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Travel Insurance

suenmike32

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Does the travel insurance offered by Marriott at the time of booking cover hurricanes or anything considered an act of God?
Just booked OW for next August...and given the current state of events, I'm considering insuring it. I just don't want to drop $99.00 and in the event of another serious storm...be told that it wasn't covered.
Tks
 

VacationForever

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I believe it does. I have an upcoming trip to South Carolina this month and may have to rely on their insurance in the event that the resorts are damaged and closed. My main concern now is the airline piece if we have to cancel the trip. Their insurance only covers change fees. I may need to try to claim cancelled air tickets from Chase Sapphire Reserve.
 

WinniWoman

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Ask to see the detailed description of coverage. I always do from travel insurance companies as the devil is in the details.
 

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Weather is definitely covered but it needs to be out of your control like canceled flight or car rental. The covered party can't be the one to change the plans. It has to be forced. Like all the cancelled flights to Florida right now.
 

Passepartout

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Here's the question to ask: "If I buy this insurance, can I cancel for ANY reason? Will you get me home if the resort becomes unliveable or I have to leave FOR ANY REASON?

Jim
 

suenmike32

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Another thought would be...what if the resort is closed due to evacuation or damage. The last time we lost out was because the governor issued mandatory evacuation, so there was no check in. There were no other appealing locations to choose/trade into so we lost the vacation
 

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Here's the question to ask: "If I buy this insurance, can I cancel for ANY reason? Will you get me home if the resort becomes unliveable or I have to leave FOR ANY REASON?

Jim
This is a nice feature, but not included in the MVCI policy.
 

Passepartout

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This is a nice feature, but not included in the MVCI policy.
Then the MVCI policy is not REAL travel insurance. It's just 'sort of' vacation peace of mind. OTOH, it's cheap- compared with true travel insurance.
 

Saintsfanfl

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Then the MVCI policy is not REAL travel insurance. It's just 'sort of' vacation peace of mind. OTOH, it's cheap- compared with true travel insurance.

I do not know of any type of insurance that will allow you to just cancel for any reason or will get you home if the resort becomes unlivable. It is always a claim for damages and reimbursement.
 

Passepartout

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Saintsfanfl

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"Depending on the policy, this benefit reimburses 50% or 75% of the trip cost, and requires the traveler to insure 100% of their prepaid and non-refundable trip costs"

It is deceiving. You lose 25%-50% of the total trip cost. That is not "insurance" I would ever pay for. They are in business to make a profit. If someone can afford to take the vacation to begin with they can also afford to lose the expense of a trip every 20-50.
 

Luanne

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"Depending on the policy, this benefit reimburses 50% or 75% of the trip cost, and requires the traveler to insure 100% of their prepaid and non-refundable trip costs"

It is deceiving. You lose 25%-50% of the total trip cost. That is not "insurance" I would ever pay for. They are in business to make a profit. If someone can afford to take the vacation to begin with they can also afford to lose the expense of a trip every 20-50.

They must have the covered give up something or they would not be able to sell "cancel for any reason" coverage.
I tried to find the price for a "cancel for any reason" option through TravelGuard (I think). Although it showed they had the option I could not find ANY way to get the price quote. Didn't make me feel real interested in taking that type of insurance.
 

Saintsfanfl

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I tried to find the price for a "cancel for any reason" option through TravelGuard (I think). Although it showed they had the option I could not find ANY way to get the price quote. Didn't make me feel real interested in taking that type of insurance.

I am just not a big fan of insurance for affordable or things you can easily replace. Insurance should be for the things you cannot afford to lose. Like a house, a car, or business insurance. Travel insurance exists to make people feel better but it usually isn't a financial need.

I can see the value in Marriott's annual policy for someone that travels heavy although I have not really looked at it. Most of my stays are through II which has more than enough flexibility already.
 

Luanne

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I am just not a big fan of insurance for affordable or things you can easily replace. Insurance should be for the things you cannot afford to lose. Like a house, a car, or business insurance. Travel insurance exists to make people feel better but it usually isn't a financial need.

I can see the value in Marriott's annual policy for someone that travels heavy although I have not really looked at it. Most of my stays are through II which has more than enough flexibility already.
Some trips can be a financial burden if you stand to lose everything. My daughter and I plan to take it out for a river cruise we're taking in 2021. It's not just the cost of the trip, but if you have medical problems during the trip.

