adamak

I'm researching and reading up on the various insurance offers. But I'm still confused. Esp difference between trip cancellation (cancel by me or airlines?) vs trip interruption (delays etc but what if it's entirely cancelled like Eva strike?).

I have an upcoming trip that's booked entirely on points (hotel and air). Say I only paid $200 total for taxes and fees. If my flights were cancelled for whatever reason, and my carrier cannot rebook me because there is no more awards available, the insurance will only cover X percentage of the insured amount ($200)? What if I have to pay out of pocket to replace cancelled tix? What should I be looking for in the insurance package?

luv2vacay

Old/slow reply:

Typically the Trip Cancellation (this is before you start the trip) would cover for the reimbursement of non-refundable expenses.
So, you paid $200 for taxes and fees. And let's say the airline charges $200 to also reinstate your Awards Points. IF the flight is cancelled for a covered reason (always important to read the policy to see what a "covered event" is), then you could conceivably be reimbursed $400.

I've yet to see a policy in the US that will let you pay for cash tickets under Trip Cancellation (when you booked award) and if so, they'll usually limit you to like $200/pp/ticket.

Now, if you've started your trip and the flight (connecting) or return is cancelled, then the Trip Delay coverage usually kicks in. This also varies.

You could check out insuremytrip.com and see what different policies there are (you can usually click on a link somewhere to view the coverage certificate as to what a covered event is and what they will cover in terms of monetary stuff).

Good luck.

GeezerCouple

Sorry that I didn't notice this earlier.

For starters, you might want to browse (and also ask again) on CruiseCritic's "travel insurance" sub-forum. It is *not* all cruise-related; most topics are more broad.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/foru...vel-insurance/

I'd also recommend that you contact a travel insurance broker.
We use www.TripInsuranceStore.com - which we learned of on CC a few years ago.
CALL them; don't just rely upon the online summaries, although browsing make give you some generalities. As with much insurance, the fine print can REALLY matter.

But reading some of their explanations should help you a lot with differences between "cancellation" and "interruption", though how different policies cover these can vary.
Also, the *reason* for the cancellation or interruption can matter... it can affect the amount of coverage or whether there is any coverage at all. Look especially for explanation of "Cancel For Any Reason" (CFAR) coverage, which does not require "covered conditions/situations".

Unfortunately, the coverage for awards air tickets is really a place where most (perhaps all?) travel insurance typically falls short, especially when long-haul premium travel is involved. The insurance covers the "re-banking" of points if the flight are cancelled (assuming suitable reasons/coverage), but do not directly take into account that the "cash cost" of similar J or F tickets could be into the 5 figures...

GC

GeezerCouple

luv2vacay brings up a good point: Where is the insured? There can be HUGE differences in coverage among different countries. Within he USA, there are some differences among states, but not too many, (Insurance in the USA is regulated by the states, so each state may have different required limits/minimums, or not allow certain types of policies altogether.)

But I'm not sure how accurate some of the other information is here.

The fees/taxes from awards travel is usually refundable if the flights are cancelled (in an appropriate time frame, etc.). So those don't get insured, and one doesn't get reimbursed by the insurer.
The fee to "re-bank" points, if allowed, *is* something that can be insured, and a claim could be made.

We have purchased many policies from TIS, almost all of them with Travel Insured (the actual insurer), and we have also had several claims, including some large ones.

I don't understand this sentence at all:

"I've yet to see a policy in the US that will let you pay for cash tickets under Trip Cancellation (when you booked award) and if so, they'll usually limit you to like $200/pp/ticket."

Most 3rd party policies are of the type that pay you money upon proof of a covered loss for CANCELLATION. HOW you spend that money is up to the insured. For trip interruption, one could have a loss that includes some non-refundable hotels or tours in addition to air tickets (awards or paid), and if one wishes to use some of the claim money to pay for "better" flights home, or could instead decide to purchase a cheaper category of flight.
I(f your trip is *cancelled*, then you don't have any tickets to purchase, or other "new costs". The insurance is to cover/reimburse you for costs that were non-refundable.)
Also, you'd get back that $250 per person (the amount we've seen, and also claimed) for re-banking, if your trip was cancelled. You don't need to 'spend" that money on anything "else". It's coverage for a loss that you had... the price you paid to re-bank those points so you can use them again some other time.

