Flight delay is something that we all worry about when we go away. Do you know if you are covered by your insurance or elsewhere? Make sure you travel, with confidence on your next trip by taking out an insurance that will cover these circumstances.
You may have seen the news recently about two NASA astronauts who were stuck in space for more than nine months. While we currently don’t cover space travel, flying is just as important to have insurance for.
What do we mean by a ‘flight delay’?
When we talk about flight delay, we mean if your booked flight gets delayed on either your outward or inward journey. The flight delay section usually comes under the heading of ‘delayed departure’ in the policy wording document. This section also covers the delay of international train or sailing, but we are going to look specifically at flight delay.
Which of our products cover flight delays?
P J Hayman has a variety of travel insurance products to cover different types of trips. Those that can cover flight delays are Free Spirit, Adventures, Longstay & Backpacker, and Travel Plus. Let’s take a look at exactly what benefits are on offer below.
Free Spirt – covers for most medical conditions and senior travellers
• Delayed departure on Super and Super Duper only.
• If you are delayed by at least 12 hours and you must get a written confirmation from the transport provider or their handling agent showing the scheduled departure time, actual departure time, and reason for the delay.
• Super = £300 (£75 per 12 hours delay)
• Super Duper = £400 (£100 per 12 hours delay)
Adventures – covers for a particular activity/s
• Covers Travel Delay with part B/C up to £120 (£30 each 12 hours) – with no excess.
• To go down the claims route, you would need a letter from the airline to show the scheduled departure time, actual departure time, and the reason for the delay.
Longstay & Backpacker – covers for long trips up to 18 months in duration
• On Longstay and Longstay Plus only.
• Departure delay is covered if the flight departure is delayed for more than 12 hours from its scheduled departure time from the international departure point and your possessions have been checked in.
• Longstay = £20 after the first 12 hours. £10 for every 12 hours thereafter up to £100.
• Longstay Plus = £25 after the first 12 hours. £15 for every 12 hours thereafter up to £145.
Travel Plus – a travel insurance that gives you more
• Delayed departure after 10 hours of delay.
• Premier = £100 (£25 per 10 hours delay)
• Premier Plus = £500 (£100 per 10 hours delay)
• You must get a written confirmation from the transport provider or their handling agent showing the scheduled departure time, actual departure time, and reason for the delay.
What about my rights?
If your flight is delayed and you’re travelling from the UK, ABTA has compiled a list of the rights you’re entitled to in this scenario. If your flight is delayed for over 5 hours, your airline must offer you the choice of taking a refund on the flight cost. It is important to note that if you haven’t booked a package holiday, you may then lose the money you’ve paid for hotels and excursions. It is recommended to take out travel insurance ASAYB (as soon as you book) so that if anything does happen, you have peace of mind. Learn more about your customer rights regarding travel insurance.
What if the flight is delayed and we abandon the trip?
Our policies also provide cover for trip abandonment. This is where, if your flight is delayed for over a certain amount of time and you then decide to abandon the trip. The amount of time varies between policies, but the limit is the same as it is for delayed departure. So Free Spirit, Longstay & Backpacker, and Adventures are after 12 hours delay, while Travel Plus is after 10 hours delay. The amount you’re covered for trip abandonment is listed below.
- Free Spirit – £3000 on Super, £6000 on Super Duper
- Travel Plus – £5000 on Premier, £10000 on Premier Plus
- Adventures – £5000 (part B or C only)
- Longstay & Backpacker – £2500 on Longstay, £3,500 on Longstay Plus
How far in advance can I take out insurance, and am I covered?
Our different policies have different limitations, so let’s look at those together.
• With Free Spirit, a single trip policy can be taken out the insurance up to 18 months in advance. If you are looking at an annual policy, you can take out the insurance up to 31 days in advance.
• An Adventures policy; however, a single trip policy can only be taken out a year in advance. With an annual policy, on the other hand, you can take it out up to 45 days in advance.
• On Travel Plus, similar to Adventures, a single trip policy can be purchased up to a year in advance. However, an annual policy can only be taken out up to 31 days before.
• Finally, for a Longstay & Backpacker policy, they only offer a single trip quote due to the length of the trips that they cover. You can take out this insurance up to a year in advance.
While our policies have different limits for how far in advance they can quote, they do all have a common feature. for a single trip policy, you are covered from the moment you take out the insurance. While with an annual policy, you are only covered from the start date of the policy. If you start the annual policy in 31 days’ time, for example, you will have no cover for anything that may occur between purchasing and that start date.
You can read all of the documents for the various policies in our document library.
What if my flight is cancelled?
Having your flight cancelled is, unfortunately, another scenario that can go wrong when going abroad. This is another why it’s important to have adequate travel insurance in place so you can travel, with confidence. We’ve put together all the information you will need should the worst happen and you have to face a flight cancellation.
Travel, with confidence
One of the most important things you can pack for your trip is suitable travel insurance. Why not get a no-obligation quote on one of our products today so you can travel, with confidence.
0 Comments