Disney Packages "Travel Insurance" - Am I missing something?

[AEfx]

I just booked a package with the WDTC. This is very rare for me, as I can always do better on my own booking things. But when free dining comes calling...all bets are off.

When I was booking it earlier this week (although I've been dozens of times I've probably only booked 1 or 2 packages before), I had forgotten about the "insurance" until the end. I thought about it for a bit, but once I checked it all out I simply could not figure out what use it would be, especially at the price.

This isn't a "I want to hate on travel insurance" thread, LOL, but I honestly couldn't figure out any benefit to it whatsoever in anything but extremely narrow circumstances, and sometimes it would even cost you MORE to have it than if you didn't. So I'm honestly curious if I am missing something here.

Let's start with the figures - I booked a package around $3000. The price of the insurance was around $200 (some odd number like $202). The price was about 10% of the base cost of the package (I added several things, like a car, better tickets, etc.), but I don't know if that's how they calculate it or if it's a standard number.

Strike One for me was that the insurance is through a 3rd party I had never heard of. They may be a well-known company, but I don't do a lot of insurance besides the basics (health/home/car) so I don't know. But that just made me say, "Whoa...slow down now" right off the bat.

Then I started to look at what you get for the $200. The entire "pre-trip" portion of the insurance seems utterly useless, and might even cost you more than if you didn't buy it in the first place because Disney's cancellation policy is so amazing to begin with. Let's look at the numbers:


WITHOUT INSURANCE:

I have a $3,000 vacation that I put a $200 deposit on. The balance is due 45 days before I arrive.

If I cancel before the 45 days is here, I get a full refund (I spent $200, I get $200).

If I cancel after the 45 days, but before the arrival date, even after I paid in full, I get the entire thing back except for the $200 deposit. RESULT - Spent $3000, and got a $2800 refund.


WITH INSURANCE:

I have a $3000 vacation that I put down a $200 deposit on and pay $200 at the time of booking for insurance ($400 bucks). The balance is due 45 days before I arrive.

If I cancel before the 45 days, I get $200 back (my deposit). The Insurance premium is non-refundable, so I am out that $200. So I spend $400, get $200, which puts me at -$200.

If I cancel after the 45 days, but before arrival date (after I've paid in full), I would have spent $3200 ($3000 trip + $200 insurance). I would get back $2800, because they keep the $200 deposit, and my $200 insurance is non-refundable. This puts me at $-400.


So, unless I'm really missing something here, it's going to cost me between $200 and $400 more to cancel WITH the insurance than without. Of course, that's just for canceling for any reason at all.

If one of the very limited categories of covered events happens to me (involuntarily lose my job through no fault of my own - basically if you are laid off, or if there is a major health problem), then if I cancel at least 45 days out I *still* am out $200 for the insurance, as Disney would have given me my deposit money back in full anyway. If one of those covered reasons happens less than 45 days before the trip, after I've paid in full, then I'd get $3000 back, and...yet again, still be out $200 for the insurance, when if I hadn't had the insurance I would have only paid $3000 in the first place, gotten $2800 back, and still been out the same...drumroll please...$200, since they keep the deposit in that case.

Please tell me if I am somehow being dense here - but no matter what the reason is, if you cancel before your arrival date, you are out an extra $200-400 from what you would have lost if you hadn't had the insurance at all. That's kind of...crazy. And Strike Two.


So then you have the "during trip" part of the insurance. This covers things like major health issues, personal belongings, and weather (hurricanes, I guess). Let's look at each of those.

HEALTH ISSUES - If I am already at, or traveling to, WDW, there are very few health issues that would keep us from staying. I have my own health insurance who would cover me, so I don't need anything like that, so it would just be a partial refund for an unfinished trip.

It literally would have to be a severed limb or severe head injury that left someone in a catatonic state for us to need to leave. Even if it was a broken arm or leg, we'd still stay. And if someone is going to have a severed limb, to be honest, it's probably going to happen on a Disney ride if it's going to happen, so if it did (as we would never stand up or do something stupid on a ride), it would most likely be their fault so I don't think we'd have to worry about that refund. ;

If a someone at home died, well...this is gonna sound awful...but if someone actually died, not much we can do. We may leave early, but unless it was a very close relative when we'd obviously feel the need to leave right then, if the person has passed away was truly close to us I think they'd want us to finish our trip because they know how much we love it. If a family member took terribly ill, they needed us and it was so bad they might not make it until we get back, of course we'd be on the first flight and whatever portion of the vacation was left we'd just deal with - people are much more important than a partial refund of a vacation.


