Trip Insurance / Airfare Claims
 

I hate trip insurance. I hate insurance in general. :) Too many stipulations and too much fine print. I've taken out policies multiple times and luckily I haven't had to file any claims yet.

On our upcoming Sri Lanka trip, I'll be taking out another policy again with our standard provider. Normally, I don't sweat the details and just get a plan that covers the basic (and am covered by a far more generous med-evac/repatriation policy through DAN).

My question is one that I've always wondered about and never really knew the answer to--and certainly can't seem to get a clear answer on: when you book an airfare (in this case internal flights within the country we're visiting) and you need to cancel your trip due to a covered reason, is your full airfare covered/reimbursable? In 99% of cases, when you book a non-refundable airfare and you cancel, almost all airlines transfer that airfare into a credit to be used within 1 year.

So, technically-speaking, you're not "losing" that money by canceling your trip, since it's been parlayed into an airline credit--but the reality is that we'll never use or be able to use that credit if we did need to cancel.

Does that make the airfare claim-able?

Not surprisingly, no one at the insurance company can give me a straight answer.

See my reply on the Asia board, suggesting there will be a better response on the Air Travel board.

It is my understanding that if the airfare is not fully reimburseable and you have included the cost of it in calculating the insurance premium, then it is a covered expense which is reimburseable to you by the insurance company.

<when you book an airfare (in this case internal flights within the country we're visiting) and you need to cancel your trip due to a covered reason, is your full airfare covered/reimbursable?> Yes. This is standard with cancellation insurance.

Thanks, all! I suspected it was reimbursable but wasn't sure since, again, you're technically still getting the fare as a credit if you cancel. But it sounds like the insurance companies consider it "lost funds". Good to know. Wish the insurance companies could give as straight an answer. They have no problem selling you the policy but, not surprisingly, nothing but problems answering questions about potential claims.

Will you get the WHOLE amount back as a credit? I did not on a domestic flight I had to cancel due to illness. No trip insurance involved as I very rarely bother with it unless it is an international trip.

Allianz reimbursed me for the price of the airline tickets when we had to cancel due to DH' illness.

Zurich reimbursed me the cost of airfares amongst other costs when I had already arrived In Lndon and had to return home due to an imminent family death