II Travel Insurance worth it?

[Phillie]

I was recently confirmed for an exchange and today received an email soliciting me to sign up for the II travel insurance at a cheap price of $9 per day. I have no need because I am driving so if luggage is lost it is only my fault for losing it on the highway and I prefer to gamble when it comes to illness. What are others opinions? Worth it or not?

 

[Kenrabs]

I think it depends on where your exchanging to. If it's an area where weather could cancel your trip or close the resort you might want to get it. Insurance is one of those things that we pass on, but if something happens we wish we had it.

 

[dougp26364]

For the most part we pass on the I.I. insurance. To expensive for no more that what it provides. I believe most coverage is secondary paying only after all other source's have paid. Some of the coverages will be duplicated if you've used a CC to book your trip.

The one exception is when we're booking the east coast during Hurricane season. Since you just never know what to expect and we'll want that exchange back if that vacation gets cancelled due to weather.

 

[pwrshift]

When I'm going into a hurricane area in 'that' season I take the insurance. A couple of years ago I had to cancel due to gallbladder problems, and after getting some forms signed by my doc I got $1000 from the II insurer which I guess puts me ahead in the cost/claim game.

Brian

 

[Kola]

Brian

Does this mean that you are buying II insurance for ALL your exchanges ?
I haven't bought any in over ten years !

Mike

 

[pwrshift]

No ... only when there is some element of risk due to weather ... or if I had a concern over the health of a close relative that I'd be leaving behind. IMO it's the price of lunch for $1000 insurance to cover some of the travel costs not covered by medicare, etc.

Brian

 

[KenK]

I wonder if everyone forgot all the lost vacations during the hurricanes of the past several fall seasons....in the S of the USA and of course the Gulf Islands and Mexico.

Lets see.....even in the US, owners are anxiously waiting for their Wyndham Santa Barbara to reopen thanks to Wilma.....2 years ago? And I think the final building that was under repair at the Wyndham Palm Aire CC T/S units section just opened a few months ago.

Brian is also correct about any possibility of a health concern. Its not just the driving part...

We don't usually buy the insurance. But have a few times, like Brian said....hurricane season and going nearly anywhere in the S US or near the tropics.....or if you might have someone that might have a health problem.

There are a few companies that are independent of the exchange companies...one run by Nationwide that some on tug thought was also good....

http://www.vacationguard.com/faq.htm and others

 

[linmcginn]

After years of working in the travel industry and seeing first hand what happened when clients refused trip insurance and then called me in a panic because they needed to cancel because of unexpected problems such as illnesses, deaths in the family,work etc. the only thing I could do is cancel the trip but unfortunately no money was refunded. I always take the insurance on air flights and vacations packages. I'd rather lose the $ amount for the insurance than the money I've invested in the trip! There are other companies that you can go through for trip cancellation insurance that may be less expensive that the one offered by Interval.Travel agencies have applications and you can also find these companies online.

 

[kapish]

Earlier discussion and my comments can be found here:
http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=51334

 

[Lglen119]

Interval is still "exhange insurance" and not full blown travel insurance

I agree with linmcginn. I'd much rather discuss my needs from a position of having bought something than hoping for an exception.

We've been buying travel insurance a few years now because it covers more than just me. We do not buy through travel agencies because we found they offer generic plans don't do what we need, especially for timeshare owners where I want to cover my M&T, exchange fees, and club dues.

My mom had a major stroke 2 weeks after our vacation a few years ago, and had it been 2 weeks earlier, I would have needed to come home. Real travel insurance actually pays that. Interval does not. While travelguard is a decent carrier, the Interval plan was sold as 'exchange insurance" until recenly, so has no coverage for Emergency Medical Evacuation or medical expenses, or ...cover any M&T exposure....it is a VERY limited plan. And, for $59 per trip, it's a touch pricey. RCI is cancellation protection only, so even more limited. Sure it torques me that Interval wants me to buy it everytime I give them inventory. They even called to give me a hard press on it after my last deposit they confirmed.