PERSONAL BELONGINGS : This one is easy. My home owners insurance would cover anything major, and we don't bring $10,000 diamond rings with us. The most expensive single item is probably a $200 camera anyway, but since I already have insurance it's useless.


WEATHER: I bet this is why a lot of people bite. They are terrified of hurricanes. Here's how I see it - the only way it would stop our trip is if it was happening the day we were scheduled to get there (BTW, I live in New England, we gets snow and blizzards here, but nothing really destructive like real hurricanes or quakes, etc.,, so any weather would be an Orlando issue). If the airport was closed the day we were supposed to fly in, we would not cancel the trip - we'd just call Disney, let them know we'd be missing the first day, and get the next flight down we could.

If it happens while we are there, we aren't going anywhere - if you are going to be in a hurricane, WDW is the safest place to be, it would likely send a lot of crowds away, and the worst that has ever happened is the parks are closed for a day. If it happens on the day we are supposed to go and the airport is closed, well, trip is already over, nothing to insure and I'm sure Disney isn't going to kick us out in the storm (especially since they won't have anyone incoming either). STRIKE THREE! YER OUT!


So...that's it. I cannot figure out one way that insurance would be of any use to us, or most people. It costs you more if you cancel WITH the insurance than without if it's before you go, if you have health and home owner's insurance that portion is useless to you, and if there is a hurricane, unless you chicken out and decide not to go at all you can still have most of your vacation.

What am I missing here???

 

[Goofycanuck]

Airline refunds are also included with WDTC Insurance. That would be an additional cost if you usually book your own vacation.

 

[unkadug]

I wonder if the travel agent gets a kickback from the insurance company?

Sure sounds like a gimmick to me. :shrug:

(at least for those that are already insured.)

 

[The Mom]

I just want to address the health issue portion. It doesn't have to be a life threatening, or even severe (in terms of your overall health) incident to cut your trip short.

As many of you know, I tripped running to catch a flight, had both hands full, so I couldn't break my fall. Landed flat on my face, and broke both front upper teeth.

I was on the way home, so just had to make it home, and was able to see my dentist first thing in the morning. But there is no way I would have continued a vacation in that condition! It was awful just getting on a plane, making connections, etc trying to keep my mouth closed or covered, plus I couldn't eat any solids, and was having pain.

The are other non-life threatening health problems that might cause you to return.

I live within 3 hours of WDW, and I still purchased trip insurance when my parent's health started to deteriorate towards the end. They could be status quo one day, and in the hospital the next (or even dead) so I didn't want to take a loss.

The fact that you never heard of the insurance company is not really an issue - most niche companies are not exactly household names. :lol: How many of us ever heard of our title insurance companies before purchasing it?

 

[unkadug]

^ Just curious...How much of the airport experience would not have been covered under your own insurance?

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I read an article a while back (can't remember where) about a couple who were on vacation (not at Disney) where one of them slipped & hit their head. They thought it was minor at the time but found out it was a far more serious closed head injury. This person ended up needing special medical transport back home. Their health insurance only covered a tiny portion of that cost. The travel insurance saved them from financial disaster on top of having such a terrible injury to deal with. We're not talking chump change. The travel insurance forked out some crazy amount of money, like $50k+. Health insurance is good stuff but there are coverage limits for certain things.

The hurricane thing. Yeah, I'm real acquainted with those. Generally they aren't so bad and life returns to normal. Charley spanked the Orlando area pretty good (Cat 4 @ landfall) but you have to respect the fact that they can, have, & will be worse than that. Never take that for granted. Every storm is different with it's own personality (like Hurricane Ike...that sucker pushed waaaay more water than I had ever seen). Disney is great with taking care of their guests, etc. but there could be a point where things are so bad you don't want to be there. Trust me. I never dreamed the 'worst case' could happen to me either....then it did....twice in 5 years.

All that said, we always decline travel insurance. Insurance is an industry built on what-ifs, some more probable than others. It's up to each person to calculate their risks, where they might need more protection, and what kind of $$ is reasonable to cover themselves. For us, we look at things much the way you (the OP) do and figure the chances of us truly needing what travel insurance offers are so miniscule that it's nit worth the $$. Knock on wood. Don't wanna jinx us. Lol!

 

[ThatMouse]

Thanks for bring up this point. You are right. Insurance in most cases does not make sense, with the exception of the Disney cruises where health insurance may not cover emergencies and transportation costs on a boat or different country.

