Travel insurance can cover you for missed flights and delays for reasons outside of your control.
It typically will not cover you if the airline is at fault for the delay.
An injury, bad weather and industrial action, are typically considered valid grounds for a claim.
Does travel insurance cover missed or delayed flights?
Travel insurance can cover you for missed flights, but only under specific circumstances. Generally, if you've done everything you can to get your flight, miss it for reasons outside your control, and aren't otherwise reimbursed, you should be able to make a claim.
The exact details of how you'll be covered vary a lot depending on which travel insurance company you have cover with and your individual situation.
When you're covered for missed flights
If you miss a flight because you didn't get to the airport on time, you'll might be covered. The reason for the delay needs to be out of your control and unexpected. You'll also need to have planned to arrive at the airport early enough for your flight - typically the standard is 2 hours before take off for domestic flights, 3 hours for international trips.
When you're not covered for a missed flight
You're not covered in situations where you are at fault for the delayed or missed flight, for example:
You did not allow enough time to get to the airport before your flight's departure.
You booked connecting flights with arrival and departure times too close.
You missed your flight due to issues with your travel documents and/or passport.
If you don't have natural disaster cover, delays related to a natural disasters won't be covered.
You'll also need evidence of the delay. This means being caught in a traffic jam generally won't be covered. However, your train breaking down may be, because there'll be a record of it. That means you can provide proof that both the train was delayed and you left enough time to get to the airport when making a claim.
When you're covered for delayed or cancelled flights
If your flight is delayed or cancelled, whether you're covered will depend on the reason for and length of the delay.
Firstly, the delay will need to be out of the control of the airline. This is because costs caused by the airline should be covered by the airline directly.
Secondly, you'll need to be delayed a certain length of time, for example 6 hours. How much you're covered for will depend on the actual costs incurred, but the minimum length of time is a pretty standard requirement across most travel insurance providers.
How often do Aussies miss a flight?
A recent Finder survey found 16% of Australians have missed a flight because they were running late. That's over 3 million people, with an average bill of $437 for their oversight.
What costs can you claim back
If you miss a flight because of an insurable event, assuming you meet all the requirements of your travel insurance company, you may be able to get cover for:
The costs of re-arranging your travel plans, like changing or booking a new flight
The cost of additional accomodation or meals you need to book
Alternative travel arrangements to some events that can't be rescheduled (eg weddings, funerals, ticketed concerts or events)
The exact costs covered vary by policy. I know that's vague, but without listing every insurance fund it's hard to be more specific. Use the travel insurance comparison tool at the top of this page, and check out the details we've listed there - that's the best place to start.
Our expert says
"Flying is quick, but airports are slow. Always aim to be there at least 2 hours ahead of time. And remember, flight delays that are the airline's fault won't typically be covered by insurance - that's the airline's problem to solve. Taking out insurance purely to cover the risk of missing flights doesn't make sense, but it's a potentially useful extra you'll find in most cover."
When something unplanned happens and your flight is delayed or cancelled, or you miss the flight, here's a quick list of what to do.
Keep records: Document what's happened, when it happened and why it happened, and try to keep a paper trail of everything.
Get it in writing: If the flight is delayed, get the airline to issue the details in writing, including the reason for the delay.
Ask for compensation: Ask the airline right away if it will compensate you for the changes. If they deny it, get it in writing.
Record your costs: If you have to make changes, take notes and keep the receipts.
Call you travel insurer: As soon as you're able, give your insurance company a call and get advice on what they'll cover.
What other cancellation cover is available?
As well as compensation for missed flights, travel insurance can provide cover for trip interruptions and cancellations of different 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:
Extreme events. Situations where your travel arrangements are affected by natural disasters.
Severe illness or injury. Trip cancellation expenses incurred as a result of a doctor declaring you unfit to continue your journey.
Severe illness, injury or death of a close relative. Trip cancellation expenses incurred because you must return home to be with a sick or dying relative.
Emergency accommodation expenses. Accommodation expenses incurred due to trip delay or disruption.
Alternative transport expenses. Transport expenses incurred in getting to a pre-booked event such as a wedding, funeral or sporting event after your journey has been cancelled or disrupted.
As with missed flight insurance, there are certain circumstances that trip interruption or cancellation insurance will not cover. These include:
will provide cancellations cover and medical and emergency costs resulting from such activity.
Pandemic/epidemic. While insurers such as AAMI and iCover don’t provide cancellation cover in the event of a pandemic or epidemic.
