Do you buy trip insurance

[xlxo]

I only buy medical. As I live the country more than twice a year, I found the annual plan better. I do last for the highest deductible and found savings there.

Trip insurance?

• I travel last minute (2 weeks) before and generally can see what the forecast is going to be.
• I usually spend a few days at a hotel before getting on a ship/plane. Instead of paying for trip insurance, I spend it on hotel rooms.

 

[Lisaloo]

Yes. Yes. Always yes.

 

[BagOLaughs]

I always get travel insurance - for peace of mind. I've got multiple trip annual insurance so I know all my holidays are covered and I'm covered if I get sick or have an accident.

 

[Wishing on a star]

It would be based on different factors.

For an expensive, totally pre-paid, 9 day cruise.
In the winter.

Yes, having that much pre-paid and non-refundable $$$$ invested in a trip.
I would go with the insurance.

PS: You might not want to go with the insurance that is offered by the airline or cruiseline.
These are often limited.
You might want to look into insurance thru a carrier like TravelGuard.

 

[DVC-Don]

I buy only for cruises and trips out of the continental US.

 

[CPT Tripss]

I only buy medical. As I live the country more than twice a year, I found the annual plan better. I do last for the highest deductible and found savings there.

Trip insurance?

• I travel last minute (2 weeks) before and generally can see what the forecast is going to be.
• I usually spend a few days at a hotel before getting on a ship/plane. Instead of paying for trip insurance, I spend it on hotel rooms.

Has your appendix already been removed?

Medical stuff and accidents happen. They can result in a cancelled trip.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

I've been looking. I booked through Costco and they don't do insurance but recommend TravelGuard. Got quote through there. Then went to cruise critic and read some there. I saw Nationwide is new but has a cruise insurance and looked at that. I now need to read the fine print of different policies and decide. I appreciate the help. When we travel in US I don't get, only time I did was last Disney trip during hurricane season. Was much cheaper then, but kids were younger~
Thanks for ideas and suggestion of not booking through cruise

 

[ols386]

I've never bought trip insurance for a WDW visit, but for a cruise I always do.

 

[bsblady01]

we always get trip ins, we do a lot of our Disney trips during Christmas vacation, so that covers us for bad weather in new York.

 

[SMD]

Depends on how much "non-refundable" money I have into the trip. If it's more than $1000, yes, I buy the insurance. Example: we went to Mexico in March. The "non-refundable" was over $6000. Insurance was $175. I bought the insurance.

In June we went to San Diego. Didn't buy insurance. The big expense up front was airfare, which was "non-redundable" but with $100 per ticket change fee, could be applied to other airfare for a year. We travel more often than that. So, my potential loss there was $300.

That's my philosophy. Don't insure the trips you can afford to lose what you paid. I see it like this. If I spend $1000 on a laptop I'm going to spend $150 on a plan to protect it. If I buy a $500 iPad I'm going to buy a case to protect my investment. If I buy a $30-$50 kitchen appliance I don't need a service or replacement plan because I can afford to replace that. Don't they say that about flossing? Only floss the teeth you want to keep.

For a cruise, yes, I'd get insurance. The peace of mind of having the air evac option covered it enough.

 

[Goofy_Disney_Dad]

We travel so last minute that it wouldn't make sense to purchase the coverage.

 

[tvguy]

10 cruises and we only purchased travel insurance for one, for the following reasons.
1) It was Disney and it cost over twice what any other cruise we have taken cost.
2) It was a New Years Eve cruise which meant flying cross country on December 26 to get there during a peak time and bad weather, and home on January 3.

The other cruise I took on another line in mid-January, I did not buy insurance for, nor any of the other cruises which were all during Hurricane season.

 

[sam_gordon]

We travel so last minute that it wouldn't make sense to purchase the coverage.

10 cruises and we only purchased travel insurance for one, for the following reasons.
1) It was Disney and it cost over twice what any other cruise we have taken cost.
2) It was a New Years Eve cruise which meant flying cross country on December 26 to get there during a peak time and bad weather, and home on January 3.

The other cruise I took on another line in mid-January, I did not buy insurance for, nor any of the other cruises which were all during Hurricane season.

As a couple people have said, the insurance covers FAR more than trip interruption. If you're at a hotel anywhere and slip on the step and fall and injure yourself, a hospital with a full emergency room is just minutes away. If you're on a cruise ship and you need serious medical help? Here comes the Helicopter ($$$$$).

 

[Goofy_Disney_Dad]

As a couple people have said, the insurance covers FAR more than trip interruption. If you're at a hotel anywhere and slip on the step and fall and injure yourself, a hospital with a full emergency room is just minutes away. If you're on a cruise ship and you need serious medical help? Here comes the Helicopter ($$$$$).

Then I'll just say that I've never purchased trip insurance and I am willing to assume the risks of not doing so.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

With us, it depends upon the trip. If it's expensive and one missed connection with an airline or one hurricane can mess it up entirely, we're likely to buy it. If it is out of the country or on a ship where serious injury might require an evac, we'll buy it. If we're driving and it's just a hotel fee in question that can be cancelled with just forfeiting one night, then no, we're not going to buy insurance for that trip.

 

[tvguy]

As a couple people have said, the insurance covers FAR more than trip interruption. If you're at a hotel anywhere and slip on the step and fall and injure yourself, a hospital with a full emergency room is just minutes away. If you're on a cruise ship and you need serious medical help? Here comes the Helicopter ($$$$$).

Everywhere I have cruised was within reach of the U.S. Coast Guard so the helicopter will be at no charge. Amazing how far they will go. A co-worker was half way between San Diego and Honolulu on the Amsterdam when his appendix burst. U.S. Coast Guard sent TWO helicopters for him......just in case one crashed they told him, AND a refueling aircraft. All, free of charge to him. Even flew him back to San Francisco, 30 miles from where he lived so he could be treated by his Doctor.

His rescue and video of it are mentioned in this report......showing how frequently the Coast Guard not only does medivacs, but delivers blood and medicines to cruise ships, all for free. But you do have to be somewhere close to a U.S. Coast Guard facility, so this would not work on a European cruise, but certainly on a Caribbean, Mexican, Alaskan or Hawaiian cruise.
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/air-drop-delivers-blood-cruise-passenger-15443765

 

[TifffanyD]

So the coast guard was willing to lose a chopper plus everyone onboard (the spare) in order to save one vacationer? I doubt it. And the very story you linked to said they *couldn't* use a helicopter and used an airplane.

 

[TifffanyD]

Did you get the stories confused? There was a second one with someone who had 2 helicopters but they weren't the coast guard

 

[luvgoing2disney]

Normally we do not buy it but for a recent cruise to Alaska we did. My dad is almost 94 and though independent and living at home, you just never know. Also I learned that if you need medical evacuation while on a cruise ship, the evacuation would be considered from the country where the ship is registered. So even if in Alaska, if the evac happened an an Alaska or Hawaii cruise. We would be billed as coming from Malta. Ouch

 

[havaneselover]

When we cruise, yes. I go to insuremytrip and buy a policy which covers the kids for free.