Does travel insurance cover delayed and missed flights?

Oh no! You missed your flight and now instead of doing the limbo in the Bahamas, your Caribbean vacation is in limbo.

How does World Nomads coverage for delayed and missed flights work?

If you experience delayed or missed flights, your reasonable and necessary additional expenses – such as taxis and accommodation costs during your delay – may be covered up to the plan limits if you are delayed for 6 or more hours due to a hazard such as:

  • If en route to the airport you’re delayed by a traffic accident in which you or a traveling companion are not directly involved.
  • A flight cancellation or delay, including if it causes you to miss a connecting flight.
  • Your passport or travel documents are stolen.
  • You’re impacted by a natural disaster.

You should do everything you can to avoid or minimize any additional expenses. For example, if you’re delayed by a traffic accident that you’re not involved in, call your airline and see if they’ll rebook you free of charge. Or, if your airline cancels your flight, you must accept any reasonable offers of compensation or rescheduling before incurring additional expenses.

What you’ll need to claim

If you make a claim for unexpected and unavoidable reasonable expenses, you’ll need to provide:

  • A written report from the airline confirming the timing and duration of the unexpected event causing the delay.
  • Evidence of any compensation offered by the carrier as well as a copy of your travel itinerary.
  • If an accident caused you to miss your flight, written confirmation of the accident from an official body where the accident happened (e.g. a police or transport authority report).

Read more in our how to claim article.

What’s not covered for delayed or missed flights

Travel insurance doesn’t cover everything. Here are the main things that aren’t covered:

  • Any reason for the delay or missed flight not listed as a covered event, for example you missed your flight because of heavy traffic on the way to the airport, or a long security line.
  • If your delayed or missed flight doesn't meet any additional requirements for trip delay or trip interruption coverage.

Travel insurance is not designed to cover everything, so take the time to read the terms, conditions, limits and exclusions in the policy wording so there are no surprises if you do need to use it. Contact us if you have any questions about what is and is not covered.

Before you travel, check out these tips in case you become stuck at the airport because of a delayed or missed flight.


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