And you can ask Jim (@Passepartout) about the benefits of having insurance.
 

Passepartout

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They are in business to make a profit.
Well, DUH! Name a business that isn't in business to make a profit? Yes, those that haver 'Cancel for ANY reason' policies are probably the most expensive. And truly, you DO need to know- and list what potential loss you want to insure against. It's a whole lot different to insure againse a couple hour airline schedule change, or a lost bag that can catch up to you the next day than to insure the cost of medical hospitalization, emergency heart surgery, many days in a top facility and evacuation by Business Class with a rescue nurse at your side (as happened to me last Summer in Germany).

I assure you, the insurance carrier didn't make a profit from my $350 premium.

Jim
 

Saintsfanfl

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Definitively understood. I am blinded by my own limited experiences. I can definitely see insuring a trip where my entire family is going international. We aren't there yet but maybe some day.
 

mash84121

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Per the link Steve attached on page 4:

The Company will reimburse the Insured a benefit, up to the Maximum Limit
shown in the Schedule if an Insured or Traveling Companion cancels his/her
Trip or is unable to continue on his/her Trip due to any of the following
Unforeseen events:

(e) the Insured’s or Traveling Companion’s home or Destination being made
Uninhabitable or inaccessible by Natural Disaster, that is due to natural
causes; vandalism, or burglary. Coverage for a hurricane applies only if
insurance was purchased prior to the tropical storm being upgraded to a
hurricane;
. . .

o) mandatory evacuation ordered by local authorities at your Destination due
to hurricane or other Natural Disaster for at least 24 consecutive hours
preventing the Insured from staying his/her Destination;

So in the case of a hurricane, if the insurance was purchased before the storm was upgraded to a hurricane and the resort is uninhabitable or inaccessible then the insurance will pay.
 

dioxide45

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I wouldn't think Cancel for Any Reason would provide any coverage once a trip starts. So if you have to leave early, it won't help. Though the trip interruption or other coverage on the policy may kick in. I also suspect that very few people actually buy cancel for any reason. It is often an add on that is very expensive and doesn't provide a lot of coverage. It usually needs to be bought within a certain number of days of initial trip deposit. We mainly buy insurance for medical cost and evac. The actual trip cancellation coverage is not much of a consideration. Travel delay would cover us if we had to buy tickets to get to our destination or back home because of weather or airline issues, but often airlines work with customers to get them on an available flight, which makes the need for a claim against this unlikely.
 

NJMOM2

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We used the insurance when we were evacuated from Marco Island two years ago when Hurricane Irma hit there. Our reservation were Saturday to Saturday and we were suppose to stay in Fort Myers one night before flying home on Sunday. We left on Wednesday and headed to a Marriott brand hotel outside Hilton Head for three nights. Then after two nights we got evacuated from there and spent a night in Charlotte before flying home. We got money back from the insurance for a prorated amount of money for our maintenance fees to equal the three nights we lost (we used enrolled vacation club points for reservation). We were traveling with my mom and aunt. So we needed two hotel rooms for each night traveling after evacuation. We got back $250 per day for hotel rooms and food for Wednesday to Saturday while we were traveling. It was the best $99 I ever spent and it was the first time we ever bought the MVC travel insurance. I only bought it because I knew we were traveling during hurricane season. I now always buy the insurance. I'm currently covered through 2020 because I needed to borrow some 2020 points for 2019 travel days.

The insurance also covers damaged, delayed or lost luggage, flight delays if over 8 hours (I think), your miss your connection, illnesses or injuries incurred while travel, car rental accident insurance among other things for all your vacations where you travel using the 'covered year' timeshare or points. Coverage starts 2 days before check in and ends 2 days after check out.
 

gatorray

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Per the link Steve attached on page 4:

The Company will reimburse the Insured a benefit, up to the Maximum Limit
shown in the Schedule if an Insured or Traveling Companion cancels his/her
Trip or is unable to continue on his/her Trip due to any of the following
Unforeseen events:

(e) the Insured’s or Traveling Companion’s home or Destination being made
Uninhabitable or inaccessible by Natural Disaster, that is due to natural
causes; vandalism, or burglary. Coverage for a hurricane applies only if
insurance was purchased prior to the tropical storm being upgraded to a
hurricane;
. . .

o) mandatory evacuation ordered by local authorities at your Destination due
to hurricane or other Natural Disaster for at least 24 consecutive hours
preventing the Insured from staying his/her Destination;

So in the case of a hurricane, if the insurance was purchased before the storm was upgraded to a hurricane and the resort is uninhabitable or inaccessible then the insurance will pay.

