On a recent trip to Europe, my flight departed late, causing me to miss my connection and overnight en route before catching a flight the next morning. The airline provided dinner and accommodations, but I stood to lose the cost of one hotel night in my destination as well as prepaid train fare and museum tickets.
Because I had paid $119 for travel insurance that covered nonrefundable expenses in the event of a delay, I was able to recover the roughly $400 outlay.
Making a travel insurance claim requires attention to detail on and after your trip. Here’s what you need to know.
Understand What’s Covered
Comprehensive travel insurance policies usually bundle trip cancellation, disruption and delay — the travel benefits part of a policy — with travel medical coverage, though both can be purchased separately.
When it comes to travel benefits, insurance is designed to cover nonrefundable expenses lost because of unforeseen circumstances — known as covered reasons. These include job loss, serious illness or injury, death in the family, severe weather and government shutdowns.
These reasons must be unknown before you buy a policy. For example, buying insurance for a vacation before a hurricane hits your destination should entitle you to claim storm-related losses, as long as the hurricane was unnamed at the time of purchase. But buying it after the hurricane is named — meaning it is now a foreseen risk — means you won’t be able to recover your costs.
Nonrefundable expenses might include the cost of a tour, cruise, accommodation and prepaid expenses like museum admission.
If you purchase a nonrefundable flight but the airline will issue a credit in the amount of the fare if you cancel it, then the insurer would consider you compensated and not offer a refund. (If an airline cancels your flight, you are entitled to a refund.)
Save the Paper Trail
Documentation is critical.
“You’ll need to document both the expenses you lost or incurred as well as the reason for the loss,” said Daniel Durazo, a spokesman for the insurance company Allianz Partners.
Receipts should show the amount paid for items you are claiming. “It’s really easy to lose those receipts,” said Chrissy Valdez, the senior director of operations for Squaremouth, an online travel insurance dealer. “Snap a photo so it’s one last thing to chase down.”
If the cause is a flight delay, request and save paper boarding passes for any new flights. Take screenshots of text or app-based messages an airline might send about a delay, cancellation or rebooking, or use the website FlightAware to search for and document your flight history.
For a medical claim, most insurers require a doctor’s letter. Collect detailed receipts, including proof of treatment and prescription details.
Appeal to the Carrier
When it comes to baggage delay or loss, most policies offer secondary coverage, or a backup to a travel carrier’s reimbursement policy or your homeowner’s insurance.
When seeking baggage-related compensation from an airline, file a missing baggage claim and retain a copy.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, an airline’s liability limit on luggage is up to $4,700 a person on domestic flights and about $2,175 on international.
If you think the airline has not adequately compensated you, file for the difference through your policy.
The U.S. Travel Insurance Association, an industry group, notes that travelers will need original receipts for items in the lost bag. Many insurance agents recommend taking a photo of your packed luggage before it’s closed to help document potential losses.
Don’t expect to recover valuable items. According to InsureMyTrip, a comparison travel insurance sales site, most policies exclude cellphones, expensive jewelry and watches, cash and eyeglasses.
Flex Your Credit Card Benefits
Many credit cards have travel-insurance benefits. The generosity of those benefits grows with the cost of the card.
For example, trip-delay reimbursement for things like meals and lodging — up to $500 a person — kicks in after six hours with the Chase Sapphire Reserve card ($795 annual fee) but only after 12 hours with the Chase Sapphire Preferred ($95).
Compare your card coverage with the cost of the trip to determine how much insurance you may need.
“If you have $1,000 in travel insurance on a credit card and have $2,000 in nonrefundable expenses, get insurance to cover that other $1,000,” said Suzanne Morrow, the chief executive of InsureMyTrip.
Can you rely solely on credit card coverage? Yes, theoretically, though the benefits are often less than stand-alone policies. For example, the Chase Sapphire Reserve caps trip cancellation and interruption at $10,000 a person and $20,000 a trip while insurance policies may offer higher limits.
“For big-ticket trips like cruises, or a nonrefundable villa rental, that’s where I highly recommend getting insurance,” said Brian Kelly, the founder of The Points Guy website, which is devoted to credit card perks.
Credit card policies may also be stingier with medical benefits, which many travelers supplement. Between 30 and 35 percent of all purchases at Squaremouth are for travel medical insurance only.
Seek Help and Wait
Every insurer has a procedure for filing claims. Many use online portals, allowing you to upload documents.
Some third-party services will submit your claim. For example, AirHelp is devoted to compensation for flight-related delays and losses and takes 35 percent of any returns as its fee.
Though they won’t handle a claim, insurance sellers such as Squaremouth and InsureMyTrip maintain customer service lines that can assist.
Response time varies with each insurer. Allianz says it pays most claims within 30 days.
“The number one reason that claims are delayed is missing documentation,” said Mr. Durazo.