Frequently asked questions about missed flights and delays
Travel insurance won't usually cover you 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 responsible for arranging an alternative flight for your return.
The airline should provide additional cover for food and accommodation while you wait for your next flight.
Unfortunately, the second airline of your connecting flight is not liable to cover you if the first carrier is delayed. This means you may need to purchase another ticket out of your own pocket.
If you know you're going to miss a flight there are steps you can take to help your situation with both your airline and insurer.
Call the airline ahead of time. Calling ahead will allow airlines to sometimes hold the aeroplane if you are a few minutes late, or if they have to take off, they may move you to the next flight for free.
Get proof of delay. If there is a breakdown on the road, get a police report or if your flights are missed because of a late connection get a written statement from the airline. These will back up any claims you make with your insurer.
Check in online. If you check in online, have picked up your boarding pass, but arrive at the gate late, some airlines may issue a ticket to the next flight for free.
Quite often, airlines will overbook tickets to account for no-shows. Sometimes, when all of the 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 you're travelling on business. The airline will also generally cover you for accommodation and meals if it is required. In these circumstances, there's little that travel insurance can do to help.
Unfortunately, travel insurance will not provide cover if your car breaks down and you miss a day at the resort you are staying at. It is not covered under trip interruption cover.
No, you will not be covered if you miss your flight due to traffic. You may be covered if you are involved in a car accident.
Baggage delay benefit will provide cover for you to purchase clothing, toiletries and other essential items if your luggage is delayed for a specified period of time – usually at least 12 hours.
Was this content helpful to you?
Thank you for your feedback!
To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been edited by Tim Bennett as part of our fact-checking process.
Gary Ross Hunter has over 6 years of expertise writing about insurance, including life, health, home, and car insurance. Having reviewed hundreds of product disclosure statements and published over 800 articles, he loves simplifying complex insurance topics for everyday readers. Gary has contributed to major outlets like Yahoo Finance, The Sydney Morning Herald, and news.com.au, and holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in English Literature from the University of Glasgow, along with a Tier 2 General Advice certification, ensuring his work adheres to ASIC’s RG146 standards. See full bio
Gary Ross's expertise
Gary Ross has written 637 Finder guides across topics including:
InsureandGo Travel Insurance can save you time with a comprehensive range of policies that are easy to digest and understand. Its policies include winter sports coverage plus both single and multiple trip policies.
Domestic travel insurance can provide cover for trip cancellation (domestic flights), loss or damage to luggage and expensive items, car rental excess charges and much more. Find out why domestic travel insurance is worth getting and compare policies from Australian insurers.
How likely would you be to recommend Finder to a friend or colleague?
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Very UnlikelyExtremely Likely
Required
Thank you for your feedback.
Our goal is to create the best possible product, and your thoughts, ideas and suggestions play a major role in helping us identify opportunities to improve.
Important information about this website
Finder makes money from featured partners, but editorial opinions are our own.
Finder is one of Australia's leading comparison websites. We are committed to our readers and stand by our editorial principles.
We try to take an open and transparent approach and provide a broad-based comparison service. However, you should be aware that while we are an independently owned service, our comparison service does not include all providers or all products available in the market.
Some product issuers may provide products or offer services through multiple brands, associated companies or different labeling arrangements. This can make it difficult for consumers to compare alternatives or identify the companies behind the products. However, we aim to provide information to enable consumers to understand these issues.
We make money by featuring products on our site. Compensation received from the providers featured on our site can influence which products we write about as well as where and how products appear on our page, but the order or placement of these products does not influence our assessment or opinions of them, nor is it an endorsement or recommendation for them.
Products marked as 'Top Pick', 'Promoted' or 'Advertisement' are prominently displayed either as a result of a commercial advertising arrangement or to highlight a particular product, provider or feature. Finder may receive remuneration from the Provider if you click on the related link, purchase or enquire about the product. Finder's decision to show a 'promoted' product is neither a recommendation that the product is appropriate for you nor an indication that the product is the best in its category. We encourage you to use the tools and information we provide to compare your options.
Where our site links to particular products or displays 'Go to site' buttons, we may receive a commission, referral fee or payment when you click on those buttons or apply for a product.
When products are grouped in a table or list, the order in which they are initially sorted may be influenced by a range of factors including price, fees and discounts; commercial partnerships; product features; and brand popularity. We provide tools so you can sort and filter these lists to highlight features that matter to you.
Please read our website terms of use and privacy policy for more information about our services and our approach to privacy.
We update our data regularly, but information can change between updates. Confirm details with the provider you're interested in before making a decision.