Vacation Protection insurance

[Disneyloverliz]

do you buy the vacation protection plan? Wondering if it’s really worth it...I mean, it doesn’t provide coverage for hurricanes. Not sure it’d cover if we got Covid (we are all vaccinated, but if they make testing before boarding a requirement, and one of us happens to test positive even tho we’ve been vaccinated) it wouldn’t cover this, I don’t believe...so what is really the point. I bought it but am considering cancelling it if I can. It’d save $600. Thoughts?

 

[deliela999]

There are less expensive options from 3rd party companies. Check the fine print to make sure it covers what you're most concerned about. My 2 priorities are medivac coverage in case we get sick or injured far from the US and coverage in case we were sick and can't go. We aren't planning anything since Covid started so I don't know how they handle it.

 

[luvincruising]

I agree with deliela999. Check out insure.my.trip and squaremouth websites for available policies. I would also call them as you are reviewing the policies. You will have questions. Both sites are very helpful over the phone.

 

[Husker Mike]

Third party plans are non-refundable if the cruise gets cancelled... but if Disney cancels your cruise, you don't pay for the VPP. I was shocked when I looked after the fact at what little my trip insurance covered when my March 2020 cruise was cancelled.

 

[Hegemon]

If you pay with a Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card, you get free trip protection that exceeds the benefits from DCL's protection. I did a side-by-side comparison and it's a big gap. (Also, the 3x points are pretty great too)

 

[AquaDame]

We don't typically... it only covers the cruise itself and we come from Oregon, so there is a lot more to our trips. We prefer to buy 3rd party so it will also cover flights, hotels, rental car, etc.

 

[Cheburashka]

There are less expensive options from 3rd party companies. Check the fine print to make sure it covers what you're most concerned about. My 2 priorities are medivac coverage in case we get sick or injured far from the US and coverage in case we were sick and can't go. We aren't planning anything since Covid started so I don't know how they handle it.

I always buy travel insurance, but not usually via DCL. When cruising I consider it a necessity due to being out of the country and the potential need to be evacuated & flown back in should some random accident occur and seriously injure someone in our party (you never know until it happens).

DCL's insurance is fine but pricey. I use a good plan that I can get due to being a USAA member, but you can ask and shop around. Read reviews & make sure the insurer actually pays out the way they're supposed to if a claim has to be made & without an unreasonable hassle (I know my insurance does because I've had to file claims with them before, but you should definitely check reviews for this as there are some bad apples out there).

I like to get a plan that pays 100% for covered reasons (illness, etc.), but also will pay 75% if you cancel for any reason at all: this is called a Cancel for Any Reason plan. They're more expensive & you have to buy them within a few weeks of booking the trip, but imo they're worth it. You never think you're going to cancel a trip until the need/want arises later- and that need/want is not always a covered reason, so a CFAR plan at least gets you most of your money back in that case.

 

[mama&me]

If you pay with a Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card, you get free trip protection that exceeds the benefits from DCL's protection. I did a side-by-side comparison and it's a big gap. (Also, the 3x points are pretty great too)

I always buy from a third party usually from insuremytrip but I do have a CSR. Does the whole cruise have to be put on the card or can I make a partial payment and still get their trip protection?

 

[Lynes88]

I always buy travel insurance, but not usually via DCL. When cruising I consider it a necessity due to being out of the country and the potential need to be evacuated & flown back in should some random accident occur and seriously injure someone in our party (you never know until it happens).

DCL's insurance is fine but pricey. I use a good plan that I can get due to being a USAA member, but you can ask and shop around. Read reviews & make sure the insurer actually pays out the way they're supposed to if a claim has to be made & without an unreasonable hassle (I know my insurance does because I've had to file claims with them before, but you should definitely check reviews for this as there are some bad apples out there).

I like to get a plan that pays 100% for covered reasons (illness, etc.), but also will pay 75% if you cancel for any reason at all: this is called a Cancel for Any Reason plan. They're more expensive & you have to buy them within a few weeks of booking the trip, but imo they're worth it. You never think you're going to cancel a trip until the need/want arises later- and that need/want is not always a covered reason, so a CFAR plan at least gets you most of your money back in that case.

