disney travel insurance worth it? Advice?

[Charlies_Mommy]

Hi All-
I am wondering if the Disney travel insurance is worth it for my family. We are a family of 3 and honestly, we *never* get sick. My daughter is 4 and has been 'sick' about 4 times and she is in daycare. We have pretty stout immune systems. The insurance does not fully cover weather delays, which would be more of a concern for us flying from the north in December.

It only covers onboard medical care IF your health insurance denies it. And my husband's cancer (which god willing will be in full remission by October) is not covered since it is a pre-existing condition.

We are leaning towards dropping it. I know it also covers a certain % of your money to be used as future cruise money, but that assumes we will WANT to go another one.

Anyone have some advice for me? We are pretty risk adverse people, but in this case, it does not seem worth the $400 to me. I have 4 days before final payment is due.
THANKS!!!!

 

[BadPinkTink]

Over the last 15 years I have travelled alot around Europe and USA. Travel insurance is an automatic given as part of my travel expenses.

Travel insurance covers more than just getting sick. Things like flight delays and lost or damaged luggage are also covered.

I have annual travel insurance with is linked to my private health insurance. I would advise to do some research, have a look at what Disney is offering and then check out some other companies. You may find that you can get the same level of cover for a better price with a different company.

 

[Mouse~House]

The travel insurance through DCL is really expensive! I use insuremytrip.com for all of my trips, you can compare plans and choose the best one for you and it will cost way less than DCL! It is worth it IMO because no matter how good your immune system is that doesn't prevent accidents from happening. I always pick a plan that includes medical evacuation and we thankfully have never had to make a claim but I like having the peace of mind! Have fun on your cruise!

 

[Geomom]

I would drop the Disney travel insurance and pick up insurance from an outside company. Disney's insurance only covers what you purchased through Disney. A lot of outside insurances have free coverage for kids. Look for insurance that covers evacuation, airfare, etc--put in all the costs that are non-refundable.

 

[Charlies_Mommy]

mouse~house......is there a way you can private message me the company you use? I just googled travel insurance and WOW!

 

[fredandkell]

Look at Insure My Trip - it's a comparison engine. I'm sure Disney's insurance is fine but it is more expensive. We always check the "Cancel for Any Reason" button which does add to the cost but it will refund 75% of our money outlaid if we have to cancel and we don't have to go through the process of them approving if our kid is "sick enough" etc. not to go.

 

[Charlies_Mommy]

thanks everyone! I just dropped it. Going to find another company to work with!

 

[lanejudy]

Based solely on your husband, I recommend that you look for a 3rd party insurance that will cover pre-existing conditions. Most require that you purchase the insurance within ~2 weeks of making initial deposit to get the PEC waiver, but I have read there is coverage available (more expensive) if purchased later.

DCL coverage tends to be higher priced than 3rd party, with potentially lower coverage. It will ONLY cover those aspects of your trip that are purchased through DCL. If you purchase airfare yourself, not covered by the insurance. However, the DCL policy does offer a unique aspect, sort of a "cancel for any reason" -- that's a 70% credit towards a future cruise (maybe within one year?) if you must cancel and the insurance denies your claim.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[Mouse~House]

thanks everyone! I just dropped it. Going to find another company to work with!

mouse~house......is there a way you can private message me the company you use? I just googled travel insurance and WOW!

I am glad you dropped it! For our cruise in 2018 I chose C&F Travel Insured International Cancel for any reason. It was under $300 for my family of 5 (although our kids are free). I agree with a pp that with your husbands cancer it would be worth paying more, even if it is as much as the DCL insurance you would be completely covered! Hopefully he'll be feeling better and you won't need it!

 

[Rabb it]

We always do the insurance, I've heard too many horror stories from emergencies happening last minute

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We always do the insurance, I've heard too many horror stories from emergencies happening last minute

I'm sure the family traveling the Mexican Rivera a couple of years ago was quite happy they bought travel insurance when their "perfectly healthy" child had appendicitis and was medically evacuated in Cabo San Lucas.

 

[msmama]

Check the CC you booked with, especially if it's one with travel rewards. Sometimes they insure some of your trip automatically. (It's up to you to decide if you need more insurance than that).

 

[barbarossa_hoosier]

I think the question isn't "travel insurance or not?" but rather, "DCL travel insurance or third party?"

After researching, DCL's travel insurance didn't really suit our needs, and we found much better, all-inclusive options elsewhere, for much cheaper.

 

[terrilt]

Hi All-
I am wondering if the Disney travel insurance is worth it for my family. We are a family of 3 and honestly, we *never* get sick. My daughter is 4 and has been 'sick' about 4 times and she is in daycare. We have pretty stout immune systems. The insurance does not fully cover weather delays, which would be more of a concern for us flying from the north in December.

