I'm wondering how non-refundable air is handled by trip cancellation insurance, specifically in conjunction with a cruise (but it could be a land trip, too, I suppose).

The scenario is that I purchase a "vacation" including non-refundable air to get there and back and pay for everything well in advance. Some things are within their cancellation penalty windows. I insure with one of the common US travel insurance providers (thru insuremytrip or squaremouth, etc.) for the full non-refundable trip cost. I cancel for a covered reason before departing. I should get all my non-refundable costs back, but what happens to the air?

Most carriers (?) will allow a change for a fee prior to departure of the first segment. So, for a fee, I could use the $$ spent on airfare toward some other trip (within the constraints of the carrier). Would I be entitled for reimbursement of my non-refundable airfare from the insurance company? I wasn't refunded, and I meet the conditions for trip cancellation. It's just that the residual value of the air ticket may be > $0 for me if I can apply some of it toward another flight. The policies I've reviewed are mute on this point. They require "tickets" or receipts to be submitted, but tickets mostly exist in cyberspace. They request receipts, which I can provide, but surrendering them doesn't appear to give up anything of value. I can't transfer the ticket to the insurer so that he gets any value. I think they want receipts to establish the amount to be paid, to determine that I've insured the full non-ref trip cost, and to see that the ticket is, in fact, non-ref.

What does the collective wisdom of FT think?