Travelex Trip "Insurance", Worth it?

[IMMkXLVI]

I was making theme park reservations for an upcoming Disney trip when I saw an option to add travel insurance. It opened a new age for Travelex and I was able to read some of the terms, conditions and rules for the protection plan but it wasn't clear how they address the issue of points. All references to policy limits regarding coverage(s) are in dollars. This isn't helpful when we consider that DVC is a point based system. I plan to call them and see if they can point me to the written policy and not just give me a verbal answer but I thought someone here may have experience with Travelex and will have insight into how it works, and how it fails.

 

[MICKIMINI]

I have purchased it in the past and thankfully, haven't had to use it. For $99 it was peace of mind. Good luck.

 

[erionm]

If you file a claim for points, you are reimbursed the amount of the annual dues for those points.

 

[IMMkXLVI]

If you file a claim for points, you are reimbursed the amount of the annual dues for those points.

Thanks, that is what I was beginning to think based on the policy documents I read.
If my math is correct, that equates to whatever the dues rate is for your home resort or possibly, if lower probably, the dues for the resort the reservation was made for. Take my home resort of Riviera for example, it's $8.85 per point so this is what they'd reimburse at. While something is better than nothing, it is less than half what DVC charges for one time use points which someone might need to use if a reservation was lost and by extension, points as well. It seems strange that a policy promoted by DVC and geared for members of DVC would have a benefit that doesn't really cover the cost of DVC.

 

[erionm]

Thanks, that is what I was beginning to think based on the policy documents I read.
If my math is correct, that equates to whatever the dues rate is for your home resort or possibly, if lower probably, the dues for the resort the reservation was made for. Take my home resort of Riviera for example, it's $8.85 per point so this is what they'd reimburse at. While something is better than nothing, it is less than half what DVC charges for one time use points which someone might need to use if a reservation was lost and by extension, points as well. It seems strange that a policy promoted by DVC and geared for members of DVC would have a benefit that doesn't really cover the cost of DVC.

It would be the dues rate for the points used to make the reservation.

 

[IMMkXLVI]

It would be the dues rate for the points used to make the reservation.

Thanks. That is disappointing. While the policy cost is negligible, so is the coverage which only negates part of the trip cost, the dues. It doesn't return the points. tradition trip coverage with a cash paid trip covers you for the trip cost so you're made whole and able to book another trip. This coverage doesn't achieve this. Given this is what DVC promotes, I'm doubtful a better plan exists which begs the question, why. Does it because DVC is point based? Does this make it inherently more difficult to assign a cash value? Disney themselves seem to make it easier, with the one time use points. It seems like a good reference for a per-point basis and the increase in benefits paid could be covered by increasing the policy cost. I'd rather pay 2x or possibly even 3x the current $99 if it meant my rip was covered at a more realistic "trip cost" level. It also raises the question of why DVC didn't negotiate terms with Travelex to allow for points to be reinstated/returned but I suspect it has to do with real estate laws and time share rules.

 

[erionm]

Thanks. That is disappointing. While the policy cost is negligible, so is the coverage which only negates part of the trip cost, the dues. It doesn't return the points. tradition trip coverage with a cash paid trip covers you for the trip cost so you're made whole and able to book another trip. This coverage doesn't achieve this. Given this is what DVC promotes, I'm doubtful a better plan exists which begs the question, why. Does it because DVC is point based? Does this make it inherently more difficult to assign a cash value? Disney themselves seem to make it easier, with the one time use points. It seems like a good reference for a per-point basis and the increase in benefits paid could be covered by increasing the policy cost. I'd rather pay 2x or possibly even 3x the current $99 if it meant my rip was covered at a more realistic "trip cost" level. It also raises the question of why DVC didn't negotiate terms with Travelex to allow for points to be reinstated/returned but I suspect it has to do with real estate laws and time share rules.

Unless the trip is at the end of the UY and the points were banked/borrowed, there really wouldn't been a need to file a claim for points if the trip was cancelled prior to check in unless you didn't want to deal with points in holding.

 

[IMMkXLVI]

Unless the trip is at the end of the UY and the points were banked/borrowed, there really wouldn't been a need to file a claim for points if the trip was cancelled prior to check in unless you didn't want to deal with points in holding.

We're new to DVC but already I can see that availability really diminishes the closer you get to the desired check-in date. The points in holding have a 60 day limit on them which can really affect how and where you plan a reservation to use them. It can also, depending on the point levels involved, mean using untainted points on a reservation you'd otherwise not make. I just hope to never find myself in such a scenario but I have to admit, it would be a toss up which is the lesser bad outcome, loss of $12 per point (and by extension, the points themselves) or dealing with the points in holding hassle. There is the option of the Disney Collection but I haven't used it so I have no experience with it, to know if it has a lot of pitfalls that can dictate how you use points in holding.

 

[jekjones1558]

I always buy the insurance. It covers all points in a membership, no matter how many you own. It also covers other things. I haven't read the policy lately but years ago we had to cancel a trip last minute when my DH had a serious illness. The insurance paid for our canceled airline tickets.

