Cancelled flight and insurance question

[gracebest]

I am in the process of buying trip insurance.  In light of yesterday’s Southwest flight cancellations due to computer issues, I did an online chat with one of the insurance stores.  The polices I was looking at all said they covered trip cancellation, trip delay, etc.  I read the fine print and was still confused, so did the chat thing.  When I specifically asked about flight cancellations she said yes for weather.  Mechanical problems with plane would require a more expensive policy.  And then when I asked about a policy to cover computer/tech problems like yesterday’s issue, I was told none of the many policies, none of the companies would cover that.  So what do people do in that situation?

[jelayne]

When our recent flight was cancelled by the airline due to weather we got our refund from the airline.  For another cancellation we got a credit which was fine since we had other plans requiring air fare.

[gracebest]

1 hour ago, jelayne said:

When our recent flight was cancelled by the airline due to weather we got our refund from the airline.  For another cancellation we got a credit which was fine since we had other plans requiring air fare.

Thank you for the info.  I’m not really concerned about the airfare as it is with Southwest.  I’m just concerned if their is a computer outage like yesterday and the policy would t pay because they don’t cover that.   

[NightOne]

On 4/4/2022 at 5:33 PM, gracebest said:

Thank you for the info.  I’m not really concerned about the airfare as it is with Southwest.  I’m just concerned if their is a computer outage like yesterday and the policy would t pay because they don’t cover that.   

 

I'm with you. Airfare is not my concern.

 

However, the airlines have been so unreliable as of late that even having a flight the day before the cruise is scary.

 

I'm looking for the following insurance (which may or may not exist):

 

1. Airline cancels my flight and causes me to miss cruise

 

2. Want to be reimbursed for the price of the cruise and any non-cancellable pre-cruise items such as hotel and rental car

 

Does such a policy exist?

 

I would prefer an annual policy.

[Babr]

It may come under Missed Connection if you are delayed for a specified number of hours, and it causes you to miss the cruise.  Common carrier delay is defined in each policy; but policies vary in their language, and you really need to talk to a professional when it gets to the fine points. If the chat did not produce satisfactory results, try one of the people at Trip Insurance Store. 
 

For NightOne - Annual  policies offer limited, if any, travel benefits.  A comprehensive policy may come closer to meeting your needs. That is something to discuss with a professional in order to understand what each kind of coverage offers.

[GeezerCouple]

58 minutes ago, Babr said:

It may come under Missed Connection if you are delayed for a specified number of hours, and it causes you to miss the cruise.  Common carrier delay is defined in each policy; but policies vary in their language, and you really need to talk to a professional when it gets to the fine points. If the chat did not produce satisfactory results, try one of the people at Trip Insurance Store. 
 

For NightOne - Annual  policies offer limited, if any, travel benefits.  A comprehensive policy may come closer to meeting your needs. That is something to discuss with a professional in order to understand what each kind of coverage offers.

 

On 4/4/2022 at 6:33 PM, gracebest said:

Thank you for the info.  I’m not really concerned about the airfare as it is with Southwest.  I’m just concerned if their is a computer outage like yesterday and the policy would t pay because they don’t cover that.   

 

You should check very carefully what the terms are of your particular insurance policy, or the ones you are considering.

I'm not sure at what point (or even whether) an insurer would agree to cover the entire cost of a cruise (or other trip) if you miss the first part due to a delay with an airline.  They may instead have terms that allow you to continue on/to do your best to "catch up" or otherwise continue the rest of the trip.

 

For example, if an insurer could pay for the flight to the first port and perhaps a hotel night or two, I'm not sure they would instead pay for what could be many thousands for the entire cruise (or resort stay, etc.).

 

The important thing is to be clear what is covered by the policy *you* get.

You might want to ask the insurer or broker how best to cover this concern, or any other concerns.

GC

[gracebest]

1 hour ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

 

You should check very carefully what the terms are of your particular insurance policy, or the ones you are considering.

I'm not sure at what point (or even whether) an insurer would agree to cover the entire cost of a cruise (or other trip) if you miss the first part due to a delay with an airline.  They may instead have terms that allow you to continue on/to do your best to "catch up" or otherwise continue the rest of the trip.

 

For example, if an insurer could pay for the flight to the first port and perhaps a hotel night or two, I'm not sure they would instead pay for what could be many thousands for the entire cruise (or resort stay, etc.).

 

The important thing is to be clear what is covered by the policy *you* get.

You might want to ask the insurer or broker how best to cover this concern, or any other concerns.

GC

Yes, I agree.  Another interesting thing I found on the FAQ section on Celebrity’s website is that you can’t join the cruise later because of testing requirements, vaccinations, etc.  so you either get on at the beginning or you don’t!  

[Babr]

20 minutes ago, gracebest said:

Yes, I agree.  Another interesting thing I found on the FAQ section on Celebrity’s website is that you can’t join the cruise later because of testing requirements, vaccinations, etc.  so you either get on at the beginning or you don’t!  

That is why it might be worth it to see if a claim for missed connection might turn into trip interruption which would reimburse you because you can’t catch up to the cruise. Ask the people at Trip Insurance Store.

 

Depending on age, cost of trip, and length of trip it may not be inexpensive, but it is less costly than losing the cruise.