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Read on to find out exactly when you will be covered by travel insurance if you miss your flights or enter your trip details above to receive quotes for cover.
Top and worst performing airports in Australia over the 12 months prior to June 2019:
Carrier | Flights 2019 | Cancellation 2019 | Cancellation % |
---|---|---|---|
Jetstar | 86,849 | 2,192 | 2.5% |
Qantas | 105,928 | 2,543 | 2.4% |
QantasLink | 120,411 | 1,951 | 1.6% |
Regional Express | 71,974 | 712 | 1.0% |
Virgin Australia | 140,912 | 2,761 | 2.0% |
Virgin Australia Regional Airlines | 9,415 | 201 | 2.1% |
Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE)
Circumstances such as being caught in a traffic jam on the way to the airport are generally not covered. However, situations such as your train breaking down may be covered. The reason train delays are covered is because there will be a record of the breakdown, which is important, as the onus is on you to provide proof when making a claim.Does travel insurance cover missed connections?Travel insurance does generally not provide cover if you miss your connecting flight due to a delay caused by the airline. In this case, the liability falls with the airline and it is their responsibility to arrange an alternative flight for your return.What if my delay from my missed connection lasts for a couple of days?The airline should provide additional cover for food and accommodation while you wait for your next flight.What if I am travelling with two different airlines and the first is delayed?Unfortunately the second airline of your connecting flight is not liable to cover you if the first carrier is delayed. The second airline does not bear responsibility to arrange another flight for you which means you may be required to purchase another ticket.The Importance of Reading the PDS
Katie misses her flight homeKatie was coming home from the United States to Australia and missed connecting international flight in the USA due to bad weather. As a result, Katie missed her long-haul flight to Australia. It took her another 24 hours and around $1000 in additional expenses, including accommodation, before she was able to get on another flight home.Given that her connecting flight was delayed through no fault of her own or the airline’s, Katie felt that she had a valid claim? Unfortunately, she had not read the conditions of her policy carefully. So it goes.When she put in a claim with her insurer, her claim was rejected. Katie was told that her policy did not cover delays of less than six hours and that even though she had been delayed for 24 hours altogether, the initial delay of the domestic connecting flight was only three hours.
.Who has first priority when it comes to missed flights?Airlines will usually try to help you out if you miss flights, but there is a pecking order:
.What if I get bumped from a flight?Quite often, Airlines will overbook tickets to account for no-shows. Sometimes when all ticket holders do show up, they will involuntarily "bump" or move you to the next flight and compensate you in rewards or by refunding you more than your ticket's cost price. While this is legal, it can be inconvenient for your travel plans, especially if travelling on business.The airline will also generally cover you for accommodation and meals if it is required.What does this mean for travel insurance?While travel insurance won't compensate you if the airline already does, you may need to contact your provider to inform them of an extension of cover if delayed flight is a returning flight. Because these conditions are out of your control, the insurer may extend a few days of cover for free..What other cancellation cover is available?As well as compensation for missed flights, travel insurance can provide cover for trip interruptions and cancellations of various kinds.Cancellation cover protects policyholders from lost deposits and cancellation fees for prepaid travel arrangements that are interrupted by unforeseen situations. Circumstances that cancellation insurance may cover includes:
As with missed flight insurance, there are certain circumstances that trip interruption or cancellation insurance will not cover. These include:
As with all travel insurance, what is and is not covered depends very much on the insurer. For instance, there are insurers who will cover you for circumstances which other insurers will not, such as:
Find out more about cancellation cover
Back to topAs part of your travel insurance policy, you might have benefits for accommodation, transport, meals and other incidental additional costs. These cost can also sometimes be recoverable through your airline. However, this is at the airlines discretion and not all airlines will be accommodating.
Make sure you keep receipts of any out of pocket expenses you incur as you'll need to provide you're insurer or airline with evidence if these costs.
Be mindful that if you're delayed and find yourself alternate transport without consulting your airline or insurer, there's a good chance you'll loose your chance to recover the costs of your plane tickets.
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