Flight Insurance

[busymom]

Booking our flights separate from hotel today (prob. with Orbitz). Can anyone recommend a good company to purchase flight insurance through? Do you need to purchase it at the time of booking? We don't travel much and the travel agent I called wasn't much help once they found out we weren't booking a package with them
Thanks!

[Chris]

Flight insurance isn't usually worth it, imho... To change a flight (on your own volition) costs about $100 (generally). If the airline cancels a flight, THEY are on the hook. If you already have good travel insurance on your vacation, that should cover loss of part or all of your vacation due to the airline issues.

Compare the cost of flight insurance to the cost of changing a flight, and it probably doesn't make sense...

Again, others may have a different take, but that's mine.

[dandj]

If you book directly with the airline they usually off insurance before you pay at the end. If you change your flight and you don't have insurance it's whatever the fee is for that airline and any extra if the flight has gone up.

[AAS]

Not sure which airline you fly but on AA it is $250 to change a flight these days. Thought the fees were pretty uniform across the industry. I have used Travel Gaurd in the past but check their exclusions, they are pretty extensive.

[DirtDiva13]

Hi Busymom,

One that I have used before is AccessAmerica. However, we did not purchase any flight insurance this past trip. Check the credit card you used to purchase tickets. They often carry a safeguard policy for certain events that cover cancellations/lost luggage, etc. The airline changed my return flight several times from my original booking, and when I called to change their "replacement flights" there as never any additional charge.

[Coloradojuli]

If you are booking your flight separate from your resort, then you will need to get insurance for each of those. (I think you already realize this from your question.)

We always book separate and get the resort insurance when we book the resort and then get the flight insurance through the airlines when we book the flight.

For us it is worth it to get the flight insurance as it only cost about $100 more and when I've paid $1000 for tickets that are non-refundable, it is worth it and we've had to use it once.

It is also wise to buy the flight insurance as it will cover any traveling expense you might have due to flight delays and cancellations or lost luggage. Your resort insurance only covers incidents that occur while you are at the resort.

Long answer to a short question: we buy the flight insurance from the airline we book with.

[Allans_Angel]

I usually buy through Access America. They are inexpensive and worth it, as it's cheaper than a change fee.

[gdstravel]

Hello,
As a travel agent, I can definitely understand why she wouldn't be helpful. Nevertheless, I would suggest booking the insurance through the airline carrier that you go with. I also wouldn't suggest booking the components separately unless you have to. And in most cases because it's just for the flight, you will have to pay for it when you book your flights.

[Tallman2nd]

We purchased insurance from Travel Guard for both the resort and airline tickets. Didn't purchase the Couples trip insurance. Cost was competitive with Couples insurance offering. I would recommend it for the peace of mind if nothing else.

[sheltie1]

Do you mean travel insurance? I purchased mine after booking and I noticed that I had to get it by 70 something hours of booking the trip.
I have medical thru work but wanted cancelation, interuption and luggage covered.

[Coloradojuli]

American medical insurance frequently doesn't cover trips outside of the US. Trip insurance gives you medical insurance and will pay for a flight back to the US where your insurance can take over from there. So it is wise to get trip insurance even though you have medical through your work.

[busymom]

Wow! Thanks, everyone. This board rocks!

Coloradojuli: any problems getting reimbursed when you cancelled/changed flights? That's my only fear; lots of bad reviews out there. Access America would be the company assigned. Anyone have a good story about them?

Oh, and FYI everyone, AA currently charges a $150 change fee per ticket. Orbitz charges an additional $30 on top of that, so looks like we'll be dealing with AA direct on this one! Good news is that they, too, allow 2 free checked bags to JA, plus a 40# carry-on. Time to shop for school supplies

[Mestralle]

I'm actually a little confused, and perhaps somebody can help me in this thread, though I am by no means trying to hijack it. We generally don't do any sort of insurance, but we just booked a trip for 2011, and even though I know we don't have to pay for it up front, we have no idea where we'll be in November of '11, especially with my husband having a job with a start-up.
I always thought that trip insurance covered both flights and hotel. Is this wrong?

[j.sobczak.j.lusk]

we booked our own flights but used an agent for the rooms..... the agent was also able to provide the travelers insurance almost 1/3 less than the airliner company.....

[Chris]

Mestralle -

If you buy a package (air and hotel) from a TA (or other perveyor, such as Couples) I believe you can purchase travel insurance on the whole package (we did this when we booked once with Northwest WorldVacations).

[mrs2cool]

Mestralle,
If you booked your 2011 trip through Couples on the love away plan, you have up to 46 days before your check-in date to cancel with no penalty - full refund.We are booked for Nov. 2011 as well (at CTI).Are you going back to CSS? Maybe we'll see you on trading places day.
Peggy (and Tom) from New Jersey

[gdstravel]

Hello,
If you choose not to purchase the travel insurance with neither the airline nor the hotel, then I would suggest using an insurance supplier such as travelsafe or travel guard where you can purchase the travel insurance that will cover both your air and hotel with out regard to where you obtained them. This is what I suggest for most of my clients.