed for them because they are still of value to you.

Really weigh the decision carefully about trip insurance. As I said, you are only insuring NON-refundable costs. If you have $4,000 invested in a trip but only $1,000 is non-refundable, that's the part you insure.

 

[a1tinkfans]

insurance is really about the non refundable amounts youd be out of pocket.
The MOST important part of any insurance policy is the Exclusions part.

so if you are dealing with elderly, possibly a last minute cancel, choose one that has the pre existent, figure what the oop cost would be, insure your WHOLE trip cost (what can happen is, if you try and cut cost of your purchase by not insuring the whole cost, hotel, air, transport, etc etc, they can actually deny a claim as that language (must insure whole trip) will be in there.
I have used insure my trip dot com, they are great, choose one that is a reasonable cost to you.
The longer you wait (to purchase) after your initial deposit, the more expensive it will be Some limit time to purchase IF you want pre exist...and you CAN always get it, but at an Xtra premium. You literally can get it day of departure, but pay $$$ for it, so look now, and then dont think about your wise investment.
I have said it before and Ill say it again, we got back THOUSANDS of dollars for a trip that had to be cancelled years ago, we thankfully got insurance beforehand, (online as you are about to do)..
Good Luck and have a wonderful Trip!

 

[sksjasams]

When we went in 2008, we used AIG Travelguard. It was $110 for the 3 of us. I insured $1000 for each of us. It included pre-existing and trip interruption. I believe I ordered over the phone after looking online. It was easy because the rep asked me questions and helped me determine what we needed.

Enjoy your trip!