We buy far better coverage annually via Vacationguard... www.vacationguard.com It covers our M&T exposure, plus weather, evacuation, delay, and even car breakdown because we too prefer to drive vs. fly...which we know triggers delay benefits with this plan. And..it's annual vs. per-trip.

Buyer beware in the insurance business... just because they offer it doesn't mean it will do what you want, or will make you happy.

 

[Kenrabs]

Does vacation guard give coverages on exchanges or is it just for weeks you own?

 

[Lglen119]

vacationguard covering exchanges

If I understand your question... "meaning I take my time with home resort, deposit it with an exchange company and then use that deposit to exchange to somewhere other than my home resort" - the answer is "yes," the vacationguard plan covers that. Having that flexibility and protectoin while also protecting my M&T is a key reason I bought it - and being an annual plan for the year vs. worrying about per-trip stuff.

With every other insurance plan I've seen, there is no coverage for the M&T, so if I have to cancel for weather or sickness, I'm still stuck for annual dues, and the lovely skyrocketing Marriott HI dues now are a lot to be "stuck for." In a loss, I'd rather just have the dues money I'm out because I can always book a get-away for less when things are settled, if we get to go at all.

Sounds like you might need to can them if other questions, but, they respond to email too off the vacationguard contact info page, as I asked them a few things over the years. hope this helped a little...

 

[LGinPA]

Thanks for all the useful information here. I've never bought II's insurance. For us, the loss of a week's M&T isn't that much money.

The biggest loss would be any airfare for our family of 5. Last trip we were traveling to Antigua during hurricane season (late June). And we both have aging and ailing parents. For that reason, we bought the insurance offered from Continental airlines. It didn't cost much at all. And it covered every cause from weather, sickness and death in family (even relatives such as aunt, uncle and cousins). The loss of that airfare would have been great. So we considered it a valuable investment.

We won't buy any insurance for our t/s trip to TFL in Vermont next June. We'll be driving there. There's just not enough on the line to make it worth while for us.

I checked out Vacation Guard and it doesn't say it covers a death in family. Is that correct?

 

[Lglen119]

Linda:

That makes perfect sense. I've checked out the cancellation insurance via the airline too. Very affordable indeed. They cover tickets, but don't cover me once I'm there. So, it's a matter of what we are trying to accomplish on that trip.

Yes, I do know that VacationGuard covers death of family members, etc, but they do a airfare ticket change fee vs the whole ticket, as like you, many of us drive-to our stuff. When we were going to HI, I just upgraded for a few bucks with vg select to cover my actual airfares.

Last crazy thought - we were vacationing with my mother in law a few years back who got some weird liver thing and got plenty sick. While it seemed rather amazing at the time, all it taught me was what our/her medical ins didn't cover, and why she (and I) was really glad she had travel ins that covered medically required evacuation. Weird things happen all the time and her bill for getting back home down the east coast to FL was 18k, all paid gratis,fortunately. That's why I use the annual plan with Vacationguard, so I dont have to sweat the small trips we can take that are supposed to be easy. I just don't budget for medical surprises beyond the ones my kids give us all the time. Take care - good chatting and good info.

 

[LGinPA]

Yes, I do know that VacationGuard covers death of family members, etc, but they do a airfare ticket change fee vs the whole ticket, as like you, many of us drive-to our stuff. When we were going to HI, I just upgraded for a few bucks with vg select to cover my actual airfares.

Well that's good news then. Are you saying that they pay for the cost of changing the ticket? If so, then that's not bad at all.

Last crazy thought - we were vacationing with my mother in law a few years back who got some weird liver thing and got plenty sick. While it seemed rather amazing at the time, all it taught me was what our/her medical ins didn't cover, and why she (and I) was really glad she had travel ins that covered medically required evacuation. Weird things happen all the time and her bill for getting back home down the east coast to FL was 18k, all paid gratis, fortunately. That's why I use the annual plan with Vacationguard, so I dont have to sweat the small trips we can take that are supposed to be easy. I just don't budget for medical surprises beyond the ones my kids give us all the time. Take care - good chatting and good info.

This does sound pretty good. I may look into this for our next big trip. I saved the link and I'll look into it. Thanks a lot!