Poll: Trip Insurance... Good Idea or Waste of Money?

larryz

I'm Just A Tourist!
Premium Member
Based on the events of this weekend, has the disruption and discombobulation convinced you that the next time you schedule a trip to WDW, you'll pay for trip insurance?

Answer in the poll, then tell us why (or why not) you feel that way...
 

21stamps

Well-Known Member
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.
 
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GoofGoof

Premium Member
I usually don't buy travel insurance but for my next trip I got the travel insurance through DVC. They charge $89 for a use year of coverage. We have 9 people going and staying in a 2BR villa. The insurance covers all 9 people from trip interruption including weather emergencies but also sickness or loss of job. It has a bunch of the other bells and whistles that come with most travel insurance too. I thought it was a pretty good deal considering it's covering 9 people all flying with non-refundable airfare. I hope it's just a waste of $89 ;)
 
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GoofGoof

Premium Member
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.
 
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21stamps

Well-Known Member
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.
 
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nickys

Premium Member
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.
 
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DarthVader

Sith Lord
I did this partly because the Disney trip insurance covers damage of your personal items, i.e., camera, phone etc. I just came back from a vacation this summer in which I had to pay for a new camera. I think pre-planning so far in advance and not knowing the future, it was a prudent option. I'm not worried about Disney reservations, but rather airline tickets, and what not.
 
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Po'Rich

Well-Known Member
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.
 
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raugust

Active Member
Coming from WNY and going to WDW in December, you would be insane not to spend a hundred or so dollars to protect a $7000 + trip (think 7' snowstorm). Now, it appears to be hammered home, as I type, it also would be wise to purchase same insurance when going August through October. Unless you live in or near Florida, you stand to lose quite a bit of money for a relatively small investment.Just a reminder, if some weather event occurs at your departure location (again, think SEVEN FOOT SNOWFALL), WDW is not responsible for refunding your cost simply because WDW is up and running. It is YOU that can't get there.

Nickys echoes my opinion perfectly.

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.
 
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JIMINYCR

Well-Known Member
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.
 
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raugust

Active Member
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.

Exactly.
 
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GoofGoof

Premium Member
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 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.
 
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GoofGoof

Premium Member
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'm on the same page for my upcoming trip. My 70 year old mom is coming and 4 kids in school. Lots of variables.
 
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21stamps

Well-Known Member
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.

True, with Irma most flights allowed people to reschedule, which I'm definitely not complaining about. Hopefully the people who did lose something may have learned a lesson for next time.
I don't totally understand why at this point anyone who travels doesn't have a travel card with included benefits.
 
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ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
I didn't vote in the poll because I have done no insurance, Disney's or other company's offered insurance, and had my TA shop for a different carrier. When I was younger I didn't get the insurance but now as I get older I see the benefit of getting it especially when I travel overseas because my health insurance doesn't cover anything out of the country. Also one time about a week before a trip my dad got sick and was in the hospital it looked super serious and I thought we would have to cancel but it turned out to not be as serious as we originally thought and we were able to travel, but I was thankful I had purchased insurance because it would have been an expensive trip to lose money on. My new credit card does more insurance protection but I haven't read all the details yet (hubs said it would be good to get).
 
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Minnie Mum

Well-Known Member
Credit cards can have a relatively low limit on their payouts for cancellation/interruption. At least all of ours do. Since we take multiple vacations each year, some for up to a month at a time, we have a yearly policy. Whether we're going to WDW or Japan, we're covered. Others may feel they can take the risk of self insuring. We can't.
 
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StarshipDisney

Well-Known Member
I voted no.

In the past, every trip we took I have always paid for the trip insurance "just in case". But in the end...every time I bought the insurance just ended up being a waste of money. Overall, I have wasted four digits on past trip insurance and never once needed or got anything out of it.

So, I planned our next trip in 2018 but this time decided not to purchase trip insurance. So hopefully Murphy will not strike and I won't need it as usual.

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.
 
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GoofGoof

Premium Member
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.
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.
 
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Greg H

Active Member
We always purchase the insurance direct from Disney. It is a pretty great deal, especially when you consider you only have to pay for the adults (kids free). On a 7-10K trip you would be hard pressed to find a better deal. If nothing else, I am paying for a little peace of mind.
 
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DisneyJoe

Well-Known Member
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/
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.
 
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