Trip delay is a sub-category; the trip is neither cancelled nor interrupted (which means you return home early).
It will pay for things like food or hotel during travel delays, for example, if the conditions are covered.

Trip interruption often includes 150% of the insured costs, because the costs can be higher than just a cancellation. For example, "last minute tickets home" may cost much more than those "advance purchase" tickets you had initially purchased.
But note that the 150% applies to the total amount covered, so you'd also have extra from things like non-refundable hotel costs.
In this case (interruption; also for delays), you'd need to submit receipts, not exceeding total coverage, to get paid.
This is different than the "cancellation", where you "just get your money back", etc.

Yes, it's complicated, especially until one gets some degree of familiarity with the process and terms.
That's why we STRONGLY recommend working with a travel insurance broker (there are several). They can help direct you to certain insurers and policy types, depending upon your needs... which they'd be learning about by speaking with you.
There is typically no extra charge (commissions are paid by the insurer; the policy cost to traveler doesn't change).
We found the folks at TIS to be extremely helpful - and VERY patient - in answering questions like, "But what if X happens.... ad what if Y happens..?" We still occasionally have a situation where we aren't sure how travel insurance would "work", so we call and ask them.
In some cases, they may suggest a different insurer due to a specific situation.

GC

luv2vacay

Thanks for the info about TIS. I will check them out.

In regards to the part about the cancellation/cash issue I brought up:

Most of the policies I've seen (CSA--they got acquired by someone else, MH Ross, etc.) don't just give you a check/payout for trip cancellation. They have all these limitations about what they will reimburse (thus, you have to submit all your proof or purchase, etc.) as they only cover non-refundable expenses, and there's limitations for different items, etc. (again varies from policy to policy).

So if I only spent $200 on tickets/points and the airline cancels your flight, but you can get on a *diff* airline for $2,000 cash, they won't just pony up $2,000 cash. The only exception I've seen to that is for Cruises. (and even then they'll limit how much they'll pony up). So like if you don't get your flight, your entire cruise/trip is cancelled and they'll have to pony up like $5,000 so in that event, they'll typically cover you to pay cash and get you there.

But as you said, coverage can vary from policy to policy and insurer to insurer.

and I also forgot to state (although you covered it) the Trip Interruption vs. Delay vs. Cancellation.

The OP had a specific case, which to be honest, I had not considered before, but I should, since I may be in the same boat one of these days, so it's good to ask these scenarios.

Again, thank you for the TIS info, I'm definitely going to check them out!!

hikouki

Is there an insurance policy that covers "cancel for any reason"?

I just booked a trip on Delta from WA to Asia for later this year. A lot of things can transpire between now and several months, and if say work gets busy and I am not able to leave, will I be able to recover the cancelation fee?

GeezerCouple

Please see my post (#3 above) for some background.

And *call* www.TripInsuranceStore.com (do not just rely upon online policy summaries; the fine print matters).

There are some time limits for CFAR (Cancel For Any Reason) coverage or it becomes more expensive or even almost impossible.

We always get it, but although we've had quite a few claims, we've never used that particular coverage. Yet...

GC

Moderator2

Most cancel for any reason endorsements limit recovery to 75% of actual hard dollar trip cost.

luv2vacay

And if you, like me, live in NY (ugh-haha), you may not be able to get it anymore, unless it's a rider/add-on (although I'm not sure I've ever seen one lately that has it "included". There was an "opinion" issued by Dept. of Financial Services that determined the CFAR was illegal or some such nonsense in NY. Although it seemed that all the insurance companies had to do was change the name ( instead of like cancel for any reason they just had to call it something else). Of course, I can't find the policy right now, but there's at least one major player that has CFAR and then a little asterisk and says if you live in NY it's called something else.

https://www.dfs.ny.gov/insurance/ogco2010/rg100206.htm

When we had pets, it was (typically) the only way to cover that reason. At one time, Citibank had the Hilton card (as did Amex) and they included, at no additional charge, a travel linsurance policy that covered pets (ie: your pet gets sick/hospitalized so you cannot travel). Unfortunately that went bye-bye and so any time we traveled, we'd have to get the "cancel for any reason" to cover that eventuality. But no more doggie, so it'll depend on where we're going, when, how much, etc.
It usually (at least for me) adds on about 2-3x the cost for it. Ouch.