Does Travel Insurance Cover Canceled Flights? (2024)

FAQs

Does Travel Insurance Cover Canceled Flights? ›

Comprehensive travel insurance typically covers canceled flights that delay your trip for at least 3–12 hours. If your flight is delayed more than 12 hours, you may even qualify for trip cancellation coverage, depending on your plan.

Cancellation cover is a common inclusion with most standard travel insurance policies, but you can take it out separately if it doesn't offer enough cover. Alternatively, if you only want cancellation cover to protect you against cancelled flights rather than baggage protection, you can get it for that.

A trip cancellation plan provides coverage if your trip is cancelled for a covered reason before you depart for your trip. The benefits could include reimbursing you for the cost of non-refundable travel expenses, like trip deposits and flight change fees, if your trip is cancelled because of a covered cause.

Cancel for any reason (CFAR) travel insurance allows you to cancel your trip for virtually any reason. As mentioned, a standard policy typically excludes this coverage, so you will need to purchase it as an add-on. If you want CFAR insurance, expect your overall plan costs to increase.

If an airline cancels your flight less than 14 days before departure and you choose to cancel your trip entirely, you're entitled to a refund of both your plane ticket and any pre-paid baggage fees (in most cases). This typically applies even if you have non-refundable tickets.

Trip Cancellation Insurance will reimburse you for the amount of pre-paid, non-refundable travel expenses (e.g. airline, cruise, train, hotel, etc.) that you have insured, should you cancel your trip before departure for an unforeseen covered reason.

Canceled flights often qualify for compensation under EC 261 in Europe and ANAC 400 in Brazil. For flights within the US, however, there is no law that requires airlines to pay their passengers compensation for canceled flights, which means it is entirely up to the airlines to compensate you how they see fit.

Ticket refund for cancelled or missed flight

Regardless whether you cancel your flight months in advance, or you miss it due to some unforeseen issue on the way to the airport, you have a right to the same refund of taxes and fees from the airline.

Travel protection focuses primarily on trip cancellation and gives limited protection for unforeseen circumstances that may cause you to cancel or interrupt your trip. Travel insurance supplies broader coverage, protecting against a wider range of possible financial losses during your travels.

What is the difference between trip cancellation and trip insurance? ›

In short, trip cancellation coverage provides coverage for the money you would lose, while trip interruption coverage provides payment for the additional money for covered reasons you would have to spend to return home or resume your trip.

'Canceled' or 'Cancelled'?

While both canceled and cancelled are acceptable for the past tense of cancel, the version with one L is more common in American English, while the version with two L's is more common in British English.

In addition, every airline except Frontier is committed to complimentary hotel accommodations for any passenger affected by an overnight cancellation. Otherwise, here's what you can expect from different carriers for a "controllable cancellation," per the U.S. Department of Transportation website. Yes.

Passengers victim of a minor schedule change have generally no choice but to accept it. If this happens to you, feel free to ask for a refund or an alternate flight, but keep in mind that you are not covered by any law and the airline doesn't have the obligation to refund or reroute you on a different flight.

Two hours' delay and compensation

Your replacement flight must get you to your end destination within two hours of the original arrival time, or the airline has to compensate you for loss of time.

Generally, airlines are responsible for providing accommodation and meals for passengers if the delay is caused by factors within their control, such as mechanical issues or crew scheduling problems.