It only covers onboard medical care IF your health insurance denies it. And my husband's cancer (which god willing will be in full remission by October) is not covered since it is a pre-existing condition.

We are leaning towards dropping it. I know it also covers a certain % of your money to be used as future cruise money, but that assumes we will WANT to go another one.

Anyone have some advice for me? We are pretty risk adverse people, but in this case, it does not seem worth the $400 to me. I have 4 days before final payment is due.
THANKS!!!!

MY brother was killed in a car accident on our 2nd day of vacation. We had to fly home that day. Entire trip was reimbursed. It doesn't matter if you're healthy. There can always be an unexpected death, or a ruptured appendix, or a broken ankle.

 

[CamColt]

We have had it 18 out of 19 Disney cruises. We haven't needed it yet, but we are in the process of seeing if it will cover damaged luggage. If it does, what we get wont be more than the insurance so we still wouldn't be making out in the deal, but that's not why I have it.

With kids (and adults) anything can happen. One night last year my then 16 yo went out with his friends like any other weekend night, and we got a call he broke his collar bone. If our cruise was the next day we would not have been able to go. I worry about things like a car accident, appendicitis, family members death...things that can happen without warning, not just getting sick. And if something happened on board where being airlifted was needed, I wouldn't want that expense.

The chance of these things are very slim, and hopefully will never happen, but they can. As bad enough as they are, if they made us cancel a cruise and be out thousands of dollars it would be even worse.

 

[luvincruising]

I think the question isn't "travel insurance or not?" but rather, "DCL travel insurance or third party?"

After researching, DCL's travel insurance didn't really suit our needs, and we found much better, all-inclusive options elsewhere, for much cheaper.

I found this also to be true. Squaremouth is another site to compare policies. I would also include primary medical in your search.

 

[Shanti]

I would also include primary medical in your search.

Agreed. Primary medical is ideal. We got it for less than what the (non-primary medical) DCL insurance cost. More generous evacuation coverage, too.

But for people uncomfortable about scoping out their own insurance, DCL's overpriced insurance is better than no insurance.

 

[cargo13]

For the small % of your trip that travel insurance costs (usually ~5-10%), travel insurance is worth it.

1. Services:
Even if you dont have a claim every time your purchase it, there are other services that our plan from GENERALI (used to be CSA) includes--like Teladoc which is a virtual doctor via video, that is worth it.

2. Medical & evac:
If you do use it, it could be life saving from an unexpected accident.

3. Interruptions:
Or help with reaccommodation of interruptions that are beyond your control (flight delays, lost bags,etc).

4. Cancellations:
If your trip investment (and Disney is never cheap) will set you back financially if you have to cancel.

5. Pricing:
Disney's insurance is more expensive and less coverages plus if you have a claim you will not be working with Disney so go direct to the travel insurance provider. The comparison travel insurance sites (like Insure My Trip) give a good overview but buy direct from the travel insurance provider.

 

[cargo13]

Hi All-
I am wondering if the Disney travel insurance is worth it for my family. We are a family of 3 and honestly, we *never* get sick. My daughter is 4 and has been 'sick' about 4 times and she is in daycare. We have pretty stout immune systems. The insurance does not fully cover weather delays, which would be more of a concern for us flying from the north in December.

It only covers onboard medical care IF your health insurance denies it. And my husband's cancer (which god willing will be in full remission by October) is not covered since it is a pre-existing condition.

We are leaning towards dropping it. I know it also covers a certain % of your money to be used as future cruise money, but that assumes we will WANT to go another one.

Anyone have some advice for me? We are pretty risk adverse people, but in this case, it does not seem worth the $400 to me. I have 4 days before final payment is due.
THANKS!!!!

===========================

RE: PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS (sorry for your husband's cancer challenges) are covered by certain plans. The most liberal pre existing coverage plan we found (and this is why we buy CSA/ Generali) is on their website www.generalitravelinsurance.com because they will cover pre existing conditions until final payment.

 

[terrilt]

Based solely on your husband, I recommend that you look for a 3rd party insurance that will cover pre-existing conditions. Most require that you purchase the insurance within ~2 weeks of making initial deposit to get the PEC waiver, but I have read there is coverage available (more expensive) if purchased later.

DCL coverage tends to be higher priced than 3rd party, with potentially lower coverage. It will ONLY cover those aspects of your trip that are purchased through DCL. If you purchase airfare yourself, not covered by the insurance. However, the DCL policy does offer a unique aspect, sort of a "cancel for any reason" -- that's a 70% credit towards a future cruise (maybe within one year?) if you must cancel and the insurance denies your claim.

Enjoy your cruise!

We aren't going till Jan.2019, but we have paid our deposit . . . are you saying that it'll be cheaper to go ahead and get insurance now? We had planned on waiting till Oct. 2018 before our 'pain in full' date.