Trip insurance?

[carolinagirl]

I am trying to decide if I need to purchase trip insurance with my MYW/Free Dining package. The information I have been given doesn't tell me much. Here it is:

Land & Air Cost Trip Cancellation & Interruption (including coverage for
non-refundable pre-paid airfare purchased through Walt Disney Travel
Company)

$600 Travel Delay ($200 maximum per day)
$2,000 Baggage & Personal Effects
$500 Baggage Delay
$10,000 Medical Expense
$20,000 Emergency Medical Transportation
$25,000 Accidental Death & Dismemberment
TRAVEL GUARDR Assistance
Livetravel
Live Messaging
Pre-trip Travel Advice
Emergency Cash Transfer

$59.95 per adult; children ages 17 and under are included at no additional
cost in the policy when all adults in the party purchase the plan. Insurance
is non-refundable once deposit has been received. Certain limitations apply.
Please note that insurance coverage for loss of baggage may be included in
some homeowner's policies.

Insurance coverage must be purchased no later than the final payment date or with payment of non-refundable air tickets. Insurance is non-refundable once deposit has been received. Clients will receive a Description of Coverage
with their final documents, which describes the benefits and exclusions in
detail.

I am mostly interested in purchasing the insurance in case we have to cancel or delay due to weather (hurricanes) or sickness. We will be driving our vehicle so we will not be flying, so none of the air/baggage stuff applies to us. But I am not clear by the information provided what is covered with regard to cancellation due to weather/sickness.

Can anyone shed any light on this for me or point me to a place where I can get more information? I have searched the Disney sight and can't find any information about travel insurance. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Luv2Roam]

It's a gamble.
It may give you piece of mind and be worth that alone. Esp if you are traveling during hurricane season. I am sure those who had trip insurance during last year's season were pretty glad they had it.
We nought it for one trip, and luckily did not have to use it.
Hopefully you will hear from those who had to use their trip insurance and find out exactly what it did and did not cover.

 

[rgf207]

I am trying to decide if I need to purchase trip insurance with my MYW/Free Dining package. The information I have been given doesn't tell me much. Here it is:

Land & Air Cost Trip Cancellation & Interruption (including coverage for
non-refundable pre-paid airfare purchased through Walt Disney Travel
Company)

$600 Travel Delay ($200 maximum per day)
$2,000 Baggage & Personal Effects
$500 Baggage Delay
$10,000 Medical Expense
$20,000 Emergency Medical Transportation
$25,000 Accidental Death & Dismemberment
TRAVEL GUARDR Assistance
Livetravel
Live Messaging
Pre-trip Travel Advice
Emergency Cash Transfer

$59.95 per adult; children ages 17 and under are included at no additional
cost in the policy when all adults in the party purchase the plan. Insurance
is non-refundable once deposit has been received. Certain limitations apply.
Please note that insurance coverage for loss of baggage may be included in
some homeowner's policies.

Insurance coverage must be purchased no later than the final payment date or with payment of non-refundable air tickets. Insurance is non-refundable once deposit has been received. Clients will receive a Description of Coverage
with their final documents, which describes the benefits and exclusions in
detail.

I am mostly interested in purchasing the insurance in case we have to cancel or delay due to weather (hurricanes) or sickness. We will be driving our vehicle so we will not be flying, so none of the air/baggage stuff applies to us. But I am not clear by the information provided what is covered with regard to cancellation due to weather/sickness.

Can anyone shed any light on this for me or point me to a place where I can get more information? I have searched the Disney sight and can't find any information about travel insurance. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Here is my take on travel insurance. I will itemize as you did and explain why I dont think it is necessary.

$600 Travel Delay ($200 maximum per day)
If your plane is delayed due to the fault of the airline, they are obligated to pay for a room and meal expenses for you.
$2,000 Baggage & Personal Effects
Airlines cover 1,500 for personal lost luggage which is inclued in the price of your ticket. Why should you pay for it
$500 Baggage Delay
In my many experiences with travel, When my bags were lost the airline told me that if I did not have my bag in 24hrs, I would be allowed to purchase clothing and other items and would be reimbursed.
$10,000 Medical Expense
Your health insurance should cover this
$20,000 Emergency Medical Transportation
Your health insurance should cover this
$25,000 Accidental Death & Dismemberment
Your Life insurance should cover this

TRAVEL GUARDR Assistance
Livetravel
Live Messaging
Pre-trip Travel Advice
Emergency Cash Transfer

none of these seem to be worth anything and no need to purchase this

I dont think travel insurance is worth it because most of your home policies and airline policies cover these expenses.

