Insurance question

[Sarah Fallon]

Is there an insurance company that will give us 100% back of what we’ve paid if we have to cancel? I understand you lose your deposit if you cancel 45-90 days prior, 50% of total paid between 30-44 days, etc. If I understand correctly if you purchase insurance through Disney they will refund 75% of what is to be lost if you cancel for any reason. So if we were to lose 50% of the trip cost, we’d get 75% of the 50% back? Is that correct?

 

[ahain]

You'd have to check specifics with insurance companies, but I think if you purchase "cancel for an reason" coverage that it would pay for any non-refundable outlays.

 

[Geomom]

For 3rd party insurance, check the plans, but the ones we've used would offer 100% back if you cancel for a 'covered' reason (you'd need to show proof--doctor's note/bill, jury notice, etc--keep all receipts). You can buy 'cancel for any reason' insurance--and that covers 75% of the cost. We buy 3rd party insurance to cover the whole trip--cruise/flight/hotel and any other non-refundable costs. Disney insurance only covers anything you purchased through Disney...they also tend to cost more. We look for policies with good medical evacuation coverage--as that would be a high cost being evacuated from a ship or being repatriated. We've used Travel Insured International Worldwide Trip Protector for our 2 cruises. (Thankfully, we haven't had to make a claim, so I don't know how good they are with that!) When paying for adult coverage, kids under 18 are covered for free--so it's a good value!

 

[samily]

Unless things have recently changed, I believe if you purchase the insurance from DCL and cancel for a non covered reason, you will receive a credit of 75% of the non refundable amount toward a future cruise.

 

[kiford]

Absolutely you can purchase insurance that will pay you 100% of non-reimburseable or additional out of pocket expenses if something happens that requires those additional costs. But it will cost more. You have to read the exclusions and coverage and compare it to the cost and determine if it's worth it. There's unfortunately no right or wrong or easy answer to the question. It will depend on your sense of the risk of needing to use the insurance, your ability to cover/comfort with covering the potential additional/non-refundable costs compared to the higher cost of the insurance, and the situation you are in.

On our recent trip to Italy, we purchased cancel for any reason insurance because we were travelling with friends and didn't know if they'd have to cancel at the last minute or not. It was higher cost than if we'd just purchased trip insurance (not much higher, but still higher). When my mother was sick and we were travelling to Europe, we purchased insurance that covered many alternative scenarios in case we had to cut the trip short both because we thought that there was a higher likelihood that we'd have to come home early plus the costs of doing so would be higher because of last-minute flights from Europe. We purchased an average plan for our upcoming trip to WDW because we're more concerned about health costs if one of us got sick or hurt but we're not that concerned about other out of pocket costs to cut a trip short like flights or extra hotel nights.

We always purchase third party insurance since we can customize more of what we want plus if we're cruising, we don't book flights through Disney so they wouldn't be covered plus we might be doing extra days before or after the cruise and that wouldn't be covered. Again, you have to look at your individual situation and decide what makes the most sense.

 

[lanejudy]

If I understand correctly if you purchase insurance through Disney they will refund 75% of what is to be lost if you cancel for any reason.

Not quite. The DCL policy does have "covered reasons" for which you would receive 100% reimbursement. If you cancel for a non-covered reason, the insurance will deny your claim but then DCL will issue you a credit for 75% to be used toward a future cruise within a specified period of time (I think it's one year but I'm not positive). "Cancel for any reason" is a type of policy coverage. As is coverage for "pre-existing conditions" if anyone in your party has medical concerns.

I agree with others that you should shop around for insurance. Find out what different policies cover and what the premium will be. You can use an online website that compares trip insurance -- Google that and you'll get the most popular sites. Policies can vary greatly from what is covered (cruise, hotel, flights, pre/post plans, etc.) as well as what reasons are covered (illness, death in the family, work won't let you off, flight delay/cancellation, just changed your mind, etc.). Then decide what works best for your family's needs. And yes, some policies may not provide full 100% reimbursement for all reasons so be sure to ask if you have specific concerns.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[PTX]

I've bought trip insurance from different companies many times for international trips. Many policies will refund 100% of the cost for various covered reasons (illness preventing travel, death in the family, accident on the way to the airport/dock preventing starting your trip, terrorism, weather, some times work-related reasons, etc). You have to read the policies to find out the exact covered reasons. There are travel insurance comparison websites that have this information available.

Different from cancelling for a covered reason is coverage that allows "cancellation for any reason." This is an extra rider/option that you usually have to add to the policy, which will increase the premium. The coverage typically maxes out at 75% of the non-refundable trip cost. I've not found one that returns 100% of the non-refundable cost for "cancel for any reason." That kind of makes sense to avoid people abusing the system.

 

[Sarah Fallon]

Thanks everyone. So here’s my main concern. If im pregnant and traveling before the 24 week cut off and book. But then something happens or my doctor says I can’t travel regardless of how far along I am. I guess I’d have to use cancel for any reason because pregnancy would be considered a preexisting condition and therefore not covered if I have to cancel?

 

[Geomom]

Thanks everyone. So here’s my main concern. If im pregnant and traveling before the 24 week cut off and book. But then something happens or my doctor says I can’t travel regardless of how far along I am. I guess I’d have to use cancel for any reason because pregnancy would be considered a preexisting condition and therefore not covered if I have to cancel?

If you are not pregnant when you buy the policy, it is not a pre-existing condition. The 60 day look back is the 60 days before you buy the policy. That said, look for policies with good pregnancy coverage--some of them will cover it if the doctor doesn't allow you to travel.

 

[PTX]

You have to be careful and read the fine print about pregnancy complications in the different plans. Just because your OB says you can't travel doesn't mean the reason will be recognized as a "complication of pregnancy" by the insurance company. I just looked up one of the old policies I bought and it specifically says: "Complications of Pregnancy does not include false labor, occasional spotting, Physician-prescribed rest during the period of pregnancy, morning sickness, hyperemesis gravidarum, preeclampsia and similar conditions associated with the management of a difficult pregnancy not constituting a nosologically distinct complication of pregnancy."

If you're already pregnant when you buy the policy, it's all a moot point because it will be considered pre-existing in most cases. You'd have to either look for a policy that allows pre-existing conditions or pay more for the "cancel for any reason" coverage and know you won't get back 100%.