Disney Vacation Protection Plan May Not Be the Deal It Appears to Be

Consumer advocates are concerned that Disney Cruise Line may be receiving kickbacks from sales of insurance in the Disney Vacation Protection Plan.

Many cruise lines offer “vacation protection” plans that customers can purchase to protect their purchase of a trip if something goes wrong. Some cruise lines that advertise trip insurance on their sites are Disney, Norwegian, and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.

Many cruise vacation protection plans are offered as a combination of multiple services and protections, including:

• cancelation fee waivers
• travel insurance policies sold by third party insurance providers like Transamerica and Nationstar
• Travel Assistance offered by third party companies like On Call International

These vacation protection plans are sold for a single price, with all of the different services charged in one fee. However, they are marketed in such a way that many consumers may believe that the price for the fees are composed of fees paid to the providers of each service, who are not the cruise company.

Some cruise lines may be receiving kickbacks from the sale of these products provided by third parties, and without notifying their customers. These cruise companies may be running afoul of laws that prohibit the sale of insurance by companies that aren’t specifically licensed to do so.

Additionally, consumers may be falsely led to believe that the money that they pay for a vacation protection plan is just going to third parties, when in reality, the third parties and the cruise company may be profiting from the sale. So, consumers may not be getting the lowest price possible for their insurance, if the cruise line is charging price for the services from which they can pay themselves as well as the third party providers.

Based on the advertising of these vacation protection plans, many consumers may not be able to tell where their money is going. They may not be able to make the best decision for their money if they are given misleading information. These vacation protection plans may be misleadingly advertised, or the cruise company may intentionally use vague language to confuse consumers.

Disney, Norwegian, and Royal Cruise Lines may be receiving undisclosed kickbacks from the sale of insurance on their websites. If you purchased a Disney vacation protection plan based on the company’s representations, it’s possible you may not have gotten the best product for your purchase.

Tactics that some companies use to confuse consumers about their vacation travel plans and trip insurance, and some that marketers of the Disney vacation protection plan may include:

• marketing and selling an insurance policy in conjunction with non-insurance products
• not identifying the price paid for an insurance policy separately from that paid for non-insurance products
• using “opt out” marketing tactics
• marketing or selling travel insurance for which the buyer could never make a valid claim and receive payment

If you purchased a Disney vacation protection plan, a Norwegian Cruise Line protection plan, or a Royal Caribbean Cruise Line protection plan online at the same time as purchasing a cruise ticket online after 2014, you may qualify to participate in a vacation protection plan lawsuit investigation.

Cruise Vacation Protection Plan Investigation: Do You Qualify?

You may qualify for this investigation if you meet the following requirements:

• You purchased a Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, or Disney Cruise line ticket online after 2014.
• You purchased a Vacation Protection Plan online at the same time as purchasing the ticket

If you meet the requirements detailed above, you may qualify to join this cruise travel insurance class action lawsuit investigation.

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