WTC Rolls out a Full Refund Policy

Looks like a good move.  Of course there will be a ton of cry babies complaining about the cost of insurance, but that is what insurance is for.

Some people would say when given free chocolate ice cream "but it's not vanilla!"

People like to look for the ulterior motive.  I think it's a great move in the right direction.  How spoiled are we, we sign up for a $600-700 race (!!!!), spend thousands on equipment, training, coaches, supplements, nutrition, massage, physical therapy, IM branded gear, yet compain about $90 which would get us nearly 100 percent reovery of the fee.   No one forces anyone to do an IM branded race, there's plenty of other options out there.  Or as noted to pay the insurance.

yup, we are spoiled rotten

Took a look at the plan details, actually covers a lot of different scenarios, surprisingly, other than injuries

We will reimburse the Registration Fee you paid if you are unable to participate in the Covered Event for any one of the following reasons:
1. You suffer from an Injury or an unforeseen Illness, normal pregnancy, or childbirth including unforeseen complications of pregnancy which prevents you from participating in the Covered Event. A Qualified Medical Practitioner must certify that you are not able to participate in the Covered Event.
2. You are on Active Military Duty and receive unanticipated reassignment or deployment orders or revocation of personal leave, except for disciplinary reasons. You must provide us a copy of the orders you receive.
3. You are directly involved in a traffic Accident on the day of the Covered Event that causes either: an Injury to you or damage to the automobile that creates an immediate need for repair to ensure the safe operation of the vehicle and prevents your attendance at the Covered Event.
4. You are not able to arrive in time to participate in the Covered Event due to a delay by the Common Carrier you used for transportation to the Covered Event location.
5. Any Injury or an unforeseen Illness, normal pregnancy, or childbirth including unforeseen complications of pregnancy occurring to your Family Member. Your Family Member must be examined by a Qualified Medical Practitioner within 72 weekday hours of the date of the Covered Event.
6. Your automobile having a Mechanical Breakdown within 48 hours of the Covered Event which results in the vehicle being inoperable to be driven to the Covered Event.
7. You, after having been with the same employer for at least three continuous years, are terminated or laid off, through no fault of your own, after you enroll as a participant in the Covered Event.
8. You or Your spouse are relocated by your or your spouse's current employer to a location that is at least 100 miles from your primary residence.
9. The death of your Family Member. You must provide us a copy of the death certificate via a process outlined in the benefit request form.

We Will Not Pay:
We will not reimburse the Registration Fee you paid for the Event if you are unable to participate in the Event due to:
1. An intentionally self-inflicted injury or self-inflicted sickness
2. Physical complications resulting from alcohol or substance abuse
3. Natural disasters (unless as specifically covered)

I don't have a source, but I think it's typical that the DNS rate is around 15-20% at your typical IM.  Or roughly 1 in 7.

Edit: Found a source for 2010 NA Ironmans

Partial refunds have always been available up to 45 days before the race.

While deferments are not an option, they now have a transfer policy (which is also not perfect but at least it's something).  I actually used the transfer policy this year.  It cost $50.  Last year I couldn't do an IM and there was no transfer policy.  It cost me $1300 as I ate the registration fee for the race I couldn't race plus I had to register for another race.

Agreed.  You knew when you registered that the policy was "No refunds and no deferments."  Not sure why people complain about it when they agreed to it.

I have DNS'd a race or two every year.  Some are local races that weren't expensive but I have also DNS'd three 70.3's and one IM.  I didn't like losing that money but it is what it is.

Overall I applaud the improvement and though I think $90 is a lot to insure 700, it is no worse than going to Best Buy and paying the same amount for that new television for their "insurance". Therefore no major gripes from me.

However, make no mistake that though maybe they are finally listening to the participants they are making the change because there has been a change in the landscape with triathlon especially over the last couple years.  With the addition of Challenge to North America with mainly positive reviews from both races , WTC understands that CHallenge being the #2 worldwide produces of races can make a dent in their market share that HITS and REV (at least curently) cannot do,

I am not saying with the 35 year headstart that WTC /IM is any threat to fall from the #1 spot but with Challenge being a proven brand in europe and Asia and probably having plans to expand in the US they could pull some participation numbers away from IM. 

Getting back to the original point Challenge AC had a April 1st cancellation date with a $50 penalty with no explanation needed and they were very receptive to people changing relay partners etc. I think WTC took notice of this also and reacted.

So I think this is just a positive reaction to healthy competition.

I have done 2 IM's (IMLP and CHallenge AC, and I was happy with both and had some issues with both but I think healthy competition is best for our sport