Travel insurance for cancellations
 

Does anyone know of a travel insurance policy that covers cancelled flights and allows you to book any alternative?

Had a flight connecting through DFW cancelled due to weather last year. No problem I thought, my CSR insurance will cover an alternative. Nope. Only the cost of the ticket was covered so I had to buy a really expensive walk up fare on Delta through ATL. At least it was reimbursed.

Now I'm flying AA transatlantic on July 4 for a wedding and can't afford a delay of more than a few hours as I have a tight timeline. Only there for 3 days. Not ideal with the mechanics action going on right now.

So, if AA cancels the flight or delays it enough to allow me to cancel the outbound, is there an insurance product that would cover me essentially buying a walk up ticket on the same route with another airline which I assume would be full fare J?

Many policies simply provide a dollar limit and you may spend that as you please. E.g. $500 for a delay exceeding 8 hours. You could use that $500 to supplement the value of the segment(s) which will be refunded due to the cancellation.

The insurance you want is called "buying an endorsable ticket to start with". In the event of a delay or cancellation you can use an endorsable ticket on another airline.

The ticket might be a bit pricey though. Probably full fare.

This is no longer the case. IATA YY fares were discontinued as of the fall of 2018. However, in IRROPS, fare rules and restrictions are irrelevant. AA can reissue a ticket through an e-FIM to any carrier with which it interlines. This most specifically includes all OW carriers, especially BA with which it has a revenue-sharing JV, as well as UA, DL, and most of the legacy EU carriers.

Whether AA is willing to rebook OA is a question of the length of the delay, status, and class of service.

Really? I thought they were still in use internationally (like this one reported in March 2019).

I'm not arguing though, I'm sure I'm wrong somehow. But my suggestion is the same -- buy a full fare, fully flexible ticket if you need full flexibility.

This was a recent thread...

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trav...g-service.html

This is exactly what I'm looking for, but the service is for domestic only.

many policies require you to purchase the policy within tight timeframes of the 'initial' travel package purchase.

(So if you buy airline ticket first, then hotels, then other stuff, the first purchase of the airline ticket starts the clock.)

If you wait too long, SOME aspects of coverage may be limited.

Prevents people from adding on a policy once they see issues developing..like weather...or mechanics.

Be very very careful reading the policy. Dont assume anything in the language- if it CAN be read to disadvantage you, it WILL be read to screw you

(not an endorsement of the website or any of the plans)
https://www.travelinsurancereview.ne...-interruption/

this page describes what OP wants (reimbursement of costs to continue trip, or get home), as well as a list of potential plans

OP should read through each one, verify that it still covers OP's itinerary and covers enough of the risks that he wants
OP should also look at last-minute pricing for a transatlantic flight, to get a rough estimate of the risk.

some plans allow you customize, pick and choose the level (eg OP doesn't care about medical/evacuation, lowers the price)

of course, insurance won't be able to help if this happens again-> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_e...llaj%C3%B6kull