Do a lot of people get this? Would you get it for a mid-September trip? How much does it typically cost to just cover something like losing a few days to a hurricane? Why is medical part of these packages?
Does regular health insurance not cover illnesses while you’re traveling? What companies would you use?
Any info would be greatly appreciated.
MouseSavers has a lot of good info on trip insurance.
If you are members of USAA they have some reasonable plans. I got it for my Sept trip, have never before purchased trip insurance but it’s hurricane season and the beginning of flu season so there’s that…
Thanks. I’ll give it a look.
Sometimes you might end up with problems due to out-of-network or something like that where your insurance might decide they’re not going to pay. I’m guessing that’s what the medical covers. Possibly also the fact that if you had a severe medical emergency, where you ended up hospitalized long-term, you might want to be transported to a hospital near your home. Regular insurance might not cover that but perhaps the travel insurance would cover that? Not sure, just guessing.
I’ve gone twice in September and rolled the dice and didn’t get travel insurance. Turned out fine both times. We were originally going to be there the first week of October 2016, but rescheduled to January 2016 due to a baby on the way in July 2016. Hurricane Matthew hit the week we would have been there if we didn’t switch. The parks were closed a couple days I think.
So, to answer your question: I am very lucky, it is always best to follow my schedule! 
Travel Insurance is a must if you are flying and or buying a Disney Magic Your Way Package. Now if you are more concerned about making the trip period this is also the case. If you are room only then your have up to 5 days to cancel or lose your deposit. More than that if you cancel less than 5 days you lose it all. MVT does the same thing except they prorate the last 5 days and you get charged accordingly. Now Disney has great insurance and contrary to popular belief out here I have found their prices to be very reasonable. Depending on why you have to cancel, they will work with you and you may not have to file a claim at all. Filing claims is a lot of supportive paper work but it is better than losing your trip money. Remember Disney’s insurance covers both your Stay, Tickets, and DDP if you have one, plus they cover your flight if you are flying.
I have been before in September and we did not get it. From what I know Disney has always been really good about rescheduling due to hurricanes even if you don’t have trip insurance.
As for medical it will cover you if you get sick/hurt and cant go. Also if you get sick/hurt while there you can get reimbursed for missed days, for example park tickets you didn’t get to use.
I’m not a huge fan of travel insurance. Usually, we manage the risk ourselves, forgo the insurance and keep the money, but lately I’ve been using a Chase Sapphire which includes travel insurance if you purchase the whole trip on the card. I have no idea how good it is as we’ve never filed a claim.
We also subscribe to MedJet medical evacuation insurance because we travel a lot, and have kids in college, and it is the one of the few (if not the only) insurance policy that will fly you back home (not just to the nearest local hospital) if you want & are stable to travel.
The wild card here is health insurance. You would need to check if yours covers you out-of-network while traveling. Ours does, but YMMV.
Probably the best thing, if you want insurance & don’t have Chase Sapphire, is to go to InsureMyTrip.com and get a quote for exactly the insurance you need and nothing more.
I think my main concern was of something happened while I was there. My credit card doesn’t offer travel insurance so I was more willing to buy it this time. The majority of insurance plans will cover you and ED visit the same as if you went to an in network hospital. If you get admitted that could change but just something to check out.
Thanks Doc. We’re with MVT so it’s not through Disney. I’m really only concerned with losing a couple of days due to a hurricane while we’re already on site. But since Disney’s World has only been shut down a handful of times I’m wondering if it’s even that big of a concern.
What do people typically spend on insurance. I got a quote for $163.
I insure cruises for a few reasons.
I’d never think to insure a land trip. Interesting.
This is what I use for cruising.
Had to make a claim last trip when our flight was cancelled. They reimbursed our hotel with just screen shots of flight cancelation email and hotel receipt. Was painless for something quick like that.
Sorry. I should have done multiple quote.
We insured our cruise and post-cruise Airbnb (hurricane season) valued at $5000 for eight travelers for $168.
I did a quote for $7000 as well for comparison and it was still $168.
$168 is total. Not per person.
I had a friend slip and break his back while in the Dominican…the cost to fly him home was tens of thousands. Medical evacuation is the main reason I get any trip insurance now. I didn’t realize there were policies out there just for that.
Do you get it for a Disney trip?
Yes. We got a policy through Allianz. It is more comprehensive than Disney. Also more expensive…just over $400. It covers our flights, car rental, etc. And the reasons you are allowed to cancel are much more extensive…you find out you are pregnant, someone in the family dies or their death is imminent, your house is uninhabitable, there’s a terrorist attack within 100 miles within 30 days, etc.
We did it last time because we had rented points and there’s no refund option there. We did it this time because I’m risk averse!!
That is comprehensive. 
Our land trips are fairly recoverable. I’ve never considered insuring.
Neat thread.
This was my general feeling until my friend needed the medical transportation. I don’t have $40,000 in savings to cover that!
I do the exact same thing. Only insure cruises.
I highly recommend travel insurance for any trip you take.
Go to squaremouth dot com and compare insurances.
The main thing I look for is weather delay for traveling. I always want it to be 12 hours or less(to minimize lost vacation). I am honestly not sure how a hurricane happening while you were at WDW would come into play, but I would call and ask.
I know some people are against it, but, for the price, it is a huge piece of mind factor. You can minimize risks, but you can’t control someone getting sick, the weather, or airlines. All of these things can cause you lots of lost cash.
I bought travel insurance for myself, sister, and parents on a trip overseas for around $150. We got stuck because of weather. Trip insurance paid out thousands to get us home, our lost plane tickets, the money to our guide, hotel rooms we couldn’t cancel, a missed cruise, and accommodations and food while we waited to get home. That $150 was some of the best I have ever spent.
I always budget it as part of my vacation because I never want to get into a situation where I would feel I need to spend tons of money to get home or lose tons because I had prepaid.
I went to wdw solo in spring and got a policy for around $50 to cover tickets and other non-refundable costs in case something caused me to miss the trip.