[asp8tis]

We have never purchased the vacation insurance that Disney offers before, but we have always had a room only reservation and purchased our tickets separately. This June we are doing the MYW package with dining and my travel agent is asking if I want the insurance. There's a lot more $ at stake this year, so I'm thinking maybe I should take it, but $120 buys a lot of souveniers! Just curious what you all do. Right now I can't imagine anything that could make me cancel this trip, but I know that unexpected things can happen. The travel agent said that once we've made final payment at 45 days out we would lose all of our money if we had to cancel, does that sound correct?

[Princess Tessa]

Though I'm not a working Travel Agent yet, I just finished Travel school, so feel free to PM me if you have more questions.
As to the insurance - go for it. Extra insurance is always good, because if you do ever need it you'll be thanking your lucky stars you have it.
Insurance is always a hard one becauseit feels almost like wasted money (to me anyway) but it's important, you never know why you'll need it.

Did your TA say that once your final payment is made and you had to cancel - withOUT insurance - you could lose all your money? or with?........there should always be an insurance option that will give you almost 100% money-back (you usually just lose your deposit)

Hope I was of help, I do think there are a few Travel Agents around here on DC so hopefully one of them can come in with the official word

[mickey]

Your agent is incorrect. If that is their policy, then find someone else. Disney's policy is that if you cancel between 45 and 6 days out, there is a $100 penalty, and inside of 5 days, there is a $200 penalty, but you get the rest of the money back. I usually suggest insurance, but try a third party, it is usualy cheaper and gets you better coverage:

InsureMyTrip.com

[asp8tis]

Originally Posted by mickey

Your agent is incorrect. If that is their policy, then find someone else. Disney's policy is that if you cancel between 45 and 6 days out, there is a $100 penalty, and inside of 5 days, there is a $200 penalty, but you get the rest of the money back. I usually suggest insurance, but try a third party, it is usualy cheaper and gets you better coverage:

InsureMyTrip.com

Thanks so much, Mickey! I knew you'd be able to help! I didn't think that sounded right. I had checked on disneyworld.com and thought that I had read that there were penalties, as you indicated. With a few thousand dollars at stake, I want to make sure I've got a clear understanding of this. I will check out that other site, also. Thanks for your help, too, Tessa!

[Princess Tessa]

Good link Mickey - thanks!
I'm going to check out RBC insurance for my trip - but I think thats canadian only, so not helpful here but they're rates are really low and the coverage is good.

[WishUponAStar]

I buy my travel insurance through www.travelguard.com.

Unfortunately we had some nightmares occur on our honeymoon and TravelGuard REALLY came through QUICKLY. I even wrote "thank you" letters to corporate b/c if it wasn't for the $120 we spent on the insurance the amount to fix everything that got screwed up would have been a catastrophere. There is VERY rarely a vacation I take now without buying one of their plans.

I am glad to see you are researching it and interested in pruchasing a plan. It's WELL worth it, trust from someone who REALLY used it!!!

[asp8tis]

Originally Posted by WishUponAStar

I buy my travel insurance through www.travelguard.com.

Unfortunately we had some nightmares occur on our honeymoon and TravelGuard REALLY came through QUICKLY. I even wrote "thank you" letters to corporate b/c if it wasn't for the $120 we spent on the insurance the amount to fix everything that got screwed up would have been a catastrophere. There is VERY rarely a vacation I take now without buying one of their plans.

I am glad to see you are researching it and interested in pruchasing a plan. It's WELL worth it, trust from someone who REALLY used it!!!

Thanks so much for the help. I will definitely check that one out, too. It's reassuring to hear from someone who actually used them. Glad they were able to fix up whatever went wrong on your honeymoon - not a good time for a catastrophe!

[ssn]

I'm so glad you asked this question b/c I recently read on some other threads that trip insurance is important in case there happens to be a hurricane. Well I had purchased the travel insurance through Disney for my cruise this past October. It happened to be leaving the day Hurricane Wilma was arriving and I really didn't want to go anymore. I know this sounds weird, but I was actually scared to go on the cruise during the hurricane! My travel agent actually advised us not to take the trip, but said our travel insurance didn't cover hurricanes and if we didn't go we would've lost all the $. I would have gladly rescheduled, but that wasn't in the insurance either. I never did look into it and we went on the cruise anyways, but is this true of Disney insurance?

[asp8tis]

Originally Posted by ssn

I'm so glad you asked this question b/c I recently read on some other threads that trip insurance is important in case there happens to be a hurricane. Well I had purchased the travel insurance through Disney for my cruise this past October. It happened to be leaving the day Hurricane Wilma was arriving and I really didn't want to go anymore. I know this sounds weird, but I was actually scared to go on the cruise during the hurricane! My travel agent actually advised us not to take the trip, but said our travel insurance didn't cover hurricanes and if we didn't go we would've lost all the $. I would have gladly rescheduled, but that wasn't in the insurance either. I never did look into it and we went on the cruise anyways, but is this true of Disney insurance?

I'm not sure...I thought the Disney insurance covered trip cancellation or delay. I didn't think it mattered WHY you cancelled or delayed. Why would the hurricane delay not have been covered? Maybe it is different insurance for a cruise. Anyway, we decided to decline the insurance from Disney, but we are still considering the Travelguard. I felt less pressure to take it when I found out we wouldn't lose all of our money, just a penalty depending on when we cancelled.

[WishUponAStar]

Most of Travelguard's policies cover last minute cancellations due to storms like hurricanes, which is strange b/c Disney uses Travelguard. I would call the 1 800 number and ask SPECIFIC questions before purchasing any policy. I remember the first time I bought it I called and gave specific scenerios to see if they'd be covered.

It looks like your trip is in late May or early June? I don't think you are gong to have to worry about hurricanes but stuff like lost luggage, damaged goods, cancellation due to health reasons, etc.... I would call and ask which plan best suites your family!

Good Luck!

[DisneyHog6]

I'm not sure I understand. What exactly does "vacation" insurance do? I'm assuming it doesn't have anything to do with medical insurance because regular medical ins would cover you on vacation, and the same goes for car ins. So... What? Does it replace money you lose or something? It seems that buying travelers checks would cover that. I guess I just don't get it. What does it do?

[WishUponAStar]

Originally Posted by DisneyHog6

I'm not sure I understand. What exactly does "vacation" insurance do? I'm assuming it doesn't have anything to do with medical insurance because regular medical ins would cover you on vacation, and the same goes for car ins. So... What? Does it replace money you lose or something? It seems that buying travelers checks would cover that. I guess I just don't get it. What does it do?

Here are some examples...

Last August the crystal screen on my digital camera broke in my luggage en route to Orlando... travel insurance covered it.

On my honeymoon I had to go to emergency care for a severe case of strep throat.... Travel Guard actually covered the costs FASTER than my insurance would have reimbursed.

Let's say you are going to WDW during hurricane season, like moi, and one day before you are due to leave the storm is forcasted to hit "central Florida" well even though you would incure $200-$400 penalties from Disney, travel insurance would pay that back to you. They ALSO cover the flight costs you had to cancel.

Luggage gets lost, miss directed, etc... travel insurance covers you for up to $1,500 lets say.

etc...

[skwak]

Can you get this type of insurance (3rd party) for the Disney Cruise?