The parks are closed. They really can't (or shouldn't) refuse to refund money because the people could have bought travel insurance. If the parks were open or at least partially open but it was just a big wet mess then I could see not refunding money.I admit that I do not buy trip insurance for every trip, and luckily my card covers most things automatically.. but I have bought it in the past Every Single Time that I have travelled in the Caribbean or Florida during August- October...and that's often, because there's typically great rates and less crowds everywhere during those times.
But, I voted No for a Disney trip in your poll.
Why? Because with Irma, it appears that the only people who lost money were the ones who were "smart" and "responsible" enough to plan ahead.
Not that I want to see anyone lose money, but I think it's ridiculous that people could cancel without penalty, who weren't "smart and responsible".. but the ones who were ended up losing hundreds of dollars. If it comes to light that all trip insurance monies were refunded- then I'll change my vote.
The parks are closed. They really can't (or shouldn't) refuse to refund money because the people could have bought travel insurance. If the parks were open or at least partially open but it was just a big wet mess then I could see not refunding money.
I guess my main gripe is that I feel the trip insurance should have been refunded as well. Basically it's punishing someone for doing the correct thing.
You know how insurance works right? Do you insure your house, car etc in the US? And do you get refunds each year if you don't claim? Thought not!
Back to the poll. I didn't vote because I would skew the results. I guess you're looking for a US response. As we come from the UK we would be mad not to have it, for medical cover at the very least. So we'd be covered if we had to cancel the holiday due to the hurricane, but it's unlikely to cover the cost of the park tickets and so-on unless we had booked a package (which we don't because we're DVC).
But if I was booking a trip to London then, no I wouldn't generally bother. On the other hand, if I had somehow spent hundreds of pounds pre-booking tickets then maybe I would get it, at least I could claim the cost of the flights back. But no insurance is going to pay me for the cost of theatre tickets and sightseeing trips unless it was part of the package.
We always take the trip insurance coverage thats offered to us when we book our trip. It isnt that costly and for the peace of mind that it will be available for those unknown happenings, it makes sense to get it. Its one of those things that in the off chance that something does happen youll be glad you took it or regret for foolishly not spending that minor amount. Ive never come back from a trip thinking it was a waste of money.
I guess they could do that, but what if you wanted to actually use the insurance too. Trip insurance covers things other than your hotel room Iike airfare that probably wasn't reimbursed by Disney. I would be more worried about losing the airfare or paying the huge transfer fees to change to a different flight.I guess my main gripe is that I feel the trip insurance should have been refunded as well. Basically it's punishing someone for doing the correct thing.
I'm on the same page for my upcoming trip. My 70 year old mom is coming and 4 kids in school. Lots of variables.I think this is a personal decision based on someone's life situation. The hurricane doesn't really affect the need for insurance because WDW does have a hurricane plan that allows guests to reschedule without penalty. Typically, I have not bought insurance, but I'm considering it for my next trip. We're planning on traveling with another family. All of us have parents in their upper 70s=80s as well as kids around the college-years (some in and some out). There are a lot of variables that could cause this trip to fall apart at the last minute. In my opinion, those variables make it prudent to at least consider insurance. For our previous trips, I was over 90% certain that we would make it regardless of what might come up, so the extra $ for insurance wasn't worth it.
I guess they could do that, but what if you wanted to actually use the insurance too. Trip insurance covers things other than your hotel room Iike airfare that probably wasn't reimbursed by Disney. I would be more worried about losing the airfare or paying the huge transfer fees to change to a different flight.
That's good customer service and a smart business move. Generally speaking most people there at the time were probably disappointed they lost some days of their vacation to the storm but they left feeling good about how they were treated and also now needed to come back to use their free park tickets.As for the hurricane, I stayed at Disney during hurricane Francis back in 2004. The concierge gave us replacement tickets good for 10-years for every day the parks were closed due to the weather. So I thought we made out okay. I used the tickets in 2010 and 2014. They gave replacement tickets to everyone and trip insurance was not a factor.
Make sure that if you are traveling internationally, say, on a cruise, that this coverage includes emergency evacuation insurance, or you could be looking at a large bill for a medical evacuation.There is never a reason to buy trip insurance. Simply get a credit card that includes it.
Just as important is trip delay insurance. It saved me $2000 this past weekend
Here are the cards that offer it:
https://thepointsguy.com/2016/10/cards-with-trip-delay-reimbursement/
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