 

[SGB13]

I have purchased travel insurance for beach trips in the past. I believe it is worth every penny. Esp if you are travelling during hurricaine season. We had to evacuate due to a hurricaine in the middle of a vacation and we recieved a big check back due to loss of vacation time. JMO
Enjoy your trip!

 

[tink&herboys]

I just cancelled my trip for next week. We were due to leave tomorrow am, but my son broke his elbow and had to have surgery yesterday and can not fly for at least a week or so. We did not take out insurance and I was worried that i was going to lose everything....However, the people at Disney told me that they could canx it and the most that i would have to pay was $200.00. However, with a Drs note i would not have to pay anything. The airline was great too...SouthWest... They said that I could canx the flights and that they would give me a credit towards future flights. I have up to a year to use up the credit!

Having said that we were very fortuante this time, but will very likely take out the insurance next trip!!! Sometimes for a little over $100. it is worth the peace of mind.

Hope that helps...

 

[DawnCt1]

I always purchase trip insurance when I cruise because I want to know that should anyone encounter a medical problem or an accident that we can be flown back to the mainland asap. Check out www.insuremytrip.com for a comparison of rates and benefits. You can buy from any company you wish. I have never bought trip insurance for domestic vacations but there is no reason not to if you are concerned.

 

[srfrgrl07]

Travel delays would also cover falt tires and/or break downs on your way to wdw...as you mentioned you weren't flying. What if you have to stay overnight somewhere if your vehicle breaks down? There are alot of what if's, and that's what the insurance game is about, but ANYTHING can happen (in our family, it was always my dad that was accident proned, not us kids, LOL) but it's nice to know that it's covered. Also, many health insurance policies don't cover out of area medical emergencies, or they charge a premium price if you're 'out of network', and that's the last thing you need to deal with in such circumstances. This may sound morbid, but prepare for the worst and hope for the best...it's unusual that anything happens but it's comforting to know that if it does you're covered. and no, i don't sell insurance.

 

[DiscussDisney]

IMO, if you are only buying because of the possibility of hurricanes or sickness (prior to your trip), I don't think you need insurance. Since you are driving, there will be no airfare loss if you cancel. And as one poster mentioned, Disney will charge you a maximum of $200.00 to cancel up to your arrival day ($100 if you cancel 6+ days or more). And, if it is because of a hurricane, Disney will most likely allow you to change your plans without any fee.

 

[DisKim]

This is a good topic. I was also looking to purchase trip insurance. I'm flying at the end of August. I read on mousesavers that insuremytrip.com was good but it was very confusing.

 

[3lilprincesses]

if you purchase it at all, i would wait until closer to travel time, since the insurance is non-refundable. your trip (if it's a package) is refundable as long as it is before the 45 day mark, but the insurance wouldn't be refunded. i don't know the cancellation policy for a room only reservation, but i would wait until 45 days before the trip to purchase insurance. you never know what might come up that could cause you to cancel your trip. BUT LET'S HOPE THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN!

 

[msmayor]

$10,000 Medical Expense
Your health insurance should cover this
$20,000 Emergency Medical Transportation
Your health insurance should cover this
none of these seem to be worth anything and no need to purchase this

I dont think travel insurance is worth it because most of your home policies and airline policies cover these expenses.

Actually, many medical policies will NOT cover these expenses. Many people have very restrictive HMO-type policies that would consider any of these expenses as "out of network" and deny coverage. They don't care that you couldn't get to your own doctors.

Unless specific timeframes are met in terms of notifying the insurance company and/or primary care physician, travellers can find themselves with a huge paperwork headache when they get home trying to get their insurance to cover this type of stuff.

I personally just build the insurance into every trip I take, regardless. To me, its like auto or homeowner's...you pay it, but hope you never have to use it.

 

[eeyoresmountainpals]

3lilprincesses if you purchase it at all, i would wait until closer to travel time, since the insurance is non-refundable. your trip (if it's a package) is refundable as long as it is before the 45 day mark, but the insurance wouldn't be refunded. i don't know the cancellation policy for a room only reservation, but i would wait until 45 days before the trip to purchase insurance. you never know what might come up that could cause you to cancel your trip. BUT LET'S HOPE THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN!

In response to 3lilprincesses post ~ My understanding is that you cannot get the trip insurance on a room only reservation. Anyone else know if this is right or not???

