Should I Buy Delta Flight Insurance?
Key Takeaways
- Delta flight insurance is comprehensive travel insurance that covers trip cancellations and interruptions, as well as other common travel disruptions like trip delays, lost bags, and medical emergencies.
- Delta flight insurance is overpriced travel insurance that doesn’t make sense for most travelers given that you can purchase similar or even better coverage directly from Allianz, generally for a lower price.
- Delta trip protection costs around 7%-8% of your trip cost according to our analysis, which is slightly higher than the average cost for third-party travel insurance.
- It has many gaps compared to third-party insurance, including no Missed Connection coverage and inadequate medical coverages.
- Comparing travel insurance through Squaremouth can help you find the best coverage for your Delta flight.
How Does Delta Flight Insurance Work?
Delta Flight Insurance is an optional travel insurance policy that you can add to your flight at checkout for an extra fee. It reimburses your non-refundable flight costs in case you need to cancel your trip for a covered reason. It also covers you for other common travel disruptions like delayed flights and medical emergencies.
It’s underwritten by Jefferson Insurance Company and administered by Allianz Travel Insurance. That means that Allianz handles claims and customer service, while Jefferson Insurance Company is responsible for paying claims.
What Does Delta Flight Insurance Cover?
Delta Air Lines travel insurance covers a wide range of potential trip disruptions, including cancellations, interruptions, delays, lost bags and medical emergencies. Coverage includes:
- Cancellations for a covered reason: Reimburses 100% of your non-refundable fare if you need to cancel your flight for a covered reason like illness, injury, or death of you, your traveling companion, or an immediate family member.
- Interruptions for a covered reason: Reimburses 150% of your fare and the cost of your return travel if your trip is interrupted unexpectedly due to the illness, injury, or death of you, your traveling companion, or immediate family member. Covered reasons also include things like terrorist incidents and disasters.
- Trip delays: Covers up to $300 for lost prepaid trip expenses and extra costs like meals, accommodations, and transportation for a delay of at least 6 hours.
- Lost bags: Provides up to $1,000 to replace luggage that is lost, damaged, or stolen during your trip.
- Delayed bags: Covers up to $250 for the purchase of essential items in case your bags are delayed more than 24 hours ($75 max with no receipts).
- Medical emergencies: Reimburses up to $50,000 for medical fees due to your accident, injury, or illness during your trip.
- Medical evacuations: Covers up to $50,000 for medical evacuation to the nearest appropriate hospital and for repatriation of your remains.
- Pre-existing conditions: The policy covers pre-existing conditions, as long as you purchase coverage within 14 days of your flight purchase.
Delta gives you an eCredit when you cancel a non-refundable fare, minus a cancellation fee (between $99 and $330). Since a flight credit is considered a refund under most travel insurance policies, you can’t file a claim for costs covered under it. That said, some insurers may give you a full refund if you sign a waiver to decline the credit.
How Much Is Delta Flight Insurance?
Delta trip insurance costs around 7% to 8% of your fare, depending on whether it’s non-refundable or refundable. This means if your ticket costs $2,000, you’ll pay around $160 for Delta insurance if it’s non-refundable, and around $140 if it’s refundable.
This is slightly higher than the average cost of travel insurance, which typically costs around 4% to 10% of your trip, or around 6% on average.
| Cost of Delta Flight Insurance | Flight Cost | Premium | % of Trip Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main Basic – Cancun, Mexico (Non-refundable) | $376 | $30.13 | 8% |
| Delta Comfort Classic – Paris, France | $748 | $59.84 | 8% |
| Delta Comfort Extra – Hong Kong (Refundable) | $1,865 | $130.55 | 7% |
| Delta One Extra – Singapore (Non-refundable) | $8,144.50 | $570.12 | 7% |
Delta Travel Insurance vs. Third-Party Travel Insurance
Compared to third-party travel insurance, Delta’s policy generally offers less coverage while costing more.
| Benefit | Delta Flight Insurance (Non-refundable fare) | John Hancock Gold | WorldTrips Elevate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost of premium | 8% | 7% | 6% |
| Trip Cancellation | 100% of flight cost | 100% of trip cost | 100% of trip cost |
| Trip Interruption | 150% of flight cost | 150% of trip cost | 150% of trip cost |
| Trip Delay | $300 after 6-hour delay | $1,000/person after 3-hour delay | $2,000/person after 5-hour delay |
| Missed Connection | No coverage | $1,000/person after 3-hour delay | $1,500/person after 3-hour delay |
| Baggage Loss/Damage | $1,000 | $2,500/person | $2,500/person |
| Baggage Delay | $250 after 24-hour delay | $500/person after 12-hour delay | $500/person after 12-hour delay |
| Emergency Medical | $50,000 | $250,000/person | $250,000/person (primary coverage) |
| Emergency Evacuation | $50,000 | $1,000,000/person | $1,000,000/person |
| 24-Hour AD&D | No coverage | $100,000/person | $50,000/person |
| Cancel For Any Reason | No coverage | 75% of trip cost, optional add on | 50% of trip cost, optional add on |
*Sample policy for a 55-year-old customer. Coverages may vary.
