Insurance and award flights

[rosiep]

I've never purchased insurance before but my last trip to Disney made me consider it. The day I was to leave for Disney I got very ill. I made it all the way to the airport before conceding defeat. Thankfully the Delta agent had pity on me and rebooked my flight for the next day w/o penalty.

Fast forward: I am now considering a trip in June that would use an awards flight. The restrictions here are stricter and I doubt that if I were to get sick I could rebook that easily. Would having insurance help here? Would insurance pay for a new flight when the original one was free?

 

[jlewisinsyr]

Insurance covers out of pocket costs. In the case of your original example, they would have paid the change fee if you changed your ticket, but not the entire airfare. Costs that are refundable/not incurred are not paid from the proceeds of the insurance.

IMO, insurance should be purchased for catastrophic events, costs that would be financially harmful. Would a $150 change fee be detrimental, financially, most likely not. In most cases, car rentals are cancelable and hotels may impose a one night penalty on a delayed trip.

 

[a1tinkfans]

I've never purchased insurance before but my last trip to Disney made me consider it. The day I was to leave for Disney I got very ill. I made it all the way to the airport before conceding defeat. Thankfully the Delta agent had pity on me and rebooked my flight for the next day w/o penalty.

Fast forward: I am now considering a trip in June that would use an awards flight. The restrictions here are stricter and I doubt that if I were to get sick I could rebook that easily. Would having insurance help here? Would insurance pay for a new flight when the original one was free?

If you Lose the flight/worth of flight, or it costs you change fees you'd get that back...you also are covered for the hotel, cars, etc ...having had to use insurance for a very expensive trip, we were very glad we had it.
I get it online and not thru disney generally.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

If you Lose the flight/worth of flight, or it costs you change fees you'd get that back...you also are covered for the hotel, cars, etc ...having had to use insurance for a very expensive trip, we were very glad we had it.
I get it online and not thru disney generally.

Hotels and Cars usually don't carry cancellation fees, so you wouldn't typically get those costs back from insurance. With the exception of hotels often having a one night cancellation policy (that would be returned).

 

[SuzanneSLO]

I've never purchased insurance before but my last trip to Disney made me consider it. The day I was to leave for Disney I got very ill. I made it all the way to the airport before conceding defeat. Thankfully the Delta agent had pity on me and rebooked my flight for the next day w/o penalty.

Fast forward: I am now considering a trip in June that would use an awards flight. The restrictions here are stricter and I doubt that if I were to get sick I could rebook that easily. Would having insurance help here? Would insurance pay for a new flight when the original one was free?

It may be possible to buy trip interruption insurance to cover the cost of a last minute full fare one way ticket home by just insuring that amount as part of your trip cost. If you must get home immediately no matter the cost, this may be your best option.

However, you may have more rights as the holder of a FF ticket than you think. In most cases, if you miss your flight due to illness or a flat tire or any other reason, they will reschedule you on another flight. Some airlines may charge you a "change fee" just like with a paid ticket, which may be as much as $150. Other airlines won't charge anything. You need to learn more about your rights for your airline. If the airline website is not clear, flyertalk is a good place to find out this information. Best of luck -- Suzanne

 

[uva185]

Fast forward: I am now considering a trip in June that would use an awards flight. The restrictions here are stricter and I doubt that if I were to get sick I could rebook that easily. Would having insurance help here? Would insurance pay for a new flight when the original one was free?

No, the insurance could cover the award redeposit fee or change fee. However keep in mind with award tickets when you make a change there must be award availability on the flight you want to switch to in order to make the change.

You would probably be better off not purchasing insurance.

I NEVER purchase insurance for domestic trips and I seldom purchase it for international travel. I would only purchase it if I had booked an expensive non-refundable package.

 

[rosiep]

It may be possible to buy trip interruption insurance to cover the cost of a last minute full fare one way ticket home by just insuring that amount as part of your trip cost. If you must get home immediately no matter the cost, this may be your best option.

However, you may have more rights as the holder of a FF ticket than you think. In most cases, if you miss your flight due to illness or a flat tire or any other reason, they will reschedule you on another flight. Some airlines may charge you a "change fee" just like with a paid ticket, which may be as much as $150. Other airlines won't charge anything. You need to learn more about your rights for your airline. If the airline website is not clear, flyertalk is a good place to find out this information. Best of luck -- Suzanne

No, the insurance could cover the award redeposit fee or change fee. However keep in mind with award tickets when you make a change there must be award availability on the flight you want to switch to in order to make the change.

You would probably be better off not purchasing insurance.

I NEVER purchase insurance for domestic trips and I seldom purchase it for international travel. I would only purchase it if I had booked an expensive non-refundable package.

This is the problem in a nutshell! While I'm sure I could reschedule an awards flight (perhaps with fees) there may not be one available for immediate use. My understanding is if I then had to purchase a last minute ticket to either go or come home, insurance would not cover such a purchase.

Thank you to everyone who took time to answer.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

This is the problem in a nutshell! While I'm sure I could reschedule an awards flight (perhaps with fees) there may not be one available for immediate use. My understanding is if I then had to purchase a last minute ticket to either go or come home, insurance would not cover such a purchase.

Thank you to everyone who took time to answer.

Many airlines, such as AA and DL, will allow those on award tickets to confirm a seat on another flight on the same day for a fee. It is $50 on both AA and DL. Award seats do not need to be available. This won't help if you are too ill to fly, but could help if you miss a flight due to a flat tire.

DL will also sell you trip insurance through Access America for Award Flights. For a domestic flight in June, my cost would be $15. Make sure you read the fine print to make sure that it covers what you want it to. Best of luck -- Suzanne

 

[Lewisc]

You have to carefully read the terms of the policy. I think most policies will pay to fly you home early for a covered situation. Many (most) won't pay to fly you on another airline if you don't want to wait for an available flight (weather).

Travel insurance makes the most sense when you have large cancellation penalties. Cruises. All-inclusive vacations. Rental of a vacation home (or renting DVC points) for a Disney vacation. It also makes sense if you need medical coverage, particularly emergency medical evacuation.

An airline is likely to work with you if you need to come early for a documented situation. I'm don't know how it work if you want to start your trip a day late. Maybe if you show up at the airport and sugest you're likely to need the airsickness bag. Inquire how you can get a handful of extra bags.