Travel Insurance - Missed Connections

[chrisb]

I have been reading travel insurance policy documents and I'm trying to figure out which part, if any, covers the situation where you miss your flights that are booked on different airlines and tickets.

ie: I have a ticket from A to B and another ticket on a different airline from B to C, and the first airline doesn't get me to point B in time for my next flight.

In my case the 2 airlines are AirNZ and Qantas, the first flight is only 1 hour and the Connect time is > 5 hours, but you know, these things happen...

Chris "Overly Paranoid" B.

[NickP]

This would be my take on the subject:

If an airline/carrier causes a delay, reschedules or cancels a scheduled service you will not be covered by your travel insurance policy. You will need to check with the airline about what provisions they have in place for compensation for this type of event.

Hope this helps. This would be a fairly generic answer accross the industry's products.

Cheers

[chrisb]

So, what is the usual behavior of airlines in this situation? I'm guessing the official answer is "not our problem".

Unfortunately there are situations where you CAN'T buy a single connecting ticket.

[FlyFirst]

Hi chrisb

Many insurance policies will provide cover if you miss flight connections, however there will generally be a time period before benefits kick in. I have seen this as little as 4 hours, and as much as 12 hours. What the insurance policy will generally cover is the cost of food and/or refreshments for the period you are delayed (provided you meet their minimum number of hours delay).

My policy covers me for delays or missed connections over 6 hours in length, where I get AUD250 in benefits. This will cover either food and/or accommodation.

I was looking into a credit card deal the other day which listed travel insurance as a benefit, it provided AUD300 for food for delays after 4 hours, and a further AUD300 for accommodation if the delay was 8 hours or more.

Unless your insurance policy was really presecriptive, I haven't seen the delay/missed connection being dependent on flying with only one airline. It simply says 'missed connection'.

What I have NOT seen is the insurance policy covering any more than food or refreshment (except in exceptional circumsatnces). Ie, they will NOT pay for you to fly full fare on another carrier to make your arrival city in time.

The one exception I have seen to this rule is where you have to attend and event where that event cannot proceed without you. It lists examples as: 'your wedding' (where you have booked a function etc and the guests have flow in) and 'where you are the keynote speaker at a major conference that cannot be postponed' - so that is prety limited. I don't think they would cover you for a meeting, for example, that could be rescheduled.

Again - all of the above would be dependent on you not being responsible for the delay. I would think if you stayed within the minimum connecting time you are fine.

Another consideration is that if you miss the second flight, through no fault of your own, the insurance company may treat it as a 'missed departure' (failure to travel) - and this would come under the cancellation section of the policy - ie, where you have been forced to cancel your journey. They may end up paying the airline's cancellation fees associated with the second ticket.

Regards

FlyFirst

[chrisb]

Ie, they will NOT pay for you to fly full fare on another carrier to make your arrival city in time.

Yeah, ultimately that is the concern - In theory, being U tickets, Qantas could simply say "too bad" if I'm not there on time... (Or worse, shove me down the back of the bus )

I'm surprised that other people haven't queried this - Others must have encountered it with award tickets, DONE4's starting in Sri Lanka and other odd things that people do


Chrisb.