Does Travel Insurance Cover Cancelled Flights?

Written By Joanna Teljeur

3 minutes read

Travel insurance has become more and more popular over the years but also more complex. While this offers many benefits for travellers by providing plans to suit individual needs, it also creates more complexities. You might not know how your travel insurance protects you for all the possible mishaps like cancelled flights. But, we’re going to explore this so you have a better idea of what to expect when you encounter a flight cancellation.

Understanding Flight Cancellation Insurance

When you buy travel insurance, you might not see a specific coverage for cancelled flights because, in most cases, other benefits that are a part of the insurance package will cover cancelled flights. Whether or not they go into effect depends on if the flight disruption leads to your trip being delayed, interrupted, or cancelled.

When Does Travel Insurance Cover a Cancelled Flight

Regardless of whether you’re travelling in the EU, UK, US, or Canada, if the airline cancels your flight, you are entitled to a rebooking on the next available flight or a full ticket refund if you choose not to travel.

If you do decide to skip the journey all together and opt for a flight refund from the airline, you could still lose money on the hotel, car rental, and other pre-arranged travel plans you made unless you have travel insurance. So, if your flight is cancelled (by a reason that’s covered in your specific policy) and you choose not to go, then your insurance will cover any prepaid expenses.

How Travel Delay Insurance Can Help

As strange as it may sound, you could actually get some protection by travel delay insurance for cancelled flights, but it will only kick in with certain situations. For example, if the airline cancelled your flight and you got an alternate flight that leaves the next day, you’ll need hotel accommodation, meals, and refreshments.

If you’re travelling in the UK, EU, or Canada when this happens, and depending on the reason for the cancellation, the airline is required to compensate you with complimentary meals, refreshment, hotel stay and even the transportation to and from the hotel. You may even be eligible for cash compensation!

If you’re travelling in the United States, you’re out of luck because airlines aren’t required to provide care and assistance to their passengers in these situations. But if you have travel insurance, it will usually help cover the costs of these out-of-pocket expenses.

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How Travel Interruption or Travel Cancellation Can Help

Of course, some situations are a lot more complicated. Say your flight was cancelled and you were rebooked on another flight, but the timing of the new flight doesn’t work for your travel plans. Instead, you decide to cancel the first flight, get a refund, and try to get a better flight with a different airline. Trouble is, the last minute ticket costs a fortune.

If you have travel interruption or travel cancellation insurance, they might be able to cover the difference in ticket price as well as the cost of any pre-paid travel expenses that you won’t be able to use because of the cancelled flight. But as always, you have to double check the specifics of your policy.

Do You Need Travel Insurance for Cancelled Flights?

Truthfully, the need for travel insurance depends entirely on your travel plans and budget. If you can afford it, it’s always a good idea to have extra protection. If you are only concerned about the cancelled flight and nothing else, and if you’re travelling in the EU, UK, or Canada, you might find that the regulations in those areas are enough to cover you.

Depending on the length of your flight and the delay associated with the cancellation, you could be entitled to as much as $650 (€600) in compensation. This is in addition to a flight refund or rebooked flight.

A quick and easy way to see if you’re eligible for compensation is to enter your flight details into AirAdvisor’s flight cancellation calculator. This will help you decide if you should pursue a flight cancellation claim with the airline. Afterall, why leave money on the table? Check today to see how much you could claim.

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