It is my understanding that renters cannot purchase trip insurance to cover the trip.
When an owner is booking for himself, he can purchase the insurance but it only covers $5 per point on the return. Never seemed worth it to me versus the expense of purchasing it.
Renters
CAN purchase trip insurance
directly from a trip insurance company, but they can't buy the policy we are offered through
DVC.
Travel Guard (the same company DVC uses) will issue trip insurance to DVC renters. You need to check the specifics of the coverage, but generally it will pay for any non-reimburseable expense you incur as a result of a covered situation. That would not only include your expenditure to rent points, but also airfare, etc. Their website is
www.travelguard.com .
I have used Travel Guard for non-Disney trips numerous times, and on two occasions I've had to file claims. They're an excellent company, very good to deal with.
People are often under the impression that trip insurance will not cover
pre-existing conditions, but that's usually
not true. In both of our claims, DW's parents had acute episodes of chronic, pre-existing conditions and both claims were paid without question. However, I'd be sure to explain the pre-existing condition situation to them, just to be sure you'd be fully covered.
As far as the owner you're renting from, there really isn't any way they can protect themselves, other than to have a strict no-refund policy. They can't get insurance to cover their risk -- so
your potential problem will almost certainly remain
your problem. Depending on a wide range of factors, the owner may or may not be able to work with you in the event of a cancellation, but there is no way for us to know the exact status of their account. Obviously, those questions are strictly between you and the owner.
You really need to protect yourself. That's the best protection for the owner you are renting from, because they really don't have any options.
