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Thread: Is Disney Trip Insurance worth it?

  1. #1

    Is Disney Trip Insurance worth it?

    My wife and I are about to pay off our Disney World trip and just wanted others thoughts on the trip insurance. For a family of six it would cost us 150 bucks because we only have to buy it for the adults and not the kids.

    "If you can Dream it you can Do IT." Walt Disney


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  3. #2
    Ready for MA World Explorers! Drince88's Avatar
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    What do you envision potentially needing it for? Your illness/one of the kids/one of your parents or another close family member? or (heaven forbid) a death? Weather delays on your end or in Orlando? Lost luggage? Think about what you'd want it for - and then read the fine print to see if it's covered.

    Personally, I never get insurance except for cruises/international trips.

    Cathy

  4. #3

    Some if not all of the above.

    Our trip is in the very first part of October so I worry about hurricane season - or should I not be?

    Also traveling with 4 kids, youngest is 9 and we a pretty healthy bunch

    "If you can Dream it you can Do IT." Walt Disney


  5. #4
    Ready for MA World Explorers! Drince88's Avatar
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    You are still in Hurricane season - and early October hurricanes aren't unheard of, so it is something to keep in mind. But generally when they happen, Disney will make you whole if you're delayed getting to Orlando, and airlines will too - so I'm not sure you need trip insurance for that.

    USUALLY basic trip insurance won't cover something happening to someone who's not traveling causing you to cancel your trip (i.e., Grandma needs to have emergency surgery), so if that's a real concern for you, then you want to check it out closely and you'll probably be buying some much more expensive insurance.

    Cathy

  6. #5

    I don't get insurance for any trips. Good insurance usually costs quite a bit. If I add up all the trips I've taken, I've more than covered the cost of my next trips by not buying trip insurance.

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  7. #6
    Read Everything-Assume Nothing GusMan's Avatar
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    I pretty much follow Drince's thoughts on the matter.
    Land trips - not necessary.
    Sea Trips - 100% always. And yes - it has paid off due to A hurricane one time.

    Like any policy, do not agree to anything unless it is in writing. The whole "well the person over the phone said..." thing will NOT work.

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  8. #7

    Also, if you are using a credit card to make your trip payments, check your Cardholder Ageeement: some cards offer some trip protecton if there is a cancellation under certain circumstances.


  9. #8
    Read Everything-Assume Nothing GusMan's Avatar
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    I was thinking about this... here are some alternatives to buying trip insurance.

    - Like what LN mentioned above - check your credit card features - they may be able to help you.
    - Know the change policies of your airfare, if any. Some airlines give credit and no or very reasonable rebooking fee. Some, well, not so much. Most cases if a storm is going to disrupt a lot of travel, change fees are waved. (Ill tell a story about that in a moment.)
    - Know the cancellation or rebooking policy of any hotels you will stay at, especially if outside of Disney. Most hotels allow no-fee cancellation if done before 6PM the day of arrival. Some it may be 24 or 48 hours or more.
    - Same goes for a rental car, if applicable. Most dont charge for no-shows. Some do.
    - I think Disney is the best at being able to move the dates of a trip... just know the cancellation policy of your specific trip. The rules have recently changed so do not assume based from past trips.

    Here is my brief story...
    Several years ago Hurricane Jean was approaching the FL coast... I was able to change my flights with no fee so I can arrive 2 days before it was supposed to hit. (Yes, I wanted to be there BEFORE it hit as I was staying with friends because of this.) American Airlines was like "Huh? You want to do what? Very well, Mr. GusMan, here are your new tickets... Then we called Disney to tell them what we were doing and they were OK with that. We checked in a day late with no issues. (We went in early because we knew it may be days before we could get out there if we waited till afterward.) Because this was also a land and sea trip with DCL, under one package through DCL directly, we had the TI included in our price of the trip. (again - only because we were going on a cruise.) Because we lost one day of our trip we submitted certain paperwork to the insurance holder. We got the prorated value of that day paid back to us. (1/7th of our 7 day land/sea trip.) The process took about 3 weeks and was rather painless. Granted, we did not get any sort of compensation for not being able to stop at Castaway Cay due to hurricane damage, but we thought that the value of the refund was more than fair.

    In short, this was an example of how we were able to change some things due to a storm without an issue and also the sort of things that TI is supposed to cover.

    Disney-Inspired Author and Blogger
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    The search function is like the Force. It may take practice, but the more you use it, the more control you will have over it!

  10. #9
    Self-proclaimed Diz nut TinaMouse's Avatar
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    Before my dad passed away, his health was VERY tenuous. I had to get insurance to cover if I had to cancel or come home early, BUT it was not the Disney insurance. I had to, as Drince suggested, get more expensive insurance that would cover my specific instance. I also had to have a doctor sign a paper that at the time we were to leave, my dad was stable enough for the rest of us to travel. They are hedging their bets, essentially. It was a relief to me to know that my $7K trip was covered, but it was definitely at a cost. I think it was over $150 if I remember right.

    In general, I do not purchase the insurance.

    Working hard for that next WDW trip!

  11. #10
    Read Everything-Assume Nothing GusMan's Avatar
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    Hi T-
    Was that $150 per person for for all covered under the itinerary?

    If it was $150 for the whole itinerary, that may not be all that bad for a policy that is beyond "standard."

    I know I did something similar to provide insurance on some plane tickets (for a trip with "the moms" ) and it was like an extra $15 each x 6.

    Disney-Inspired Author and Blogger
    CoHost of the Behind The Ears Podcast... Check it out on iTunes
    Admin of The WDW Community Facebook page.

    The search function is like the Force. It may take practice, but the more you use it, the more control you will have over it!

  12. #11
    Self-proclaimed Diz nut TinaMouse's Avatar
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    Per person.....Whole itinerary, so several hundred when it was son and myself. Another trip I had to do it again, and it was just me. At $150 a person, it it a consideration for the budget. It was a no-brainer with Dad as sick as he was, because these trips couldn't be rescheduled. I was in one of those situations where I HAD to take them on that week or not at all.

    Now that my situation is different, I wouldn't bother with the insurance.

    Working hard for that next WDW trip!

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