Trip Insurance: Yes or No?

[Reflection]

I don't buy trip insurance for trips to WDW but do buy fthe insurance for international travel.

 

[rdevine10]

Same here... we buy insurance for international travel and not Disney. For Disney the airline we fly will let us pay a fee and choose anotehr date of travel and Disney is pretty good about their say hurricane polcies, so I never felt the need.

I always purchase for international travel, espeically for the medical benefits. And I typically always purchase insurance on "package" vacations that include airfare in them. (But, I have never booked a package with air for Disney, I always get better deals seperatly).

HTH!

 

[le9397]

I always buy insurance for international travel but never used to for Disney. I always figured it was unnecessary just like most of the people that responded here. I could always cancel and/or reschedule without too much penalty if necessary. Then, I got stuck there in '04 because of a hurricane. Our 8 day trip turned into 12 because the airport shut down on the day we were to come home. We were out SO much money for those extra four days. Hotel, car rental and food for 2 adults and 2 teens. We also needed to entertain ourselves a bit too. Anyway, I've taken insurance for every disney trip since then because they always seem to be in hurricane season.

 

[Leger13]

I always buy insurance for international travel but never used to for Disney. I always figured it was unnecessary just like most of the people that responded here. I could always cancel and/or reschedule without too much penalty if necessary. Then, I got stuck there in '04 because of a hurricane. Our 8 day trip turned into 12 because the airport shut down on the day we were to come home. We were out SO much money for those extra four days. Hotel, car rental and food for 2 adults and 2 teens. We also needed to entertain ourselves a bit too. Anyway, I've taken insurance for every disney trip since then because they always seem to be in hurricane season.

wow! bummer that you got stuck down there during huricane season. Too bad you didn't know someone local you could have went to visit until the weather was better. I don't blame you on taking the insurance now. If I didn't know quite a few people I could stay down there with if that happened to us on a Disney trip then I would re-consider my views on the insurance.

 

[KLondon]

I never buy trip insurance - but I agree it's sort of a trip-by-trip decision. I think you need to figure out what you want to insurance against - i.e. trip cancellation/interruption, medical, etc. I'm not saying insurance is a Bad Thing, but it can be very expensive. Some things to think about:

Are you already covered through a workplace medical plan (yours, your spouse's)? In many cases you may well have global medical protection.

Do you book flights, rental cars, etc. using a credit card with built-in travel insurance? This can be a good way to get inexpensive cancellation insurance, lost-luggage coverage, etc.

What are the cancellation policies for your travel supplier (e.g. Disney, etc.)? Do they offer any kind of deferment alternative? - e.g. Getting 'never expire' Disney tickets, airline tickets with no cash value but a 1-year use window, etc.. Sometimes this can be a more palatable risk vs. insurance.

 

[Chicago526]

I'm a travel agent and never recomend trip insurance for Disney. Disney actually has one of the most liberal cancelation policies out there. As long as you don't cancel right before your trip, you get most, if not all, of your money back.

For other trips, I do recomend insurance if it's a high dollar trip and always if it's outside the US, since it also gives medical coverage in case of injury or illness (most HMO's don't cover you outside the US or North America).

 

[pilgrimage]

I work sometimes in Europe on business and bring
the family for a vacation. We ALWAYS get trip
insurance for cancellation and medical coverage.

 

[Andy B]

I have never bought it for a Disney vacation. But we have bought it before. Because DH freelances, his schedule can be unpredictable, and unfortunately if he were to get a big job, a vacation would have to take a back seat to that. So previously, we have bought it to cover us in that event. We are going to Aruba soon, and bought the insurance to cover us incase I ended up being unable to travel due to my pregnancy. We always triple check the policy we are buying covers us for the event we anticipate.

Although I am not in the US I am an insurance professional and I have to say that I would be surprised if a trip cancellation insurance would pay out for either of the circumstances outlined as both would not be an unexpected occurance or of your choosing. Check your policy!

 

[WDW4TheGirls]

Without a doubt YES! I booked our trip 9 months in advance, and then right before the trip my husband became very sick and we weren't sure if we'd be able to go. We did an expensive Disney trip, and if I hadn't bought the insurance I'd have been sweating! I knew that if we needed to cancel for his health reasons, I wouldn't lose my money, just $100 or something. It turned out that we were able to go, but it came down to the last week before we could make the decision. I would definitely purchase it again.

 

[Chicago526]

Although I am not in the US I am an insurance professional and I have to say that I would be surprised if a trip cancellation insurance would pay out for either of the circumstances outlined as both would not be an unexpected occurance or of your choosing. Check your policy!

It depends, there are now policies available that allow you to cancel for any reason at all, they are more expensive of course. A standard policy would not cover their work situation but may cover her pregnancy, but only if she was medically unable to travel, either because her pregnancy was high risk or because the vacation was scheduled around her due date (airlines and cruise lines wont' accept women passengers past a certain point in their pregnancy, usually in their 9th month).