Also, here is my understanding of the trip insurance for a package. (Someone please correct me if I am wrong!!!) The trip insurance can be added to a package any time before that magic 45 day mark. However, once you add the trip insurance, whether it is when you make your ressies or anytime before that 45 day mark it is considered part of your package and the extra you paid for it is not refundable or transferable. If you cancel after the 45 day mark you get no seperate refund on the insurance. We actually have our package booked for October but are holding out until just before the 45 day mark to add the insurance if we decided to.

We've never had the insurance before. One of our boys did get sick last year when we went and we stayed in the hotel most of the day. Luckily it wasn't anything major and he was fine the next day. But it does make you realize that anything can happen. Many years ago I got a stomach virus while we were there. I was sick for 2 days of our 4 day trip and had to have a house doctor come up to treat me. If we had trip insurance for something like that it would have paid the doctor bill and for the time lost on our trip.

 

[aaronlisar]

Just an FYI for everyone thinking about getting insurance for hurricane purposes. You can wait until closer to the date of your vacation but the policy won't do you any good if you wait until you see that a hurricane might be heading at the same time you will be down there. I'm thinking about waiting a little bit myself for my trip in August. I'm not worried about my reservations with WDW because I know they are flexible, I am more worried about my airfare since I purchased that seperately.

 

[3lilprincesses]

3lilprincesses if you purchase it at all, i would wait until closer to travel time, since the insurance is non-refundable. your trip (if it's a package) is refundable as long as it is before the 45 day mark, but the insurance wouldn't be refunded. i don't know the cancellation policy for a room only reservation, but i would wait until 45 days before the trip to purchase insurance. you never know what might come up that could cause you to cancel your trip. BUT LET'S HOPE THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN!

In response to 3lilprincesses post ~ My understanding is that you cannot get the trip insurance on a room only reservation. Anyone else know if this is right or not???

Also, here is my understanding of the trip insurance for a package. (Someone please correct me if I am wrong!!!) The trip insurance can be added to a package any time before that magic 45 day mark. However, once you add the trip insurance, whether it is when you make your ressies or anytime before that 45 day mark it is considered part of your package and the extra you paid for it is not refundable or transferable. If you cancel after the 45 day mark you get no seperate refund on the insurance. We actually have our package booked for October but are holding out until just before the 45 day mark to add the insurance if we decided to.

that was my point. don't buy it until closer to the 45 day mark. it still won't be refundable, but if for any reason you cancel your trip prior to the 45 day mark you won't have wasted your money on insurance.

 

[carolinagirl]

Thank you for all the input. I've decided to go ahead and book the package without insurance and think about it for a while since it is non-refundable and can be purchased up to the 45 day mark. Your responses are greatly appreciated and have helped a great deal!

 

[srfrgrl07]

the insurance is refundable within 14 days of booking it..gives you a chance to read the brochure and get all the details if you are booking with wdw. it can be added up until final pymnt is posted, the 45 day mark as others have mentioned.

 

[kath1210]

the insurance is refundable within 14 days of booking it..gives you a chance to read the brochure and get all the details if you are booking with wdw. it can be added up until final pymnt is posted, the 45 day mark as others have mentioned.

I was told, and thought I read, that insurance cannot be added after 14 days after the date of your reservation. Or maybe that was to cover pre-existing conditions? I hate reading insurance brochures!!

 

[disneyobessed]

we are leaving Aug 12. i was going to wait till the last minute to get insurance if there were hurricanes down in the atlantic/gulf. when is the latest we can purchase insurance?

 

[bicker]

It should be noted that insurance, at its best, is intended to "leave you whole" -- meaning you'd get your money back. It generally won't purchase things for you that are not generally available for sale. Furthemore, freebies (like "free dining") are not typically covered by insurance. If Disney is no longer offering the promotion when it is time to collect on any insurance, then you'll end up having to apply the value of the insurance to whatever promotion Disney is currently offering. If having free dining insured is important to you, be sure to get that spelled-out in writing from your insurer beforehand, or be prepared to have that aspect of your trip not covered.

Regarding when to buy insurance, generally, if you purchase within 1-3 weeks of your original reservation date, you get some additional protection that you cannot get if you purchase insurance later. See the individual insurers' terms and conditions for details.

 

[aaronlisar]

we are leaving Aug 12. i was going to wait till the last minute to get insurance if there were hurricanes down in the atlantic/gulf. when is the latest we can purchase insurance?

You would have to purchase before there are hurricanes down in the atlantic/gulf or else it won't do you any good. The insurance won't cover you if you buy when there are already hurricanes in the area that might delay your trip, its the same thing as insurance companies not covering pre-existing conditions.

You're better off waiting to 2nd or 3rd week of July to buy. I'm leaving on August 13th and am going to do the same thing myself.