With Americans spending more on their vacations than ever before, there's a lot at stake if things don't go according to plan. While you can't recoup the time you spent planning your trip, flight insurance can reimburse the full amount you spent on airfare if you need to cancel your trip for a covered reason.
Most flight insurance plans will cover cancellations for the following reasons:
Roughly a quarter of all flights in the U.S. are either delayed or canceled. More often than not, significant changes to a flight's departure time can result in added stress and out-of-pocket expenses for travelers. This is especially true for those with connecting flights to catch.
Flight insurance provides reimbursement for expenses incurred as a result of a significant delay, including:
Flight insurance covers more than just your time in the sky. The majority of plans provide a wide-range of benefits that cover you for the duration of your trip, from the time you leave home to the moment you return.
Aside from cancellations and delays, flight insurance can also offer reimbursement if you experience an unexpected medical emergency, lose your luggage, or have to end your trip early.
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Squaremouth shares their tips and recommendations based on the most frequently asked questions from passengers.
Flight insurance is a type of coverage that provides financial protection from some of the most common travel disruptions. The best flight insurance plans will provide coverage for lengthy delays, trip cancellations, trip interruptions, unexpected medical emergencies, baggage delays, and lost luggage.
If you only insure the cost of your flight, you can expect to pay between 5-10% of your total airfare costs on a comprehensive travel insurance plan. However, you can insure all prepaid and non-refundable expenses for complete coverage. Costs and coverage limits can vary significantly from one policy to the next, so it's best to compare plans before making a purchase decision.
The price of flight insurance varies based on a variety of factors:
Flight insurance works on a reimbursement basis. Insurers charge a premium for trip protection, and in return, they agree to cover expenses related to an event covered by the policy. If your trip is disrupted by an event covered by your travel insurance policy, you will file a claim directly with your insurance provider. The claims process typically takes 4-6 weeks depending on the amount of documentation and evidence you provide.
You can purchase travel insurance at any point after booking a flight up until your departure date. With that said, we recommend purchasing a policy within 10-14 days after making your initial trip payment. This not only keeps you covered longer, but opens the door to time-sensitive travel insurance benefits like CFAR and Pre-Existing Condition coverage.
Unless you’re comfortable traveling with risk, flight insurance is absolutely worth it. Since most U.S. health insurance doesn't provide coverage abroad, many travelers purchase a policy so that they have medical insurance overseas.
Even a relatively inexpensive trip insurance policy can provide financial protection to limit your losses as a result of unforeseen cancellations, medical emergencies, delays, and luggage issues. If you run into trouble at any point in your journey, most providers offer 24-Hour travel assistance services to help solve problems that arise.
While it’s possible to purchase travel insurance coverage through an airline, the policies they offer are typically more expensive and don’t provide adequate coverage. Most airlines also only offer a single policy, which makes it difficult to compare with other plans.
While some of these plans can offer decent protection, the majority of the time you can find better trip protection for less by shopping around. At the very least, we recommend getting quotes from 2-3 additional travel insurance providers. The best travel insurance companies will offer strong coverage at a competitive price point.
You can find travel insurance from a wide-range of sources, including credit cards, travel suppliers, and third party travel insurance companies. To find the best travel insurance protection for your trip, we recommend taking the time to compare multiple insurance plans that meet your budget and travel needs. Start by using a travel insurance comparison site like Squaremouth.