Travel insurance needed for refundable flights?

[jakeller]

Hi all, 

 

I am going on a very delayed cruise to the Galapagos with Lindblad next summer.

 

While I will be insuring the cruise itself, I'm unclear about whether or not I need to also insure the refundable airline tickets that I will be buying. Part of me says no, there's no need, while the other part says that I might need some protection if the flights go south.

 

Any advice is appreciated.

 

Thanks, 

Jeff

[klfrodo]

Being a fellow Washington State resident, I can confirm that the TravelSafe for Washington residents' policy does not require that you cover all travel expenses for the pre-existing condition waiver.

 

Having said that, what are you looking for with insurance when you ask about needing some protection if the flights go south? Just looking for an example of a concern you are/may be anticipating that you have.

I'm think the most important part would be to ensure that you cover the entire travel time. From the moment you lock the front door until you walk back into the house. Not just the days you are onboard the ship. Not sure if you can do this by purchasing the cruise lines insurance policy.

[jakeller]

38 minutes ago, klfrodo said:

Being a fellow Washington State resident, I can confirm that the TravelSafe for Washington residents' policy does not require that you cover all travel expenses for the pre-existing condition waiver.

 

Having said that, what are you looking for with insurance when you ask about needing some protection if the flights go south? Just looking for an example of a concern you are/may be anticipating that you have.

I'm think the most important part would be to ensure that you cover the entire travel time. From the moment you lock the front door until you walk back into the house. Not just the days you are onboard the ship. Not sure if you can do this by purchasing the cruise lines insurance policy.

 

Thank you for the response, fellow Washingtonian! I guess my question is, is there a point in getting refundable airfare rather than saving a little and getting a non-refundable fare and have the travel insurance cover any mishaps (missed flights/bags, health issues, quarantine, etc.)

 

The Lindblad insurance is horrible. The cancel for any reason just gives you more FCC (mine is from 2020) and the medical part is not sufficient for the destination.

 

Thanks!

[klfrodo]

51 minutes ago, jakeller said:

 

Thank you for the response, fellow Washingtonian! I guess my question is, is there a point in getting refundable airfare rather than saving a little and getting a non-refundable fare and have the travel insurance cover any mishaps (missed flights/bags, health issues, quarantine, etc.)

 

That's a good question.

In my experience, airlines almost always issue a travel voucher if things go bad. If the airline offers a voucher, insurance is going to consider that as fully reimbursed and not pay you. To directly answer your question, I have not found a reason to purchase fully refundable tickets.

 

However, I also highly recommend that you reach out to Steve at https://tripinsurancestore.com for your travel insurance needs. That's who I and many others here use. He's also on the boards helping others also. His website does have a phone number that he can be reached at. They will be happy to answer any questions you may have and will probably answer questions you don't even know you have to ensure you find a policy that meets your needs.

[jakeller]

1 minute ago, klfrodo said:

That's a good question.

In my experience, airlines almost always issue a travel voucher if things go bad. If the airline offers a voucher, insurance is going to consider that as fully reimbursed and not pay you. To directly answer your question, I have not found a reason to purchase fully refundable tickets.

 

However, I also highly recommend that you reach out to Steve at https://tripinsurancestore.com for your travel insurance needs. That's who I and many others here use. He's also on the boards helping others also. His website does have a phone number that he can be reached at. They will be happy to answer any questions you may have and will probably answer questions you don't even know you have to ensure you find a policy that meets your needs.

 

Thanks klfrodo. I reached out to Steve the other day and will give them a call to get this all lined up. I'll just be happy to go on the trip, since I originally booked it in 2019!

[jclinard]

If you go the refundable ticket route, do not use Expedia.  I booked fully refundable tickets, but they decided to actually sell me a fully refundable ticket from Panama City to San Francisco, and a non-refundable ticket from San Francisco to Las Vegas.  They refused to refund it.   I waited it out, and the flight times changed, and I refused to accept that, and requested a refund.  Instead, they gave me credits on Copa Airlines.

 

I had to open a case with the BBB for them to agree I was owed a cash refund.

 

A few months later I filed a second case with the BBB, this time against Expedia for bad faith, as they ignored me and their first case with the BBB, hoping I'd go away and they could pocket the money.  However, faced with having to explain to the BBB why they did not deliver on their promise for a refund, they finally relented.  

 

They did get to keep the interest on the money for several months.

[klfrodo]

The hardest travel lesson I ever learned was that by using a 3rd party such as Expedia, Hotelsdotcom, and even a travel agent is that you are no longer the airline or hotel or cruise line customer. You are Expedia's customer or the TA's customer and the airline, hotel, rental car company, or the cruise line will not deal with your issues.

I've experienced it and seen it over and over again. Myself, all I wanted was a hotel billing statement for my expenses. Nope, your booking is with Expedia, you need to call them for a copy. I've seen customers arguing at car rental companies about a billing issue. The Hertz rep was like, that's not a Hertz issue. Your issue is with XXX.

After experiencing this type of issue, I learned a valuable lesson regarding travel. Unless I'm saving considerable amounts of cash and balancing that with possible issues that may arise, I book directly with hotels, airlines, and rental car agencies. Even shore excursions, I balance costs when considering direct vs. consolidators like Viator and others.

[jakeller]

7 hours ago, jclinard said:

If you go the refundable ticket route, do not use Expedia.  I booked fully refundable tickets, but they decided to actually sell me a fully refundable ticket from Panama City to San Francisco, and a non-refundable ticket from San Francisco to Las Vegas.  They refused to refund it.   I waited it out, and the flight times changed, and I refused to accept that, and requested a refund.  Instead, they gave me credits on Copa Airlines.

 

 

 

I wouldn't touch Expedia with a 10-foot pole – I always book direct. For my Delta flight I used SkyMiles (refundable). For Alaska and American I'm redeeming Chase Ultimate Rewards for refundable flights.

 

Unfortunately, it takes a lot of flying to get from Seattle to Guayaquil, so lots of 737s on long routes.

Edited October 22, 2022 by jakeller

[Babr]

If you are using miles, don’t insure the flight. Insurance will not reimburse. Airlines had dropped fees to redeposit miles during COVID, but there are policies that will cover the fee if you are interested in that coverage.

 

Your other post-departure benefits remain in place such as Trip Delay or Trip Interruption. If you are concerned about flight problems that could keep you from getting to the ship in time, be sure the policy has a Missed Connection provision and look for language that says it will reimburse unused portion of trip if you are delayed by Common Carrier.

 

As always, mention it to Steve when you call just to be sure you are getting the correct information.

[Hlitner]

I am not an air expert (we will confess to being pretty expert on cruises) so my info is somewhat amateurish.  But we know, from first hand experience, that insurance companies tend to do everything legally possible to avoid paying claims.  When we filed a claim for trip interruption (including being forced to miss a flight for medical reasons) our insurer demanded a letter from the airline (AA) that the airline would not refund our air or issue some kind of credit.  The fare was a non-refundable business class.  AA, to our surprise, was willing to issue a credit (but only through the cruise line from where we booked our air) even tough that the fare was non-refundable.  The insurance company company was well aware that many airlines will waive their rules for good cause (such as medical).  In such cases the insurance company will not pay!  In a sense, folks often pay for coverage (for air fare) that is unlikely to be paid.\

 

As an amateur, my advice is to talk to a decent travel insurance broker (such as the folks from the tripinsurancestore) who are truly expert on these kinds of issues.  

 

Hank

[jclinard]

Did you get a credit with the airline, or was the claim paid in cash?