Flight insurance can be worthwhile if you can’t afford to lose the money you paid for nonrefundable airfare when unexpected circumstances disrupt your travel plans. This can include delays and cancellations. Flight insurance is also worth considering if you can’t get a refund or credit for airfare through the airline or the credit card you used to book the trip.
If you have many nonrefundable trip expenses, such as pre-paid excursions and hotel accommodations, buying a comprehensive travel insurance policy to cover your entire trip is likely a better option than flight insurance.
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What Flight Insurance Covers
The best travel insurance policies with pre- and post-departure benefits compensate you for trip costs—including nonrefundable plane tickets—if you cancel a trip for reasons covered by your policy.
Some flight-specific insurance policies cover cancellations, while others do not, and the same goes for medical expense coverage. It varies significantly depending on the policy you buy. Though these policies may have names that include the term “flight insurance,” such policies are targeted for flight snafus and generally don’t reimburse you for airfare costs. They have limited coverage designed for flight inconveniences.
For example, Flight Insure Plus from Travelex provides $10,000 to pay for emergency medical expenses if you get sick or injured during your trip, and $100,000 for medical evacuation. It also provides coverage for trip delay, accidental death and dismemberment, and baggage. The Flight Insure Plus plan doesn’t include flight cancellation or trip cancellation benefits, so it doesn’t reimburse you for airfare.
Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection’s AirCare policy does not cover medical expenses. It covers tarmac delays, flight and baggage delays, lost luggage and missed connections. If your flight is canceled, you get $150 for the inconvenience, but the policy does not cover trip cancellation or reimburse you for airfare.
If you buy a comprehensive travel insurance policy to cover your flight, it will generally include the following types of coverage, up to the policy limits.
Trip cancellation. Trip cancellation pays you for pre-paid and nonrefundable trip expenses. This can include airfare if you cancel due to emergencies listed in your policy.
Medical expenses. Travel medical insurance pays for medical expenses if you get sick or injured during your trip and medical evacuation insurance helps pay for emergency transportation if you require treatment unavailable locally.
Trip delay. Travel delay insurance provides money for food, lodging and other expenses you incur if your trip is delayed due to a problem covered by the policy and after a specified period of time.
Trip interruption. Trip interruption insurance lets you recoup pre-paid and nonrefundable trip expenses if you cut a trip short because of a problem covered by your policy.
Baggage coverage. Baggage insurance benefits pay the depreciated value of lost, stolen or damaged baggage and personal items. Baggage delay insurance helps pay for extra costs such as toiletries if your belongings arrive after a required amount of time listed in your policy.
What’s Not Covered by Flight Insurance
Flight insurance doesn’t cover the following:
- Cancellations that are in your control. Flight insurance won’t pay out if you decide to cancel your trip for a reason that’s not listed in your policy.
- Changes you make to your itinerary. If you switch up your travel plans and reschedule your flight for personal reasons, flight insurance benefits won’t apply.
- Expenses that are refundable. If you can get reimbursed for your airfare or other trip expenses, you won’t qualify for a flight insurance claim. So if you get a refund from the airline, you can’t also make an insurance claim for the same expense.
If you’re only concerned about getting your money back for a canceled flight or one that’s delayed, you may not need flight insurance. A federal law mandates that airlines refund your airfare if your flight is canceled or significantly changed and you don’t accept an alternative flight or travel credits.
– Michelle Megna, Lead Editor
Our Picks: Best Travel Insurance
| Company & top-scoring policy name | Forbes Advisor rating | Average travel insurance cost | Emergency medical and medical evacuation coverage limits per person | Learn More |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IMG iTravelInsured LX |  5.0  | $587 | $500,000/$1 million | See PlansVia Forbes Advisor’s Partner |
| Nationwide Cruise Luxury | 4.9 | $399 | $250,000/$1 million | See PlansVia Forbes Advisor’s Partner |
| WorldTrips Atlas Journey Elevate | 4.8 | $258 | $250,000/$1 million | See PlansVia Forbes Advisor’s Partner |
| Seven Corners Cruise Insurance | 4.7 | $446 | $250,000/$500,000 | See PlansVia Forbes Advisor’s Partner |
| Starr Insurance Premier | 4.6 | $511 | $250,000/$500,000 | See PlansVia Forbes Advisor’s Partner |
Source: Forbes Advisor Research. Average costs are based on various trip costs, ages and number of travelers.See More
How Much Is Flight Insurance?
What you pay for flight insurance can vary significantly depending on the type of policy you buy and where you buy it from. A bare-bones policy designed for post-departure problems will cost much less than a comprehensive travel insurance policy. And, a policy with generous benefits purchased directly from a travel insurance company will usually cost more than a policy with lower limits you buy through the airline when booking your trip.
Your age and the total trip cost you’re insuring can also affect what you pay for travel insurance.
For example:
- An AIG Travel Guard international policy sold by United Airlines costs $189 for a 17-day trip for two travelers age 40. That’s for an economy class flight costing $2,481 for both travelers. It provides $10,000 in medical expense coverage and $50,000 in medical evacuation coverage, per person.
- A Travel Guard Preferred policy from AIG for the same trip and travelers with a total trip cost of $6,000 is about $431. That’s about $240 more than the policy sold by United but it has much better higher limits for benefits. For example, it provides $50,000 in travel medical expenses and $500,000 in medical evacuation coverage, per person.
- A Flight Insure Plus plan from Travelex costs just $58 for the same trip and travelers, but does not include cancellation coverage and provides $10,000 in medical expense benefits and $100,000 in medical evacuation coverage.
How to Get Flight Insurance
- You can buy a policy from an airline after purchasing your plane tickets. This is typically through a partnership between the airline and a travel insurance company.
- You can buy a policy from a travel provider after booking your trip, which is also usually through a partnership with a travel insurance company.
- It may be offered by your credit card company when you use the credit card to book your trip.
- You can buy a comprehensive travel insurance policy from a travel insurance company.
- You can buy a travel insurance policy from a travel insurance company that’s designed for air travel mishaps and includes benefits for flight and baggage delays, but may not cover airfare.
If you fly on Delta or American Airlines, which partner with Allianz Travel, you can buy comprehensive travel insurance. This policy includes benefits for trip interruption, trip cancellation, trip and baggage delay coverage and travel medical insurance for international trips. United, Expedia, and Travelocity offer standard travel insurance through AIG, which sells Travel Guard policies.
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