This is the response that I got from them not too long ago:
Hi Mary Ann:
The service team sent this over to me for a reply. Thank you for reaching out, as we do appreciate your business. We are sorry for the surprise, as that is not our intent.
The vast majority of VacationGuard plans are bought directly through various Timeshare developers that we have contracts with. For convenience, we are usually offered along with their the annual dues, where VacationGuard®, as you can attest, is a premier baseline of protection. That leaves our retail page of
www.VacationGuard.com open to clients like yourself, where we offer the simplicity of one plan, and a fixed price. As you know, the VacationGuard rating model is dramatically different than traditional travel protection, which is rated by person, by age, and by the specific trip cost, aside from having no benefits specific to vacation ownership.
VacationGuard® changed that by offering protection for Dues and Exchange protection, plus much more, in one plan, at a flat rate, to cover an entire use-year of vacation ownership trips. As you can appreciate, the cost of all things has been escalating: Dues, airline fees, frequency of travel delays from weather, exchange fees, medical expenses, rental car damage fees, and even the gratis registration you can access for annual Identity Theft monitoring inside our plan (See page 14 of the plan, right hand side). These things impact our rating. I’ve attached a the full plan, just to reinforce the present value. Please note a key benefit for renewing Planholders is the wavier of the Pre-existing medical condition exclusion, bottom of page 10, right hand side. Because you have been a member with recurring VacationGuard plans, the 60 day look-back does not apply. That’s a huge benefit as we age, and another way we try to eliminate surprises should a claim arise.
Mary Ann, our goal is to keep this plan affordable, especially for clients like yourself, and me, for I too own timeshare and pay to purchase this very plan. We appreciate the peace of mind it provides, but have it for the off-chance we might actually need it one day. That is why people buy travel protection, to protect against the unexpected. And, I can tell you, we have needed our plan, most recently for an injury (emergency medical expense) with our child in the spring. VacationGuard eliminated the stress of wondering if there was going to be coverage to reimburse my expenses, and allowed us to stay focused on the issues at hand, instead of wondering “do we have coverage?”. That’s what it’s supposed to do.
Frankly, we anticipate that sometime in 2015, we will have to adjust our rating back to a matrix of sorts. The new structure will reflect that most people have only a week of two of vacation ownership, so should not have to pay the same as someone who might wish to protect 4-8 weeks of ownership. Years ago, we started with this matrix of pricing model, and yet consolidated it for ease as things matured. However, with the current vacation ownership uses and these escalating fees, it’s time to go back to what is more fair across the needs inside the spectrum. Remember, I pay for this too, so have to look at it as a consumer as well. We anticipate that while the price is $199 at present, sometime in the next 6 months, you will see our Timeshare plan go back to a “tiered” level of benefits, and pricing respective to benefit levels offered. Clients like yourself should expect great stability in our pricing from here out, while those who have greater exposure, will in fact have to pay more to protect that, as you would expect.
We know this is a comprehensive answer to what seemed a simple question, but we believe you deserved a responsible answer that demonstrated we value your business, and hope you continue to trust us for your vacation protection.
Let us know if you have additional questions, and thank you for trusting VacationGuard® with your travel plans.
Brian Rock, National Director
On behalf of the VacationGuard® Support Team
P: 866.314.9480 l email:
Service@VacationGuard.com
M-F 8:00AM-5:00PM CST
www.VacationGuard.com
mpumilia is online now Report Post Reply With Quote
Vacation Guard has actually seen 20% increases in premiums each and every year for the past +/- 5 years --- maybe even longer than that; I can't retrieve records any older.
I'm not sure how / if a new "model" will be developed, but they certainly can't continue to impose 20% increases each year and expect to retain their customers indefinitely.