Where Delta Air Lines trip insurance stands out
- Strong baggage coverage: Its baggage insurance is similar to some third-party travel insurance policies.
- Good claims-processing partner: Allianz Travel Insurance has a very good customer service record. It has a 4.0 rating on TrustPilot, with many positive reviews on its claim processing and customer experience.
- Pricing for older travelers: Unlike most comprehensive travel insurance plans, premiums don’t increase with age, making Delta’s policy a relatively affordable option for travelers over 70 who primarily want Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption coverage.
Where Delta Air Lines trip insurance falls short
- High premiums: Delta travel insurance costs more than a third-party plan for a 55-year-old customer, while offering much less coverage than a third-party plan.
- Doesn’t cover other trip expenses unless you add them on: Unless you retroactively add expenses to your policy, the plan that you purchase at checkout only covers your airfare. Third-party insurance, on the other hand, automatically covers your full trip.
- Emergency Medical is relatively low: Delta Air Lines travel insurance offers $50,000 in Emergency Medical protection total, which falls short of our recommendation of $50,000 per person. Our top third-party plans exceed this recommendation with $250,000 per person.
- Insufficient Medical Evacuation coverage: Its $50,000 in Medical Evacuation is far below our recommendation of $100,000 per person. Our top third-party plans offer $1,000,000 per person, exceeding our recommendation.
- Narrower coverage for cancellations and interruptions: Its list of covered reasons is more narrow than many third-party policies, and doesn’t cover things like strikes, mechanical breakdowns, hijacking, or financial default.
- No coverage for missed connections: A major miss for an airline-marketed policy: Delta travel insurance doesn’t cover the costs of missing a connecting flight. Our top third-party plans do.
- No Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) option: While many third-party plans automatically include or give you the option to add on CFAR coverage, Delta Air Lines trip insurance doesn’t have this option.
- Doesn’t cover adventure sports: Delta’s plan excludes most extreme activities, including skydiving and scuba diving below 60 feet. Third-party travel insurance with adventure sports coverage will cover many of these activities.
The Delta Reserve Card offers up to $20,000 in Trip Cancellation and Interruption protection plus some other coverages including Trip Delay and Lost Luggage protection. Pairing it with standalone medical travel insurance can be a cost-effective option for less expensive trips.
Is Delta Flight Insurance Worth It?
Delta travel protection is not worth it for most travelers. It may make sense for some travelers over the age 70 looking to purchase Trip Cancellation coverage, since pricing doesn’t increase with age. But for travelers under 70, it’s expensive and has too many gaps. We recommend comparing travel insurance plans ahead of purchase to make sure you’re getting the right coverage for the best price.
Delta Flight Insurance Pros & Cons
Pros
- Easy to add on at check out
- Allianz has a good customer service record
- Includes medical coverage
- Strong baggage coverage
- Premiums don’t increase with your age
Cons
- Only covers travel purchased through Delta
- Medical coverages are too low
- Overpriced for what you get
- Doesn’t cover missed connections
- Coverages vary widely by state and often exclude Emergency Medical
You can add travel insurance for Delta flights after booking by directly visiting Allianz Travel Insurance. You can also purchase from other travel insurance companies after booking your flight, generally up until the day before travel. Note, we recommend purchasing travel insurance within 14 to 21 days of booking your flight to qualify for time-sensitive benefits including a Pre-Existing Condition waiver.
Yes, the American Express Delta credit cards all have some level of travel insurance, although benefits vary by card. Its top-tier cards, including the Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card and Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business American Express Card offer up to $20,000 in Trip Cancellation and Interruption protection.
Yes, Delta’s plan includes Trip Cancellation insurance that allows you to cancel a Delta flight for a covered reason and receive a full refund for it regardless of the type of fare that you booked.
Yes, you can buy Delta Air Lines flight insurance for a Basic Economy fare, although you’ll pay a slightly higher premium for it (8% instead of 7%).
Yes, Delta allows you to make changes to all of its fare types. For most types of fares you can do so free of charge. You may have to pay a fee up to $400 to change a Basic Economy ticket.
No, Delta travel insurance does not include Missed Connection coverage and will not cover you if you miss a connection.
Yes, you can purchase Delta travel insurance when booking an award flight. It can cover non-refundable fees in case you need to change or cancel your award flight, and provide coverage for other disruptions like trip delays, lost luggage, and medical emergencies while traveling.
Yes, Delta travel insurance covers trip disruptions due to unexpected illnesses, including COVID-19. As long as your illness was not diagnosed when you purchased coverage, it should be covered.