 

[dwg]

We always take the DVC insurance. It covers everyone on the trip (I think up to 7 people) and I am not sure if taking other trip insurance outside of DVC is an option since the trip is paid for with points. We like to use at least some points when cruising so emergency evacuation is important to us.

One point I do not think was mentioned on this thread is that the insurance works by use year. So for instance if you are using points from more than one use year to book your trip you need to have insurance to cover each use year. At least that is what I was told by Travelex and Disney. I am assuming that if you only had insurance for one use year you would only get reimbursed for the annual dues related to that use year.

 

[IMMkXLVI]

We always take the DVC insurance. It covers everyone on the trip (I think up to 7 people) and I am not sure if taking other trip insurance outside of DVC is an option since the trip is paid for with points. We like to use at least some points when cruising so emergency evacuation is important to us.

One point I do not think was mentioned on this thread is that the insurance works by use year. So for instance if you are using points from more than one use year to book your trip you need to have insurance to cover each use year. At least that is what I was told by Travelex and Disney. I am assuming that if you only had insurance for one use year you would only get reimbursed for the annual dues related to that use year.

I have contracts all within the same UY but that is useful information should we add a contract outside of December.

One thing not clear from reading Travelex TOS/T&C, is the is the trip protection per trip or per contract? We have 300 Riviera points across two contacts, same UY. The coverage is per reservation? What if we have 2 reservations for one "trip"? Which happened last time when the trip was split between rooms with lagoon view and standard view.

It's certainly inexpensive coverage though not sure it is of any value for us. I don't like flying. Not because of the plane or the airlines/airports. No, if that were all it was, I LOVE flying. What I dislike are the fellow passengers. I invariably always get someone sneezing on or near me with the manners of an uneducated 3yr old. How a grown adult could sneeze into the open air of a crowded space and think nothing of it is mind boggling. We have TSA Precheck but with early morning flights, RDU never has a dedicated Precheck line so off come the shoes and out comes the tablet. Meh.

I'd happily drive, put the car in self driving and just keep my hand on the wheel. I can set the cruise and not have to touch the brake to adjust for traffic speed. The car will even come to a stop and accelerate while I scratch my foot, assuming I had an itch of course.

8 hours later I'm there and I won't have a cold to look forward to in 3 days thanks to the man that never learned during the pandemic how to respectfully sneeze in public.

Travelex won't help me with plane tix because I won't have any. Not sure what other cost would be incurred with a cancelled trip other than the effect it has on the points.

 

[erionm]

One thing not clear from reading Travelex TOS/T&C, is the is the trip protection per trip or per contract? We have 300 Riviera points across two contacts, same UY. The coverage is per reservation? What if we have 2 reservations for one "trip"? Which happened last time when the trip was split between rooms with lagoon view and standard view.

It covers all trips made during the UY. If you have multiple contracts under a single membership number, they are all overed under a single policy.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Stated coverage is one thing - has anyone ever received reimbursement for an actual claim? IME - and this is other non-Disney trips; the insurance is usually more trouble than it is worth. The list of exclusions is a mile long and the insurers are masters at denying claims. I'll get trip insurance for a cruise but that's about the end of the list. Yes the cost is minimal, but also it can be a case of you get what you pay for.

 

[erionm]

We purchase the Travelex insurance, but have never needed to file a claim.

 

[dwg]

I have contracts all within the same UY but that is useful information should we add a contract outside of December.

One thing not clear from reading Travelex TOS/T&C, is the is the trip protection per trip or per contract? We have 300 Riviera points across two contacts, same UY. The coverage is per reservation? What if we have 2 reservations for one "trip"? Which happened last time when the trip was split between rooms with lagoon view and standard view.

It's certainly inexpensive coverage though not sure it is of any value for us. I don't like flying. Not because of the plane or the airlines/airports. No, if that were all it was, I LOVE flying. What I dislike are the fellow passengers. I invariably always get someone sneezing on or near me with the manners of an uneducated 3yr old. How a grown adult could sneeze into the open air of a crowded space and think nothing of it is mind boggling. We have TSA Precheck but with early morning flights, RDU never has a dedicated Precheck line so off come the shoes and out comes the tablet. Meh.

I'd happily drive, put the car in self driving and just keep my hand on the wheel. I can set the cruise and not have to touch the brake to adjust for traffic speed. The car will even come to a stop and accelerate while I scratch my foot, assuming I had an itch of course.

8 hours later I'm there and I won't have a cold to look forward to in 3 days thanks to the man that never learned during the pandemic how to respectfully sneeze in public.

Travelex won't help me with plane tix because I won't have any. Not sure what other cost would be incurred with a cancelled trip other than the effect it has on the points.

I have two contracts with the same use year also. My point has to do with booking a trip using a combination of points that were banked or borrowed in addition to the current use year points. Regardless of what use year points are used in they always maintain the use year that they were originally assigned. For instance you have 200 points added at the beginning of each use year. Your trip will use 300 points. 200 from your current use year and you banked 100 points from the previous use year. To cover all of the points you will need 2 Travelex policies at $99 each to cover all the points used for the trip. One for the current use year points and one for the points that were banked into the current use year.