Like Cheburaska (say hi to Crocodile Gena for me) I too use USAA for the quality and price of the plan and I can say that from experience last year, unless you get "Cancel for any Reason" something like COVID is not covered. You have to experience an actual official Quarantine condition in a foreign country for the insurance to kick in (from our experience). But if your trip is cancelled, Disney will refund. It is unlikely you will need the insurance but like others said, for peace of mind for medical evacuation etc. we typically get it. Out policy that covers 4 people at a value of around $6000 runs us around $215...so not bad.

 

[Hegemon]

I always buy from a third party usually from ************ but I do have a CSR. Does the whole cruise have to be put on the card or can I make a partial payment and still get their trip protection?

It's worth calling to double check but my understanding is that any payment will get you the protection. For example, you can buy a plane ticket with points and use your CSR to pay the $4 in taxes, and EVEN THEN you get the trip protection. Also, check out the explanation of coverage on their website...it's a really great policy!

 

[orum]

It's worth calling to double check but my understanding is that any payment will get you the protection. For example, you can buy a plane ticket with points and use your CSR to pay the $4 in taxes, and EVEN THEN you get the trip protection. Also, check out the explanation of coverage on their website...it's a really great policy!

For the cancellation part, the claim is limited to what you paid, if I recall. This means if you only put a partial payment and have to cancel for a covered reason, you would only get what you put on that card. The points is still considered paid on the CSR. I thought they also have similar allowances on the United card that gets your miles back if you cancel.

 

[brentm77]

I agree with deliela999. Check out insure.my.trip and squaremouth websites for available policies. I would also call them as you are reviewing the policies. You will have questions. Both sites are very helpful over the phone.

insure.my.trip is fantastic. They have helped me move the same policy for our European cruise to new bookings twice now when the others were canceled. Great service. Very quick. Easy to use website where you can compare policies.

 

[JWG]

insure.my.trip is fantastic. They have helped me move the same policy for our European cruise to new bookings twice now when the others were canceled. Great service. Very quick. Easy to use website where you can compare policies.

We've used them multiple times - never had to make changes or use it, but it was very easy and economical.

 

[deliela999]

Third party plans are non-refundable if the cruise gets cancelled... but if Disney cancels your cruise, you don't pay for the VPP. I was shocked when I looked after the fact at what little my trip insurance covered when my March 2020 cruise was cancelled.

When we pulled the plug on our our cruise last year prior to Disney cancelling it we got a credit voucher from the insurance company. I think we have 2 years to use it and aren't sure if we will in that time frame, but it was better than flat no refund. I just had to provide proof from Disney that we'd cancelled.

 

[Disneyloverliz]

If you pay with a Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card, you get free trip protection that exceeds the benefits from DCL's protection. I did a side-by-side comparison and it's a big gap. (Also, the 3x points are pretty great too)

Too bad the Disney chase visa doesn’t give free protection.

 

[Hegemon]

For the cancellation part, the claim is limited to what you paid, if I recall. This means if you only put a partial payment and have to cancel for a covered reason, you would only get what you put on that card. The points is still considered paid on the CSR. I thought they also have similar allowances on the United card that gets your miles back if you cancel.

Sorry, I wasn't being clear. I wasn't talking about getting your money back; I was talking about the suite of travel protections. If you pay for any portion of your trip with your CSR (even a couple dollars) then you're covered by this policy:

https://cdn.f9client.com/api3/file/...56043c7bfdfb76988c673a6c115313bd060e348427cc5

 

[orum]

Sorry, I wasn't being clear. I wasn't talking about getting your money back; I was talking about the suite of travel protections. If you pay for any portion of your trip with your CSR (even a couple dollars) then you're covered by this policy:

https://cdn.f9client.com/api3/file/...56043c7bfdfb76988c673a6c115313bd060e348427cc5

There are four different travel protections:
Travel Accident Insurance
Travel and Emergency Assistance Services
Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance
Trip Delay Reimbursement

It looks like the cancellation insurance may be the only one that is limited by the amount you charge to the card, but I would read the PDF above to make sure the coverage you are looking for isn't limited by that.