 

[le9397]

wow! bummer that you got stuck down there during huricane season. Too bad you didn't know someone local you could have went to visit until the weather was better. I don't blame you on taking the insurance now. If I didn't know quite a few people I could stay down there with if that happened to us on a Disney trip then I would re-consider my views on the insurance.

Really, the money wasn't the worst part.....my mom and I had taken her niece (14) and my godchild (13). We were trying to give two kids a chance to go that wouldn't get it otherwise. We found out a few days into the trip that the girls did not get along and they pretty much hated each other by the end. They had spent time together previously but not days at a time like this trip. We started with 2 rooms at Pop Century and went down to one room for the extra days to save some $$$. Those rooms are really small for 4 people when you can't go anywhere! We spent close to 24 hours stuck in the room while the storm when through. It was the worst vacation ever!

 

[Leger13]

Really, the money wasn't the worst part.....my mom and I had taken her niece (14) and my godchild (13). We were trying to give two kids a chance to go that wouldn't get it otherwise. We found out a few days into the trip that the girls did not get along and they pretty much hated each other by the end. They had spent time together previously but not days at a time like this trip. We started with 2 rooms at Pop Century and went down to one room for the extra days to save some $$$. Those rooms are really small for 4 people when you can't go anywhere! We spent close to 24 hours stuck in the room while the storm when through. It was the worst vacation ever!

wow! Total bummer!! Having to be stuck in that small room for so long w/all that drama. That just sounds terrible! Stupid Huricane!!

 

[goofygoobers]

After reading everyones comments..................We are going to Disney in Sept. We did not buy insurance through Disney but now I am rethinking the idea. I have also heard Disneys insurance was not great. Can someone tell me where to get good trip insurance for not a fortune? Can I get trip insurance through my local insurance people (Nationwide)? We are driving and only live 9 hours away so airline is not a problem. I will go back and read Disney's cancelation policy. Thanks for any and all tips.

 

[Reflection]

I use Travel Guard (http://http://www.travelguard.com/. There is also Insure My trip (http://www.tripinsurance.com/.

With Insure My Trip, you input your details and get a list of quotes to review and follow up on.

 

[DawnM]

I bought insurance once and my 29 year old cousin was killed in an auto accident and they wouldn't allow that because she wasn't *immediate family*.

So, after that experience I have never bought it again.

Dawn

 

[annie1995]

Most definately!!! It saved our butt last September when we had to fly home 2 days early with 3 sick kids. Covered everything, including my camera tripod I left on the plane.

 

[kinntj]

We got trip insurance for our first trip to WDW this May. I factor in cancellations for this one, because my mom lives with us and if something happened to her, we wouldn't want to go even if it was a couple days out. In this case it was worth it.

I got it when we travelled to China twice. Otherwise, didn't need it for other vacations.

 

[MNFootballMommy]

We bought it for our last trip to WDW. We went this past December and the weather here is SO unpredictable that time of year. If we couldn't get out or home due to snow, we wanted to be covered. Actually, I was out shoveling snow at 11:30PM the night before our 7:00 AM flight, so it was a REAL possiblity that we could have needed it.

I would rather 'waste' the money that way than be out much more due to circumstances beyond our control. That being said, I probably wouldn't buy it if we were going during the summer months...

 

[4Seasons]

Travel Guard is an excellent company.
They have many different plans and levels of coverage, depending on what you need. In order to cover pre-existing conditions it must be purchased within 15 days of your trip deposit.
Some of the policies will cover children 17 and under free with paying adults.
I generally tend to shy away from having my clients purchase insurance sold by the carrier or tour operator. The coverage tends to be less comprehensive in most instances.
Which ever one you go with be SURE to read all the fine print, and call them if you have any questions or are unsure about what it covers.
A fellow agent of mine recently had an elderly client travel out of the country on a tour operator's package, and the client took the $29 tour operator insurance instead of a more expensive (and comprehensive) 3rd party product. Well.......she fell and broke her hip and requires surgery. Come to find out the insurance had no medical evacuation and would only cover her transport to the "nearest adequate medical facility", which was a local hospital in the Dominican Republic. From what I understand the place was horrendous. She ended up paying $26,000 of her own money to be airlifted back to the US.
If you decide to purchase a policy, I highly recommend Travel Guard, just make sure to pick a product that covers your needs and personal situation.

 

[Kriii]

I always buy it. It's not a lot of money but I would lose a lot if the trip were interrupted or cancelled. I did use it once a few days before a cruise due to a death in the family. The cruise cost and airfare were covered. The other thing to consider is medical expenses. Insurance does not always cover out of network.