Trip Insurance?

[suzydisney971]

Not sure where to ask this so here goes. I need to change my dates from August to June on my trip reservation for next year. Disney is telling my agent (Dreams Unlimited) that I need to repurchase my trip insurance if I change the dates (it's an extra $150). Do I really need insurance in the first place? I have a sick relative (my fil is going through chemo and it's not working so they've upped the strength) and I have a small child where anything can happen with that. I know the policy is that there is a $200 penalty (package) if we were to cancel at the last minute but does that mean that I would get the rest of the money back? Would I be able to re-book for the following year and not incur the penalty? Anyone have any experience with this?

We haven't bought airline tix so that's not a factor. We usually fly Southwest so I know we would just get refund to use within 1 year.

 

[DVC Sadie]

Unless I was 100% sure that I would not cancel my trip due to a family emergency, then, yes I would purchase trip insurance.

In the grand scheme of things 150.00 dollars is not much, especially for the piece of mind it affords me.

Have a great trip.

 

[suzydisney971]

I'm thinking of paying for the insurance again just because my DH is nervous that we may have to cancel due to my fil being sick and we don't know when he will be better. I'm going to wait to make the change just in case we need to change the date again and I don't want to keep incurring this extra expense.

What are the chances that POFQ will be booked for the 2nd week of June? I'm hoping for the extension on the 4/3 deal so we could upgrade to the Poly. I'm such a nervous nelly.

 

[Macduffy]

We didn't book trip insurance with Dreams Unlimited. My mother got diagnosed with a heart condition 2 days before we were set to leave. I emailed D.U. and this is what I got back:

Here is Disney change and cancellation policy.


Package Cancellation & Change Fees:

No refunds will be given to no shows.

Cancellation: If the reservation is cancelled, amounts paid, minus cancellation fees and other amounts owed, will be refunded. For a cancellation made 44 to 8 days prior to guest arrival, there is a cancellation fee of $100 per package, plus any cancellation fees assessed by hotels or other suppliers. For a cancellation made 7 days or less prior to guest arrival, there is a cancellation fee of $200 per package, plus any cancellation fees assessed by hotels or other suppliers; provided, however, that for a cancellation of a Grand Gathering experience add-on option made 5 days or less prior to the experience date, no refund will be given.


Guest will be responsible for any cancellation fees assessed by an airline. In the case of a non-refundable airline ticket, the cancellation fee is equal to the entire ticket price. Cancellation of a refundable airline ticket must be made at least 24 hours prior to the scheduled airline departure time.


Vacation insurance is nonrefundable. Upon any cancellation, the charge for vacation insurance will be added to the other applicable cancellation fees.

Changes to Reservation: For a change made 44 days or less prior to guest arrival that results in a change in the package price, a change fee of $50 per package, plus any change fees assessed by hotels or other suppliers, will be charged. Disney reserves the right to restrict changes to any reservation. Such change fees must be paid in addition to any increase in the package price resulting from the change. If air travel has been ticketed, guest will be responsible for any increase in airfare as well as the change fee assessed by the airline.

We canceled her trip and she paid $200.

Good Luck!

 

[TBGOES2DISNEY]

I think sometimes it depends on who you talk to also. I don't know if your situation is different from mine b/c you went through a travel agency. I purchased right through Disney. I changed my trip dates and was told that I would have to repurchase the insurance. We don't go without insurance b/c we have had to use it before. It's worth the peace of mind. Anyway, after a little research, I was told that the key word is not change the reservation, it is modify the reservation. We called back and gave it a try and they transferred the insurance to our new reservation.

 

[msmayor]

Trip Insurance is designed to make you "whole", meaning it will only pay out for covered reasons by providing you with your NON-refundable costs.

Let's simplify things. You said you haven't bought airline tickets yet, but know that you will be using Southwest which will basically "refund" you with credit you can still use. So no airfare to cover.

Now...Disney charges a $200 penalty for short notice cancellation...the rest of the money paid you would get back.

Insurance would cost, say, $150. Yet the ONLY non-refundable portion of the trip is $200.

You'd spend $150 to insure $200? I wouldn't. Because in the end, you're spending $150 MORE on your vacation to get $200 back...net $50.

Chances are you won't need the medical portion of trip insurance. Most folks' own policies will cover emergency care out of network.

In my case, the only time I buy trip insurance is when I have BIG non-refundable costs. Last year for our cruise, total fare was $3500 and became non-refundable on a sliding scale (50% up to 100%) at 70 days before my trip. I can't afford to lose $3500, so I paid $120 to insure it.