Thus, I would suspect that if you checked in, unpacked, had a beer in your TS even before a single night had past, the Travelex/BH insurance wouldn’t cover the loss of occupancy for that day or the remainder of the week (-s). Further, since there is no category or mention of the ownership loss of the annual maintenance fee as a result of a declared evacuation (Ex: hurricane Dorian and the mandatory evacuations of Coastal FL, GA, SC, NC), again, the insurance wouldn’t pay the loss of usage claim. Lots of gotchas. Better to insure your life, home and vehicle than pay for this dubious travel coverage imho. It’s a crap shoot and odds overwhelmingly favor the insurance vendor (Travelex) and the Underwriter (Berkshire Hathaway).
 

gatorray

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We used the insurance when we were evacuated from Marco Island two years ago when Hurricane Irma hit there. Our reservation were Saturday to Saturday and we were suppose to stay in Fort Myers one night before flying home on Sunday. We left on Wednesday and headed to a Marriott brand hotel outside Hilton Head for three nights. Then after two nights we got evacuated from there and spent a night in Charlotte before flying home. We got money back from the insurance for a prorated amount of money for our maintenance fees to equal the three nights we lost (we used enrolled vacation club points for reservation). We were traveling with my mom and aunt. So we needed two hotel rooms for each night traveling after evacuation. We got back $250 per day for hotel rooms and food for Wednesday to Saturday while we were traveling. It was the best $99 I ever spent and it was the first time we ever bought the MVC travel insurance. I only bought it because I knew we were traveling during hurricane season. I now always buy the insurance. I'm currently covered through 2020 because I needed to borrow some 2020 points for 2019 travel days.

The insurance also covers damaged, delayed or lost luggage, flight delays if over 8 hours (I think), your miss your connection, illnesses or injuries incurred while travel, car rental accident insurance among other things for all your vacations where you travel using the 'covered year' timeshare or points. Coverage starts 2 days before check in and ends 2 days after check out.

I read thru the link for the Travelex policy kindly provided by Steven Ting and I found not one word about reimbursement for maintenance fee coverage in the event that you are ordered to evacuate. If it isn’t described I could easily see the carrier denying the claim. Your experience suggests otherwise. For those of us that drive to our destination resorts, flights, hotels, baggage claims mean nothing. That seems to be the bulk of the coverage. Please elucidate. Thanks.
 

Fasttr

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Thus, I would suspect that if you checked in, unpacked, had a beer in your TS even before a single night had past, the Travelex/BH insurance wouldn’t cover the loss of occupancy for that day or the remainder of the week (-s). Further, since there is no category or mention of the ownership loss of the annual maintenance fee as a result of a declared evacuation (Ex: hurricane Dorian and the mandatory evacuations of Coastal FL, GA, SC, NC), again, the insurance wouldn’t pay the loss of usage claim.
I’m assuming that you did not take the time to read the policy posted in post 4 above.
 

Dean

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I am just not a big fan of insurance for affordable or things you can easily replace. Insurance should be for the things you cannot afford to lose. Like a house, a car, or business insurance. Travel insurance exists to make people feel better but it usually isn't a financial need.

I can see the value in Marriott's annual policy for someone that travels heavy although I have not really looked at it. Most of my stays are through II which has more than enough flexibility already.
I tend to fall in your camp in principle but I do think there are exceptions. For MVC for those of us with larger portfolios, it covers all weeks and up to 8 people at a time. So I think the economy of scale makes it favorable for our situation. For most situations though I put it in the same basket as extended warranties. For example, with cruises you can cancel for minimal risk up until fairly late in the game. Medical insurance will cover for many such situations but not for the others on the trip. One needs to look at the risk involved both for the trip and their personal circumstances and make a determination. But just to do it blindly "for the peace of mind" doesn't make sense to me.
 

JIMinNC

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We are using a combination of 2020 and borrowed 2021 points for our Feb 2020 Maui stay. If we buy the MVC coverage when we pay the 2020 maintenance fee in a few months, will the Feb 2020 trip be covered? Do we have to pay for 2021 also at the same time? How does all that work?
 
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