I thought insurance would more likely come into play after you've already checked in and you're committed to the full amount. But after thinking about it, I suppose Disney would still give you a refund for the days you didn't stay, minus a cancel fee. I'd have a problem with any company keeping the whole $3000 if we only stayed one night. I don't care what the policy says. Now, it would have to be for a good reason, like a death in the family. If you don't have a good reason, I wouldn't expect any favors.

As far as airlines go, there are all kinds of different tickets. Usually you see only the non-refundable ones, but some tickets allow you to modfy, transfer, or cancel. You can probably call and upgrade your tickets. Airlines will also sometimes waive the no-refund policy and give you a refund anyway with a good reason. But I wouldn't expect airlines to be as nice as Disney.

If you've got multiple reservations not all with Disney, like airline, car rentals, and other resorts, you may want to get your own insurance. Disney probably charges a lot more than going through a travel agent or finding it yourself. Finding insurance yourself most likely goes through an agent anyway, so if you're going that route, just book the whole vacation through the agent.

Also, research your credit cards. I probably have 2 cards that have some type of travel insurance on them, but never really looked into the specifics. I don't think the Disney Chase Visa card has any insurance - just the rewards program.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Here's a travel agent's view:

The vast majority of the time, you're not going to need it. But those rare times when you do, it could be a lifesaver. That's what insurance is about, managing and reducing risk.

On a cruise, there is no question, get it. I get it every time. It's not just for medical emergencies in other countries, although they would be financially devastating. It's the things that can cause you to miss the boat. If you miss the boat, you have missed your vacation. You can't just go a day later like you could to Walt Disney World.

There's a million things that can cause you to miss your vacation. Delayed flights, closed airports, car accidents on the way, etc. If your 3 year old starts throwing up the day before you go, you will probably be denied boarding. Without insurance, you are more than likely out of luck. With insurance, you can afford to reschedule. When we were leaving for our Mediterranean cruise, the Icelandic volcano was erupting and shutting down airports all over Europe. While we were so sad that it looked like we may miss our cruise, we were reassured knowing we would get all our money back because we had insurance.

At Disney World? It's not as clear cut for me, but I could certainly make an argument to get it. I have one client whose husband was not able to make it back from a military deployment in time, and they got every penny back. Their flights were the biggest cost they would have lost. I have had other clients lose a family member right before they left. They were able to reschedule with Disney, but the insurance saved their flight costs. I had a family member have to leave Disney early because of an emergency back home and insurance covered all of their costs associated with that.

FYI, for WDW insurance through Disney, you do not have to book your flights through Disney for them to be covered. That is not currently the case with the cruise line, although I suspect that will change one day soon.

 

[happymom52003]

It doesn't hurt to shop around for travel insurance. There are many companies that provide it, and they have a variety of plans that you can customize to suit your needs so that you are not paying for coverage you don't need.

I recently booked a non Disney trip through a tour company, and the insurance they were offering was outrageous, in my opinion. It was imperative that I have insurance for this particular trip because I would lose the entire cost of the trip no matter when I canceled. So I shopped around, and got a policy from Travel Guard that was much cheaper and actually better than what the tour company was offering. I was even able to add on a "cancel for any reason" policy (which in this particular case I wanted) and the cost was still cheaper for me than purchasing insurance through the tour company I booked with.

It could work out that Disney's policy would be the best deal. But it is worth checking into other companies. This is a great site that will give quotes from a bunch of reputable travel insurance companies: http://www.insuremytrip.com/

Also, many times your credit card company that you book your trip with will offer travel insurance as well.

 

[RobnRachal]

We are very fortunate that the insurance we have through my husbands work covers us for out of country/trip cancellation, etc.
However, I have a friend who booked an entire trip through Disney, and got the insurance, partly because it covered flights (even those booked separately). Two months before the trip her husband "emailed" her to tell her he was leaving them (her and two children). She was, obviously, devastated and shocked. She was a wreck and couldn't even work for over four months (had to see a therapist and everything) Anyway. . .because she was over 45 days out, when she cancelled, she got all her money back from Disney no problem, but when she enquired about the money back for the flights (non-refundable through airline) the insurance company did not list "life devastation" of this sort as a reason to cover her. Now I understand that a separation certainly may not be something that they would insure you for, however, the fact that she was emotionally and physically incapable of going, should have been covered.
Based on her experience I will never recommend the travel insurance through Disney.